Earlier today a reform deal on the Common Fisheries Policy was agreed which is aimed at paving the way for more sustainable fishing.

It was one of the high priorities of the Irish Presidency of the EU and Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney made a point of highlighting the need for "sustainability" and "healthy fishing stocks".

Over-fishing has been an area of concern for some time. The European Commision has estimated that 75 per cent of European fish stocks are over-fished compared to 25 per cent worldwide.

But some parts of Europe have more problems than others. According to the European Environment Agency's assessment on the status of fish stocks, over-fishing is a particular issue in the Mediterranean which has the greatest proportion of over-fished stocks.

The red dots below indicate zones with a higher proportion of over-fished stocks, while the yellow are areas of with moderate levels of over-fishing. 

View Status of fish stocks in ICES and GFCM in a larger map