What is the difference between biological and commercial extinction?
In fisheries, commercial extinction occurs when fish numbers are pushed so low that an industry can no longer make money by fishing for that species of fish. Commercial extinction of cod effectively occurred, or was about to occur, before a fisheries closure was implemented on the Grand Banks off Canada’s east coast. Cod still exist on the Grand Banks, although in such small numbers that they can no longer support a fishing industry, and have failed to recover in numbers. Biological extinction occurs when there are no more examples of a species left alive. Traditionally, it has been assumed that commercial extinction would always occur before biological extinction could be reached. However, it is now clear that in some instances commercial and biological extinction can be one and the same due to the high value of the target species. In the case of sharks, as they become ever rarer, the price of their fins will be pushed ever higher, meaning that it will always be worthwhile financially
