The global harvest of freshwater fish is likely higher than reported by official statistics, a study suggests. Wild-caught freshwater fish plays a key role in food security and livelihoods in low-income countries. However, ineffective monitoring of subsistence fisheries can lead to underreporting of freshwater fish harvests. Etienne Fluet-Chouinard and colleagues used household consumption surveys to estimate freshwater fish catches in 42 low-income and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America. The surveys examined the fish consumed in more than 548,000 households between 1997 and 2014. After accounting for fish supply from trade and aquaculture, the researchers found that 9.26 million metric tons (MT) of wild-caught freshwater fish were consumed, compared with 5.6 MT reported in official statistics, in the countries over the study period, indicating that freshwater catches were approximately 65% higher than official reports. Furthermore, the researchers found that the unofficial harvests were equivalent to the total annual consumption of animal protein of 36.9 million people, suggesting a larger contribution to global food security than previously thought. The findings might have implications for the sustainable management of freshwater fisheries, according to the authors.
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Article #17-21097: "Global hidden harvest of freshwater fish revealed by household surveys," by Etienne Fluet-Chouinard, Simon Funge-Smith, and Peter B. McIntyre.
MEDIA CONTACT: Etienne Fluet-Chouinard, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI; tel: 608-224-9849; e-mail: fluetchouina@wisc.edu
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences