The warning comes in a report prepared by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring programme of IUCN-The World Conservation Union and WWF, the global environment campaign.

BBC: Toothfish at risk from illegal catches

Most recently he headed the World Conservation Union (IUCN), a global organisation with more than 1, 000 stakeholders including governments and NGOs.

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But, according to the World Conservation Union (IUCN) just 1 percent of these vessels are big enough to substantially threaten global fisheries, with the "capacity to take around 60 percent of all the fish caught globally".

CNN: All about: Global fishing

Dr Julia Baum, a marine ecologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, US, and a member of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), said excessive fishing was putting many of the ocean's "most majestic predators" at risk of extinction.

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The World Conservation Union ( www.iucn.org) is another good resource for finding out about endangered species and habitats.

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The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges.

UNESCO: World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP)

As well, the International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN ) has served as a world-wide biodiversity platform for its many hundreds government and non-government members since it was founded over 60 years ago.

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