According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the global fishing fleet is 2.5 times larger than what the oceans can sustainably support. As a result, 52 percent of the world's fisheries are fully exploited and 24 percent are overexploited, depleted, or recovering from collapse. In order to shed light on the disastrous effects of these sobering statistics, NYUAD Ecoherence and the Roots and Shoots Club, along with the Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS)/WWF, recently held an event to examine both the worldwide effects of this epidemic and the current situation in the Gulf region.

To do so, the groups screened the documentary film, The End of the Line, and hosted a panel of experts that included John Burt, NYUAD assistant professor of Biology; Nessrine Alzahlawi, Sustainable Fisheries project leader at EWS-WWF; Dr. Rashid Sumaila, a University of British Columbia professor and international fisheries scientist; and Vesela Todorova, environmental researcher from The National.