Rapid Global Expansion of Invertebrate Fisheries: Trends, Drivers, and Ecosystem Effects

Sean C Anderson,Heike K Lotze,Reg Watson,Joanna Mills Flemming,Steven J Bograd

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0014735

Sean C Anderson, Heike K Lotze + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0014735

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Journal: PloS one	Publication Date: Mar 8, 2011
Citations: 212	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Dalhousie University, University of British Columbia

Abstract

BackgroundWorldwide, finfish fisheries are receiving increasing assessment and regulation, slowly leading to more sustainable exploitation and rebuilding. In their wake, invertebrate fisheries are rapidly expanding with little scientific scrutiny despite increasing socio-economic importance.Methods and FindingsWe provide the first global evaluation of the trends, drivers, and population and ecosystem consequences of invertebrate fisheries based on a global catch database in combination with taxa-specific reviews. We also develop new methodologies to quantify temporal and spatial trends in resource status and fishery development. Since 1950, global invertebrate catches have increased 6-fold with 1.5 times more countries fishing and double the taxa reported. By 2004, 34% of invertebrate fisheries were over-exploited, collapsed, or closed. New fisheries have developed increasingly rapidly, with a decrease of 6 years (3 years) in time to peak from the 1950s to 1990s. Moreover, some fisheries have expanded further and further away from their driving market, encompassing a global fishery by the 1990s. 71% of taxa (53% of catches) are harvested with habitat-destructive gear, and many provide important ecosystem functions including habitat, filtration, and grazing.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that invertebrate species, which form an important component of the basis of marine food webs, are increasingly exploited with limited stock and ecosystem-impact assessments, and enhanced management attention is needed to avoid negative consequences for ocean ecosystems and human well-being.

Highlights

Global finfish catches from capture fisheries peaked in the 1980s and have declined or remained stable since the early 1990s, yet global invertebrate catches have continued to climb [1]
Our findings suggest that invertebrate species, which form an important component of the basis of marine food webs, are increasingly exploited with limited stock and ecosystem-impact assessments, and enhanced management attention is needed to avoid negative consequences for ocean ecosystems and human well-being
The bulk of the catch in these areas consisted of bivalves, shrimps, squids, and crabs (Table S1)

Summary

Introduction

Global finfish catches from capture fisheries peaked in the 1980s and have declined or remained stable since the early 1990s, yet global invertebrate catches have continued to climb [1]. While finfish fisheries [7] and some more established invertebrate fisheries [8,9,10,11] have received increasing assessment, regulation, and rebuilding, many invertebrate fisheries do not get the same level of attention or care They are typically not assessed, not monitored, and often unregulated [1,2,5,6,12], which threatens their sustainable development despite their increasing social, economic, and high ecological importance [6,13]. Finfish fisheries are receiving increasing assessment and regulation, slowly leading to more sustainable exploitation and rebuilding In their wake, invertebrate fisheries are rapidly expanding with little scientific scrutiny despite increasing socio-economic importance

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