NATURAL RESOURCES »» FISHERIES »» LONGLINE FISHING »» Dec 28, 2020

Pelagic fish live in the open waters of our seas and oceans. Many species migrate great distances each year. However, most shark, swordfish and tuna populations are approaching, or have already reached, unsustainable levels. Much of this decline has been attributed to the advent of longline fishing. Perfected by the Japanese, this method uses up to 80 miles of fishing lines with thousands of baited hooks that are trailed behind a single vessel. During the first decade of the advent of longline fishing, catches declined from 10 fish per hundred hooks to just one per hundred. Studies have concluded that at least 80% of each of the world