The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020

The State of World Fisheries and 
Aquaculture
. The percentage of biologically 
sustainable stocks was used as an indicator for 
the United Nations Millennium Development 
Goal 7 – Sustainable Environment, and is 
now used for SDG Indicator 14.4.1 and the 
Convention on Biological Diversity’s Aichi 
Target 6. Sustainable Development Goal 
(SDG) 14 has set a target of 100 percent of 
fish stocks within biologically sustainable 
levels by 2020. The latest assessment shows 
that SDG Indicator 14.4.1 decreased from 
about 90 percent in 1973 to 67 percent in 2017. 
This continuous decrease indicates that the 2020 
target is unlikely to be achieved because: (i) the 
indicator is moving further away from the target; 
and (ii) no matter what measures are taken 
before 2020, not all fish stocks can be rebuilt to 
the MSY level within such a short period. A fish 
stock usually needs 2–3 times its lifespan for 
management regulations to turn into effective 
results in stock abundance. For long-lived species 
such as blue shark (
Prionace glauca
) and shortfin 
mako shark (
Isurus oxyrinchus
), it may take 
dozens of years, especially under unfavourable 
environmental circumstances.
FAO’s effort to facilitate implementation
of SDG Indicator 14.4.1
Development of methodologies
The SDGs are country-led and country-owned. 
To implement SDG Indicator 14.4.1, a country-level 
assessment is needed. However, up to 80 percent 
the world’s fish stocks are unassessed (Costello 
et al
., 2012) owing to insufficient data and limited 
capacity, particularly in developing countries. 
In order to make SDG Indicator 14.4.1 meaningful, 
it must include data-poor stocks that make a 
significant contribution to fisheries, in addition 
to the small number of assessed stocks of high 
landings for which there is ample information. 
However, there is no commonly accepted method 
for assessing data-poor fisheries. To carry out a 
country-level assessment, it is necessary to develop 
a new method that will work fairly well with 
limited data and require less technical capacity.
In the past decade, FAO has invested a great deal 
of human and financial resources in developing 
new methods in pursuit of increased coverage of its 
assessment and monitoring of global fish stocks. 
Although a universally applicable, reliable method 
has not yet appeared, cumulative progress and 
achievements have led to the stage that a potential 
method is emerging. FAO is now collaborating 
with institutions to produce such a new method, 
which should be ready for testing by 2020.
E-learning course
An e-learning course developed by FAO is part of a 
series on the framework, methodologies, estimation 
and reporting of the SDG indicators. It aims to 
support countries in the collection and analysis of 
statistical information for SDG Indicator 14.4.1.
The course targets individuals who play a role in 
the monitoring of and reporting on the indicator, 
including policymakers, national experts and 
professionals working in national statistical 
offices, institutions and bodies designated for the 
estimation and reporting of SDG Indicator 14.4.1. 
It may also be of interest to professionals in 
FAO and other international and national 
agencies responsible for providing support at 
the country level, as well as to universities and 
research institutions.
The e-learning course consists of five chapters:
1. General introduction on SDG Indicator 14.4.1. 
2. Concepts and process behind the estimations 
of the indicator.
3. Estimation of the indicator from classic stock 
assessment outputs.
4. Estimation of the indicator from data-limited 
methods.
5. Guidelines for national monitoring and reporting. 
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THE STATE OF WORLD FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE 
2020
Considering the needs of capacity-limited 
countries, a virtual research environment has 
been developed to facilitate the application 
of the data-poor stock assessment methods 
discussed in Chapter 4. Data can be uploaded 
and a few simple methods can be run online 
(iMarine, 2019b). With the outputs, stock status 
can be determined to help with the estimation 
and reporting of the indicator. However, these 
methods have limitations and should be used 
with caution. The data-poor method through 
the virtual research environment will be 
updated periodically.
Progress in implementing international 
instruments to combat illegal, unreported
and unregulated fishing
Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) 
fishing remains one of the greatest threats to 
marine ecosystems, undermining efforts to 
manage fisheries sustainably and to conserve 
marine biodiversity (see the section Combating 
illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, 
p. 109). Fisheries resources are frequently 
poached, often leading to the collapse of local 
fisheries, with fisheries in developing countries 
proving particularly vulnerable. Products derived 
from IUU fishing can find their way into 
overseas trade markets, thus throttling the local 
food supply. In short, IUU fishing threatens 
livelihoods, exacerbates poverty, and augments 
food insecurity. 
