In news that will leave single people across the globe devastated, turns out there is not actually plenty of fish in the sea.

There is in fact now half the amount there was in 1970, according to a new report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

Between the years of 1970 and 2012, there has been a 49% drop, with the Scombridae family of food fish that includes tunas, mackerel and bonitos falling by 74%.

They identify over-fishing as one of the reasons while climate change has also caused the ocean to change more than it has for a million years.

Jeez,. Great job Earthlings.

Ken Norris, Director of Science at ZSL, said in a press release; "The ocean works hard in the background to keep us alive, generating half of the world’s oxygen and absorbing almost a third of the carbon dioxide produced from burning fossil fuels.

"It also feeds billions of people around the globe, some of whom rely solely on the oceans to survive. These devastating figures reveal how quickly human beings are changing the wildlife in our oceans and are a stark warning of the problems we might face as a result."

Solutions proposed include creating Marine Protected Areas to help wildlife and habitats recover, while obviously addressing climate change at a government level.

So the next time you try comfort a single friend with that famous one-liner, bear in mind that, it will be even more so, no use to them whatsoever.

Via Mashable