Marine fisheries
Status of resources
Since 1971, FAO has been publishing regular analyses of the state of fish stocks (Gulland, 1971), including the summary and classification updates shown in previous versions of this report (FAO, 2020). To promote consistency and comparability across time, these analyses were based on a fixed list of stocks (445 aggregated stocks accounting for approximately 72 percent of global marine fisheries production) and a clear process and methodology that has only had minor adjustments since the start of the series (FAO, 2011a).
These analyses indicate that the fraction of fishery stocks within biologically sustainable levels decreased to 62.3 percent in 2021, that is 2.3 percent lower than in 2019 (Figure 18). This fraction was 90 percent in 1974. In contrast, the percentage of stocks fished at unsustainable levels has been increasing since the mid-1970s, from 10 percent in 1974 to 37.7 percent in 2021. This calculation treats all fishery stocks equally, regardless of abundance and catch. When weighted by their production levels, biologically sustainable stocks account for 76.9 percent of the 2021 landings of assessed stocks monitored by FAO.
FIGURE 18GLOBAL TRENDS IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S MARINE FISHERY STOCKS, 1974–2021
Biologically sustainable stocks consist of those classified as maximally sustainably fishedg and underfishedh and account for, respectively, 50.5 percent and 11.8 percent of the total number of assessed stocks in 2021. Underfished stocks maintained a decreasing trend over the period 1974–2018 and bounced back slightly during 2019–2021, possibly due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Asia and Pacific region. Maximally sustainably fished stocks on the other hand decreased between 1974 and 1989, then increased to reach 57.3 percent in 2019, and decreased again in 2021 to 50.5 percent.
In 2021, among the 15 FAO Major Fishing Areas reviewed (Figure 19), the Eastern Central Pacific (area 77), Northeast Atlantic (area 27), Northeast Pacific (area 67) and Southwest Pacific (area 81) had the highest percentage of stocks fished at sustainable levels (84–76 percent). In contrast, the following four showed the lowest scores: Eastern Central Atlantic (area 34) 48.7 percent; Northwest Pacific (area 61) 44.0 percent; Mediterranean and Black Sea (area 37) 37.5 percent; and finally the Southeast Pacific (area 87), where just 33.3 percent of stocks were fished at sustainable levels in 2021. Other areas had biologically sustainable levels that varied between 59 percent and 66 percent.
FIGURE 19 PERCENTAGES OF BIOLOGICALLY SUSTAINABLE AND UNSUSTAINABLE FISHERY STOCKS BY FAO MAJOR FISHING AREA, 2021
SOURCE: FAO estimates.
Landings of aquatic speciesi vary greatly among fishing areas (Figure 20) and, therefore, the significance of each area for global fishery sustainability depends on its proportionate contribution to global landings. The temporal pattern of an area’s landings often reveals information about its ecological productivity, fishery development stage, and management and fishery stock status. In general, after excluding Arctic and Antarctic areas, which have minor landings, three groups of patterns can be observed (Figure 20): (i) areas with a continuously increasing trend in landings since 1950; (ii) areas with landings oscillating around a globally stable value since 1990, associated with the dominance of pelagic, short-lived species; and (iii) areas with an overall declining landing trend following historical peaks.
FIGURE 20THE THREE TEMPORAL PATTERNS IN FISHERIES LANDINGS, 1950–2021
SOURCE: FAO. 2023. FishStat: Global capture production 1950–2021. [Accessed on 15 November 2023]. In: FishStatJ. Available at: www.fao.org/fishery/en/statistics/software/fishstatj. Licence: CC-BY-4.0
In areas where management intervention is weak, a rising trend in landings (first group) signals growing fishing activity, indicating potential for overexploitation and limited control. Despite this, resource sustainability is not necessarily deteriorating. On the other hand, a declining landing trend (third group) typically indicates either a deterioration in the sustainability of fishery stocks or the enforcement of stringent measures without significant signs of recovery. According to the results of the analyses presented here, the first and third groups of areas have the lowest percentage of stocks at biologically sustainable levels (60 percent each), while the second group has the highest (68 percent). Normally, the third group of areas would fall between the other two in terms of resource sustainability, but conditions in the Western Central Pacific, that is in the third group, appear to have deteriorated more than in other places in recent years, causing the difference between the first and third groups to become marginal. The highest level of sustainability observed in the second group of areas is likely the result of full development of fisheries, adequate management and effective regulation of fishing. However, other issues, such as the type of resources, environmental changes and social factors, can also influence landing trends.
Status and trends by major species
The species with the ten largest landings in 2021 were anchoveta (Peruvian anchovy) (Engraulis ringens), Alaska pollock (walleye pollock) (Gadus chalcogrammus), skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), Pacific chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus), yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus), European pilchard (Sardina pilchardus), blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou), Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax) and Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). On average, 78.9 percent of these stocks were fished within biologically sustainable levels in 2021, significantly higher than the global average of 62.3 percent. This further demonstrates that the larger stocks are better managed, and that effective fisheries management reaps positive outcomes. However, some stocks of Pacific chub mackerel, Pacific sardine and Alaska pollock were overfished.j
Within all seven major commercial tuna species, 23 stocks (six albacore, four bigeye, four bluefin [Atlantic, Pacific and Southern], five skipjack and four yellowfin) are assessed by tuna regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs), with all their countries participating in the scientific review process. The main commercial tunas contributed 4.95 million tonnes of catch in 2021, a 10 percent decrease from 2019. Fifty-seven percent of the catch was skipjack tuna, followed by yellowfin (31 percent), bigeye (7 percent) and albacore (4 percent). Bluefin tunas accounted for just 1 percent of the global catch.
Globally, 87 percent of tuna stocks are sustainably fished, and 13 percent are considered overfished.k Regarding tuna catch, 99 percent of the total catch comes from healthy tuna stocks in terms of abundance (the remainder is from overfished bluefin tuna stocks and one albacore stock). Globally, the tuna RFMOs have been making a concerted effort to use management strategy evaluations to provide advice for rebuilding and keeping stocks at biomass levels above the maximum sustainable yield, with positive results.
The major tuna stocks from the seven main commercial species are closely monitored and their status known with low to moderate uncertainty. However, stocks of other tuna and tuna-like species remain mostly unassessed or assessed under high uncertainty. This represents a major challenge, as tuna and tuna-like species are estimated to account for at least 15 percent of the total global small-scale fisheries catch (FAO, Duke University and WorldFish, 2023a). Furthermore, market demand for tuna remains high, and tuna fishing fleets continue to have significant overcapacity. Effective management – including better reporting of and access to data and the implementation of harvest control rules or other effective measures to control fishing pressure across all tuna stocks – is needed to maintain stocks at a sustainable level and in particular to rebuild overfished stocks. Moreover, substantial additional efforts to manage fisheries targeting tuna and tuna-like species other than the main commercial species are required.
Status and trends by FAO Major Fishing Area
Atlantic Ocean (areas 21, 27, 31, 34, 41, 47) and the Mediterranean and Black Sea (area 37)
The Northwest Atlantic (area 21) produced an average of 1.7 million tonnes (live weight equivalent) of aquatic animals per year during 2017–2021, continuing a decreasing trend from its peak of 4.6 million tonnes in the late 1960s (Figure 20). Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), silver hake (Merluccius bilinearis), white hake (Urophycis tenuis) and haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) have not shown a good recovery, with landings remaining at about 0.1 million tonnes since the late 1990s, less than 5 percent of their historical peak value of 2.1 million tonnes in 1965 (since 2019 they have declined by 30 percent). It is likely that environment-driven changes in productivity are behind the poor recovery results for stocks such as Atlantic cod, American plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides), winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) and yellowtail flounder (Limanda ferruginea). Although landings may be very low and no overfishing seems to be occurring, some of these stocks have still not recovered. In general, invertebrate stocks are in a better state than finfish stocks. Overall, 64.3 percent of the assessed stocks in the Northwest Atlantic were within biologically sustainable levels in 2021, 4.8 percent higher than in 2019.
The Northeast Atlantic (area 27) was the fourth most productive area in 2021, with total landings of 7.9 million tonnes, a decline of approximately 0.4 million tonnes from 2019 (and 1.4 million tonnes from 2017). Landings from this area reached a peak of 13 million tonnes in 1976, then dropped to recover slightly in the 1990s. Overall, they have been decreasing since fish resources experienced extreme fishing pressure in the late 1970s and early 1980s (Figure 20). Since then, countries have better managed the pressure to rebuild overfished stocks. Recovery was reported for Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus), turbot (Scophthalmus maximus), European plaice (Pleuronectes platessa), common sole (Solea solea), Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) and Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the 2000s, and for whiting (Merlangius merlangus) and common sole (Solea solea) in the late 2010s. Some stocks such as North Sea Atlantic cod, Irish and Celtic Sea whiting, and beaked redfish (Sebastes mentella) are overfished or still in recovery. In the Northeast Atlantic, 79.4 percent of the assessed stocks were fished within biologically sustainable levels in 2021, a significant improvement since the last assessment, now positioning this region as the second-best globally.
