Data from: 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年全球海洋渔业捕捞量攀升至8600万吨，随后小幅回落。本研究依托一项为期十年的跨国捕捞量重建项目，该项目覆盖全球沿海国家专属经济区（Exclusive Economic Zones）与公海（High Seas），时间跨度为1950年至2010年，且纳入所有渔业门类，最终发现全球捕捞量的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。本研究认为，全球捕捞量实际峰值达1.3亿吨，且自此之后的下滑幅度更为显著。尽管工业捕捞已从工业化国家拓展至发展中国家海域，但重建后的捕捞量下滑仍主要源于工业捕捞量的下降，仅在较小程度上受到丢弃渔获量减少的影响。本研究揭示的捕捞量轨迹差异表明，亟需加强对所有渔业类型的监测监管，其中常被忽视的小型渔业、非法及其他违规渔业，以及兼捕丢弃渔获的监测均应纳入覆盖范围。