| Development Trends in Fisheries |
|
|
|
 The problem is also practical. Most fishery administrations in poor, developing countries have few real means by which to control access. Licensing for the purpose of permitting fishing - as opposed to raising revenue - is seldom possible in artisanal or traditional fisheries. Forcibly excluding fishers - or their heirs - from fishing in many cases would jeopardise the livelihood of the individuals concerned and their families. A common policy designed to help artisanal and small-scale fisherfolk is to reserve the coastal area exclusively for them. However, few fishery administrations have MCS equipment needed to keep industrial vessels out of a zone reserved for artisanal fishers. International technical assistance to capture fisheries in poor regions is increasingly taking the livelihoods approach which aims to improve the effectiveness not only of the activities of fishing communities, but also of the public policies, institutions and processes that affect the livelihood of fishing communities.In 1990, close to 30 million people worldwide were estimated to be working in fishing and aquaculture, more than double the 13 million people estimated to have been employed in the sector in 1970. |
| |
 In 1990 about 12 million people were engaged full-time in the sector (i.e. where fisheries accounted for 90% or more of the source of livelihood), 10 million were regarded as part-time fishers (with 30%-89% of their livelihood coming from fisheries) and 6.5 million were considered as occasional fishers (drawing 30% or less of their livelihood from fisheries). |
| |
| About 95% of all those engaged in fisheries and aquaculture in 1990 were from developing countries and were responsible for 58% of the total world production of 98 million tonnes landed that year. |
| |
| In developing countries the number of people working in fishing and aquaculture has risen steadily and is still rising, albeit at a declining rate while during the last 2 to 3 decades the numbers have halved in some high income countries. |
| |
| Between 1989 and 1998, aquaculture production more than doubled from 16.5 million mt to 39.4 million mt. Thus by 1998, 31% of total fish production came from aquaculture compared to about 15% in 1989. Asia accounted for 90% of world aquaculture production in 1990 and, in absolute terms, was responsible for most of the growth in production during the previous decade. Production in China increased by about 15% per annum during the 1990s, while growth in the rest of Asia was closer to 3% per annum. Expansion of small-scale pond culture, in particular, has considerable potential for the alleviation of poverty and improvement in food security for the poor. |
| |
| In contrast to aquaculture, the growth rate ofproduction from capture fisheries declined from 6% a year in the 1950s and 1960s to almost zero growth in the 1990s. This reflects the trend in most of the world's fishing areas, which appear to have reach their maximum potential for capture fisheries production, with a majority of stocks been fully exploited. |
| |
| |
 |
| |
|
|
|