Total landings caught in the Western Central Atlantic (area 31) reached a maximum of 2.5 million tonnes in 1984, then declined gradually to reach a minimum of 1.2 million tonnes in 2014, before rebounding to 1.6 million tonnes in 2016. They subsequently declined gradually, reaching 1.2 million tonnes in 2021. Small pelagic fishes represent around 37 percent of total landings, of which the main species, Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus), is underfished and round sardinella (Sardinella aurita) is probably maximally sustainably fished. Medium-sized pelagic fishes such as king mackerel (Scomberomorus cavalla) and Atlantic Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus) are considered maximally sustainably fished, while the serra Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus brasiliensis) is probably overfished. Snappers and groupers are among the most highly valued and intensively fished species in the region and, despite reductions in fishing effort enforced through management actions, several stocks, especially for groupers, continue to be overfished. Highly valued stocks of invertebrate species such as penaeid shrimps in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Guianas–Brazil Shelf in northeastern South America are for the most part underfished or maximally sustainably fished. Stocks of other highly appreciated coral reef invertebrate species such as the Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) are considered maximally sustainably fished or overfished depending on location, whereas several stocks of queen conch (Lobatus gigas) in the Caribbean Sea are overfished and fishing bans have been implemented to limit fishing mortality. Overall, 58.0 percent of the stocks in this region were estimated to be within biologically sustainable levels in 2021, a 4.2 percent decrease from 2019.
The Eastern Central Atlantic (area 34) is characterized by great biological diversity. The exploited resources include different groups with different bioecological characteristics and socioeconomic importance. These are coastal and offshore pelagic resources and coastal and deep demersal resources. The amount of landings from area 34 reached 5.3 million tonnes in 2021 with an upward trend observed from the 1950s. During the last decade, the annual average of landings was around 4.8 million tonnes. Coastal pelagic resources are the most abundant and in 2021 constituted about 50 percent of landings with the dominant species being sardines, sardinellas, horse mackerel and bonga. Sardine, which accounted for 30 percent of the total landings in 2021 (and about 50 percent of the landings in the northern part of this area), is overfished. The stocks of round sardinella (Sardinella aurita) are overfished, as are those of flat sardinella (Sardinella maderensis), except for the central stock (Nigeria and Cameroon coastal areas), which are classified as maximally sustainably fished. Horse mackerel is less threatened and only overfished in the southern zone. Bonga is overfished in the northern zone and maximally sustainably fished towards the south. Demersal resources include fish, crustaceans and cephalopods. For fish, the assessments carried out show overexploitation of hake, pleuronectiforms, bobo croakers (Pseudotolithus elongatus) and threadfins (little captain or Galeoides decadactylus). Overall, 48.7 percent of the assessed stocks in the Eastern Central Atlantic were estimated to be within biologically sustainable levels in 2021. This represents a drastic worsening of the estimate in recent years (60 percent of the stocks were sustainable in 2019).
Total landings harvested in the Mediterranean and Black Sea (area 37) were approximately 2 million tonnes in the mid-1980s, but gradually declined over the decades, reaching a low of 1.1 million tonnes in 2014. Subsequently, there was a modest recovery in production, with reported landings of 1.4 million tonnes in 2019, regressing to approximately 1.2 million tonnes in 2020 and 1.1 million tonnes in 2021, partly due to the fishing and trade restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary species in terms of volume of landings include small pelagic fishes and striped Venus clam. Examination of the trends in the landings of key resources reveals significant fluctuations in small pelagic stocks and some demersal stocks, with declining trends in, for example, hake (Merluccius merluccius), whiting (Merlangius merlangus) and common octopus (Octopus vulgaris), and increasing trends in, for example, deep water pink shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris), common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) and red mullet (Mullus barbatus). Several commercially important stocks are beyond biologically sustainable limits, including stocks of hake and certain stocks of red mullet and sardine (Sardina pilchardus). In 2021, 37.5 percent of the stocks in the Mediterranean and Black Sea were within biologically sustainable levels – a 0.8 percent improvement on 2019;l this may be a sign that the degrading situation recorded for decades is halting.
