UW Aquatic & Fishery Sciences Quantitative Seminar

Ricardo Amoroso

School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington

Potential increases in marine fish harvest by improved management

Abstract

In order to feed a human population that is expected to reach 9 billion people by 2050 the world will need to increase food production by between 50% to a 100%. Fish and shellfish derived proteins are crucial components of human diet, and fish are a particularly important part of the diet in many of the poorest countries of the world. With a growing population and higher demand for fish products by increasingly affluent societies, efforts will be necessary to increase production in a sustainable way to ensure food security. Increasing fish food production from marine fisheries requires rebuilding the abundance of severely depleted stocks and a more intense use underexploited populations. In this presentation, an assessment on the potential gains in yield that could result from rebuilding overfished stocks and fully utilizing those that are currently underfished will be presented. To do so, the most comprehensive scientific stock assessment database is used to provide model-based estimates of lost yield due to over and underfishing in different regions of the world.