Abstract

For decades, industrial fishing has been recognized for depleting fish stocks and altering marine food webs. However, a recent study by González Ortiz et al. (2025) reveals a lesser-known but profound consequence: large-scale disruptions to the ocean’s nutrient cycles. By extracting biomass, fisheries are also removing vital nutrients—carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P)—that are essential to sustaining marine life.