Overharvesting Over-harvesting is the removal of plants or animals to the point that it is challenging to maintain viable population levels. This unsustainable practice has put a number of threatened and endangered species at risk for extinction. One third of God’s creation has been used up in the last 30 years. The World Wildlife Fund estimates that in 50 years' time, we will need another planet Earth to sustain the world's human population if we keep using resources the way we do today.  At least 70% of the world's important fish stocks are over-exploited already. Over-harvesting can also affect other species as well, as the over-harvesting of horseshoe crabs has lead to a dramatic decline in Red Knot, a small shore bird, populations. We are called by God to be cautious of over-harvesting.  It says in Deuteronomy, “If you come on a bird's nest, in any tree or on the ground, with fledglings or eggs, with the mother sitting on the fledglings or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young.  Let the mother go, taking only the young for yourself, in order that it may go well with you and you may live long“ (Deuteronomy 22: 6-7, NRSV). We are to leave the mother so that the next generation can continue and the species may continue to exist. What would happen if we continued to consume both the mother and the young? Marine Overharvesting: Many marine ecologists believe that the biggest single threat to marine ecosystems today is overfishing. The reality of modern fishing is that the industry is dominated by fishing vessels with technology created over the past 50 years that is able to far out-match the ability of fish to reproduce.  Overfishing has depleted fish populations to the point that large scale commercial fishing, on average around the world, is not economically viable without government assistance.  The collapse of the cod fishery off Newfoundland, and the 1992 decision by Canada to impose an indefinite moratorium on the Grand Banks, are dramatic examples of the consequences of overfishing and the tragedy of the commons. MORE INFORMATION Global Footprint Network WWF Eco-Footprint Map New Jersey Audubon Society, Red Knot Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Capital News Online Environmental Protection Agency More about Loss of Biodiversity Destruction of Habitat Exotic/Invasive Species Pollution NCC Biodiversity Home NCC Loss in Biodiversity Home