By-catch Reduction in the World's Fisheries


Book Description

With by-catch in fisheries becoming an ever more high-profile problem, this brilliant work could not be more timely. It contains contributions from the world’s leading experts in by-catch reduction, who guide the reader through most aspects of the field. They examine the methodologies used to develop by-catch reduction techniques and provide new avenues for broadening such work. Case studies are provided that encompass most of the world’s fishing techniques and regions.




Discards in the World's Marine Fisheries


Book Description

This publication gives an updated review of the quantity of discards in the world's marine fisheries, using information from a broad range of fisheries in all continents. A number of policy issues are discussed including a 'no discards' approach to fisheries management, the need for balance between bycatch reduction and bycatch utilisation initiatives, and concerns arising from incidental catches of marine mammals, birds and reptiles. The report also highlights the need for more robust methods of estimating discards, and the development of bycatch management plans.




Saving Global Fisheries


Book Description

A proposal for a new global approach for fisheries focused on reducing fishing capacity and providing incentives for long-term sustainability. The Earth's oceans are overfished, despite more than fifty years of cooperation among the world's fishing nations. There are too many boats chasing too few fish. In Saving Global Fisheries, J. Samuel Barkin and Elizabeth DeSombre analyze the problem of overfishing and offer a provocative proposal for a global regulatory and policy approach. Existing patterns of international fisheries management try to limit the number of fish that can be caught while governments simultaneously subsidize increased fishing capacity, focusing on fisheries as an industry to be developed rather than on fish as a resource to be conserved. Regionally based international management means that protection in one area simply shifts fishing efforts to other species or regions. Barkin and DeSombre argue that global rather than regional regulation is necessary for successful fisheries management and emphasize the need to reduce subsidies. They propose an international system of individual transferable quotas that would give holders of permits an interest in the long-term health of fish stocks and help create a sustainable level of fishing capacity globally.




A Guide to Bycatch Reduction in Tropical Shrimp-trawl Fisheries


Book Description

Bycatch is the unwanted or non-target part of the catch taken by fishermen. It is either discarded at sea or used for human or animal consumption. The capture of bycatch may pose a threat to species diversity and ecosystem health because this part of the catch is usually unregulated. In tropical shrimp-trawl fisheries, bycatch often consists of juvenile food-fish species and is therefore a threat to food security and sustainable fisheries production. Bycatch is a global problem that must be addressed. This Guide to Bycatch Reduction in Tropical Shrimp-Trawl Fisheries is designed for fishermen, net makers, fishing technologists and others interested in a practical guide to the design, use and operation of effective bycatch reduction devices. Fishery managers, policy-makers and legislators will find this guide useful to help develop specifications governing the design and application of these devices in a shrimptrawl fishery. The issue of bycatch is not going away and scrutiny of fishing activity is increasing. All fishermen are strongly urged to use appropriate bycatch reduction measures to help maintain the productivity of the fishery and the long term prosperity of the fishing industry. By responding appropriately, fishermen can help to protect the marine environment and assist global food security both now and in the future. Also published in French and Spanish.




Fish Conservation


Book Description

Fish Conservation offers, for the first time in a single volume, a readable reference with a global approach to marine and freshwater fish diversity and fishery resource issues. Gene Helfman brings together available knowledge on the decline and restoration of freshwater and marine fishes, providing ecologically sound answers to biodiversity declines as well as to fishery management problems at the subsistence, recreational, and commercial levels. Written in an engaging and accessible style, the book: considers the value of preserving aquatic biodiversity offers an overview of imperiled fishes on a taxonomic and geographic basis presents a synthesis of common characteristics of imperiled fishes and their habitats details anthropogenic causes of decline examines human exploitation issues addresses ethical questions surrounding exploitation of fishes The final chapter integrates topics and evaluates prospects for arresting declines, emphasizing the application of evolutionary and ecological principles in light of projected trends. Throughout, Helfman provides examples, explores case studies, and synthesizes available information from a broad taxonomic, habitat, and geographic range. Fish Conservation summarizes the current state of knowledge about the degradation and restoration of diversity among fishes and the productivity of fishery resources, pointing out areas where progress has been made and where more needs to be done. Solutions focus on the application of ecological knowledge to solving practical problems, recognizing that effective biodiversity conservation depends on meeting human needs through management that focuses on long term sustainability and an ecosystem perspective.







Crisis in the World’s Fisheries


Book Description

For over twenty years, an alarming trend has emerged in the world’s fisheries: there are too many fishers chasing too few fish. This book provides a broad overview and fundamental reassessment of fisheries management policies around the world.




The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024


Book Description

The 2024 edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture features the Blue Transformation in action, illustrated by activities and initiatives, led by FAO in collaboration with Members, partners and key stakeholders, to integrate aquatic foods into global food security and sustainability, enhance policy advocacy, scientific research and capacity building, disseminate sustainable practices and technological innovations, and support community involvement. Part 1 of this edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture benefits from significant improvements in data collection, analytical and assessment tools and methodologies to present the most up-to-date review of world fisheries and aquaculture production and utilization. Part 2 highlights the role of FAO and its partners to catalyse the transformational changes required to support aquaculture expansion and intensification, effective management of global fisheries and upgrading of aquatic value chains. Part 3 covers the high-impact challenges and opportunities of the untapped potential of utilizing whole fish and by-products to improve food security and nutrition, expounds on the role of aquatic food systems in providing critical climate, biodiversity and environmentally sound solutions, and highlights the importance of their integration into national and multilateral processes. It also presents an outlook on future trends up to 2032 based on projections. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024 provides the most up-to-date and evidence-based information, supporting policy, scientific and technical insights on challenges, opportunities and innovations shaping the present and future of the sector, for the benefit of a wide and expanding audience of policymakers, managers, scientists, fishers, farmers, traders, civil society activists and consumers.







Global trends in status and management of assessed stocks: achieving sustainable fisheries through effective management


Book Description

This report provides an overview of the biological status of assessed stocks around the world and relates measures of stock status to the strength of fisheries management. Stock assessment outputs, consisting primarily of time series of abundance and fishing pressure relative to target reference points, were compiled for 548 marine fish and invertebrate stocks in the RAM Legacy Stock Assessment Database. Data summary methods included: global and regional mean trends of abundance and fishing pressure relative to target reference points; bivariate plots of relative abundance and fishing pressure; estimates of potential equilibrium yield foregone at current fishing pressure; and proportions of stocks in different biomass status categories. These measures of stock status were summarized at the global level as well as separated by 16 FAO Major Fishing Areas and ocean basin regions for comparison.