Threats: Overfishing

Read this tip to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Australian Flora and Fauna and other Australian topics.

What are the major threats to the Great Barrier Reef?

Threats: Overfishing

Overfishing
This type of grouper may be overfished in some parts of the Great Barrier—at least partly due to its popularity in Asia, where diners often order it live from restaurant aquariums. Concerns for the coral trout aside, fishing is strictly regulated on the Great Barrier, but countless other reefs aren't so lucky. Elsewhere many are obliterated by blast fishing—in which reefs are often blown to bits in hopes of an easy catch—and cyanide poisoning, the dark secret of the aquarium trade.In cyanide fishing, divers generally squirt the toxin onto coral reefs, then search the newly dead reef for live-but-stunned fish—or so they hope. More than half of all fish caught this way die in the poisoning process or in shipping.

   

Comments

Nobody has commented on this tip yet. Be the first.



Name:


URL: (optional)


Comment:


Not finding the advice and tips you need on this Australian Tip Site? Request a Tip Now!


Guru Spotlight
Christina Chan