Have you ever stopped to think about how the same issues that are affecting the ecosystems of the world also affect us when we charter a boat for a weekend of fun deep sea fishing?  Commercial fishing by the unscrupulous damages the environment, decreasing the home security of the sea creatures who live and contribute to the health of oceans all over the planet.  Commercial fishing is an important part of life for people who work in the fishing industry, and also for consumers.  Without it, we simply would not be able to enjoy the variety of seafood made available to us from all parts of the globe.  Yet, some regulation seems to be needed to keep overfished areas from leading to desolate conditions.

Orange Roughy, also known as Deep Sea Perch, have seen a population decrease drastically due to the new deep-sea trawling techniques from commercial fishing. Its recovery rate  is slow because of its long life cycle — up to 156 years — and late a maturity age of 25 years. This is only one example of how over-fishing can wipe out a species, leaving less for those of us who enjoy the sport to find during our off shore excursions.

In the following infographic from Greenpeace, you will see some of the more extended effects of unregulated or poorly monitored fishing on a global scale: