Anthropocentrism

Overfishing is, of course, nothing new. The Ancient Egyptians, who relied heavily on dried fish as rations for commoners and nobles alike, and to build the pyramids, suffered from shortages of catfish and mullet. Roman markets sold rare large fish at premium prices, so most people relied on smaller species, which also became garum, the ubiquitous fish sauce that had as many vintages as wine. Both Egyptians and Romans, as well as the Chinese, turned to fish farming to guard against poor catches as early as 2500 BC. But they faced nothing like the devastation of the oceans that we are experiencing today.