EU: Governments around the world are failing to prevent overfishing on the high seas and ignoring scientific advice to manage declining stocks.
The expansion of bottom trawling in deep water is also pushing some fish species to the brink of extinction.
These are the key findings of a new report published by the conservation group, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and Traffic - a wildlife trade monitoring network.
The report says that the existing system of regional fisheries regulation used by governments to control fish stocks has responded slowly to new threats and done little to enforce quotas or rebuild vulnerable stocks.
It says cod and orange roughy - fish species that are caught in Irish waters - are on the brink of commercial extinction.
The report Follow The Leader, which was released ahead of a meeting on the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement in New York, argues that controls need to be reinforced to prevent further damage to marine ecosystems and food supplies.