Fishing industry

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  Contribution of fish to animal protein supply, average 2013–2015
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  World capture fisheries and aquaculture production 1950–2015

Fish are harvested by commercial fishing and aquaculture.

The world harvest increased over the 20th century and, by 1986, had stabilized around 85–95 million metric tons (94×10^⁶–105×10^⁶ short tons) per year.[5] According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the world harvest in 2005 consisted of 93.3 million metric tons (102.8×10^⁶ short tons) captured by commercial fishing in wild fisheries, plus 48.1 million metric tons (53.0×10^⁶ short tons) produced by fish farms. In addition, 1.3 million metric tons (1.4×10^⁶ short tons) of aquatic plants (seaweed etc.) were captured in wild fisheries and 14.8 million metric tons (16.3×10^⁶ short tons) were produced by aquaculture.[6] The number of individual fish caught in the wild has been estimated at 0.97–2.7 trillion per year (not counting fish farms or marine invertebrates).[7]

Following is a table of the 2011 world fishing industry harvest in tonnes (metric tons) by capture and by aquaculture.[6]

The top producing countries were, in order, the People's Republic of China (excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan), Peru, Japan, the United States, Chile, Indonesia, Russia, India, Thailand, Norway and Iceland. Those countries accounted for more than half of the world's production; China alone accounted for a third of the world's production.[8]

Aquaculture is the cultivation of aquatic organisms. Unlike fishing, aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the cultivation of aquatic populations under controlled conditions.[9] Mariculture refers to aquaculture practiced in marine environments. Particular kinds of aquaculture include algaculture (the production of kelp/seaweed and other algae); fish farming; shrimp farming, shellfish farming, and the growing of cultured pearls.

Fish farming involves raising fish commercially in tanks or enclosed pools, usually for food. Fish species raised by fish farms include carp, salmon, tilapia, catfish and cod. Increasing demands on wild fisheries by commercial fishing operations have caused widespread overfishing. Fish farming offers an alternative solution to the increasing market demand for fish and fish protein.

Fish processing is the processing of fish delivered by commercial fisheries and fish farms. The larger fish processing companies have their own fishing fleets and independent fisheries. The products of the industry are usually sold wholesale to grocery chains or to intermediaries.

Fish processing can be subdivided into two categories: fish handling (the initial processing of raw fish) and fish products manufacturing. Aspects of fish processing occur on fishing vessels, fish processing vessels, and at fish processing plants.

Another natural subdivision is into primary processing involved in the filleting and freezing of fresh fish for onward distribution to fresh fish retail and catering outlets, and the secondary processing that produces chilled, frozen and canned products for the retail and catering trades.[10]

Fisheries are estimated to currently provide 16% of the world population's protein. The flesh of many fish are primarily valued as a source of food; there are many edible species of fish. Other marine life taken as food includes shellfish, crustaceans, sea cucumber, jellyfish and roe.

Fish and other marine life can also be used for many other uses: pearls and mother-of-pearl, sharkskin and rayskin. Sea horses, star fish, sea urchins and sea cucumber are used in traditional Chinese medicine. Tyrian purple is a pigment made from marine snails, and sepia is a pigment made from the inky secretions of cuttlefish. Fish glue has long been valued for its use in all manner of products. Isinglass is used for the clarification of wine and beer. Fish emulsion is a fertilizer emulsion that is produced from the fluid remains of fish processed for fish oil and fish meal.

In the industry the term seafood products is often used instead of fish products.

Fish markets are marketplace used for the trade in and sale of fish and other seafood. They can be dedicated to wholesale trade between fishermen and fish merchants, or to the sale of seafood to individual consumers, or to both. Retail fish markets, a type of wet market, often sell street food as well.

Most shrimp are sold frozen and are marketed in different categories.[11] The live food fish trade is a global system that links fishing communities with markets.

Chile and Peru are countries with high fish consumption, and therefore had troubles regarding their fish industries. In 1947, Chile and Peru first adopted the 200 nautical mile standard as their exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and in 1982, the UN formally adopted this term. In the 2000s, Chile and Peru suffered a serious fish crisis because of excessive fishing and lack of proper regulations, and now political power play in the area is rekindled.[13] From the late 1950s, offshore bottom trawlers began exploiting the deeper part, leading to a large catch increase and a strong decline in the underlying biomass. The stock collapsed to extremely low levels in the early 1990s and this is a well-known example of non-excludable, non-rivalrous public good in economics, causing free-rider problems.

Following the collapse of the Atlantic northwest cod fishery in 1992, a dispute arose between Canada and the European Union over the right to fish Greenland halibut (also known as turbot) just outside of Canada's exclusive economic zone in the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The dispute became known as the Turbot War.[14][15] On 9 March 1995, in response to observations of foreign vessels fishing illegally in Canadian waters and using illegal equipment outside of Canada's EEZ, Canadian officials boarded and seized the Spanish trawler Estai in international waters on the Grand Banks.[16] Throughout March, the Spanish Navy deployed patrol ships to protect fishing boats in the area,[17] and Canadian forces were authorized to open fire on any Spanish vessel showing its guns. Canada and the European Union reached a settlement on 15 April which led to significant reforms in international fishing agreements.[18]

Iceland is one of the largest consumers in the world and in 1972, a dispute occurred between UK and Iceland because of Iceland's announcement of an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to reduce overfishing. This dispute is called the Cod Wars, direct confrontations between Icelandic patrol vessels and British warships.

Nowadays in Europe in general, countries are searching for a way to recover their fishing industries. Overfishing of EU fisheries is costing 3.2 billion euros a year and 100,000 jobs according to a report. So Europe is constantly looking for some collective actions that could be taken to prevent overfishing.[19]

Japan, China and Korea are some of the greatest consumers of fish, and have some disputes over Exclusive Economic Zone.[20] In 2011, due to a serious earthquake, the nuclear power facility in Fukushima was damaged. Ever since, huge amount of contaminated water leaked and is entering the oceans. Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) admitted that around 300 tonnes of highly radioactive water had leaked from a storage tank on the site. In the Kuroshio Current, the sea near Fukushima, about 11 countries catch fish. Not only the surrounding countries such as Japan, Korea and China, but also the countries like Ukraine, Spain and Russia have boats in the Kuroshio Current. In September 2013, South Korea banned all fish imports from eight Japanese prefectures, due to the radioactive water leaks from the Fukushima nuclear plant.[19]