By depleting the fish population so much, other animals are forced to starve because there is not enough food for them. The fish cannot regrow quickly enough to offset the fishing. For example, Canada banned fishing of Atlantic cod off the coast of Newfoundland in 1992, causing mass unemployment but also giving the cod time to resist adversity and grow back. Another example is the Antarctican finfish, whose population has dropped to a tenth since 1982. Since it was people from the Soviet Union that carried out the fishing, diplomatic issues prevented direct and efficient address of the problem.

To prevent and reduce overfishing, the government has to implement some measures to stop fishermen from fishing in danger areas. Areas have to be left to repopulate, just like land has to be left to fallow after farming. Without a rest period, fish will not fill the sea like they used to before. Schemes can be worked out to cycle areas of fishing or limit the number of fish that may be caught, such as the ITQ (Individual Transferable Quota) scheme, which sets a maximum amount of fish that may be caught. Time restrictions on fishing could also be set in place. Steps have been taken to set up government agencies monitoring the populations of areas.

Sorting out fish on a boat