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Sustainable fisheries: A legacy to future generations
The life of billions of people in the world depends on fisheries.
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Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti at Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Jakarta, Indonesia on Wednesday, September 19, 2018. (JP/Wienda Parwitasari)
T
he life of billions of people in the world depends on fisheries. About 88 percent global fish production is utilized for human consumption, according to 2016 data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The world also relies on the fisheries industry for 120 million jobs.
Unfortunately, fish are the last resources left that we massively exploit from the wild. According to the FAO, 33.1 percent of global fish stocks are overexploited, while 59.9 percent are fully exploited.
This gloomy state stems from the large number and size of fishing fleets used. An estimated 4.6 million fishing vessels operate globally. Meanwhile, the capacity of fishing vessels is almost 250 percent larger than what the ocean can produce in a sustainable way.
Sadly, the percentage of exploitation provided by the FAO omits the portion of catches discarded at sea and catches from illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Based on the World Ocean Assessment, IUU fishing is estimated to cause losses totaling US$10-23 billion a year.
