The impact of trawling really depends on the type of method and gear thats used. Credit: NOAA Fisheries. Finally, we can ban trawling in specific locations where the habitat is particularly sensitive. Statistical tables - Agricultural commodities: March quarter 2021 XLSX. Some of us might picture a lone fisherman with a wooden fishing rod. This increase in fish catch was interrupted by the two World Wars: we see the dramatic declines in catch shown on the chart. It peaked in 1968, before a collapse in fish stocks led to a dramatic decline. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1174479/fishing-industry-market-size-us/, Market size of the fishing industry in the United States from 2013 to 2022 with a forecast for 2023, Immediate access to statistics, forecasts & reports, Business count in the U.S. fishing industry 2013-2023, Number of paid fishing license holders in the United States 2000-2021, Gross cost of fishing licenses in the U.S. 2000-2021, Fishing participation in the U.S. 2010-2021, Freshwater fishing participation in the U.S. 2010-2021, Saltwater fishing participation in the U.S. 2010-2021, Income distribution of U.S. fishing participants 2021, Ethnic distribution of U.S. fishing participants 2021, Geographical distribution of U.S. fishing participants 2021, Main motivations to start fishing in the U.S. 2021, Size of fishing trip groups in the U.S. 2021, Frequency of fishing participation in the U.S. 2021, Most used sources for fishing information in the U.S. 2021, Success rate in recreational fishing in the U.S. 2021, Uses of fish caught by U.S. fishing participants 2021, Benefits of participating in fishing in the U.S. 2021, Number of fishing licenses in the United States from 2000 to 2021, Number of paid fishing license holders in the U.S. 2021, by state, Fishery export value distribution in MENA by country 2015, Fishery import value distribution in MENA by country 2015, Number of fishing vessels in Singapore 2010-2019, Peru: leading fishery exports to the U.S. 2019, Number of fishing vessels in Thailand 2005-2014, Peru: fishing exports value 2018-2019, by month, Number of fishing vessels Philippines 2018-2021, Number of fishing vessels in Malaysia 2010-2019, Number of fishing vessels in Indonesia 2009-2018, Number of fishing vessels in ASEAN region 2008-2014, Number of fishing vessels in Vietnam 2008-2014, Lobster export volume Indonesia 2014-2021, Industry revenue of manufacture of musical instruments in France 2012-2025, Market size of the fishing industry in the United States from 2013 to 2022 with a forecast for 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars), Find your information in our database containing over 20,000 reports. Post-farmgate impacts are not included. One of the biggest conflicts I see is not actually about technical discussions of how much fish we catch, or whether populations are increasing or decreasing, but a larger ethical conflict in how we view fish. Stock A is sustainable and were catching 80 tonnes of fish per year. Farmed salmon only ranges from 4.1 to 6.2 kg CO2e: a 50% difference between the minimum and maximum. If we cant or dont want to eliminate it completely, there are still things we can do to limit its impacts. 5% went to land-based livestock such as cows, pigs and chickens. Hilborn, R., Amoroso, R. O., Anderson, C. M., Baum, J. K., Branch, T. A., Costello, C., & Ye, Y. This data is sourced from the Sea Around Us database published by Pauly, Zeller and Palomares, available at: http://www.seaaroundus.org/. Office of Science and Technology When defining the sustainability of fisheries we need to know three terms: Overfished: this is sometimes termed overexploited. According to analysts, COVID-19 protective measures instituted in March across the United States and globe contributed to an almost-immediate impact on seafood sector sales. Compared to other meats, seafood has a low environmental footprint when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and nutrient pollution we looked at this in a related article. A fish stock is a subpopulation of a particular species of fish with common parameters such as location, growth and mortality. Currently, you are using a shared account. Our 5 million km2 of trawled seabed shown as the bottom bar is therefore equal to around 13.5% of the explorable seabed. This is split into landings catch that is brought back to land and discards, the catch that is thrown back into the ocean. The group supports fishing industry efforts to achieve zero deaths annually and the reduction in accidents across the whole Scottish fishing industry. (2017). FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper No. In the chart here we see the per capita protein intake from different sources across the world.Globally, 7% of total protein intake comes from seafood.7. It experienced broad declines in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 public health crisis, according to a new NOAA Fisheries analysis released today. In this article I take us through the numbers to understand how much of wild fish catch really goes towards animal feed; how this is changing over time; and whether this undermines the benefits of aquaculture. While losses vary by sector, by region and by industry, data and information from this report may help businesses and communities assess losses and inform long-term recovery and resilience strategies. Fish stocks tend to be a lagging indicator to fishing intensity. Lets look at a few of these species in more detail: tuna, which is doing surprisingly well, and sharks which are not. Overview and forecasts on trending topics, Industry and market insights and forecasts, Key figures and rankings about companies and products, Consumer and brand insights and preferences in various industries, Detailed information about political and social topics, All key figures about countries and regions, Market forecast and expert KPIs for 