From Pristine to Polluted

How Chemicals and Pollutants Drive Fishery Declines and Ecosystem Collapse

Fishery managers strive for sustainability of fisheries natural resources, but declining fisheries is a global problem. While overfishing continues to be problematic, other significant causes of this decline remain dangerously overlooked.

Our report, with three case studies of river ecosystems in Vietnam, Canada, and Australia, reviews the significant harmful effects on fisheries from toxic chemicals and demonstrates that chemicals and other pollutants worsen the productivity-degrading effect of overfishing. The report notes the triple planetary crises of biodiversity loss, climate change, and chemical pollution, and concludes that we urgently need stronger global and national regulations to stem the chemical assault on the world’s fisheries

Read the full report, summary, and the case studies, below.