How does overfishing affect the Great Barrier Reef?

Overfishing leads to declines in fish populations, ecosystem-wide impacts, and impacts on dependent human communities. In addition fishers often break corals when attempting to extract the stunned fish, causing further damage to the coral reef ecosystem.

Over fishing means that a primary food source for other animals is now limited due to over fishing and that the fish population is slowly decreasing, and it can interrupt the food web.