Rapid global expansion of invertebrate fisheries: trends, drivers, and ecosystem effects.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Worldwide, finfish fisheries are receiving increasing assessment and regulation, slowly leading to more sustainable exploitation and rebuilding. In their wake, invertebrate fisheries are rapidly expanding with little scientific scrutiny despite increasing socio-economic importance.

Methods and findings

We provide the first global evaluation of the trends, drivers, and population and ecosystem consequences of invertebrate fisheries based on a global catch database in combination with taxa-specific reviews. We also develop new methodologies to quantify temporal and spatial trends in resource status and fishery development. Since 1950, global invertebrate catches have increased 6-fold with 1.5 times more countries fishing and double the taxa reported. By 2004, 34% of

SUBMITTER: Anderson SC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3050978 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature