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Dwindling fish numbers already of concern in 1883

Nature volume 439, page 660 (2006)Cite this article

Sir

Jennifer Devine and colleagues in their Brief Communication “Deep-sea fishes qualify as endangered” (Nature 439, 29; 2006) state: “At one time it was presumed from the vastness of the oceans that fishing would not drive species to extinction.” Indeed, the UK Royal Commission on the Sea Fisheries in 1866, whose officers included Thomas Henry Huxley, reported that fears of over-exploitation were unfounded. The commission recommended that existing laws regulating fishing grounds and closed seasons should be removed. But the rise in fish trade and reports about the scarcity of fish from all around the United Kingdom's coasts strengthened widespread concern among fishing communities and in scientific circles.

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  1. Marine Biological Association of the UK, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, PL1 2PB, UK

    David W. Sims & Alan J. Southward

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  1. David W. Sims
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  2. Alan J. Southward
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Sims, D., Southward, A. Dwindling fish numbers already of concern in 1883. Nature 439, 660 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/439660c

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