600+ segments in 150+ countries, Insights on consumer attitudes and behavior worldwide, Business information on 70m+ public and private companies, Detailed information for 35,000+ online stores and marketplaces. Historical records from the UK give us further understanding of the long-term trend in fisheries. As consumers we want to know this to know what types of fish to buy, or where to source it from. That would massively overstate the efficiency of fish farms. In countries where most fishing is subsistent Bangladesh is one example its small-scale fishing practices that dominate. Fishadelphia: Connecting Communities with Fresh Seafood. We know much less about the status of fish stocks across Asia, Africa and South America. Amoroso, R. O., Pitcher, C. R., Rijnsdorp, A. D., McConnaughey, R. A., Parma, A. M., Suuronen, P., & Jennings, S. (2018). Detailed information and trends on fishing participation by gender, age, ethnicity, income, education and geographic region. Many lower-income countries rely on subsistence fishing as a key food source. Peru is the world's leading producer of fishmeal, made from anchovy, and a leading producer of . . The best of the best: the portal for top lists & rankings: Strategy and business building for the data-driven economy: Business count in the U.S. fishing industry 2013-2023, Fishing participation in the U.S. 2010-2021, Gender distribution of U.S. fishing participants 2021, Age distribution of U.S. fishing participants 2021, Market size of the fishing industry in the United States from 2013 to 2022 with a forecast for 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars), Number of businesses in the fishing industry in the United States from 2013 to 2023 (in 1,000s), U.S. household spend on hunting and fishing equipment per year 2010-2021, Average annual expenditure on hunting and fishing equipment per consumer unit in the United States from 2010 to 2021 (in U.S. dollars), Number of paid fishing license holders in the United States 2000-2021, Number of paid fishing license holders in the United States from 2000 to 2021 (in millions), Gross cost of fishing licenses in the U.S. 2000-2021, Gross cost of fishing licenses in the United States from 2000 to 2021 (in million U.S. dollars), Number of participants in recreational fishing in the United States from 2010 to 2021 (in millions), Freshwater fishing participation in the U.S. 2010-2021, Number of participants in freshwater fishing in the United States from 2010 to 2021 (in millions), Saltwater fishing participation in the U.S. 2010-2021, Number of participants in saltwater fishing in the United States from 2010 to 2021 (in millions), Fly fishing participation in the U.S. 2010-2021, Number of participants in fly fishing in the United States from 2010 to 2021 (in millions), Distribution of recreational fishing participants in the United States in 2021, by gender, Distribution of recreational fishing participants in the United States in 2021, by age group, Income distribution of U.S. fishing participants 2021, Distribution of recreational fishing participants in the United States in 2021, by annual household income, Ethnic distribution of U.S. fishing participants 2021, Distribution of recreational fishing participants in the United States in 2021, by ethnicity, Geographical distribution of U.S. fishing participants 2021, Distribution of recreational fishing participants in the United States in 2021, by region, Main motivations to start fishing in the U.S. 2021, Main reasons for trying recreational fishing for the first time in the United States in 2021, Size of fishing trip groups in the U.S. 2021, Number of people per recreational fishing trip in the United States in 2021, Frequency of fishing participation in the U.S. 2021, Distribution of recreational fishing participants in the United States in 2021, by number of annual outings, Most used sources for fishing information in the U.S. 2021, Sources of information for recreational fishing in the United States in 2021, Success rate in recreational fishing in the U.S. 2021, Share of fishing participants who caught fish on their last outing in the United States in 2021, Uses of fish caught by U.S. fishing participants 2021, Distribution of recreational fishing participants in the United States in 2021, by uses of catch, Benefits of participating in fishing in the U.S. 2021, Advantages of recreational fishing according to participants in the United States in 2021. Fears that a growing aquaculture industry would put more and more pressure on wild fish stocks has not come true. Fishing pressure in many of these regions is intense. UNEP-WCMC and IUCN (2021), Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM) [Online], September 2021, Cambridge, UK: UNEP-WCMC and IUCN. Passing a trawl over the seabed can have quite a severe impact on the organisms that live there. Fish and seafood is an important source of nutrition for many people across the world. The figureheads on both sides of the debate Ray Hilborn and Boris Worm both featured on a debate on National Public Radio. It might even be lower than farmed salmon. On the basis of total protein and calories, plant-based foods such as legumes and soy still have a much lower impact. We see that in the chart below, which shows the impact of four types: otter trawling; beam trawling; towed dregs; and hydraulic dredging. In 1990 the world produced only 17 million tonnes. Fish are killed needlessly; and the fact that these fish are not sold or eaten means that no one benefits from more income or food. ", IBISWorld, Market size of the fishing industry in the United States from 2013 to 2022 with a forecast for 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1174479/fishing-industry-market-size-us/ (last visited April 18, 2023), Market size of the fishing industry in the United States from 2013 to 2022 with a forecast for 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars) [Graph], IBISWorld, July 