State of World Marine Fishery Resources – 2025:
The FAO’s 2025 report on the state of marine fisheries was released during the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France.
State of World Marine Fishery Resources – 2025:
- Global Stock Sustainability: 64.5% of global marine fishery stocks are exploited within biologically sustainable levels, while 35.5% remain overfished.
- Deep-Sea Species Crisis: Only 29% of deep-sea species are sustainably fished due to traits like slow growth, late maturity, and low reproduction rates.
- Migratory Shark Decline: 43.5% of the 23 assessed shark stocks (7 species) are unsustainable; high catches occur in the tropical Indo-Pacific.
- Tuna Sustainability Success: 87% of assessed tuna and tuna-like species are sustainably fished due to effective regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs).
- Regional Disparities: Regions like the northeast and southwest Pacific show high sustainability; the Mediterranean and Black Seas report only 35.1% sustainability.
- Data Deficiency Challenge: Areas such as the eastern Indian Ocean show high sustainability (72.7%) but are cautioned due to inadequate species-specific data.
- Call for Stronger Governance: The report emphasizes the role of RFMOs, technology, and precautionary policies as essential tools to reverse overfishing and support global marine resilience.
