The latest report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on fishing shows that the majority of landings come from biologically sustainable stocks and credits robust fisheries management for the successes.
The biannual report on the state of the World’s Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020 (SOFIA) monitors global trends on fish production and consumption.
In 2018, fisheries production increased by 5.4% to 96.4m tonnes, its highest ever level. The EU has had a stable fish production over the last two decades but China’s catch rates have soared to 15% and the country is now the largest fish producer by far.
Almost 80% of the current global landings come from sustainable stocks but the FAO warns that the fraction of fish stocks which are biologically unsustainable is increasing, particularly in fisheries with less-developed management, located mainly in Southern Oceans.
Daniel Voces, managing director of Europêche, said, “We cannot agree more with the FAO that the perfect recipe for ocean conservation is more and better fisheries management. The uneven progress in different parts of the world calls for an urgent need to replicate and export successful EU policies to these areas.
“All governments need to step up efforts to ensure healthy and sustainable seafood systems that respect nature and biodiversity, such as in the EU”.
