Takeaways from AP report on overfishing’s threat to conch

By PATRICK WHITTLE
Associated Press

FREEPORT, Bahamas (AP) — No longer a theoretical threat, overfishing across the globe has wiped out species from areas where they once thrived. One impact is that it’s taken off the table forever beloved culturally important dishes. In the Bahamas, government officials and conservationists are working to save the conch – a marine snail that’s central to the island nation’s diet, economy and identity. And the overfishing challenges faced by Bahamians are mirrored in places as different as Senegal, where overfishing has taken away white grouper, long the basis for the national dish of thieboudienne, and the Philippines, where it has depleted small fish such as sardines that are used in the raw-fish dish of kinilaw.