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A first major review of the state of world
fishery resources was produced by FAO more than two
decades ago and since then the FAO Fisheries
Department has been producing periodical updates
almost every two years. While these reviews and
their updates are primarily intended as background
documents for the regular sessions of the FAO
Committee on Fisheries (COFI), they have proven
to be most useful as background documents for other
international meetings dealing with the
conservation and management of marine living
resources, as well as to individual fishery
scientists and managers looking for a brief but
comprehensive review of the state of world fishery
resources.
The present document should be largely regarded
as an update of the 1993 Review of the state of
world marine fishery resources, issued as FAO
Fisheries Technical Paper No. 335, and of its
previous update, issued in 1995 as FAO Fisheries
Circular No. 884. However, in addition to a new
layout, this review provides information on fish
production over an extended time series
(1950-1994).
The analysis of this extended time series, now
readily available in electronic form, has led to
some interesting findings and general conceptual
postulates regarding the general trends and
potential of fisheries at global and regional
scales. Some preliminary results of the analysis of
these general trends are provided in the following
two sections. A more detailed description of the
state of exploitation and management by major
regions will follow, to end with a section on
special topics of general interest.
Each regional review is split into three
main sections: the "Introduction", a "Profile of
Catches" and a section on "Resource Status and
Management". The "Introduction" describes the key
geographical features and key attributes of the
physical environment found within the specific FAO
statistical area. In the introductory section there
is also a brief summing up of the main points of
current interest or concern within the FAO
statistical area, whether they arise from long-term
trends or patterns or recent changes in the
fisheries. The "Profile of Catches" draws on the
long-time series of catches on data recently
collected into a single database by FAO to give a
sense of the historical scale, development and
relative importance of the various types of
fisheries found within each FAO statistical
area.
However, the main focus of each regional review
is on recent developments within specific fisheries
as described in the section on "Resource Status and
Management". The structure of this section within
each regional review varies to reflect the most
appropriate basis upon which to separate the
resources into meaningful components. In certain
FAO statistical areas, separation into Exclusive
Economic Zones is used, while in others a
distinction is made according to resource type
(e.g. demersal, pelagic). In other areas authors
have followed the approach used by organization(s)
charged with assessing or managing marine resources
in that specific area. Wherever possible, the
results of stock assessments are used to make
quantitative comments on resource status directly.
However, in many fisheries, particularly those
which have developed recently, such information is
not available. In such cases qualitative
information may be presented. Additionally, in
instances where catches are believed to be
indicative of stock status, quantitative catches
data may be discussed. The description and analyses
of state of exploitation given in these sections
make use of the best information currently
available to FAO.
For each FAO statistical area a table containing
catch data for each year from 1988 to 1994 and
ten-year averages from 1950 to 1989 is given in
Section D "Marine Resources Tables". Also
contained in these tables are annotations on the
state of exploitation of each resource (see the
"Notes for all Tables" in section D for
definitions). A certain degree of care must be
taken in interpreting these annotations because
they are given on a species-by-species basis,
rather than for individual stocks. It is typically
the case that within each FAO Statistical Area the
catches of a given species will come from two or
more distinct stocks. It is often the case that the
state of exploitation of such separate stocks is
different. In such instances the "state of
exploitation" indicators in the table should be
checked against the main narrative within the
appropriate "Resource Status and Management"
section for further details. Given this distinction
between species and individual stocks, it can be
seen that the "state of exploitation" notes have
limited statistical significance from a fisheries
management point of view and are intended as "rule
of thumb" indicators only. It should also be noted
that, while FAO believes that the principal marine
species which are, or have been, the subject of
exploitation are represented in the tables, the
majority of species which contribute to many marine
fisheries in lesser quantities are not
included.
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reference sources
FAO Fisheries Circular No. 920
FIRM/C920 Rome, 1997 ISSN 0429-9329 REVIEW
OF THE STATE OF WORLD FISHERY RESOURCES:
MARINE FISHERIES by Marine Resources
Service, Fishery Resources Division,
Fisheries Department, FAO, Rome, Italy
J.A. Gulland (ed.), 1971. "The Fish
Resources of the Ocean". Fishing News
Books, England, 255p.
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