An analysis of historical national reports of inland capture fishery statistics in the Asia-Pacific region (1950-2007)

An analysis of historical national reports
of inland capture fishery statistics in the
Asia-Pacific region (1950-2007)

by

David Lymer and Simon Funge-Smith

RAP PUBLICATION 2009/18

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned.

ISBN 978-92-5-106448-1

All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders, provided it is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information product for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holders. Applications for such permission should be addressed to: Chief, Electronic Publishing Policy and Support Branch, Communication Division, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy or by e-mail to: [email protected]

©FAO 2009

For copies, please contact:
The Senior Fishery Officer
FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Maliwan Mansion, 39 Phra Athit Road
Bangkok 10200
THAILAND
Tel: (+66) 2 697 4000
Fax: (+66) 2 697 4445
E-mail: [email protected]

For reference please use the following:

Lymer D. & S. Funge-Smith (2009). An analysis of historical national reports of inland capture fisheries statistics in the Asia-Pacific region (1950-2007). FAO Regional Office for Asia and Pacific. RAP Publication 2009/18, 18 pp.

Abstract

Inland capture fisheries in the Asia-Pacific region are undoubtedly some of the most important fisheries of the world and are feeding and employing millions of people in rural and riparian areas throughout eastern, southeastern and southern Asia. The massive, dispersed nature of many inland fisheries activities has challenged systems of information and data collection ever since trying to account for these fisheries as early as the 1700s. Since 1950, FAO has requested its member countries to report inland fisheries capture statistics as part of their fisheries reporting to the Organization. From these reported data, there is an apparent increasing trend in the production of global and regional inland fisheries during the period 1950-2007. However, it is not clear when viewing aggregated statistics whether this is due to an aggregated increase in production from all countries’ inland fisheries, or due to large, occasional increases from individual countries. Moreover, there are many instances of unreported (or under-reported) catch in inland fisheries owing to the diffuse and small-scale nature of individual fisheries. This document presents the statistics for the region and examines the way in which large changes in inland catch data were identified and how the catch data were adjusted. The results of the study offer insight into the implications for interpreting trends in inland fisheries.