In the Southwest Atlantic (area 41), total capture fisheries production ranged between 1.5 and 2.6 million tonnes, following an initial period of growth that ended in the mid-1980s. In 2021, the total landings amounted to about 2.0 million tonnes, marking a 17 percent increase from 2019 (Figure 20). Historically, the species with the largest reported landings is Argentine shortfin squid (Illex argentinus), accounting for between 10 percent and 45 percent of the region’s total landings. Landings of this species reached 447 000 tonnes in 2021, representing a 216 percent increase from 2019, making it the most significant species in the region in terms of volume. Other landed species are Argentine hake (Merluccius hubbsi) and Argentine red shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri), with reported landings in 2021 close to 415 000 tonnes and 225 000 tonnes, respectively, similar to the figures recorded in 2019. Both Argentine shortfin squid and Argentine red shrimp stocks were at biologically sustainable levels, while it was confirmed that one of the hake stocks recovered to biologically sustainable levels. Patagonian squid (Doryteuthis gahi) stocks were also at biologically sustainable levels and showed an increase in landings of approximately 18 percent compared with 2019; as a result, it ranked as the fourth most important fishery in the region, with landings approaching 100 000 tonnes. In total, 58.8 percent of the assessed stocks in the Southwest Atlantic were at biologically sustainable levels in 2021, marking an encouraging 19 percent improvement from 2017 – an improved trend despite a marginal decline in recent years.
The Southeast Atlantic (area 47) has shown a decreasing trend in capture fisheries production since the late 1970s, from a total of 3.3 million tonnes to 1.5 million tonnes in 2021 (Figure 20). Recent stock assessments for hake (Merluccius capensis and Merluccius paradoxus) in South Africa have shown a steady increase in spawning biomass and are estimated to be at levels above the MSY. In Namibia, hake resources are dominated by Merluccius capensis, which is currently overfished, while red crab (Chaceon maritae) stocks are at biologically sustainable levels. In South Africa, relative abundance and catch of small pelagic resources – sardine (Sardinops sagax) and anchovy (Engraulis capensis) – remain low despite rigorous management and continued monitoring. The West Coast rock lobster fishery in South Africa is experiencing overfishing and is currently at 1.3 percent of pre-1910 levels. In Namibia, red crab (Chaceon maritae) stocks are at biologically sustainable levels. Horse mackerel supports large fisheries in the region and its stocks have recovered to biologically sustainable levels following good recruitment and strict management measures. Stock assessments for devil anglerfish (Lophius vomenirus) suggest that they are sustainably fished in the waters of Namibia and South Africa. The Southern African sardine stocks are still very degraded, needing special conservation measures from Namibia (Sardinops ocellatus) and South Africa (Sardinops sagax). Sardinella (Sardinella aurita and Sardinella maderensis) stocks – very important in Angola and to some extent Namibia – remain at biologically sustainable levels. Most of the locally important South African line fishes are sustainably fished or are recovering. Snoek (Thyrsites atun), yellowtail (Seriola lalandi) and carpenter (Argyrozona argyrozona) are sustainably fished, but some important stocks such as silver kob (Argyrosomus inodorus) are still overfished. Updated data for perlemoen abalone (Haliotis midae) do not reveal signs of resource recovery and stocks continue to decline because of illegal harvesting. Overall, 59.5 percent of the assessed stocks in the Southeast Atlantic were fished within biologically sustainable levels in 2021, a 5.2 percent drop from 2019.
Indian Ocean (areas 51, 57)
Total landings caught in the Western Indian Ocean (area 51), continued to increase and reached 5.1 million tonnes and 5.4 million tonnes in 2020 and 2021, respectively (Figure 20). Tunas and tuna-like fishes continued to contribute the most, followed by small pelagic fishes and mixed (mainly reef-associated) reef fishes. Penaeid shrimps and cephalopod molluscs contributed similarly to overall landings, at relatively low levels. Pelagic fishes contributed around 56 percent of total landings. Stocks of tunas and shrimps – important generators of foreign revenue – are either maximally sustainably fished or overfished in the region. The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission regularly updates the status of tunas and tuna-like fishes, while the Southwest Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission strives to assess the other main high seas regional stocks using data-poor methods. The 2021 assessment estimated that 62.5 percent of the assessed stocks in the Western Indian Ocean were within biologically sustainable levels, while 37.5 percent were overfished.
