Overfishing involves the removal of fish from bodies of water more quickly than the species can naturally replenish themselves; it is not only systematically depleting commercial fish stocks, it is also devastating the entire ocean food web. It follows that overfishing is a global crisis - affecting lakes, rivers, the high seas and a wide range of coastal zones. Beyond ecosystemic damage, fish provides a major source of protein to over 4.5 billion people, and fishing is a mainstay of income and food security for over 10% of the world’s population.

The overfishing crisis is compounded by the climate crisis. Fisheries in different regions of the world are affected in a range of ways; due to changing ocean currents, fish stocks may no longer be found in ‘traditional’ fishing areas, with many fish that prefer cooler waters moving into deeper areas; as oceans warm, the risk of harmful algal blooms that affect fish is increasing; increased run-off from heavy rainfall exacerbates land-based pollution and sediments that threaten fish habitats in highly productive coastal areas, and heat waves threaten coral reefs which harbor the world’s most productive fisheries, for example.

At the same time illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing reduces income and tax revenues from legal fishing and impacts the food and economic security of artisanal fisheries and fishing communities, while generally being more ecologically damaging.

Protecting critical marine ecosystems means reducing fish consumption, and creating protected regenerative zones to help fish populations to recover, with the aim of repopulating surrounding areas.

Every player must discard 1 card per Temperature Band, from their hand and/or play area.

Players can reduce this effect by 1 for each Ecological Resilience token in their player board.

For example: 3 Temperature Bands – 2 Ecological Resilience = discard 1 card.

Cards discarded from the play area can come from anywhere in any stack, including the front card. If a player discards the front card from a stack, the action on the card directly beneath it becomes available.

Resilience tokens are not discarded.

• Fisheries Refugia as a Tool for Integrated Fisheries and Habitat Management at Phu Quoc Archipelago, Viet Nam (UNEPSCS)

• Protected areas in the wider Caribbean Region (UN Environment Programme, UNEP)

• Campaign for your government to develop policies to support people to adopt healthy, plant-based diets, reducing demand for fish consumption.

• Campaign for sustainable fishing policies in your area, including creating protective regenerative zones to help fish populations to recover.