Just a few years after scientists warned of impending ocean apocalypse, a handful of simple management tools have pulled some of Earth’s fisheries back from the edge of collapse, according to a review of global fish populations and catch data. But though the big picture is brighter than before, many of the details remain dark. Some scientists say certain populations may hit ‘tipping points beyond which recovery is practically impossible. ‘In most cases, when you reduce fishing pressure enough, the stock rebounds. But there’s a breaking point beyond which the system has changed so much that it may not recover, said Boris Worm, a marine biologist at Canada’s Dalhousie University. ‘The longer you wait to fix a situation, the harder it becomes. Three years ago, Worm said Earth’s ocean ecosystems were on the verge of collapse. Nearly one-third of fished species had already been critically depleted. The rest would follow by mid-century. In a paper published Thursday in Science, a Worm-led team of fisheries experts updated those findings, providing the most comprehensive analysis to date of global fisheries. The findings are mixed. In five of 10 well-studied regions - Iceland, Newfoundland-Labrador, the Northeast U.S., Southeast […]