fisheries policy brief
Managing fish stocks sustainably
January 2023
round two-thirds of assessed fish stocks reported in the OECD Review of Fisheries 2022 are A in good health, but nearly one in five do not meet sustainability standards and many could produce more food or more value for fishers if they were even more abundant. ebuilding overfished stocks and harvesting all stocks at optimal levels will increase the R profitability of the sector, improve environmental sustainability (including by reducing emissions) and enhance outcomes for fishing communities. roducing accurate and timely data on the health of fish stocks and how they are managed is P fundamental if stock health and harvest levels are to be maintained in the face of climate change.
What’s the issue? The health of fish stocks is one of the main determinants of fisheries performance, meaning the sustainable management of fish stocks is fundamental to achieving the socio-economic objectives governments and stakeholders have for fisheries. Good fisheries management is also essential for their long-term environmental sustainability, as well as for protecting biodiversity and ensuring the provision of ocean ecosystem services such as climate regulation, food provision and nutrient cycling. Understanding the status of fish stocks and how to manage them effectively is also important as climate change increasingly affects marine ecosystems. To remain effective, fisheries management must adapt to the impacts of climate change on species diversity, abundance and distribution, which may require changes to the way fisheries operate and the institutions that manage them. The OECD Review of Fisheries 2022 finds that in the 32 OECD countries and emerging economies covered, 64% of assessed stocks are in good health. However, 18% of assessed stocks fall below sustainability standards and the health of the remaining 18% could not be determined. Just under half of the stocks assessed to be in good health—30% of all assessed stocks—are also harvested in a way that optimises productivity (i.e. they are abundant enough to maximise the volume or value of catch). Thus, there is scope to produce more fish, generate more value for fishers, and increase environmental sustainability at the same time by better managing fish stocks. These figures mask significant variations at the country level, both in the number of stocks assessed and in their health status. The granular information presented in the review can help target management efforts where they are most needed.
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How are fisheries managed? Management regimes are generally a collection of tools that aim to limit either the way fish are caught (input controls) or the level and type of catch (output controls). Input controls regulate fleet and gear characteristics (e.g. vessel size and power, gear type and configuration), along with how they can be applied (spatial or temporal restrictions). Output controls usually take the form of quotas, typically total allowable catch (TAC) limits which cap the total quantity of an individual stock that can be harvested. Individual or community quotas are sometimes used to augment TACs and they define the conditions under which catch shares can be sold or exchanged (or not). Output controls also include regulations on minimum fish sizes. TACs are believed to be one of the most important tools for ensuring the health of fish stocks. The OECD Review of Fisheries 2022 finds that in 2021, the most frequently used management tools were gear restrictions (used for 87% of stocks), while TACs were the second-most commonly applied tool (76% of stocks). In 2020, species covered entirely by TACs accounted for USD 9 billion in landings, or 59% of the value of landing for all the species in the data set. This equates to 12.6 million tonnes of fish, or 80% of all these landings by volume.
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