Overfishing

Overfishing is harvesting a stock faster than it can replace itself, pushing fishing mortality above the level that sustains the population. It splits into growth overfishing (catching fish before they reach optimal size) and recruitment overfishing (cutting spawning biomass so far that future year-classes collapse). The FAO’s 2024 State of World Fisheries reported about 38% of assessed marine stocks fished beyond biologically sustainable levels, the reason harvest-control rules cap F at or below F-MSY.