In order to eliminate IUU fishing, various 
international instruments have been developed. 
They cover the responsibilities of flag, coastal, 
port and market States. Together, these 
instruments comprise a powerful suite of 
tools to combat IUU fishing. Following the 
entry into force of the PSMA in June 2016 
(see the section How has the Code supported 
the adoption of sustainable practices?, 
p. 92), the first international binding agreement 
developed expressly to combat IUU fishing, 
FAO has stepped up its capacity development 
efforts to assist developing countries in their 
implementation of the PSMA and complementary 
international instruments and regional 
mechanisms to combat IUU fishing. 
Progress by countries in implementing 
international instruments to combat IUU 
fishing is measured under SDG Indicator 14.6.1. 
The methodology for this indicator was approved 
in April 2018 by the Inter-agency and Expert 
Group on SDG Indicators. It is based upon 
responses by States to the FAO Questionnaire on 
the Implementation of the Code of Conduct for 
Responsible Fisheries and Related Instruments 
(see the section Progress on the road to 
sustainability, p. 96). The indicator is comprised 
of five variables, each of which has been assigned 
a weighting depending on its importance in 
eliminating IUU fishing, while taking into 
consideration areas of overlap between certain 
instruments. The five variables are: 
„
adherence and implementation of UNCLOS 
(10 percent);
„
adherence and implementation of the United 
Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (10 percent);
„
development and implementation of a 
national plan of action to combat IUU 
fishing in line with the International Plan 
of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate 
Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing 
(30 percent);
„
adherence and implementation of the PSMA 
(30 percent);
„
implementation of flag State responsibilities 
in the context of the Compliance Agreement 
and the Voluntary Guidelines for Flag State 
Performance (20 percent).
The indicator assesses the level of 
implementation for each variable with regard 
to policy, legislation, institutional framework, 
and operations and procedures. Responses by 
countries to questions relevant to each variable 
within the questionnaire are used to calculate 
a score for this indicator. These scores are then 
converted into bands, assigning the States 
a level of implementation from 1, the lowest 
level of implementation, to 5, the highest. 
Indicator scores will be available every two years, 
after each edition of the questionnaire. 
As shown in 
Figure 46
, after the first reporting 
period for this indicator in 2018, globally, a 
medium level of implementation of international 
instruments applicable to combating IUU fishing 
has been reached. Regionally, figures suggest 
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PART 2 
SUSTAINABILITY IN ACTION
that Europe, North America, and Australia and 
New Zealand have registered the highest level 
of implementation. Conversely, the lowest levels 
of implementation have been in Latin America 
and the Caribbean, Eastern and South-Eastern 
Asia, and Northern Africa and Western Asia, all 
registering a medium level of implementation. 
Small island developing States (SIDS), faced 
with particular challenges in fully implementing 
these instruments due to their large EEZs, also 
registered a medium level of implementation. 
The same level of implementation was found in 
least developed countries.
Since the coming into force of the PSMA, the 
number of parties to the agreement has rapidly 
increased and, as at February 2020, it stood 
at 65 States and 1 Member Organization (the 
European Union, representing its member States). 
While this confirms the global commitment of 
States to combating IUU fishing (as reflected by 
the 2018 scores relating to SDG Indicator 14.6.1), 
further efforts need to be made towards the 
implementation of these instruments. 
Further to the implementation of these 
instruments, transshipment has become an 
intensely debated issue as a potential loophole in 
global fisheries management. At its Thirty-third 
Session, COFI expressed its concern about 
transshipment activities, and called for an in-depth 
study to support the development of guidelines 
on best practices for regulating, monitoring and 
controlling transshipment. These would become 
a further instrument to support countries in 
combating IUU fishing. In addition, FAO is 
continually developing new tools, such as the 
PSMA Global Information Exchange System, 
and improving existing ones, such as the Global 
Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport 
Vessels and Supply Vessels, in an effort to support 
countries in eliminating IUU fishing.
FIGURE 46
AVERAGE LEVEL OF IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS TO COMBAT ILLEGAL, 
UNREPORTED AND UNREGULATED FISHING, SDG REGIONAL GROUPINGS, 2018