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The example was extreme: seven fishing trawlers had lined up, laid their nets next to each other and thereby erected a wall 34 kilometers long in the sea.

On the other hand, the fish, in this case mainly tuna, had no chance.

This happened a few weeks ago in the Indian Ocean, the organization Greenpeace documented it with recordings.

The comprehensive report on the environmental impacts of fishing in the marine area is exclusively available to WELT.

Another common fishing method described therein is large rafts, so-called Fish Aggregation Devices (FAD).

Fishermen put them out in the ocean to attract tuna underneath.

One consequence of this method is large amounts of bycatch, which then sinks into the waters as dead fish.

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These very rafts are now being banned by some states.

International fish seals also indicate whether the fish offered is "FAD-free".

Authorities are considered influenced

Worldwide, the oceans provide the basic food for a good three billion people.

Around a third of the fish population in one of the most important marine areas, the Indian Ocean, is already overexploited, according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Every seventh ton of fish caught worldwide comes from the fishing industry of this ocean, which covers an area of ​​75 million square kilometers.

Environmental organizations complain that illegal and unreported fishing leads to overfishing, especially in this part of the world's oceans, and has an impact on world food.

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Institutions like the FAO often have to rely on estimates due to a lack of data.

Local authorities that should regulate catches are often seen as being influenced by the countries' fishing industries.

Tuna is the most popular fish in the world

The Indian Ocean, which is home to 30 percent of the world's coral reef cover, accounts for around 21 percent of global tuna catches.

This makes this marine area the second largest fishing region for this fishery.

Source: WORLD infographic

Bonito, also called skipjack, which accounts for around half of the world's tuna catch, as well as yellowfin tuna are caught there.

Canned tuna, which is particularly popular in Germany, consists of a good 90 percent of the fish species real bonito.

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More than six million tons of tuna are taken out of the oceans every year.

No other fish in the world is eaten more often, a third of the total fish catch is based on this type of fish.

100 fishing boats at the same time

The fishing for so-called cephalopods is also spreading in the Indian Ocean.

Large fleets of Chinese fishing trawlers specialize in catching octopus stocks in the region.

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the number of these ships increased by 830 percent between 2015 and 2019.

In an example from the Greenpeace report, 100 fishing boats from China were catching squid in the north-western part of this ocean at the same time on one day.

The quantities caught are hardly ever registered, and according to the information there is no international catch regulation for this fish species.

The criticism is aimed primarily at the work of the country organizations, the Regional Fisheries Management Organizations, in the countries bordering the ocean.

Since there is no national jurisdiction for around two-thirds of the world's marine areas, the implementation of rules is generally a problem.

Shark populations decreased by 85 percent

According to the report, thousands of whales, sharks and swordfish die as unwanted bycatch due to the fishing methods in the Indian Ocean.

According to these estimates, shark fish stocks in the ocean have declined by 85 percent over the past 50 years due to overfishing.

According to Greenpeace, there is no international competence.

"Fisheries in the Indian Ocean are not properly controlled and endanger the entire marine ecosystem," says Thilo Maack, marine biologist at the organization.

For example, the use of kilometers of drift nets or heavy trawls that are pulled over large areas of the sea floor has been banned by the United Nations for 30 years.

“Only effective protected areas can save the tuna stocks in the ocean,” says Maack.

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According to this assessment, at least 30 percent of the seas should become protected regions without fishing by 2030 at the latest.

The United Nations would have to adopt a “strong global marine protection treaty” at its conference on the subject in August.

Fish buyers also have an obligation

In Germany, tuna recently ousted herring from third place of the most popular fish species and now takes this position behind salmon and Alaskan pollock.

Around 70 percent of it is sold in this country as canned fish.

Fish eaters can find out more about the selection.

"The easiest way for the consumer to find out the origin of a fish species is through 'Fish Stocks Online'", says Matthias Keller on the website of the same name.

He is the managing director of the Fish Information Center (FIZ) in Hamburg.

In order to better inform fish buyers, more and more companies such as Frosta or Followfood are also offering the traceability of the fish used directly on the products.

In addition, buyers have the opportunity to look for certified fish products.

"Anyone who buys fish with the MSC seal, for example, can trust that these abuses will not occur in fishing," says Keller.

Higher yield without overfishing

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) seal controls fishing methods and fishing areas.

According to the organization, 26 percent of the world's tuna catch is currently certified, and around 15 percent for all fish species.

Of these, 17 fisheries in the Indian Ocean hold the certificate.

In total, however, they only catch around 200,000 tonnes or just under two percent of the total catch in the marine area.

Those responsible for the MSC seal also point out "overfishing, bycatch, illegal fishing, and in some cases inadequate data and inadequate management rules for the stocks" as a threat to the Indian Ocean.

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Research into the fish seal shows that a well-managed fishing industry can be critical to food security.

"If sustainable fishing can become established around the world, there will be more fish in 2050 than today - in the seas and on the plates," says Rohan Currey, head of science at the MSC organization.

Without overfishing, around 16 million tonnes more fish could be caught annually, claims MSC, because not overfished stocks are more productive.

According to the analysis, this amount corresponds to the annual protein needs of 72 million people.