E-Book Content
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Fishing for Answers Making Sense of the Global Fish Crisis
YUMIKO KURA CARMEN REVENGA ERIKO HOSHINO GREG MOCK
WASHINGTON, DC
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Hyacinth Billings Publications Director
Greg Mock and Carmen Revenga Editors
Fernando Gonzalez-Iglesias Sitges Illustrations
Kristin Deuel Duffy, Dever Designs Cover Design and Layout Each World Resources Institute report represents a timely, scholarly treatment of a subject of public concern. WRI takes responsibility for choosing the study topics and guaranteeing its authors and researchers freedom of inquiry. It also solicits and responds to the guidance of advisory panels and expert reviewers. Unless otherwise stated, however, all the interpretation and findings set forth in WRI publications are those of the authors. Copyright © 2004 World Resources Institute. All rights reserved. ISBN: 1-56973-569-7 Library of Congress Control Number: 2004114069 Printed in the United States of America on chlorine-free paper with recycled content of 50%, 30% of which is post-consumer. The cover and title page image is a photo of a school of tunas in Favignana, Sicily by Danilo Cedrone, May 1999. The image is from NOAA’s Photo Library.
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F I S H I N G
F O R
A N S W E R S :
M A K I N G
S E N S E
O F
T H E
G L O B A L
F I S H
C R I S I S
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CONTENTS
FOREWORD
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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CHAPTER 1. WHY CARE ABOUT FISH?
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How Important is Fishing? Is There Really a Fisheries Crisis? Can Fisheries be Managed Sustainably?
CHAPTER 2. THE COMPLEX WORLD OF FISHING
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Fishing Sectors Capture Fishery Categories Fishing Environments: Marine and Inland Environments Fish Types Fishing Gears: Active and Passive Gears
CHAPTER 3. ARE WE RUNNING OUT OF FISH?
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How Widespread is the Crisis? What is the Current Status of Marine Fish Stocks? What about the Condition of Freshwater Fish Stocks?
CHAPTER 4. HOW DO WE CATCH, USE, AND TRADE FISH?
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Who are the Top Fish Producing Nations and What Types of Fish are Produced? What Fish do the Top Fishing Nations Harvest From the Wild? Which Nations Consume the Most Fish and What Fish do they Eat? How Important is the International Fish Trade? Overview of the Top Traded Fish Products What are the More Recent Additions to the Fish Trade?
CHAPTER 5. HOW IMPORTANT IS SMALL-SCALE FISHING?
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How Large is the Small-Scale Fishing Sector? How Much do Small-Scale Fishers Catch? Are Industrial Fleets Displacing Small-Scale Fishers? Can Co-Management Help Sustain Small-Scale Fisheries?
CHAPTER 6. THE ROLE OF AQUACULTURE: IS IT HELPING TO SUSTAIN FISHERIES AND FEED THE POOR?
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What is Aquaculture? How Significant is Aquaculture in Global Fisheries Production? The Aquaculture Dilemma: Is It Positive or Negative for Both People and Ecosystems? Is Aquaculture Helping to Reduce the Pressure on Wild Stocks? Is Aquaculture Helping to Feed the Poor? Is Aquaculture Taking Food Away from the Poor? Toward Sustainable Aquaculture
C O N T E N T S
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CHAPTER 7. HOW DOES FISHING AFFECT ECOSYSTEMS?
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Bycatch, Discards, and High-Grading Bycatch of Dolphins, Seabirds, Turtles, and Sharks Bycatch Conclusions Alteration of Community Structure: Are We “Fishing Down the Food Web?” Habitat Degradation by Fishing Gear and Practices