Title
Effective fisheries management instrumental in improving fish stock status
Author(s)
Hilborn, R.;Amoroso, R. O.;Anderson, C. M.;...;McClanahan, T.;et al.
Published
2020
Publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Abstract
Marine fish stocks are an important part of the world food system and are particularly important for many of the poorest people of the world. Most existing analyses suggest overfishing is increasing, and there is widespread concern that fish stocks are decreasing throughout most of the world. We assembled trends in abundance and harvest rate of stocks that are scientifically assessed, constituting half of the reported global marine fish catch. For these stocks, on average, abundance is increasing and is at proposed target levels. Compared with regions that are intensively managed, regions with less-developed fisheries management have, on average, 3-fold greater harvest rates and half the abundance as assessed stocks. Available evidence suggests that the regions without assessments of abundance have little fisheries management, and stocks are in poor shape. Increased application of area-appropriate fisheries science recommendations and management tools are still needed for sustaining fisheries in places where they are lacking.
Keywords
overfishing;harvest impacts;sustainable fisheries;recovery;resource;collapse;lessons;science and technology
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PUB25078