Coastal Aquaculture and Mariculture

Unit 2 - Marine Fishery resources of the world

2.6.Top ten principal producers
Country wise analysis of marine capture fisheries production reveals that the great bulk of the world catch is still concentrated among a relatively small number of countries. The top ten countries accounted for more than half of the total fish production (59.81%) in 2005. While analyzing the last four decades catch data, it is known that top ten countries remained almost the same.

Top ten capture fisheries production (both marine and inland) countries in 2005

Top ten principal fish species
Though there are thousands of aquatic species forming fishery, importance of which varying from region to region, some fish species contribute significantly, to the total each. The major groups of fishes include clupeids, cod like fishes, carangids, mullets, cat fishes, sciaenids mackerels and ribbon fishes; Catch of Peruvian anchoveta exerts a pronounced influence in the total fish production. Its catch fluctuates widely based on the prevailing environmental conditions like EI Nino. In the late sixties, Peruvian anchoveta which was the largest fishery, yielded 12 mt collapsed in early seventees. Though its catch was the highest forever, its production decreased from 1,12,76,357 mt in 2000 to 1,02,15,072 mt in 2005 with a low production of 7,23,077 mt in 2001, 9702614 mt in 2002 and 62,03,751 mt in 2003. The following top ten species contributed more than ¼ th (29.76%) of the total capture fisheries production in 2005.
There are 73 species, each contributimg more than 0.15 million tonnes in 2004. These 71 species including the above mentioned top ten species, contributed 4,92,77,969 mt forming more than half (52.84%) of the total capture fisheries production in 2005.

Top ten principal fish species in 2005