Sound Fisheries Management Can Lead to Significant Increases in Global Seafood Production

Suggested Bibliographic Reference: Challenging New Frontiers in the Global Seafood Sector: Proceedings of the Eighteenth Biennial Conference of the International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade, July 11-15, 2016. Compiled by Stefani J. Evers and Ann L. Shriver. International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade (IIFET), Corvallis, 2016.Proceedings of the Eighteenth Biennial Conference of the International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade, held July 11-15, 2016 at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Center (AECC), Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.The world's fisheries are a critical piece of the world's food supply, providing an important source of protein for billions of people and employing millions in the process. From a human perspective, it is important that fish stocks around the globe be managed in ways that can continue to provide for our growing population. Unfortunately, the future status of the world's fish stocks appears grim. The proportion of fish stocks at healthy levels of abundance have been in decline for decades and nearly half of assessed stocks are at levels below maximum sustained yield. In 2015, scientists and economists at EDF, along with professors at the University of Washington and the University of California Santa Barbara produced a bioeconomic model measuring the potential of the world's fisheries. This model indicates that most stocks can recover in less than a decade, leading to billions of dollars in additional profits, and an increase in the amount of food produced for human consumption. While the potential of the world's fisheries is much larger than we see today, attaining that potential is fraught with challenges. Rebuilding depleted stocks will require that existing fisheries be restricted in some way. In seafood-dependent economies and in places where other sources of income, employment, and sustenance are limited, the prospect of limiting fishing activity will undoubtedly be met with resistance. Further investigation of these challenges, and how to best navigate them, are needed