The Human Impacts Database

A collection of useful numbers for quantifying the impacts of the human presence on Earth.

Percentage of fish stocks that are overfished

Flora & FaunaAgriculture

This quantity comes from a time series measurement and the most recent value (2017) is reported.

Value: ≈ 35 %
HuID: 26760
Relevant Year(s): 2017
Summary: Percentage of marine fish stocks fished at biologically unsustainable levels. Fish stocks are deemed to be at unsustainable levels when they are less abundant than the level needed to produce the maximum sustainable yield. Maximum sustainable yield is attained in situations where the current stock is at 40–60 % of the unfished level (see FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper No. 569 (FAO, 2011)). Fish stock status is normally assessed based on the relationship between stock abundance and productivity. For example, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UN, 1982), the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (UN, 1995), and the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (FAO, 1995) require maintaining fish stocks at the biomass that can produce maximum sustainable yield.
Method: This calculation treats all fish stocks equally regardless of their biomass and catch. The FAO uses a wide spectrum of data and methods to extend its assessment to the fish stocks that account for the majority (80 percent) of the global catch. The classification uses four major indicators: stock abundance, spawning potential, catch, and size/age composition. Stock abundance is the fundamental attribute on which the three categories of stock status are defined by FAO. For additional definitions regarding stock status, see Box 2 on p. 39 of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018 (FAO). For additional information regarding the methodology see the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper No. 569 (FAO, 2011).
Source: FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture. (2020)
Dataset: Trends in the state of marine fish stocks (marine_fish_stock_state.csv)
global resolution
Trend:
Original Data License: CC-BY-NC-SA IGO 3.0 (FAO Modified)
Added By: ilopezgo