The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) launched its latest State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture report at the Our Ocean Conference, in Mombasa, Kenya, at an event co-organized by the MSC. The report uses new methodology to analyse more fish stocks than previous assessments, providing a more detailed update on the state of global fisheries resources.
Overfishing continues to be a serious problem. The share of stocks classified as biologically sustainable in this report declined to 62.4 percent compared to 64.5 percent in the previous report two years ago. This global figure masks a stark gap between fisheries that are under
effective management which tend to have healthy stocks and those that aren’t, with wide differences evident across regions and species groups.
Aquatic animal foods (wild caught and aquaculture) now provide at least one-fifth of the animal protein consumption of 3.1 billion people and at $184 billion, the trade in aquatic animal products now rivals terrestrial meat trade in value. So protecting aquatic food resources is vital, both for the oceans and for the humans that depend on them.
Several areas and species groups maintained good or improved sustainability records, reflecting continuous implementation of science-based management systems and harvest strategies, but other areas subject to high fishing pressure, strong environmental variability or limited management capacity continue to face persistent challenges.
Areas with very strong sustainable scores included the Antarctic Areas where 100 percent of stocks are biologically sustainable, followed by the Pacific Ocean, particularly in the Northeast Pacific and Southwest Pacific with, respectively, 89.3 percent and 86.8 percent of stocks classified as biologically sustainable.
Areas with high levels of overfishing included the Eastern Central Atlantic with just 47.1 percent of stocks classed as biologically sustainable and the Mediterranean and Black Sea which had the lowest overall sustainability level with just 45.7 percent of stocks considered sustainable.
Importantly, the report also reveals a more encouraging sustainability score: when weighted by volume, 72.6 percent of 2023 landings of assessed stocks monitored by FAO are estimated to originate from sustainably fished stocks, confirming that larger and more productive stocks tend to be better managed.
In attendance at the Our Ocean Conference, and reacting to the report, Michael Marriott, MSC program director for AMESA (Africa, Middle East and South Asia), said:
“The FAO’s new data shows very clearly that overfishing continues to be a serious global problem. Overfishing threatens ocean biodiversity, livelihoods and especially food security. Something that this report makes abundantly clear, with new statistics showing that the trade in aquatic animal products (wild and farmed) now rivals the terrestrial meat trade in value.
“The more detailed picture of overfishing levels in the report gives both cause for hope and a stark warning. When fisheries are well managed, they have healthier stocks, but when
management is lacking, stocks suffer. The data shows us that sustainable management works but is not being universally applied.
“We have the solutions: science-based management, catch limits grounded in robust stock assessment, independent verification, and an end to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. If we want to protect our ocean and its resources, we must act faster and extend these tools and support to the fisheries and regions that need them most. Governments, fisheries, scientists, NGOs, retailers and consumers must all work together. This report shows exactly where those efforts must be targeted.”
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an international non-profit organisation which sets globally recognised standards for sustainable fishing and the seafood supply chain. Fisheries representing 20% of the world’s wild marine catch are engaged in its certification program.
Read the SOFIA report here.
//ENDS