27, 2022. This has been good news for the health of global fish stocks. If youre not familiar with this research, it can be difficult to understand exactly what each method looks like, and what it entails. But for those who do not want to eliminate animal products completely, seafood can be a good choice. As we see in the chart, aquaculture production increased by 250% between 2000 and 2015. data than referenced in the text. The Southern bluefin tuna by more than 90% from over 8.5 million tonnes to less than one million. Thankfully these seabed communities recover orders of magnitude quicker. Since then, stocks have not been able to recover due to the reopening of fisheries and their overexploitation afterwards. But in most comparisons of food products, theyre aggregated into one or two categories, such as marine fish or freshwater fish. Which countries produce the most seafood? An optimal value is one. This is a positive sign. The analysis noted outdoor seating at restaurants in warm months and a pivot to direct delivery at some supermarkets provided an outlet for some aquaculture sales. If you have a FIFO greater than 1, you need more fish inputs than you get back from your fish farm. International Standard Serial Number : This publication contains a three-year data series on volume and value of fish productions. The trend looks worse for those in the Indian Ocean. But this will come at the cost of catch and income for communities that rely on it. This is often measured in terms of fish stocks. Which types of fish are we harvesting sustainably, and where are we overfishing? In 2018, commercial fishing vessels landed about 5.2 million metric tons of the seven species, with an estimated dock valuethe amount paid to fishersof $11.7 billion. July 27, 2022. How many people are employed in these industries? We can break this down by wild catch and fish farming. The original source is FishStat, the database maintained by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Although these rates have stabilized or even declined in the last few years. They might be too small; inedible; damaged; or not give them a good return in the market. File size. Sometimes we feed them fishmeal and fish oils. Maintaining such high rates of fishing without monitoring them closely makes it unlikely that fish stocks are in a healthy state. The fisheries sector is a direct source of livelihoods for more than 20 million fishers and fish farmers; contributes INR 1.75 lakh crore annually to the gross value added to India's economy; and is a major export earner, with fish being one of the most important agricultural commodities to be exported from India. Importantly, this metric treats each fish stock as being equal, regardless of how big each stock is. 84% of this was used for direct human consumption. Catch that is not the species were targeting is called by-catch. Sampled fish are taken to assess the age and population growth rate of the population. Sala, E., Mayorga, J., Bradley, D., Cabral, R. B., Atwood, T. B., Auber, A., & Lubchenco, J. The statistic shows the gross value of production of fisheries and aquaculture in China between 2011 and 2021. We will soon look at whats happening to fish stocks in the regions we do have good data for. Fisheries and aquaculture outlook 2021. The decline that Worm et al. Effective management of fisheries across Europe, and North America means that many of these fish stocks are stable and no longer in decline.23 Unfortunately we know much less about the health of fish stocks across Asia and much of Africa, but many of these stocks are likely to be overfished. Overall, aquaculture is an important solution to meet growing demand for seafood. Internet Explorer lacks support for the features of this website. The United States is a global leader in sustainable, world class fisheries. But, based on what we know (and especially, the fact that we dont know a lot), the consensus is that many of these fish stocks are not in a healthy place. More of our seafood now comes from aquaculture than from wild catch. If you choose wild-caught salmon you could be picking a low-carbon, or a high-carbon protein source. Nature communications,1(1), 1-6. First as the global distribution, shown on the map. (1998). (2020). Here were measuring these stocks relative to the maximum sustainable yield. Thats positive news. Most of this is deep ocean, far from the worlds continents, and at depths that we rarely visit. That is, essentially, the amount of wild fish there. Environmental performance of blue foods. Production has increased more than 50-fold. Nature, 405(6790), 1017-1024. NIOSH maintains the Commercial Fishing Incident Database (CFID), a surveillance system for workplace fatalities in the commercial fishing industry in the United States. All other material, including data produced by third parties and made available by Our World in Data, is subject to the license terms from the original third-party authors. For the best experience, please use a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox, or Edge. Small-scale fisheries contribute very little. Long-term trends in fish catch Global fish production Global production of fish and seafood has quadrupled over the past 50 years. Today, this ratio for the most common species carp, tilapia, and catfishes, shown at the top is incredibly low. First, fishmeal is just one of many things that we need to fish, so there are other inputs. Trawling does not have the same impacts as cutting down a primary rainforest. amount of fish caught per unit of fishing power, Study Sees Global Collapse of Fish Species, The effects of 118 years of industrial fishing on UK bottom trawl fisheries, http://www.fao.org/fishery/statistics/software/fishstatj/en, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020, Effective fisheries management instrumental in improving fish stock status, Fisheries management