3.1 The contribution of fisheries to economic activity
Recent estimates of gross revenue from marine capture fisheries suggest that the sector directly contributes US$ 80-85 billion to world output annually (Sumaila et al. 2007; World Bank and FAO 2009). However, this amount is by no means the total contribution from marine fish populations. As a primary industry (Roy et al. 2009), there are a vast number of secondary economic activities – from boat building to international transport – that are supported by world fisheries (Dyck and Sumaila 2010; Pontecorvo et al. 1980).
The weighted mean cost of fishing was estimated by Lam et al. (2010) to be US$ 1,125 (range of US$ 732 - US$ 1,605) per tonne, which works out at about US$ 90 billion for an annual catch of 80 million tonnes. The cost per tonne is split into the following cost components: 1) fuel cost (US$ 216); 2) running cost, for e.g., cost of selling fish via auction, cost of treatment of fish (US$ 162); 3) repair cost (US$ 108); 4) payments to labour (US$ 434); 5) depreciation (US$ 101); and 6) payment to capital (US$ 101).
Although the national contribution of fisheries to
economic output is officially recorded as ranging between 0.5 per cent and 2.5 per cent for many countries (based on the total value of fish when they change hands for the first time after leaving the boat), the sector supports considerable economic activity by way of trickle-up linkages (Béné et al. 2007), also referred to as multipliers. The multiplier effect can be dramatic in coastal communities where small-scale fisheries not only generate direct revenues, but also represent the economic heart of coastal communities and the engine of the broader economy.
Dyck and Sumaila (2010) applied an input-output analysis to estimate the total direct, indirect and induced economic effects arising from marine fish populations in the world economy. Their results suggest there is a great deal of variation in fishing-output multipliers between regions and countries. When the output multipliers were applied at the global scale, the authors found that the contribution of the sector to global economic output amounted to some US$ 235 billion per year (Table 4), close to three times the conventionally measured ex- vessel value of marine capture fisheries.
3.2 The potential contribution from rebuilding and sustaining fisheries
As discussed earlier, global ocean fisheries caught an estimated 80 million tonnes of fish with a total value of about US$ 85 billion in 2005. The question we address in this section is: what are the potential gains, if any, from rebuilding marine fish stocks? We discuss this in terms of the potential increase in current catches, catch value, profits, resource rent and employment.
Using data from a recently published paper (Srinivasan et al. 2010), we assume that world fisheries landings could increase by 3.6 million tonnes-19.2 million tonnes per year if currently over-fished species are rebuilt to stock sizes allowing for maximum sustainable yield (MSY). This represents a potential to increase the value of landings by US$ 6.4 billion-US$ 36 billion per year. We nevertheless recognise the limitations of the MSY approach in global fisheries. However, since the approach involves rebuilding those fisheries currently classified as collapsed, we avoid issues involved when assuming all species can be fished at MSY.
For the further analysis, we make the following assumptions:
■ The real price (nominal price adjusted for inflation) of fish is constant through time. There is evidence from historical data that real prices for fish have not changed much in the last few decades;
Landed value (US$ billion)
Africa Asia
Europe
Latin America & Caribbean
North America Oceania
World Total 2
50 12
7 8
5 84
Indirect effect (US$ billion)
5
133 36
15 29
17 235 Tab le 4: World marine capture fisheries output
by region Sources: For landed values see Sumaila et al. (2007) and for multipliers see Dyck and Sumaila (2010)