Exploring the role of the fisheries sector in China’s national economy: An input–output analysis

Abstract

In China, fisheries include a combination of capture and aquaculture activities. In the context of China Fisheries and Aquaculture Statistics Yearbooks, the fisheries sector includes three economic sub-sectors: the fisheries primary sector (e.g., saltwater or freshwater, wild or farmed capture, and aquaculture), the fisheries secondary sector (e.g., aquatic processing, fisheries machine and tools manufacturing, fisheries feed, and construction), and the fisheries tertiary sector (e.g., fisheries products storage, transportation service, and leisure fishery). This study disaggregates these three fisheries sub-sectors as exogenous and investigates the role of the fisheries sectors in China from 2000 to 2018. Through an input-output (I–O) analysis, we quantify their socioeconomic impacts by determining the cross-sectoral linkage effects, the production-inducing effects, the supply-shortage effects, and the employment-inducing effects. Finally, these findings provide reliable information for policymakers to understand the fisheries value chain and to formulate fisheries regulations.