Overfishing refers to the depletion of fish from our oceans.

If we catch so many fish that

there are not enough to breed and replace themselves, that is considered overfishing. If
a species is continually overfished it runs the risk of not only becoming extinct, but also
imbalancing the oceanic ecosystem and putting other species at risk as well. 

One of the earliest recordings of overfishing was whaling during the 1800s when
whales were extensively hunted as a source of meat and oil .

Whaling dates back to 3000 BC, but with increased whaling, and technological
advancements many populations were decimated almost to the point of
extinction during the 1800s. Blubber was harvested from whales to produce lamp
oil, candles and other everyday items, like soap. 

It’s estimated that 50,000 whales were killed per year by the 1930s, and in 1986
the International Whaling Commision banned commercial whaling due to
massive overfishing. Whaling remains an issue of discussion, especially
as Japan recently resumed commercial whaling after 30 years. 

 Many deep sea fish are at risk, such as orange roughy and sablefish. The deep

sea is almost completely dark, near freezing, and has little food. Deep sea fish
grow slowly because of limited food, have slow metabolisms, low reproductive
 rates, and many do not reach breeding maturity for 30 to 40 years. A fillet of
orange roughy at the store is probably at least 50 years old. Most deep sea fish
are in international waters, where there are no legal protections. Most of these
fish are caught by deep trawlers near seamounts, where they congregate for
food. Flash freezing allows the trawlers to work for days at a time, and
modern fishfinders target the fish with ease.[19]
 Blue walleye became extinct in the Great Lakes in the 1980s. Until the middle of
the 20th century, the walleye was a commercially valuable fish, with about a half
million tonnes being landed in the period from about 1880 to the late-1950s,
when the populations collapsed, apparently through a combination of
overfishing, anthropogenic eutrophication, and competition with
introduced rainbow smelt.
 Overfishing of the critically endangered Pacific bluefin tuna has resulted in the
few still caught selling for astronomical prices. In January 2019, a 278 kilogram
(612 pound) tuna sold for 333.6 million yen, or over US$3 million, US$4,900 per
pound. Fishers, driven by the fish's high value, use extraordinary techniques to
catch them, leaving the population on the verge of collapse. [21]