Landings harvested from the Eastern Indian Ocean (area 57) have displayed a consistent upward trend over the past decades, surging to over 7 million tonnes in 2017 before levelling off at around 6 million tonnes in recent years. Unfortunately, comprehensive stock status data remain notably scarce, with information available primarily for selected coastal stocks in specific regions. Hilsa shad, narrow-barred Spanish mackerel and horse mackerel show increasing trends in production. Notably, stocks of small pelagic fish, including sardinellas, anchovies and Indian oil sardines, exhibit marked fluctuations in production likely caused by changes in fishing pressure and environmental conditions. Among the stocks deemed to be within sustainable levels are hilsa shad, Indian mackerel, anchovies, giant tiger prawn, squids and cuttlefish. Stocks of toli shad, Indian oil sardine and sardinellas are considered overfished. The current assessment indicates that 63.5 percent of the assessed stocks are estimated to be within biologically sustainable thresholds, a 1.8 percent decrease from 2019.
Pacific Ocean (areas 61, 67, 71, 77, 81, 87)
The Northwest Pacific (area 61) has the highest fisheries production among the FAO Major Fishing Areas, with 19.3 million tonnes of aquatic animals and accounting for 23.8 percent of global marine fisheries production in 2021. Among the 17 species analysed, the most productive in 2021 was Alaska pollock at 2 million tonnes. Historically this species has always been the most productive in area 61, peaking in 1986 at 5.1 million tonnes. The second most productive species in 2021 was Pacific chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) with 1.2 million tonnes. It was followed by Pacific sardine (Sardinox sagax) at 1.03 million tonnes, previously indicated as Japanese pilchard (Sardinops melanostictus), another historically productive species with a peak landing of 5.4 million tonnes in 1988. These species were closely followed by largehead hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus) with 1.0 million tonnes and Japanese anchovy (Engraulis japonicus) with 0.9 million tonnes. Among the analysed species, largehead hairtail and Japanese anchovy had the biggest increase in landings since 1990. Overall, in 2021, about 44 percent of assessed stocks were within biologically sustainable levels – an 11 percent reduction in sustainable status compared with 2019.
Landings caught in the Northeast Pacific (area 67) remained rather stable during 2013–2021, at around 3.0 million tonnes per year (Figure 20). Alaska pollock remained the most abundant species, representing about 51 percent of total landings. North Pacific hake (Merluccius productus), Pacific cod (Gadus microcephalus) and soles were also major contributors to the landings. Most stocks in this region are within biologically sustainable levels and well managed. This is due to the science-based advice from the North Pacific Fisheries Commission and the US North Pacific Fishery Management Council to set total allowable catches well below the maximum sustainable yield potential in pollock to achieve MSY objectives across all species caught in the mixed stock trawl fishery, as well as good governance, which has helped reduce fishing pressure. However, some stocks of Pacific salmon in southerly states (British Columbia in Canada and the states of Washington, Oregon and California in the United States of America) were overfished in 2021, and some stocks of Pacific herring, king crab and yelloweye rockfish are still recovering from overfishing. Recruitment failures of the Bering Sea snow crab as a consequence of climate change are cause for concern regarding possible long-term changes in these areas. Overall, 76.5 percent of the assessed stocks in the Northeast Pacific were within biologically sustainable levels in 2021; while this score places the area in the third-best position among all areas monitored globally, the region experienced a significant drop of 9.6 percent compared to the 2019 assessment related to recruitment decline in some stocks possibly due to climate change.
The Western Central Pacific (area 71) produced the second-largest amount of landings worldwide – 13.4 million tonnes (approximately 17 percent of the global landings in marine areas) – in 2021. Many fish species were landed, but landings were not always categorized as specific species and were recorded in a multitude of generic categories such as “marine fishes not elsewhere included” and “sharks, rays, skates, etc.”. These categories constituted 57 percent of the region’s total landings in 2021. Tuna and tuna-like species were important, contributing around 26 percent of total landings. Small pelagic species such as sardines, anchovies and scads were also significant (13.7 percent). Of the stocks assessed, 65.2 percent were estimated to be at biologically sustainable levels, while 35 percent were not sustainable. However, these results should be treated with caution, given the uncertainties in the region´s data.
Landings caught in the Eastern Central Pacific (area 77) have fluctuated over the past few decades between 1.5 and 2.0 million tonnes; in 2021, they stood at 1.7 million tonnes. This region’s landings predominantly consist of small to medium-sized pelagic fishes, squids and shrimps, which are inherently susceptible to interannual variations in oceanographic conditions and can present oscillations in landings despite sustainable exploitation rates. Estimates suggest that approximately 84.2 percent of the stocks in the Eastern Central Pacific are being harvested at biologically sustainable levels. This is the highest sustainability score among all fishing areas, despite a slight decrease from 2019. Notably, stocks of California sardine (Sardinops caeruleus), anchovy (Engraulis mordax), Pacific anchoveta (Cetengraulis mysticetus), Pacific thread herring (Opisthonema libertate) and jumbo flying squid (Dosidicus gigas) are currently managed within sustainable levels. However, coastal resources of high-value species, including groupers, snappers and shrimps are still overfished. Regrettably, the status of these stocks remains highly uncertain due to limited data.
Southwest Pacific (area 81) capture fisheries production in 2021 was around 390 000 tonnes (Figure 20) of highly diversified species. Major species are blue grenadier, pelagic mackerels and squid, accounting for around 47 percent of the total landings in 2021. Southern blue whiting, snoek and pink cusk-eel are also significant in the region. A major contributor to a decline in landings since the early 1990s has been a reduction in catch limits to ensure sustainability. Few stocks are considered underfished. Overall, about 75.9 percent of assessed fishery stocks in the Southwest Pacific were at biologically sustainable levels in 2021, a stable situation since 2019.
Landings caught in the Southeast Pacific (area 87) reached 10 million tonnes in 2021, that is about 12.5 percent of global landings and the third-largest capture fisheries production in marine areas. The clear decreasing trend in landings from the early 1990s to 2016 has reversed, mostly due to increases in landings of Peruvian anchoveta (Engraulis ringens) (Figure 20). The two most productive species were anchoveta and jumbo flying squid (Dosidicus gigas), with landings of almost 5.9 million tonnes and almost 1 million tonnes, respectively. While the stock of anchoveta is considered to be within biologically sustainable levels – likely because of effective fisheries management and favourable environmental conditions – the stock of jumbo flying squid shows signs of overexploitation. The stock of araucaria herring (Strangomera bentincki) is also estimated to be within biologically sustainable levels. In contrast, the stocks of South American pilchard (Sardinops sagax), South Pacific hake (Merluccius gayi), Southern hake (Merluccius australis) and Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) are all currently estimated to be at unsustainable levels. However, stocks of Pacific chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) have recovered to sustainable levels in the region. Although the majority of this region’s catch (approximately 83 percent, because of Peruvian anchoveta) comes from stocks at sustainable levels, overall, just 33.3 percent of its assessed stocks were within sustainable levels in 2021, similar to the 2019 levels.
Conclusions
While for several regions there are full formal assessment reports for the major exploited stocks, enabling an effective estimate of their status, for many other regions this is not the case. Often knowledge on stock structure for most species caught is insufficient to enable formal stock assessments. This effect is most marked in regions dominated by multispecies and multigear small-scale fisheries, for which data (quantity and quality) are limited and stock structure knowledge is poor for most species caught. For that reason, a good part of the stocks covered in this review are assessed using catch trends and supplementary data or expert knowledge, as opposed to analytical stock assessments or fishery-independent data.
FAO’s world assessment relies mostly on “traditional” full statistical stock assessments, but also on data-limited assessments or expert elicitation methods (FAO, 2011a). One reason for possible differences between the FAO approach and, for example, Worm’s global outlook on the world’s fisheries (Worm et al., 2009), is that different stocks are used to estimate the global overfishing percentages across the different studies. Another potentially major factor is that FAO’s methodology tends to aggregate stocks into larger units versus the Worm et al. approach. However, regardless of these caveats, for FAO’s assessment of marine fishery resources, the fraction of fishery stocks within biologically sustainable levels decreased to 62.3 percent in 2021, continuing an overall declining trend of ~0.5–1 percent per year over the last few decades.
FAO is working to achieve an important improvement in the methodology and processes used to report on the state of exploited fishery resources (see Box 28, p. 160), and this work will improve the quality, reliability and transparency of the global indicators reported by FAO.
