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The global contribution of forage fish to marine fisheries and ecosystems
Citation
Pikitch, E and Rountos, KJ and Essington, TE and Santora, C and Pauly, D and Watson, R and Sumaila, UR and Boersma, PD and Boyd, IL and O Conover, D and Cury, P and Heppell, SS and Houde, ED and Mangel, M and Plaganyi, E and Sainsbury, K and Steneck, RS and Geers, TM and Gownaris, N and Munch, SB, The global contribution of forage fish to marine fisheries and ecosystems, Fish and Fisheries, 15, (1) pp. 43-64. ISSN 1467-2960 (2014) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Abstract
Forage fish play a pivotal role in marine ecosystems and economies worldwide by
sustaining many predators and fisheries directly and indirectly. We estimate global
forage fish contributions to marine ecosystems through a synthesis of 72 published
Ecopath models from around the world. Three distinct contributions of forage fish
were examined: (i) the ecological support service of forage fish to predators in
marine ecosystems, (ii) the total catch and value of forage fisheries and (iii) the
support service of forage fish to the catch and value of other commercially targeted
predators. Forage fish use and value varied and exhibited patterns across latitudes
and ecosystem types. Forage fish supported many kinds of predators, including fish,
seabirds, marine mammals and squid. Overall, forage fish contribute a total of
about $16.9 billion USD to global fisheries values annually, i.e. 20% of the global
ex-vessel catch values of all marine fisheries combined. While the global catch
value of forage fisheries was $5.6 billion, fisheries supported by forage fish were
more than twice as valuable ($11.3 billion). These estimates provide important
information for evaluating the trade-offs of various uses of forage fish across ecosystem
types, latitudes and globally. We did not estimate a monetary value for supportive
contributions of forage fish to recreational fisheries or to uses unrelated to
fisheries, and thus the estimates of economic value reported herein understate the
global value of forage fishes.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | ecosystem service, ecosystem-based management, fisheries value, forage fish, supportive values, trade-offs |
| Research Division: | Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences |
| Research Group: | Fisheries sciences |
| Research Field: | Aquaculture and fisheries stock assessment |
| Objective Division: | Animal Production and Animal Primary Products |
| Objective Group: | Fisheries - wild caught |
| Objective Field: | Wild caught crustaceans (excl. rock lobster and prawns) |
| UTAS Author: | Sainsbury, K (Professor Keith Sainsbury) |
| ID Code: | 82690 |
| Year Published: | 2014 (online first 2012) |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 273 |
| Deposited By: | Sustainable Marine Research Collaboration |
| Deposited On: | 2013-02-13 |
| Last Modified: | 2015-05-15 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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