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Marine and inland production

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Marine fisheries

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Freshwater fisheries

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Pollution

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Effects of fishing

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Threatened species

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Fisheries management

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See also
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Sources

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References

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External links

Wild fisheries
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wild fisheries

Crab boat from the North Frisian Islands working in the North Sea
 Global harvest of aquatic organisms in million tonnes, 1950–2010, as reported by the FAO [1]

A wild fishery is a natural body of water with a sizeable free-ranging fish or

other aquatic animal (crustaceans and molluscs) population that can
be harvested for its commercial value. Wild fisheries can be marine (saltwater)
or lacustrine/riverine (freshwater), and rely heavily on the carrying capacity of the
local aquatic ecosystem.

Wild fisheries are sometimes called capture fisheries. The aquatic life they support
is not artificially controlled in any meaningful way and needs to be "captured" or
fished. Wild fisheries exist primarily in the oceans, and particularly
around coasts and continental shelves, but also exist in lakes and rivers. Issues with
wild fisheries are overfishing and pollution. Significant wild fisheries have collapsed
or are in danger of collapsing, due to overfishing and pollution. Overall, production
from the world's wild fisheries has levelled out, and may be starting to decline.

As a contrast to wild fisheries, farmed fisheries can operate in sheltered coastal

waters, in rivers, lakes and ponds, or in enclosed bodies of water such as pools
or fish tanks. Farmed fisheries are technological in nature, and revolve around
developments in aquaculture. Farmed fisheries are expanding,
and Chinese aquaculture in particular is making many advances. Nevertheless, the
majority of fish consumed by humans continues to be sourced from wild fisheries. As
of the early 21st century, fish is humanity's only significant wild food source.

Marine and inland production

Main article: World fish production

Global wild fish capture in million tonnes, 2010, as reported by the FAO [1]
 Global wild fish capture in million tonnes, 1950–2010, as reported by the FAO [1]

See also: Fishing by country

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the world
harvest by commercial fisheries in 2010 consisted of 88.6 million tonnes of aquatic
animals captured in wild fisheries, plus another 0.9 million tons of aquatic
plants (seaweed etc.). This can be contrasted with 59.9 million tonnes produced
in fish farms, plus another 19.0 million tons of aquatic plants harvested
in aquaculture.[1]

In 2024 FAO found that China accounted for 14% of global capture production, and
was followed by Indonesia (8%), India (7%), Peru (6%) and the Russian Federation
(5%). These five countries accounted for 41% of the total. Marine capture fisheries
accounted for 87% and inland fisheries for 13% of global capture fisheries production
of aquatic animals. World marine fisheries landed about 80 million tonnes of aquatic
animals, an increase of 0.7% compared to the average of the previous three years,
but below the peak of 84 million tonnes recorded in 2018. The top five producers
accounted for over 42% of the total, led by China (15% of the total), followed by
Indonesia (9%), Peru (7%), the Russian Federation (6%) and India (5%). Finfish
accounted for about 85% of total marine capture production of aquatic animals, led
by anchoveta, followed by Alaska pollack and skipjack tuna.[2]

Marine fisheries
Topography
Bathymetry of the ocean floor showing the continental shelves and oceanic plateaus (red),
the mid-ocean ridges (yellow-green) and the abyssal plains (blue to purple)

The productivity of marine fisheries is largely determined by marine topography, including

its interaction with ocean currents and the diminishment of sunlight with depth.

Fishing activities extracted

from Automatic Identification Data of EU trawlers over the continental shelf,[3] highlighting
the correlation with the bathymetry over the area (bottom-left, from the GEBCO world map
2014).
Marine topography is defined by various coastal and oceanic landforms, ranging from
coastal estuaries and shorelines; to continental shelves and coral reefs; to underwater
and deep sea features such as ocean rises and seamounts.
Ocean currents

Major ocean surface

currents. NOAA map.

An ocean current is continuous, directed movement of ocean water. Ocean currents are
rivers of relatively warm or cold water within the ocean. The currents are generated from
the forces acting upon the water like the planet rotation, the wind,
the temperature and salinity (hence isopycnal) differences and the gravitation of the moon.
The depth contours, the shoreline and other currents influence the current's direction and
strength.

More on currents

Gyres and upwelling

North Atlantic
gyre

North Atlantic
gyre

North Atlantic
gyre

Indian
Ocean
gyre

North
Pacific
gyre

South
Pacific
gyre

South Atlantic
gyre
 World map of the five major ocean gyres

Map of regions of upwelling

Oceanic gyres are large-scale ocean currents caused by the Coriolis effect. Wind-driven
surface currents interact with these gyres and the underwater topography, such as
seamounts and the edge of continental shelves, to produce downwellings and upwellings.
[4]
These can transport nutrients and provide feeding grounds for plankton eating forage
fish. This in turn draws larger fish that prey on the forage fish, and can result in productive
fishing grounds. Most upwellings are coastal, and many of them support some of the most
productive fisheries in the world, such as small pelagics (sardines, anchovies, etc.). Regions
of upwelling include coastal Peru, Chile, Arabian Sea, western South Africa, eastern New
Zealand and the California coast.

External image

Animation of the upwelling process.

 Prominent gyres

Biomass

Estimate
of biomass produced by photosynthesis from September 1997 to August 2000. This is a
rough indicator of the primary production potential in the oceans. Provided by
the SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center and ORBIMAGE.

In the ocean, the food chain typically follows the course:

 Phytoplankton → zooplankton → predatory zooplankton → filter feeders →

predatory organisms (usually constituting several trophic levels)
Phytoplankton is usually the primary producer (the first level in the food chain or the
first trophic level). Phytoplankton converts inorganic carbon into protoplasm.
Phytoplankton is consumed by microscopic animals called zooplankton. These are the
second level in the food chain, including krill, the larva of fish, squid, lobsters and crabs –
as well as the small crustaceans called copepods, and many other types. Zooplankton is
consumed by other, larger predatory zooplankton, fish, and baleen whales. Top ocean
predators such as sharks, large seals, and dolphins then eat the fish or other organisms that
eat zooplankton.[6] Trophic levels differ among food webs around the world, for example,
whales may consume zooplankton directly - leading to an environment with one less
trophic level compared to an environment where the predator does not eat the zooplankton
directly.

External image

Animation of global primary

production[7]

Primary biomass
Habitats

External image

Conservation status map

of the global 200

Aquatic habitats have been classified into marine and freshwater ecoregions by
the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF). An ecoregion is defined as a "relatively large unit
of land or water containing a characteristic set of natural communities that share a large
majority of their species, dynamics, and environmental conditions (Dinerstein et al. 1995,
TNC 1997).[12]

Coastal waters
 Estuary of Klamath River

 Estuaries are semi-enclosed coastal bodies of water with one or

more rivers or streams flowing into them, and with a free connection to the
open sea.[13] Estuaries are often associated with high rates of biological
productivity. They are small, in demand, impacted by events far upstream or out
at sea, and concentrate materials such as pollutants and sediments.[14][15]
 Lagoons are bodies of comparatively shallow salt or brackish water separated
from the deeper sea by a shallow or exposed sandbank, coral reef, or similar
feature. Lagoon refers to both coastal lagoons formed by the build-up of
sandbanks or reefs along shallow coastal waters, and the lagoons in atolls,
formed by the growth of coral reefs on slowly sinking central islands. Lagoons
that are fed by freshwater streams are estuaries.
 The intertidal zone (foreshore) is the area that is exposed to the air at low
tide and submerged at high tide, for example, the area between tide marks. This
area can include many different types of habitats, including steep rocky cliffs,
sandy beaches or vast mudflats. The area can be a narrow strip, as in Pacific
islands that have only a narrow tidal range, or can include many meters of
shoreline where shallow beach slope interacts with high tidal excursion.

