A recent World Bank report concludes that marine capture fisheries are an underperforming global asset and that better management could raise net benefits with up to $50 billion per year. The cumulative economic loss to the global economy over the last three decades is estimated to be in the order of two trillion dollars, according to the report.
Rather than being a net drain on the global economy, sustainable fisheries can create an economic surplus, be a driver of economic growth, and a basis for livelihood opportunities, the report says, noting that sustainable fisheries are not only a challenge to biology and ecology, but one of managing political and economic processes.
The report, headlined “The Sunken Billions – The Economic Justification for Fisheries Reform”, was published jointly by the World Bank and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).