Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 1 • Number 2 • 6th December 2001
New Study Reveals Underreporting Of Fish Catch Decline
New Study Reveals Underreporting Of Fish Catch Decline
Contrary to statistics by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a new study, published in the 29 November edition of the science journal Nature, shows that fish catches have actually been declining by 800 million pounds since the late ’80s rather than increasing by 700 million pounds as previously thought. Nevertheless, at the current rate, by 2015, global fish stocks will have fallen by half. The world is "playing with the food supply of the planet," said Reg Watson, one of the authors. "These earthshaking findings are the most significant fishery and food security results in decades, said Jane Lubchenco from Oregon State University. "They call into question the very basis of international fisheries management."
According to the study, the discrepancies are mainly due to over- reporting by China, which accounts for almost 40 percent of the deviation between reported and corrected levels. "FAO must generally rely on the statistics provided by member countries, even if it is doubtful that these correspond to reality," the study points out. While some blame incorrect reporting by Chinese local officials, the authors point at the institutions involved in the reporting process. "The same parts of the state devoted to monitoring the economy are also tasked with increasing its output," they said. "Our studies showed that whatever China’s leaders set as production targets is what is officially reported." Others, however, prefer to focus on the widespread problem of overfishing rather than looking for whom to blame. "This is a global problem not a case of a few bad actors," said Andy Rosenberg from the University of New Hampshire.
The authors, however, warn against using the findings to promote aquaculture as a means of boosting fish catch, which they say would need to fundamentally change to become a viable alterantive. "Aquaculture cannot replace wild seafood because so much farmed seafood relies on wild fish for fishmeal," according to Watson. Others highlight the problems of pollution and escapes from the net cages into the ocean as some of the industry’s most serious problems, leading, for instance, the David Suzuki Foundation to demand an end to floating cages in the salmon farming industry.
Agreement On Fish Conservation Adopted By UN General Assembly
The 56th session of the UN General Assembly on 28 November adopted an Agreement setting out provisions concerning the conservation and management of straddling and highly migratory fish stocks. The Agreement — which will enter into force on 11 December following deposition of the thirtieth instrument of accession to the Agreement on 11 November — also includes provisions on sub-regional and regional cooperation in enforcement, binding dispute settlement and the rights and obligations of states in authorising the use of vessels flying their flags for fishing on the high seas. It furthermore invites member states to provide assistance to developing and least-developed states to enable them "to develop their national capacity to exploit fishery resources" while ensuring adequate conservation and management of those fisheries resources. The Agreement also includes references to precaution, urging all states "to apply the precautionary approach widely to the conservation, management and exploitation of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks."
Additional Resources
Further information on the Nature study can be found on the SeaWeb web site.
"Chinese misreporting masks dramatic decline in ocean fish catches, scientists say", AP, 29 November 2001; "Experts say Chinese overreporting masks decline in catches," UN WIRE, 29 November 2001; "Inflated Chinese fisheries data masks global fish decline," ENS, 29 November, 2001; ICTSD Internal Files.