A new study from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution reveals that industrial fishing has been depleting larger midwater fish species for decades. These species, located in the mesopelagic zone, are often overlooked in scientific surveys but are caught in massive quantities by commercial fisheries. This loss of biomass threatens the biological carbon pump, the process by which fish move carbon from the surface to the deep ocean. The researchers warn that under-reporting and high discard rates are masking the true scale of the impact on ocean food webs and climate mitigation.
