Endangered Species 

We do not fish or impact on any species that is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN. A critically endangered species is basically one that has a high risk of no longer existing, of becoming extinct. The IUCN also defines species as endangered or vulnerable, two lesser but still worrying levels of risk. The main reference organisation for cataloguing the status of various species is the IUCN or World Conservation Union, an international organisation founded in 1948 which (in their own words) "is the world's largest and most important conservation network. The Union brings together 83 States, 110 government agencies, more than 800 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and some 10,000 scientists and experts from 181 countries in a unique worldwide partnership". The IUCN publishes the IUCN Red List, a document of endangered species on www.iucnredlist.org.

With marine life, the IUCN points the finger at overfishing and fishing methods as the cause of the decline in many species and in fact just as worryingly admits to having insufficient knowledge of all the species around - with fish for example only 3% of fish species have been evaluated and of those a whopping 46% are endangered! In addition many fishing methods are so destructive and untargeted that they kill mammals, turtles and birds, as a form of collateral damage - several of which are classified as "critically endangered" or "endangered".