Tackling rural poverty, together

Extract

This report concludes that marine capture fisheries are an underperforming global asset. The study shows that the difference between the potential and actual net economic benefits from marine fisheries is in the order of $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. 

The study argues that improved governance can recapture a substantial proportion of the $50 billion annual economic loss. 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. Sustainable fisheries are not only a challenge to biology and ecology, but one of managing political and economic processes.