Prospects of achieving the SDG target on fisheries
FAO is tasked under the Sustainable Development Goals (specifically SDG 14) with tracking global progress on sustainable use of fishery resources (Target 14.4). In 2021, 62.3 percent of the fishery stocks of the world’s marine fisheries were fished within biologically sustainable levels. The continuous decreasing trend of the proportion of sustainably fished stocks (see Figure 18, p. 43) is cause for alarm in the international community and among relevant stakeholders, as urgent concrete restoration plans and management efforts are needed to achieve sustainable fisheries. However, there are also positive signals in some regions of the world (like the North Atlantic and the Northeast and Southeast Pacific), which have improved the proportion of stocks sustainably fished. This is directly related to better assessment and management, which lead in turn to improved estimates of sustainable fishing (Hilborn et al., 2020). In other parts of the world, change is coming, but unfortunately at a slower pace than the timeline for achieving the SDG goals.
Overfishing – fishing that causes the reduction of stock abundance to below the level that can produce MSY – not only causes negative impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, but also reduces fish production, which subsequently leads to negative social and economic consequences. Rebuilding overfished stocks to the biomass that enables them to deliver MSY could increase fisheries production by 16.5 million tonnes and annual rent by USD 32 billion (Ye et al., 2013). A more recent study estimates that poor fisheries management results in foregone revenues of more than USD 83 billion annually (World Bank, 2017). It would also increase significantly the contribution of marine fisheries to the food security, nutrition, economy and well-being of coastal communities.
Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development) set Target 14.4: to end overfishing by 2020. Unfortunately, world fisheries have diverged from this target, with overfishing increasing from 35.4 percent in 2019 to 37.7 percent in 2021. However, this global picture masks regional and intra-country differences. A study (Hilborn et al., 2020) shows that intensively managed stocks have, on average, seen abundance increasing or at proposed target levels, while in contrast, regions with less developed fisheries management have much higher harvest rates and lower abundance with regard to target levels. This highlights the urgent need to replicate and re-adapt successful policies and regulations in fisheries that are not managed sustainably and to create innovative mechanisms that promote effective fisheries management for the sustainable use of marine resources around the world, in line with the FAO Blue Transformation objective of ensuring that 100 percent of fisheries are placed under effective management, and consistent with the Blue Transformation Roadmap (FAO, 2022a).
Inland fisheries
Inland fisheries contribute over 12 percent of world fish landings. Their contribution can be particularly important in landlocked developing countries and low-income food-deficit countries (LIFDCs). Indeed, 21 percent (2.4 million tonnes, 2021) of the world’s inland fish capture harvest comes from LIFDCs, making them particularly important for the subsistence of people in these countries – for their food security and poverty alleviation. Nearly 70 percent of all subsistence fishers exploit inland fisheries, often alongside other activities or as a complementary activity during times of low labour demand.
Inland fisheries are widespread and exhibit significant diversity. In addition to large lakes, reservoirs, rivers and floodplains, fishing takes place in swamps, streams and ponds, reservoirs, canals, ditches and rice fields. Fishing in these waterbodies is predominantly small-scale in nature, with 99 percent of total inland capture production coming from small-scale fisheries. These fisheries can be further characterized by the diversity of fishers, fishing practices, management arrangements and associated value chains.
Production from inland fisheries is more concentrated in those countries with important waterbodies or river basins. Asia hosts the top four producers of inland fish – India, China, Bangladesh and Myanmar – and accounts for nearly two-thirds of global inland fisheries production. Tropical floodplains associated with lakes and river basins are home to some of the world’s largest inland fisheries that make important contributions to livelihoods, food security and nutrition. In these dynamic environments, the interannual variability in flooding can have a more significant effect on survival and growth rates than do the size and productivity of the stocks. This can give rise to changes in productivity and species composition in landings.
The distribution and nature of inland fisheries are different from those of marine fisheries. Because of the nature of inland aquatic habitats, many inland fishery stocks have life cycles that enable them to experience and recover from high levels of mortality associated with dynamic and unpredictable environments. Given the large numbers of people involved, fishing pressure can be high; however, environmental factors play an even greater role in the productivity and resilience of these fisheries. The situation is different in temperate or Arctic lakes or streams, where more isolated fishery stocks may be vulnerable to overfishing; but even in these environments, other changes – for example, in connectivity, water quality and the condition of spawning grounds – play important roles in the status and health of fishery stocks.
