Fishery can mean either theenterprise ofraising orharvestingfish and otheraquatic life[1] or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place (a.k.a.,fishing grounds).[2] Commercial fisheries includewild fisheries andfish farms, both infreshwater waterbodies (about 10% of all catch) and the oceans (about 90%). About 500 million people worldwide are economically dependent on fisheries. 171 million tonnes of fish were produced in 2016, butoverfishing is an increasing problem, causing declines in some populations.
Because of their economic and social importance, fisheries are governed by complexfisheries management practices andlegal regimes that vary widely across countries. Historically, fisheries were treated with a "first-come, first-served" approach, but recent threats from human overfishing and environmental issues have required increased regulation of fisheries to prevent conflict and increase profitable economic activity on the fishery. Modern jurisdiction over fisheries is often established by a mix of international treaties and local laws.
Declining fish populations,marine pollution, and the destruction of important coastal ecosystems have introduced increasing uncertainty in important fisheries worldwide, threateningeconomic security andfood security in many parts of the world. These challenges are further complicated by the changes in theocean caused by climate change, which may extend the range of some fisheries while dramatically reducing the sustainability of other fisheries.
According to theFAO, "...a fishery is an activity leading to harvesting of fish. It may involve capture of wild fish or raising of fish through aquaculture." It is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method offishing, class of boats, purpose of the activities or a combination of the foregoing features".[3]
The definition often includes a combination of mammal and fishfishers in a region, the latter fishing for similar species with similar gear types.[4][5] Some government and private organizations, especially those focusing onrecreational fishing include in their definitions not only the fishers, but the fish and habitats upon which the fish depend.[6]
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Thefishing industry which harvests fish from fisheries can be divided into three main sectors:commercial,recreational orsubsistence. They can besaltwater or freshwater,wild orfarmed. About 85 percent of total marine fisheries production was finfish, mainly anchoveta (4.9 million tonnes), Alaska pollock (3.4 million tonnes) and skipjack tuna (3.1 million tonnes).[10] Examples are thesalmon fishery ofAlaska, thecod fishery off theLofoten islands, thetuna fishery of theEastern Pacific, or theshrimp farm fisheries in China. Capture fisheries can be broadly classified as industrial scale, small-scale or artisanal, and recreational.
Close to 90% of the world's fishery catches come from oceans and seas, as opposed to inland waters. These marine catches have remained relatively stable since the mid-nineties (between 80 and 86 million tonnes).[11] Most marine fisheries are based near thecoast. This is not only because harvesting from relatively shallow waters is easier than in the open ocean, but also because fish are much more abundant near thecoastal shelf, due to the abundance of nutrients available there fromcoastal upwelling andland runoff. However, productive wild fisheries also exist in open oceans, particularly byseamounts, and inland in lakes and rivers.
Most fisheries are wild fisheries, butfarmed fisheries are increasing. Farming can occur in coastal areas, such as withoyster farms,[12] or theaquaculture of salmon, but more typically fish farming occurs inland, in lakes, ponds, tanks and other enclosures.
There are commercial fisheries worldwide for finfish,mollusks,crustaceans andechinoderms, and by extension,aquatic plants such askelp. However, a very small number of species support the majority of the world's fisheries. Some of these species areherring,cod,anchovy, tuna,flounder,mullet,squid,shrimp, salmon,crab,lobster,oyster andscallops. All except these last four provided a worldwide catch of well over amilliontonnes in 1999, with herring andsardines together providing a harvest of over 22 million metric tons in 1999. Many other species are harvested in smaller numbers.
In 2022 small-scale fisheries contribute an estimated 40 percent of the global catch and support 90 percent of the capture fisheries workforce, with women representing 40 percent. 500 million people rely on small-scale fisheries for their livelihoods, including 53 million involved in subsistence fishing, of which 45 percent are women.[10]
In 2022 inland fisheries produced 11.3 million tonnes, harvested mainly in Asia (63.4 percent) and Africa (29.4 percent), where they are important for food security. Lead producers were India (1.9 million tonnes), Bangladesh (1.3 million tonnes), China (1.2 million tonnes), Myanmar (0.9 million tonnes) and Indonesia (0.5 million tonnes). Inland fisheries figures are likely underestimated due to the difficulties most countries face in collecting these data.[10]
Directly or indirectly, the livelihood of over 500 million people in developing countries depends on fisheries andaquaculture.Overfishing, including the taking of fish beyondsustainable levels, is reducingfish stocks and employment in many world regions.[13][14] It was estimated in 2014 that global fisheries were adding US$270 billion a year to globalGDP, but by full implementation of sustainable fishing, that figure could rise by as much as US$50 billion.[15] In 2022 77% of the global workforce was in Asia, 16% in Africa and 5% in Latin America and the Caribbean.[16]
In addition to commercial and subsistence fishing, recreational (sport) fishing is popular and economically important in many regions.[17]
Total fish production in 2016 reached an all-time high of 171 million tonnes, of which 88 percent was utilized for direct human consumption, thanks to relatively stable capture fisheries production, reduced wastage and continued aquaculture growth. This production resulted in a record-high per capita consumption of 20.3 kg in 2016.[18] Since 1961 the annual global growth in fish consumption has been twice as high as population growth. While annual growth of aquaculture has declined in recent years, significant double-digit growth is still recorded in some countries, particularly in Africa and Asia.[18]
FAO predicted in 2018 the following major trends for the period up to 2030:[18]
The goal offisheries management is to producesustainable biological, environmental and socioeconomic benefits from renewable aquatic resources.Wild fisheries are classified as renewable when the organisms of interest (e.g.,fish,shellfish,amphibians,reptiles andmarine mammals) produce an annual biological surplus that with judicious management can be harvested withoutreducing future productivity.[19] Fishery management employs activities that protect fishery resources sosustainable exploitation is possible, drawing onfisheries science and possibly including theprecautionary principle.
