Ireland has a long history of fishing due to its location on the Atlantic Ocean and continental shelf waters that are ideal for fish populations. However, overfishing has become a major problem in Ireland, depleting fish stocks and costing many people their jobs. Overfishing occurred for several reasons, including Ireland joining the EU and having to share waters, improvements in fishing technology that allowed larger catches, use of small mesh nets that caught young fish, and a lack of fishing quotas or seasons. In response, Ireland implemented measures to promote sustainable fishing, such as conservation zones, catch quotas, bans on endangered species, adjusted net sizes, and limited fishing seasons.