Towards a green economy 1 Introduction

1.1 Objectives and organisation of the chapter

The aim of this chapter is to demonstrate the current economic and social value of marine fisheries to the world and, more importantly, estimate the sector’s full potential economic and social value if it were managed within the framework of a green economy. Setting the conditions that will be needed to shift marine fisheries to a more sustainable future is crucial, and the chapter explores how best to provide appropriate incentives, engender reforms and channel investment.

Specific objectives of the chapter are to:

■ Gain a better understanding of the contribution and impact of marine fisheries to the global economy;

■ Demonstrate the potential benefits of sustainably managing the world’s fisheries to national and regional economies and to the global economy;

■ Estimate the financial requirements for investing in fisheries conservation and sustainable use, comparing these to long-term economic, social and environmental gains; and

■ Demonstrate that the long-term economic benefit of investing in rebuilding fisheries and improving their management outweighs the short-term costs.

The fisheries sector consists of three main parts: 1) marine capture; 2) inland capture; and 3) aquaculture. This contribution focuses on marine fisheries. Inland fisheries and aquaculture are discussed with respect to how they relate to marine-capture fisheries.

The prospects for greening the world’s marine fisheries are explored in this chapter. For fisheries, we interpret greening as: 1) recognizing that there are limits to what the oceans can provide; 2) acknowledging that rebuilding overfished and depleted fish populations is needed to maximise sustainable yield, through time, for the benefits of both current and future generations; 3) essential habitats for living marine animals need to be protected and preserved; and 4) fishing and other activities involving ocean fish populations are organised to minimise the release of greenhouse gases. We will emphasise point 2) in this report because there is general consensus that many of the world’s capture fisheries are in crisis. Overexploitation,

pollution and rising temperatures threaten 63 per cent of the world’s assessed fisheries stocks (Worm et al. 2009). However, several fisheries are reasonably well managed, which provide important lessons for our effort to shift the world’s fisheries to a greener, more sustainable state.

Fish are one of the planet’s most important renewable resources. Beyond their crucial role in marine and freshwater ecosystems, fish make a vital contribution to the survival and health of a significant portion of the world’s population. Marine fisheries provide nutrition and livelihoods for millions of people in coastal communities, notably in South and South-East Asia, West Africa and Pacific Island states. As coastal populations continue to grow, the future benefits these resources can provide will depend on how well fisheries can be greened. We present an estimate of the current economic and social contributions from marine fish populations, and what they could amount to if the sector were greened. We also state the institutional conditions under which we can increase economic benefits while conserving these vital renewable ocean resources for the benefit of all.

Often, fisheries managers and policy-makers are under pressure to sacrifice the long-term health of marine fish resources in favour of perceived short-term economic benefits to the fishing industry and consumers. Gaining a better understanding of the potential contribution and impact of marine fish populations on the global economy will provide broader, longer-term, economic and social perspectives. Our goal is to show policy- makers that a green economic approach will chart the course to balancing increasing demands for fish with the limits to the capacity of oceanic and coastal fish stocks.

We present the current status of global fisheries in the next section with an emphasis on catch and catch values, employment and the contribution of marine and coastal recreation and tourism to the global economy. The challenges and opportunities associated with establishing green fisheries are discussed in Section 2. In Section 3, we focus on scenarios of fleet adjustment, and estimate the potential costs and benefits of rebuilding depleted fisheries. Section 4 explores some of the conditions and the institutions, both national and international, that will be required to bring about the greening of the world’s fisheries. We devote Section 4.6 to the discussion of how to finance the transformation.

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