To protect 30 percent of the Earth’s land and oceans by 2030, a goal adopted last year by the COP15 conference on biological diversity, “there is no time to waste,” he told AFP.
Fishing hours on the high seas are set to increase by 8.5 percent between 2018 and 2022, according to the report, which compiles data from an organization capable of tracking the movement of boats through their transmitters.
Such intensity is particularly evident in ecologically sensitive areas identified by the United Nations as potential future marine sanctuaries. Greenpeace reported that fishing there has increased by 22.5 percent during the same period.
“Overfishing is a big problem,” Thorne said.
“Fishing pressure is absolutely unsustainable, and it’s pushing our oceans to the brink.”
Greenpeace reports that over a 30-year period, Pacific bluefin tuna stocks have declined by more than 90 percent.
It also draws attention to the damage caused in the open ocean by longline fishing, which uses lines dozens of miles long equipped with thousands of baited hooks.
The destructive method accidentally captures many sharks.