impacts on target species status, Surface area and the seabed area, volume, depth, slope, and topographic variation for the worlds seas, oceans, and countries, Disturbance of the seabed by mobile fishing gear: a comparison to forest clearcutting, Bottom trawl fishing footprints on the worlds continental shelves, Global analysis of depletion and recovery of seabed biota after bottom trawling disturbance, Indicators of the ecological impact of bottom-trawl disturbance on seabed communities. The data are collected using internationally agreed concepts and definitions developed by the Coordinating Working Party on Fishery Statistics, comprising Eurostat and several other international organisations with responsibilities in fishery statistics. It estimates that around one-third of the worlds fish stocks are overexploited: these populations are declining because were catching more fish than can reproduce. There were many rebuttal papers challenging this position. Pelagic (midwater) trawling accounts for an additional 10%. This is based on summary visuals from the Marine Stewardship Council. We catch between 25 and 30 million tonnes each year. Global marine fisheries discards: A synthesis of reconstructed data. In some countries, seafood dominates. But the notion that the worlds fisheries will collapse within decades is wrong. We see the same in Japan, where catch peaked in 1972 at 4 million tonnes, and has since fallen by around 90% to 400,000 tonnes. That is partly why they have such low emissions; and they need no additional land either. Responsible fisheries in the marine ecosystem, pp. If it is partly fed by wild fish, perhaps more fish farms means more pressure on wild fish stocks? New Statistics for 2021; 2017-2020 Updated. This is because fish stocks can be very different sizes. They dont necessarily need fishmeal and oils in their diets, but fish farmers often use them because they provide an almost perfect balance of essential nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids. The New York Times ran the headline Study Sees Global Collapse of Fish Species, and coverage snowballed from there. Production has continued to grow while the output of wild fisheries has slowed, or even plateaued. The remaining 16% was turned into fishmeal and oils to use as animal feed. Profit from the additional features of your individual account. This translates to a 29 percent decrease across those 7 months, as compared to 5-year averages and adjusted for inflation. The chart here shows the status of the worlds fish stocks from 1974 through to 2017. Most notably China, which produced 66 million tonnes in 2018. In addition, the European Commission banned bottom trawling in deep waters those below 800m in depth in 2016. Indicators of the ecological impact of bottom-trawl disturbance on seabed communities. Aquatic foods to nourish nations. There are no big winners when it comes to discards. Purse seine is the second most common method, accounting for just over 20% of catch. Particularly since the late 1980s, annual production has increased rapidly. This increased to 14 million tonnes in 1989. Researchers gather data on how much catch is discarded when different types of fishing gear are used. Seaspiracy is far from the first source to repeat this claim: Google empty oceans by 2048 and you will find hundreds of thousands of results. The share of global fishmeal used by the aquaculture sector increased from 33% in 2000 to 69% in 2016, while the share of global fish oil used by aquaculture rose from 55% to 75%. If we cut down the Amazon rainforest, it is decades if not centuries before it gets back to its previous state (if it gets there at all). Its where fish catch is equal to the reproduction rate. Some fishing methods generate much more discards than others. Gephart, J. But the headline summary is that the status of wild fish stocks is mixed. Most fisheries across Europe and the Americas have good coverage. Most fisheries across Asia do not. In the charts here we see the average per capita consumption of fish and seafood across the world.6 The highest seafood consumers are countries including Iceland, the Maldives and Hong Kong which consume over 70 kilograms per person, and in some cases upwards of 90 kilograms. Scientific surveys have periodically monitored stocks in the Gulf of Thailand for decades. For the most current data, search our online statistics. The total weight of American seafood landings for the fishing industry in 2018 totaled 9.9 billion pounds. The decline of shark populations is reflected in its downgrading on the IUCN Red List. Researchers have carried out studies to see what impact trawling has on wildlife either through experimental methods, or observing real-world impacts. This shows the change in FIFO in the two decades from 1997 (the red markers) to 2017 (blue markers). Sustainability in action. To better serve retailers and the trade, ASA conducted a survey of tackle retailers in January 2022 inquiring about their January-December 2021 business experience. We dont have good global records that go so far back in time, but we can draw upon data from some rich countries that have statistical records dating back centuries. Killing for no reason. But dredging sometimes referred to as bottom trawling has the largest negative impact. But it has not changed much since the 1990s. 42% of the North Sea was trawled. Theres one key metric that we need to understand the efficiency of fish feed: the FIFO ratio. But we can go even further and look at specific tuna species, such as bluefin or yellowfin. Zeller, D., Cashion, T., Palomares, M., & Pauly, D. (2018). Indeed, most discards come from large fisheries. Not all aquaculture species are fed from animal sources, but many are. Many of the effective solutions to reduce discards relies on effective monitoring and enforcement of fishery policies. This has improved massively in the decades since then.