A study examines trends in global fishing fleets. Managing fishing capacity is vital to preserving the health of the world's oceans. However, previous research has reconstructed fishing fleets without including artisanal and industrial sectors. Yannick Rousseau and colleagues reconstructed the artisanal and industrial fishing sectors of the global marine fleet by examining engine power, fishing effort, and the number of vessels between 1950 and 2015. By 2015, 68% of the global fishing fleet became motorized as the number of unpowered artisanal vessels decreased. However, the overall number of fleet vessels increased from 1.7 million to 3.7 million. The increase was most notable in Asia, where the global fleet contribution increased by 400%, but was slightly compensated by a minor fleet reduction in North America and Western Europe. Amid the global fleet expansion was a consistent decrease in the catch per unit of effort (CPUE). While the CPUE of Asian fleets decreased over time, Oceania's CPUE increased. By 2015, the average CPUE of most countries decreased by 80% since the 1950s. The combined global engine power of the motorized artisanal and industrial fleet increased from 25 GW to 145 GW by 2015. The findings suggest that despite decreasing CPUE and catches, the global fishing fleet continues to increase, which may also decrease seafood abundance and increase fuel emissions, according to the authors.
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Article #18-20344: "Evolution of global marine fishing fleets and the response of fished resources," by Yannick Rousseau, Reg A. Watson, Julia L. Blanchard, and Elizabeth A. Fulton.
MEDIA CONTACT: Yannick Rousseau, University of Tasmania, AUSTRALIA; email: <yannick.rousseau@utas.edu.au>
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences