While the oily gleam of sardines, mackerels, and other small, rapidly-growing fish in wetcase ice is becoming more common, most seafood merchants continue to focus on large, predatory
fish such as cod, sharks, and tuna. Globally, populations of these ecologically vital animals have dropped by as much as 90 percent.
Bycatch remains a scandalous problem: each day, an enormous portion of the world’s total seafood catch is tossed over the sides of fishing boats due to inefficient, indiscriminate fishing methods. The worst of the destructive fishing practices, bottom trawling, is responsible for 80 percent of all bycatch incurred globally.
