Overfishing Report Notes Page 
The debate over ocean fishing rights and responsibilities takes place between the commercial fishing industry and conservationists worldwide. In recent years, legislators have worked with these polarized constituents to ensure a sustainable yet profitable industry. Fortunately, there has been much compromise between fishers and environmentalists, but both sides remain alienated from each other.
The demand for fish has been spurred in part by nutritionists and doctors who promote the health benefits of seafood over red meat. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries Service), the average American ate 16.6 pounds of canned, fresh, and frozen fish in 2004, including shrimp, catfish, tilapia, lobster, and orange roughy. This per capita consumption rate is low compared to many other countries. The 1999 per capita rate in Japan was 145.7 pounds, and in Iceland it was 201.7 pounds. The United States ranks third in total consumption.
To fulfill demand, the fishing industry has introduced other types of fish as substitutes for cod, mackerel, shark, herring, and other species that have been overfished. Naturally harvested fish stocks are now supplemented by aquaculture, which supplies about one-third of the fish consumed in the United States.
The NOAA Fisheries Service reports that approximately a quarter of all ocean fish species are in danger of extinction. Some scientists believe that most edible saltwater species will near or reach extinction by the middle of the century. The largest fish-including shark, Atlantic bluefin tuna, and the Atlantic cod-are especially at risk. Eel, king crab, and Atlantic salmon are other species that have been overfished to critically low levels.
There is little disagreement that overfishing is the result of a combination of increased demand for fish worldwide, along with industrial fishing methods that catch large quantities of fish in a short period of time by means
The demand for fish has been spurred in part by nutritionists and doctors who promote the health benefits of seafood over red meat. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries Service), the average American ate 16.6 pounds of canned, fresh, and frozen fish in 2004, including shrimp, catfish, tilapia, lobster, and orange roughy. This per capita consumption rate is low compared to many other countries. The 1999 per capita rate in Japan was 145.7 pounds, and in Iceland it was 201.7 pounds. The United States ranks third in total consumption.
To fulfill demand, the fishing industry has introduced other types of fish as substitutes for cod, mackerel, shark, herring, and other species that have been overfished. Naturally harvested fish stocks are now supplemented by aquaculture, which supplies about one-third of the fish consumed in the United States.
The NOAA Fisheries Service reports that approximately a quarter of all ocean fish species are in danger of extinction. Some scientists believe that most edible saltwater species will near or reach extinction by the middle of the century. The largest fish-including shark, Atlantic bluefin tuna, and the Atlantic cod-are especially at risk. Eel, king crab, and Atlantic salmon are other species that have been overfished to critically low levels.
There is little disagreement that overfishing is the result of a combination of increased demand for fish worldwide, along with industrial fishing methods that catch large quantities of fish in a short period of time by means