Modern fisheries management is often referred to as a governmental system of appropriateenvironmental management rules based on defined objectives and a mix of management means to implement the rules, which are put in place by a system ofmonitoring control and surveillance. An ecosystem approach to fisheries management has started to become a more relevant and practical way to manage fisheries.[20][21] According to theFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), there are "no clear and generally accepted definitions of fisheries management".[22] However, the working definition used by the FAO and much cited elsewhere is:
The integrated process ofinformation gathering, analysis, planning, consultation, decision-making, allocation of resources and formulation and implementation, with necessarylaw enforcement to ensureenvironmental compliance, of regulations or rules which govern fisheries activities in order to ensure the continued productivity of the resources and the accomplishment of other fisheries objectives.[22]
International attention to these issues has been captured inSustainable Development Goal 14 "Life Below Water" which sets goals for international policy focused on preserving coastal ecosystems and supporting moresustainable economic practices for coastal communities, including in their fishery andaquaculture practices.[23]
Fisheries law is an emerging and specialized area of law. Fisheries law is the study and analysis of differentfisheries management approaches such as catch shares e.g.individual transferable quotas; TURFs; and others. The study of fisheries law is important in order to craftpolicy guidelines that maximizesustainability and legal enforcement.[24] This specific legal area is rarely taught at law schools around the world, which leaves a vacuum of advocacy and research. Fisheries law also takes into accountinternational treaties andindustry norms in order to analyze fisheries management regulations.[25] In addition, fisheries law includes access to justice for small-scale fisheries and coastal andaboriginal communities and labor issues such as child labor laws, employment law, and family law.[26]
Another important area of research covered in fisheries law is seafood safety. Each country, or region, around the world has a varying degree of seafood safety standards and regulations. These regulations can contain a large diversity of fisheries management schemes including quota or catch share systems. It is important to study seafood safety regulations around the world in order to craft policy guidelines from countries that have implemented effective schemes. Also, this body of research can identify areas of improvement for countries that have not yet been able to master efficient and effective seafood safety regulations.
Fisheries law also includes the study ofaquaculture laws and regulations. Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms, such as fish and aquatic plants. This body of research also encompasses animal feed regulations and requirements. It is important to regulate what feed is consumed by fish in order to prevent risks to human health and safety.
Theenvironmental impact of fishing includes issues such as the availability offish,overfishing,fisheries, andfisheries management; as well as the impact ofindustrial fishing on other elements of the environment, such asbycatch.[27] These issues are part ofmarine conservation, and are addressed infisheries science programs. According to a 2019FAO report, global production of fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic animals has continued to grow and reached 172.6 million tonnes in 2017, with an increase of 4.1 percent compared with 2016.[28] There is a growing gap between the supply of fish and demand, due in part toworld population growth.[29]
Fishing and pollution from fishing are the largest contributors to the decline in ocean health and water quality.[citation needed] Ghost nets, or nets abandoned in the ocean, are made of plastic and nylon and do not decompose, wreaking extreme havoc on the wildlife and ecosystems they interrupt. Overfishing and destruction of marine ecosystems may have a significant impact on other aspects of the environment such asseabird populations. On top of the overfishing, there is a seafood shortage resulting from the mass amounts of seafood waste, as well as themicroplastics that are polluting the seafood consumed by the public. The latter is largely caused by plastic-made fishing gear likedrift nets andlonglining equipment that are wearing down by use, lost or thrown away.[30][31]
The journalScience published a four-year study in November 2006, which predicted that, at prevailing trends, the world would run out of wild-caughtseafood in 2048. The scientists stated that the decline was a result ofoverfishing,pollution and other environmental factors that were reducing the population of fisheries at the same time as their ecosystems were being annihilated. Many countries, such asTonga, theUnited States,Australia andBahamas, and international management bodies have taken steps to appropriately manage marine resources.[32][33]
Reefs are also being destroyed byoverfishing because of the huge nets that are dragged along the ocean floor whiletrawling. Many corals are being destroyed and, as a consequence, theecological niche of many species is at stake.Fisheries are affected by climate change in many ways: marineaquatic ecosystems are being affected byrising ocean temperatures,[34]ocean acidification[35] andocean deoxygenation, whilefreshwater ecosystems are being impacted by changes in water temperature, water flow, and fish habitat loss.[36] These effects vary in the context of each fishery.[37]Climate change is modifying fish distributions[38] and the productivity of marine and freshwater species. Climate change is expected to lead to significant changes in the availability and trade offish products.[39] The geopolitical and economic consequences will be significant, especially for the countries most dependent on the sector. The biggest decreases in maximum catch potential can be expected in the tropics, mostly in the South Pacific regions.[39]: iv
Theimpacts of climate change on ocean systems has impacts on thesustainability offisheries andaquaculture, on the livelihoods of the communities that depend on fisheries, and on the ability of the oceans to capture and store carbon (biological pump). The effect ofsea level rise means that coastalfishing communities are significantly impacted by climate change, while changing rainfall patterns and water use impact on inland freshwater fisheries and aquaculture.[40] Increased risks of floods, diseases, parasites andharmful algal blooms are climate change impacts onaquaculture which can lead to losses of production and infrastructure.[39]
This article incorporates text from afree content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (license statement/permission). Text taken fromIn brief, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, 2018, FAO, FAO.
This article incorporates text from afree content work. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (license statement/permission). Text taken fromThe State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024, FAO.
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