Fishing in inland waters is also diverse. While some fishing occurs all year round, in other cases it is seasonal or occasional, carried out to complement other income-generating activities or when there is a low demand for labour. Although the activities and livelihood contributions are recognized, much of the fishing in seasonal waterbodies, small streams and other marginal wetlands remains poorly quantified and reported, including the related post-harvest activities. While the contributions of inland fisheries to poverty reduction can be significant for many countries and communities, their small-scale, dispersed and frequently remote nature make their comprehensive assessment challenging.
The status of inland capture fisheries and their contributions to food security, livelihoods and economies ultimately depend on inland aquatic environments. These environments often fluctuate, with communities adapting to these natural changes and turning the resulting seasonal and interannual variations into a strength. However, these changes are also among the most rapid in the world, presenting unique challenges. They can be the result of competing demands for water use by agriculture, industry, human consumption or recreation, occurring at different scales. The small-scale and dispersed nature of many inland fisheries – each of which may be affected by a combination of localized drivers – results in specific challenges; consequently, aggregate national production statistics (when they exist) tend not to provide a reliable indicator to assess the status of inland fisheries. Many of the livelihoods and economic benefits of inland fisheries are not captured in regular monitoring. Furthermore, subsistence, recreational and occasional fishing activities and informal exchanges can all represent important contributions to households and communities that can be difficult to quantify. The global threat assessment instead highlights where there may be pressures that can affect these contributions. The threat assessment can therefore provide the basis for assessing how changes in inland aquatic environments can affect the benefits and opportunities provided by inland fisheries.
These challenges require an approach that can place the status of inland fisheries in the context of wider change. This and the connections between inland aquatic environments have led to the adoption of the river basin or catchment as the appropriate scale at which to assess threats, so that the implications of modifications in land use, water quality and infrastructure development, as well as climate change, can be determined. This has been the basis of an approach to create a global threat map for inland fisheries developed by FAO in collaboration with the United States Geological Survey.
The approach analysed 20 anthropogenic threat types to create indicators of the aggregate threat to inland fishery stocks (Stokes et al., 2021). To monitor dispersed, seasonal and occasional small-scale inland fisheries, the approach combines information from multiple sources, including the use of proxy indicators to provide transparent replicable assessments of the threats to inland fisheries. The most recent results suggest that across all major basins included in the assessment as important to inland fisheries, 47 percent of basins are estimated to be under “low pressure”, 40 percent under “moderate pressure” and 13 percent under “high pressure” (Figure 21). Criteria for describing the pressure category are based on a numeric scale of one to ten, where low pressure refers to those with a score of 1–3, moderate pressure a score of 4–7 and high pressure a score of 8–10. The results can help inform the prioritization of interventions in the context of integrated water resources management.
FIGURE 21STATE OF MAJOR INLAND FISHERIES
SOURCE: Stokes, G.L., Lynch, A.J., Funge-Smith, S., Valbo-Jørgensen, J., Beard Jr, T.D., Lowe, B.S., Wong, J.P. & Smidt, S.J. 2021. A global dataset of inland fisheries expert knowledge. Scientific Data, 8(1): 182. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-021-00949-0
- g Stocks with abundance at or close to maximum sustainable yield (MSY). FAO defines a fish population as maximally sustainably fished when its biomass is above 80 percent but below 120 percent of the target level, that is 0.8B/BMSY – 1.2 B/BMSY (BMSY – biomass corresponding to maximum sustainable yield).
- h Stocks with abundance above the level corresponding to MSY. FAO defines a fish population as underfished when its biomass is above 120 percent of the target level (B/BMSY > 1.2).
- i The term landings in this section Marine fisheries refers to capture fisheries production of aquatic animals in marine areas.
- j Overfished refers to stocks having abundance lower than the level that can produce MSY. FAO defines a fish population as overfished when its biomass is below 80 percent of the target level (B/BMSY < 0.8).
- k ISSF (2023), which uses a different definition for the proportion of stocks considered to be sustainably fished, reports that 61 percent of tuna stocks are sustainably fished, 17 percent overfished and 22 percent in an intermediate stage. According also to ISSF (2023), 85 percent of total tuna catch comes from healthy stocks.
- l With the main aim to support fisheries management, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) provides a parallel regional assessment of the status of priority commercial stocks in the Mediterranean and Black Sea; the most recent edition was published in 2023 based on 2021 reference year. This assessment is based on analytical scientific assessments of management units (a combination of priority species and geographical subareas of interest) covering 50 percent of the catches.
