I’m Worried About Overfishing. Should I Give Up Fish?

But what about our overexploited wild fisheries: Is it wrong to consume creatures you wish were never caught? Setting aside broader debates about the ethics of eating animals, let’s focus on the specific ecological issue you raise about overfishing. Today about a third of global marine stocks are estimated to be overfished, and less than 10 percent could sustain fishing at greater than current levels. Yet governments continue to subsidize fishing. A 2018 study suggested that more than half of high-seas fishing, including much deep-sea bottom trawling, wouldn’t be economical without those subsidies.