Fixed-net fishing on the littoral zone along the Suhua

Highway on the East coast of Taiwan

 The littoral zone is the part of the ocean closest to the shore. The
 word littoral comes from the Latin litoralis, which means seashore.[16] The
littoral zone extends from the high-water mark to near shore areas that are
permanently submerged, and includes the intertidal zone. Definitions vary.
Encyclopædia Britannica defines the littoral zone in a thoroughly vague way as
the "marine ecological realm that experiences the effects of tidal and longshore
currents and breaking waves to a depth of 5 to 10 metres (16 to 33 ft) below the
low-tide level, depending on the intensity of storm waves".[17] The US Navy
defines it as extending "from the shoreline to 600 feet (180 meters) out into the
water"[18]
 The sublittoral zone is the part of the ocean extending from the seaward edge of
the littoral zone to the edge of the continental shelf.[19] It is sometimes called
the neritic zone. Websters defines the neritic zone as the region of shallow
water adjoining the seacoast. The word neritic perhaps comes from the Neo-
Latin nerita, which refers to a genus of marine snails, 1891.[20] The sublittoral
zone is relatively shallow, extending to about 200 metres (110 fathoms), and
generally has well-oxygenated water, low water pressure, and relatively stable
temperature and salinity levels. These, combined with presence of light and the
resulting photosynthetic life, such as phytoplankton and floating sargassum,
[21]
make the sublittoral zone the location of the majority of sea life.
 Voigt, Brian (1998) Glossary of Coastal Terminology Archived 2008-09-16 at
the Wayback Machine Washington State Department of Ecology, publication
98–105
 Pawson, M G; Pickett, G D and Walker, P (2002) The coastal fisheries of
England and Wales, Part IV: A review of their status 1999–2001 Science
Series, Technical Report 116.
Continental shelves

Global continental shelf, highlighted in light green

Continental shelves are the extended perimeters of each continent and associated coastal
plain, which is covered during interglacial periods such as the current epoch by relatively
shallow seas (known as shelf seas) and gulfs.

The shelf usually ends at a point of decreasing slope (called the shelf break). The sea floor
below the break is the continental slope. Below the slope is the continental rise, which
finally merges into the deep ocean floor, the abyssal plain. The continental shelf and the
slope are part of the continental margin.

Continental shelves are shallow (averaging 140 metres or 460 feet), and the sunlight
available means they can teem with life. The shallowest parts of the continental shelf are
called fishing banks.[22] There the sunlight penetrates to the seafloor and the plankton, on
which fish feed, thrive.

Continental shelves: Details

Coral reefs

Locations of coral
reefs.

Coral reefs are aragonite structures produced by living organisms, found in shallow,
tropical marine waters with little to no nutrients in the water. High nutrient levels such as
those found in runoff from agricultural areas can harm the reef by encouraging the growth
of algae.[26] Although corals are found both in temperate and tropical waters, reefs are
formed only in a zone extending at most from 30°N to 30°S of the equator.

Coral reefs: Details

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



Open sea

In the deep ocean, much of the ocean floor is a flat, featureless underwater desert called
the abyssal plain. Many pelagic fish migrate across these plains in search of spawning or
different feeding grounds. Smaller migratory fish are followed by larger predator fish and
can provide rich, if temporary, fishing grounds.

 Strait
Seamounts

The
locations of the world's major seamounts

A seamount is an underwater mountain, rising from the seafloor that does not reach to the
water's surface (sea level), and thus is not an island. They are defined by oceanographers as
independent features that rise to at least 1,000 meters above the seafloor. Seamounts are
common in the Pacific Ocean. Recent studies suggest there may be 30,000 seamounts in
the Pacific, about 1,000 in the Atlantic Ocean and an unknown number in the Indian
Ocean.[40]

Seamounts: Details

Maritime species
 pelagic predator
tuna

billfish

shark

forage
herring

sardine

anchovy

menhaden

demersal benthopelagi
c cod

benthic
flatfish

Major marine wild fisheries

See also: Predator fish, Forage fish, Pelagic fish, Demersal fish, Coral reef fish,
and Coastal fish
Freshwater fisheries
Lakes
See also: Lentic ecosystems
Worldwide, freshwater lakes have an area of 1.5 million square kilometres.[45] Saline
inland seas add another 1.0 million square kilometres.[46] There are 28 freshwater
lakes with an area greater than 5,000 square kilometres, totalling 1.18 million square
kilometres or 79% of the total.[47]

Freshwater fisheries are essential to supporting human life around the globe whether
they are used for recreation or commercial use. Climate change presents several
challenges in sustaining these fisheries as waters become warmer resulting in
decreased dissolved oxygen, as the toxicity of pollutants increases, and as the
physiological changes in fishes and changes in their habitat systems alter what we
are used to. Deoxygenation and eutrophication are two major effects that are
detrimental to fish and ecosystem health and the problem is more prevalent as the
size of the body of water decreases.[48] Details on the changes occurring in fish
physiology and their habitats can be found at the respective citation.

Increased management and surveillance on freshwater fisheries will be vital to the

longevity, sustainability, and productivity of the fisheries and essential to maintaining
our food production from that source.
Rivers
See also: Lotic ecosystems
Pollution
Main article: Marine pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment. Wild fisheries
flourish in oceans, lakes, and rivers, and the introduction of contaminants is an issue
of concern, especially as regards plastics, pesticides, heavy metals, and other
industrial and agricultural pollutants which do not disintegrate rapidly in the
environment. Land run-off and industrial, agricultural, and domestic waste enter
rivers and are discharged into the sea. Pollution from ships is also a problem.

Plastic waste
Main article: Marine debris
Marine debris is human-created waste that ends up floating in the sea. Oceanic
debris tends to accumulate at the centre of gyres and coastlines, frequently washing
aground where it is known as beach litter. Eighty% of all known marine debris is
plastic - a component that has been rapidly accumulating since the end of World War
II.[49] Plastics accumulate because they don't biodegrade as many other substances
do; while they will photodegrade on exposure to the sun, they do so only under dry
conditions, as water inhibits this process.[50]

Discarded plastic bags, six-pack rings and other forms of plastic waste which finish
up in the ocean present dangers to wildlife and fisheries.[51] Aquatic life can be
threatened through entanglement, suffocation, and ingestion.[52][53][54]

Nurdles, also known as mermaids' tears, are plastic pellets typically under five
millimetres in diameter, and are a major contributor to marine debris. They are used
as a raw material in plastics manufacturing, and are thought to enter the natural
environment after accidental spillages. Nurdles are also created through the physical
weathering of larger plastic debris. They strongly resemble fish eggs, only instead of
finding a nutritious meal, any marine wildlife that ingests them will likely starve, be
poisoned and die.[55]

Many animals that live on or in the sea consume flotsam by mistake, as it often looks
similar to their natural prey.[56] Plastic debris, when bulky or tangled, is difficult to
pass, and may become permanently lodged in the digestive tracts of these animals,
blocking the passage of food and causing death through starvation or infection.
[57]
Tiny floating particles also resemble zooplankton, which can lead filter feeders to
consume them and cause them to enter the ocean food chain. In samples taken from
the North Pacific Gyre in 1999 by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, the
mass of plastic exceeded that of zooplankton by a factor of six.[49][58] More recently,
reports have surfaced that there may now be 30 times more plastic than plankton,
the most abundant form of life in the ocean.[59]

Toxic additives used in the manufacture of plastic materials can leach out into their
surroundings when exposed to water. Waterborne hydrophobic pollutants collect and
magnify on the surface of plastic debris,[60] thus making plastic far more deadly in the
ocean than it would be on land.[49] Hydrophobic contaminants are also known
to bioaccumulate in fatty tissues, biomagnifying up the food chain and putting great
pressure on apex predators. Some plastic additives are known to disrupt
the endocrine system when consumed, others can suppress the immune system or
decrease reproductive rates.[58]

Toxins

Septic river.

Polluted lagoon.
See also: Mercury in fish
Apart from plastics, there are particular problems with other toxins which do not
disintegrate rapidly in the marine environment. Heavy metals are metallic chemical
elements that have a relatively high density and are toxic or poisonous at low
concentrations. Examples are mercury, lead, nickel, arsenic and cadmium. Other
persistent toxins are PCBs, DDT, pesticides, furans, dioxins and phenols.

Such toxins can accumulate in the tissues of many species of aquatic life in a
process called bioaccumulation. They are also known to accumulate
in benthic environments, such as estuaries and bay muds: a geological record of
human activities of the last century.

Some specific examples are

  Chinese and Russian industrial pollution such as phenols and heavy
metals in the Amur River have devastated fish stocks and damaged
its estuary soil.[61]
 Wabamun Lake in Alberta, Canada, once the best whitefish lake in the
area, now has unacceptable levels of heavy metals in its sediment and
fish.
 Acute and chronic pollution events have been shown to impact southern
California kelp forests, though the intensity of the impact seems to depend
on both the nature of the contaminants and duration of exposure.[62][63][64][65][66]
 Due to their high position in the food chain and the
subsequent accumulation of heavy metals from their diet, mercury levels
can be high in larger species such as bluefin and albacore. As a result, in
March 2004 the United States FDA issued guidelines recommending that
pregnant women, nursing mothers and children limit their intake of tuna
and other types of predatory fish.[67]
 Some shellfish and crabs can survive polluted environments,
accumulating heavy metals or toxins in their tissues. For example, mitten
crabs have a remarkable ability to survive in highly modified aquatic
habitats, including polluted waters.[68] The farming and harvesting of such
species needs careful management if they are to be used as a food.[69][70]

 Mining has a poor environmental track record. For example, according to

the United States Environmental Protection Agency, mining has
contaminated portions of the headwaters of over 40% of watersheds in the
western continental US.[71] Much of this pollution finishes up in the sea.

 Heavy metals enter the environment through oil spills - such as

the Prestige oil spill on the Galician coast - or from other natural
or anthropogenic sources.[72]
Eutrophication
Main article: Eutrophication

Effect of eutrophication on
marine benthic life
Eutrophication is an increase in chemical nutrients, typically compounds
containing nitrogen or phosphorus, in an ecosystem. It can result in an increase in
the ecosystem's primary productivity (excessive plant growth and decay), and further
effects including lack of oxygen and severe reductions in water quality, fish, and
other animal populations.
The biggest culprit are rivers that empty into the ocean, and with it the many
chemicals used as fertilizers in agriculture as well as waste
from livestock and humans. An excess of oxygen depleting chemicals in the water
can lead to hypoxia and the creation of a dead zone.[73]

Surveys have shown that 54% of lakes in Asia are eutrophic; in Europe, 53%;
in North America, 48%; in South America, 41%; and in Africa, 28%.[74] Estuaries also
tend to be naturally eutrophic because land-derived nutrients are concentrated
where run-off enters the marine environment in a confined channel. The World
Resources Institute has identified 375 hypoxic coastal zones around the world,
concentrated in coastal areas in Western Europe, the Eastern and Southern coasts
of the US, and East Asia, particularly in Japan.[75] In the ocean, there are frequent red
tide algae blooms[76] that kill fish and marine mammals and cause respiratory
problems in humans and some domestic animals when the blooms reach close to
shore.

In addition to land runoff, atmospheric anthropogenic fixed nitrogen can enter the
open ocean. A study in 2008 found that this could account for around one third of the
ocean's external (non-recycled) nitrogen supply and up to three per cent of the
annual new marine biological production.[77] It has been suggested that accumulating
reactive nitrogen in the environment may have consequences as serious as putting
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.[78]

Acidification
Main article: Ocean acidification
The oceans are normally a natural carbon sink, absorbing carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere. Because the levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide are increasing, the
oceans are becoming more acidic.[79][80] The potential consequences of ocean
acidification are not fully understood, but there are concerns that structures made of
calcium carbonate may become vulnerable to dissolution, affecting corals and the
ability of shellfish to form shells.[81]

A report from NOAA scientists published in the journal Science in May 2008 found
that large amounts of relatively acidified water are upwelling to within four miles of
the Pacific continental shelf area of North America. This area is a critical zone where
most local marine life lives or is born. While the paper dealt only with areas
from Vancouver to northern California, other continental shelf areas may be
experiencing similar effects.[82]

Effects of fishing
Habitat destruction
Main article: Environmental effects of fishing
Fishing nets that have been left or lost in the ocean by fishermen are called ghost
nets, and can entangle fish, dolphins, sea
turtles, sharks, dugongs, crocodiles, seabirds, crabs, and other creatures. Acting as
designed, these nets restrict movement, causing starvation, laceration and infection,
and—in those that need to return to the surface to breathe—suffocation. [83]
Fishing operations often use trawl netting dragging and dredging them across the
ocean bottom. Numerous habitats and ecosystems are disturbed and destroyed by
trawling including coral reefs, sediments, and grasses that provide feeding and
breeding grounds for a plethora of marine organisms. Coastal habitats such as
mangroves are often sites of aquaculture farming practices in which the mangroves
are either destroyed for easier use of the land or experience harmful conditions due
to the farm being abandoned once the area becomes too polluted with excess
nutrients.[84]

Overfishing
Main article: Overfishing

Global trends in the state of the

world's marine fishery stocks, 1974 - 2023
Some specific examples of overfishing.

 On the east coast of the United States, the availability of bay scallops has
been greatly diminished by the overfishing of sharks in the area. A variety
of sharks have, until recently, fed on rays, which are a main predator of
bay scallops. With the shark population reduced, in some places almost
totally, the rays have been free to dine on scallops to the point of greatly
decreasing their numbers.[citation needed]
 Chesapeake Bay's once-flourishing oyster populations historically filtered
the estuary's entire water volume of excess nutrients every three or four
days. Today that process takes almost a year,[85] and sediment, nutrients,
and algae can cause problems in local waters. Oysters filter these
pollutants, and either eat them or shape them into small packets that are
deposited on the bottom where they are harmless.
 The Australian government alleged in 2006 that Japan illegally
overfished southern bluefin tuna by taking 12,000 to 20,000 tonnes per
year instead of their agreed 6,000 tonnes; the value of such overfishing
would be as much as US$2 billion. Such overfishing has resulted in
severe damage to stocks. "Japan's huge appetite for tuna will take the
most sought-after stocks to the brink of commercial extinction unless
fisheries agree on more rigid quotas" stated the WWF.[86][87] Japan disputes
 this figure, but acknowledges that some overfishing has occurred in the
past.[88]
 Jackson, Jeremy B C et al. (2001) Historical overfishing and the recent
collapse of coastal ecosystems Science 293:629-638.

The FAO, Food and Agriculture

Organization, department of Fisheries and Aquaculture demonstrates how
overexploitation practices continue to increase among our global fish stocks.
Evidence provided from 1970s to the recent present.
Our World in Data provides a figure showing the trend in global fishing exploitation
over a few decades to reveal the intensifying circumstances at hand:

Overfishing presents many threats to fish population densities, obviously. However,

as these populations plummet below the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) value for
the specific population, you are now risking the loss of biodiversity and possibility for
extinction due to less diversity. This loss in diversity is especially concerning as we
deal with environmental changes from climate change since less diversity decreases
a populations ability to adapt and survive the alterations of the habitat.


This graph demonstrates the importance of following a specific quota of

exploitation to sustain a resource such as a fish population.
Loss of biodiversity
Main article: Biodiversity
Each species in an ecosystem is affected by the other species in that ecosystem.
There are very few single prey-single predator relationships. Most prey are
consumed by more than one predator, and most predators have more than one prey.
Their relationships are also influenced by other environmental factors. In most cases,
if one species is removed from an ecosystem, other species will most likely be
affected, up to the point of extinction.
Species biodiversity is a major contributor to the stability of ecosystems. When an
organism exploits a wide range of resources, a decrease in biodiversity is less likely
to have an impact. However, for an organism which exploit only limited resources, a
decrease in biodiversity is more likely to have a strong effect.

Reduction of habitat, hunting and fishing of some species to extinction or near

extinction, and pollution tend to tip the balance of biodiversity. For a systematic
treatment of biodiversity within a trophic level, see unified neutral theory of
biodiversity.

Threatened species
The global standard for recording threatened marine species is the IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species.[89] This list is the foundation for marine conservation priorities
worldwide. A species is listed in the threatened category if it is considered to
be critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable. Other categories are near
threatened and data deficient.

Marine
Many marine species are under increasing risk of extinction and
marine biodiversity is undergoing potentially irreversible loss due to threats such
as overfishing, bycatch, climate change, invasive species and coastal development.

By 2008, the IUCN had assessed about 3,000 marine species. This includes
assessments of known species of shark, ray, chimaera, reef-building coral, grouper,
marine turtle, seabird, and marine mammal. Almost one-quarter (22%) of these
groups have been listed as threatened.[90]

Group Species Threatened Near threatened Data deficient

Sharks, rays,
17% 13% 47%
and chimaeras

Groupers 12% 14% 30%

Reef-building corals 845 27% 20% 17%

Marine mammals 25%

Seabirds 27%

Marine turtles 7 86%

 Sharks, rays, and chimaeras: are deep water pelagic species, which
makes them difficult to study in the wild. Not a lot is known about their
ecology and population status. Much of what is currently known is from
their capture in nets from both targeted and accidental catch. Many of
 these slow growing species are not recovering from overfishing by shark
fisheries around the world.
 Groupers: Major threats are overfishing, particularly the uncontrolled
fishing of small juveniles and spawning adults.
 Coral reefs: The primary threats to corals are bleaching and disease
which has been linked to an increase in sea temperatures. Other threats
include coastal development, coral extraction, sedimentation and pollution.
The coral triangle (Indo-Malay-Philippine archipelago) region has the
highest number of reef-building coral species in threatened category as
well as the highest coral species diversity. The loss of coral reef
ecosystems will have devastating effects on many marine species, as well
as on people that depend on reef resources for their livelihoods.
 Marine mammals: include whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, sea
lions, walruses, sea otter, marine otter, manatees, dugong and the polar
bear. Major threats include entanglement in ghost nets, targeted
harvesting, noise pollution from military and seismic sonar, and boat
strikes. Other threats are water pollution, habitat loss from coastal
development, loss of food sources due to the collapse of fisheries, and
climate change.
 Seabirds: Major threats include longline fisheries and gillnets, oil spills,
and predation by rodents and cats in their breeding grounds. Other threats
are habitat loss and degradation from coastal development, logging and
pollution.
 Marine turtles: Marine turtles lay their eggs on beaches, and are subject
to threats such as coastal development, sand mining, and predators,
including humans who collect their eggs for food in many parts of the
world. At sea, marine turtles can be targeted by small scale subsistence
fisheries, or become bycatch during longline and trawling activities, or
become entangled in ghost nets or struck by boats.
An ambitious project, called the Global Marine Species Assessment, is under way to
make IUCN Red List assessments for another 17,000 marine species by 2012.
Groups targeted include the approximately 15,000 known marine fishes, and
important habitat-forming primary producers such mangroves, seagrasses,
certain seaweeds and the remaining corals; and important invertebrate groups
including molluscs and echinoderms.[90]

Freshwater
Freshwater fisheries have a disproportionately high diversity of species compared to
other ecosystems. Although freshwater habitats cover less than 1% of the world's
surface, they provide a home for over 25% of known vertebrates, more than 126,000
known animal species, about 24,800 species of freshwater
fish, molluscs, crabs and dragonflies, and about 2,600 macrophytes.[90] Continuing
industrial and agricultural developments place huge strain on these freshwater
systems. Waters are polluted or extracted at high levels, wetlands are drained, rivers
channelled, forests deforestated leading to sedimentation, invasive species are
introduced, and over-harvesting occurs.

In the 2008 IUCN Red List, about 6,000 or 22% of the known freshwater species
have been assessed at a global scale, leaving about 21,000 species still to be
assessed. This makes clear that, worldwide, freshwater species are highly
threatened, possibly more so than species in marine fisheries.[91] However, a
significant proportion of freshwater species are listed as data deficient, and more
field surveys are needed.[90]

Fisheries management
Main article: Fisheries management
See also: Sustainable fishing
A recent paper published by the National Academy of Sciences of the USA warns
that: "Synergistic effects of habitat destruction, overfishing, introduced species,
warming, acidification, toxins, and massive runoff of nutrients are transforming once
complex ecosystems like coral reefs and kelp forests into monotonous level bottoms,
transforming clear and productive coastal seas into anoxic dead zones, and
transforming complex food webs topped by big animals into simplified, microbially
dominated ecosystems with boom and bust cycles of toxic dinoflagellate blooms,
jellyfish, and disease".[92]

See also
 Fishing by country
 List of countries by seafood consumption
 List of harvested aquatic animals by weight
 Ocean fisheries
 Population dynamics of fisheries
 World fish production
Sources
This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY 4.0
(license statement/permission). Text taken from The State of World Fisheries and
Aquaculture 2026, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

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Category:
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