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# Letting endangered fish off the hook
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/letting-endangered-fish-off-the-hook-editor/
- Published: 2007-08-24T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T02:40:39.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By Moira Chapin Los Angeles*

Whether you like to swim, boat or fish in the ocean, our coastline is central to life in California. But the health of our oceans is in jeopardy: We’re facing a drastic decline of fish stocks due to overfishing in recent years, and if this continues at its current rate, there may no longer be ‘plenty of fish in the sea’ for our state.

A recent edition of National Geographic documents the worldwide impact of overfishing; and an article in the journal Science predicted the global collapse of most fish species by 2048, if trends continue unchanged.

Fortunately, the National Marine Fisheries Service is currently considering revisions to U.S. fish conservation law. The agency has a unique opportunity right now to write strong regulations that could help stop overfishing permanently. To save our seas, the Fisheries Service should ensure that conservative fishing limits are set based on the best science and that if these limits are exceeded, immediate accountability happens to recover the species.

Not only will these changes help save hundreds of species of fish and marine mammals like whales, porpoises and dolphins that depend on fish for food, but it will ensure a future for both commercial and recreational fishing in California.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 24, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/082407.pdf?ref=smdp.com)