Recent biodiversity studies show an unprecedented loss of species, ecosystems and genetic diversity on land, but the extent to which these patterns are widespread in the oceans is not yet known.
Recent biodiversity studies show an unprecedented loss of species, ecosystems and genetic diversity on land, but the extent to which these patterns are widespread in the oceans is not yet known.
In a new study published recently in the journal Science, researchers from Spain-based AZTI Technology Centre, in collaboration with SFU and the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), have developed a global indicator that measures the state of marine biodiversity based on changes in extinction risk recorded over seven decades in oceanic predatory fishes (52 populations of 18 different species of tuna, billfish and sharks).
The study reveals how, since the 1950s, the global extinction risk of oceanic predatory fishes has continuously worsened due to excessive fishing pressure until the late 2000s.
The results offer some hope after the global rebuilding of commercially important tuna and billfish species yet reveal a problem in the management of sharks captured incidentally by the same fisheries, showing the urgency of implementing actions to prevent their increasing risk of extinction.
Read More: Simon Fraser University
