1. the practice of harvesting a resource (such as fish, timber, or crops) at a rate faster than it can be naturally replenished, leading to depletion
Usage: commonly used in environmental and conservation contexts

1. to harvest a resource excessively or unsustainably, removing more than can be naturally replaced
Usage: present participle or gerund form; also used as the base verb in third-person singular

Examples

• Overharvesting of cod in the Atlantic Ocean led to the collapse of the fishery in the 1990s.
• The region's forests are suffering from overharvesting of timber without adequate replanting.
• Scientists warn that overharvesting wild medicinal plants threatens their survival.
• Overharvesting of palm oil has destroyed vast areas of rainforest habitat.
• The government implemented new regulations to prevent overharvesting of shellfish in coastal waters.
• Indigenous communities have traditionally managed forests without overharvesting resources.
• Climate change combined with overharvesting has put many whale populations at risk.