Inputs for HRC March Session Thematic Report. Human Rights Impacts of Overfishing

The document outlines how overfishing undermines food security, livelihoods, and spiritual practices, while contributing to climate change and human rights abuses. It advocates for stronger international fisheries management, the elimination of harmful subsidies, and the expansion of marine protected areas.

• Overfishing is the primary threat to global marine biodiversity, which is essential for food security, particularly for coastal and developing nations. The ocean provides approximately 20% of animal protein for over 3.2 billion people, and 70% of protein intake in island and coastal regions.
• Overfishing causes significant economic losses and disproportionately affects small-scale and artisanal fishers in low-income countries. Up to USD$83 billion in unrealized economic benefits is lost annually due to overfishing.
• In Africa, nearly half of fish stocks are overexploited or fully exploited. Despite fish providing nearly one-fifth of animal protein intake for Africans, it is the only continent where per capita fish consumption is expected to decrease.
• Overfishing degrades marine ecosystems through 'fishing down the food web,' where larger predators are depleted, leaving ecosystems dominated by smaller species. This process increases vulnerability to pollution and climate change and threatens keystone species; for instance, overfishing is the largest driver of global shark decline, affecting 99.6% of shark and ray species.
• Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing accounts for roughly 20% of global catches and is linked to severe human rights violations, including forced labor, human trafficking, and unsafe working conditions for migrant workers.
• Overfishing contributes to climate change by increasing emissions (the sector accounts for 1.2% of world oil consumption) and reducing the ocean's capacity as a carbon sink. One study indicates overfishing has prevented the sequestration of approximately 21.8 million metric tons of carbon.
• Harmful fishing subsidies enable industrial fleets to operate unprofitably and disadvantage small-scale fisheries. While 90% of fishers are in small-scale fisheries, only 19% of global fisheries subsidies benefit them.
• Marine protected areas (MPAs) are underutilized, with only 8.2% of ocean waters covered and only 0.8% of the high seas protected. Expanding these networks is necessary to meet the goal of 30% coverage by 2030.

APA

Earthjustice (2024). Inputs for HRC March Session Thematic Report. Human Rights Impacts of Overfishing. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/earthjustice_oceans_hr_overfishing.pdf

Chicago

Earthjustice. Inputs for HRC March Session Thematic Report. Human Rights Impacts of Overfishing. 2024. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/earthjustice_oceans_hr_overfishing.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Earthjustice |title=Inputs for HRC March Session Thematic Report. Human Rights Impacts of Overfishing |date=15 November 2024 |url=https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/earthjustice_oceans_hr_overfishing.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{earthjustice2024inputs, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{Inputs for HRC March Session Thematic Report. Human Rights Impacts of Overfishing}}, institution = {Earthjustice}, year = {2024}, month = nov, url = {https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/earthjustice_oceans_hr_overfishing.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }