Catch reconstructions reveal that global marine fisheries catches are higher than reported and declining

Fisheries data assembled by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) suggest that global marine fisheries catches increased to 86 million tonnes in 1996, then slightly declined. Here, using a decade-long multinational ‘catch reconstruction’ project covering the Exclusive Economic Zones of the world’s maritime countries and the High Seas from 1950 to 2010, and accounting for all fisheries, we identify catch trajectories differing considerably from the national data submitted to the FAO. We suggest that catch actually peaked at 130 million tonnes, and has been declining much more strongly since. This decline in reconstructed catches reflects declines in industrial catches and to a smaller extent declining discards, despite industrial fishing having expanded from industrialized countries to the waters of developing countries. The differing trajectories documented here suggest a need for improved monitoring of all fisheries, including often neglected small-scale fisheries, and illegal and other problematic fisheries, as well as discarded bycatch.

由联合国粮食及农业组织（Food and Agriculture Organization，FAO）汇编的渔业数据显示，1996年全球海洋捕捞量已增至8600万吨，随后略有回落。本研究依托一项横跨十年的跨国捕捞重构（catch reconstruction）项目，覆盖1950年至2010年间全球沿海国家专属经济区（Exclusive Economic Zones）及公海范围内的全部渔业活动，经全面核算后发现，本次统计得到的捕捞量变化轨迹与提交给粮农组织的各国上报数据存在显著差异。我们提出，全球捕捞量实际曾达到1.3亿吨的峰值，且自此之后的下滑幅度远大于此前报道水平。本次重构后的捕捞量下滑，主要源于工业化捕捞量的下降，同时伴随一定比例的丢弃渔获量减少——尽管工业化捕捞已从发达国家海域拓展至发展中国家水域。本研究揭示的差异化捕捞轨迹表明，亟需强化对各类渔业活动的监测，其中常被忽视的小型渔业、非法及其他违规渔业，以及兼捕丢弃渔获均应纳入重点监管范畴。