**Fishery Definitions and Types:**
– A fishery involves harvesting fish through capture or aquaculture.
– Definitions can be based on people involved, species, area, method of fishing, etc.
– Fishery includes a combination of mammal and fish fishers.
– Types of fisheries include commercial, recreational, and subsistence sectors.
– Marine fisheries contribute close to 90% of global catches.
– Commercial fisheries globally target a small number of species.
**Economic Importance of Fisheries:**
– Over 500 million people in developing countries rely on fisheries.
– Overfishing depletes fish stocks and affects employment.
– Global fisheries added US$270 billion to GDP in 2014.
– Sustainable fishing practices could increase GDP by US$50 billion.
– Recreational fishing is economically significant in many regions.
**Fishery Production and Management:**
– Total fish production in 2016 reached 171 million tonnes.
– 88% of production was for direct human consumption.
– Per capita fish consumption was 20.3kg in 2016.
– Aquaculture growth is significant, especially in Africa and Asia.
– Fishery management aims at sustainable benefits from aquatic resources.
**Global Goals and Environmental Issues:**
– Global goals focus on sustainable economic practices and coastal ecosystem preservation.
– Environmental issues include overfishing, marine conservation, and pollution.
– Challenges include the growing gap between fish supply and demand.
– Climate change effects on fish distributions, productivity, and trade.
– Predictions of wild-caught seafood depletion by 2048 raise sustainability concerns.
**Fisheries Law and Regulations:**
– Fisheries law studies different management approaches for sustainability.
– Crafting policies for sustainability and legal enforcement is crucial.
– Includes international treaties, industry norms, and seafood safety.
– Ensuring justice for small-scale fisheries and communities.
– Study of aquaculture laws, animal feed regulations, and safety.
Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place (a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both in freshwater waterbodies (about 10% of all catch) and the oceans (about 90%). About 500 million people worldwide are economically dependent on fisheries. 171 million tonnes of fish were produced in 2016, but overfishing is an increasing problem, causing declines in some populations.
Because of their economic and social importance, fisheries are governed by complex fisheries management practices and legal regimes that vary widely across countries. Historically, fisheries were treated with a "first-come, first-served" approach, but recent threats from human overfishing and environmental issues have required increased regulation of fisheries to prevent conflict and increase profitable economic activity on the fishery. Modern jurisdiction over fisheries is often established by a mix of international treaties and local laws.
Declining fish populations, marine pollution, and the destruction of important coastal ecosystems have introduced increasing uncertainty in important fisheries worldwide, threatening economic security and food security in many parts of the world. These challenges are further complicated by the changes in the ocean caused by climate change, which may extend the range of some fisheries while dramatically reducing the sustainability of other fisheries.