While the issues concerning exploitation of fisheries is not traditionally associated with the meat industry, aquatic ecosystems are still being destroyed due to the excessive consumption of protein.

With the exception of pescetarian vegetarianism, which is the dietary practice of abstaining from the consumption of all meat except for fish, a vegetarian diet erases personal responsibility for the depletion of aquatic ecosystems. Overfishing is a result of a large demand for seafood. With less demand, there is need for fishing in excess. Data has continuously proven that Asia is by for the largest fish-consuming continent as stated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States. In Singapore, the annual local production of fish in 2013 was 5,864 tonnes (AVA, 2013). When taking into account the population of Singapore (over 5 million) with the per capita consumption of fish and other seafood being at 22kg per year, it can be estimated that over 130 million kilograms of fish is consumed in Singapore alone.

There are several reasons why overfishing is problematic. One of which includes the health of the ocean as a whole. With the over-exploitation of certain fish, other species that share the same ecosystem are affected (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2009). This changes the complex dynamics of our world’s aquatic ecosystems, and the collapse of these ecosystems can have a detrimental effect not only for the species that rely on these systems, but for human beings as well. The world without a seafood supply can have extreme global economic consequences, as well as communal consequences, as one in five people on this planet depend on fish as their primary source of protein (Davies et al., 2009).

The collapse of fish populations is becoming increasingly common. An example can be seen in the UK Cod collapse, where continuous overfishing led to a population crash of cod in two main fishing areas. Meanwhile, statistics show that 88% of European fishing stocks are overexploited, with 30% in danger of collapse (Brown, 2011).