The ocean seems infinitely huge, but we're emptying it.

That's the message of a 2003 study by Villy Christensen, Sylvie Guénette, and other researchers (via Paul Kedrosky).

The authors took a look at annual catches of popular North Atlantic fish over the past half-century, and estimated the change in fish populations over the last hundred years.

Below is the most frightening chart, which is based on the study (click for bigger).