State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2004 - Library

10
The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2004
Box 1
Catch and trade of oceanic species
Species items reported in the FAO capture production database were
classified as oceanic, further subdivided into epipelagic and deep-water
species, or living on the continental shelf. 1 A scrutiny of the new species
included in the capture database in the latest three updates (2000–2002)
showed that 35 more species items (mostly deep-water species) should
have been added to those previously selected, reaching a total of 155
oceanic species. This considerable rise in reported deep-water species
is probably a result of the growing awareness of deep-water fishing
activities that has prompted flag states to improve their monitoring
and reporting of deep-water catches, rather than a dramatic increase in
deep-water fishing.
In 2002, the share of oceanic catches in global marine catches
reached 11 percent. Catches of deep-water species decreased in 2002
after the highest catches ever in 2001, while catches of oceanic tuna
decreased in 2000 and 2001 and reached a maximum in 2002 (Figure A).
Catches of other epipelagic species, mainly oceanic squids, have been
increasing steeply since a drop in 1998 and also reached a peak in 2002.
A significant proportion of the landings of oceanic species enters
international marketing channels in various product forms. In 2002,
exports of oceanic species accounted for 7 percent of the quantity and
of 10 percent of the value of total exports of fish and fishery products.
In recent decades, the marked increase in catches of oceanic species
was paralleled by a growth in trade of oceanic species, which increased,
in terms of live weight equivalent, from 0.6 million tonnes in 1976 to
about 3.6 million tonnes in 2002, and in value terms from US$0.5 billion
to US$5.9 billion over the same period (Figure B). Most of these exports
consisted of tuna products, also a result of the inadequate identification
of other oceanic species in international commodity classifications.
1
For criteria adopted and further reading, see FAO. 2003. Trends in oceanic captures and
clustering of large marine ecosystems: two studies based on the FAO capture database,
by L. Garibaldi and L. Limongelli. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper No. 435. Rome (available
at http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/005/Y4449E/y4449e03.htm; accessed September 2004).