Piercy's recent research shows that the future ocean may be a lot quieter than our current if overfishing and ocean acidification continue to take a toll on the reefs that support the symphony of life.
Several years ago scientists began predicting that the world's seafood supply would collapse completely by the year 2050 if current rates of overfishing don't change.
Here we evaluate the historical and current risk of ecosystem overfishing at a global scale by quantifying the depletion of secondary production using the best available fisheries and ecological data (i.e., catch and primary production).
Key fish stocks in good shape – Scientific advice confirms that stocks of most of the main species of tuna are all considered to be healthy and not overfished at current fishing levels.
Grilling the fish takes just six minutes if you use tuna, closer to 10 minutes if you choose to overlook the current boycott (based on possible overfishing) and use swordfish.
The collaboration began in 2006 when Boris Worm, a marine ecologist at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and other scientists made an alarming prediction: if current trends continue, by 2048 overfishing will have destroyed most commercially important populations of saltwater fish.
"If sharks continue to be overfished at the current rate, it's only a matter of a few years before the targeted species are extinct," according to Richard Thomas, communications director at Traffic, which monitors wildlife trade.
Despite overfishing, the cold Humboldt current that hugs Peru's desert coast is still rich in fish and shellfish.
To tackle the growing problem of overfishing, they mapped the current supply chain, identified entrepreneurs who are working to fix failing parts of the process, and then supported them to succeed.
If overfishing continues at its current rate, experts warn that a staggering number of sharks and rays will be wiped off the face of planet before we know it.
