In 2020, the volume of global industrial fishing products (excluding algae) amounted to 90.3 million tons, which is 4% less than the average for the previous three years. The reduction in volume affected both marine industrial fisheries and industrial fishing in inland waters, which is most likely due to both interruptions in fishing activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the continued reduction in catch in China (in 2020 – 10% less than the average for the previous three years). The high average for 2017-2019 is explained by a sharp increase in catch in 2018 (96.5 million tons) due to fairly high catches of anchovy (Engraulis ringens). At the same time, long-term indicators in the global industrial fisheries remain relatively stable.
Despite the downward adjustment of catch data for 2009-2016 and a 19.3% decrease in catch in 2015-2020, China retained the first place in the production of industrial fishing products. In 2020, it accounted for almost 15% of the catch volume, i.e. more than all the countries in the second and third positions in the aggregate. Seven leading producers of industrial fishing products (Vietnam, Indonesia, China, Peru, the Russian Federation and the United States of America) supplied almost 49% of these products to world markets, and the 20 largest producers – over 73%.
Fishing failures in 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic seriously affected the volume of catch in marine waters. But it is difficult to assess the impact of the crisis on fishing in marine waters, and it needs to be considered in the context of longer-term trends in the sector, including the continued decline in reported catches in China in recent years. In addition, interannual changes in global catch in marine waters are significantly affected by the high abundance of such species as anchovy, Peruvian sardine (Sardinops sagax) and California horse mackerel (Trachurus symmetricus), which is subject to significant fluctuations under the influence of the "El Niño" phenomenon and fluctuations in oceanographic conditions.
In 2020, Peruvian anchoveta was again in the first place in terms of catch, with an annual volume of almost 4.9 million tons, although this volume was lower than the record figure of 2018 (more than 7 million tons). In second place was pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) – 3.5 million tons, and in third place for the eleventh year in a row – skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) – 2.8 million tons.
Although COVID-19 containment measures, such as restrictions on traffic and access to global markets and the closure of catering establishments, led to a decrease in demand, the catch volumes of the four most valuable groups (tuna, cephalopods, shrimp and lobsters) in 2020 remained record high or slightly decreased compared to the maximum levels. fixed in the previous five years.
In particular, catches of tuna and tuna-like species remained very high, although in 2019 they amounted to 8.2 million tons, and in 2020 they decreased to 7.8 million tons, due to a decrease in exports of fresh tuna and a reduction in the sashimi market amid restrictions related to COVID-19. The volume of catch in the western tip of the Central Pacific Ocean has increased most significantly recently: in the mid-2000s it was about 2.7 million tons, and in 2019 it was almost 3.8 million tons; at the same time, in 2020 it decreased by more than 5% (3.6 million tons). Over 55% of the catch volume in this group accounted for skipjack tuna and yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares).
In 2014, the maximum catch of cephalopods was recorded (4.9 million tons), after which the indicator decreased to 3.5–3.8 million tons. Nevertheless, the catch has remained at a relatively high level and has been increasing almost continuously over the past 20 years; in 2020, it amounted to 3.7 million tons. Cephalopods are fast-growing species that are significantly affected by environmental variability; probably, this explains the fluctuations in the volume of their catch, including in relation to the catch of three main species of squid – giant squid (Dosidicus gigas), Argentine illex (Illex argentinus) and Japanese flying squid (Todarodes pacificus).
Shrimp catches in 2017 exceeded the previously recorded maximum level, reaching almost 3.4 million tons. This dynamic was primarily due to the continued recovery of catches of the langostino prawn (Pleoticus muelleri), which compensated for the decline in the catch of other major shrimp species, in particular, the Acetes japonicus (Acetes japonicus) and the southern rough shrimp (Trachysalambria curvirostris). In 2020, the catch amounted to 3.2 million tons, maintaining the dynamics of previous years, when the indicator ranged from 3.1 million to 3.4 million tons per year.
Lobster catches in 2020 decreased to 255,000 tons – the lowest level since 2009: lobster is among the high-value species whose catch has decreased to the most significant extent due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the cessation of global export markets. It is expected that with the easing of restrictions, the catch of these species, primarily the American lobster (Homarus americanus), which accounts for more than half of the catches in this group, will recover to the level of recent years (more than 300,000 tons).
In areas with a temperate climate, catches in 2020 amounted to 35.2 million tons, which is slightly lower than in previous years. In 1988 and 1997, peak catch volumes were reached in this climatic zone (about 45 million tons), while since the beginning of the 2000s, the catch has remained stable and ranges from 36.2 to 39.6 million tons per year.
The highest level of production in 2020 was recorded in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean: 19.2 million tons. In other temperate regions, catch volumes have remained mostly constant over the past 10 years, with the exception of a reduction in production in the south-west Atlantic and south-west Pacific regions as a result of a marked reduction in catch by countries conducting expeditionary cephalopod fishing in the south-west Atlantic and various species in the south-west Pacific.
As for tropical areas, the highest rates were achieved in the Indian Ocean and the western tip of the central Pacific Ocean: 12.5 million tons in 2017 and 13.3 million tons in 2018. Then the catches decreased, but without a significant decrease compared to the peak figures of recent years, and remain stable.
Catch in the Indian Ocean, especially in the eastern Indian Ocean, has been steadily increasing since the 1980s, mainly due to small pelagic species, large pelagic species (tuna and sailfish) and shrimp.
In second place in terms of catch in 2020, judging by the data broken down by region, was the western tip of the central Pacific Ocean – here the unloading amounted to 13.3 million tons. Here, catch volumes have also been steadily growing since the 1950s, primarily due to tuna and tuna-like species. In particular, the catch of skipjack tuna over the past 20 years has increased from 1.0 million to almost 1.9 million tons, while catches of other species groups, extracted in the most significant volumes, have generally remained stable.
In the western tip of the central Atlantic Ocean, the maximum catch volume of 2.5 million tons was reached in the mid-1980s, after which it decreased, but since the mid-2000s it has remained relatively stable and ranged from 1.2 million to 1.6 million tons per year. The overall dynamics of production in this area is largely determined by the production of gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) by the United States of America – this species of the herring family, which is processed into fish meal and fish oil, accounts for more than 30% of the total catch.
In the area of the eastern tip of the central Atlantic Ocean, the catch increased almost without fluctuations until 2018, reaching a maximum of 5.5 million tons, and in 2020 it decreased to 4.9 million tons. In the south-eastern part of the Atlantic, the opposite trend is observed: the volume of catch here has gradually decreased compared to the peak value of 3.3 million tons recorded in 1978, amounting to 1.4 million tons in 2020.
In the area of the eastern tip of the Central Pacific Ocean, the catch as a whole remains stable at the level of 1.6 million to 2 million tons per year.
The total catch in the Antarctic fishing areas is low, but has increased sharply in recent years: in 2017 it was 270,000 tons, and in 2020 it reached the highest level since the early 1990s - 462,000 tons. The basis of fishing in this region is Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), the volume of catch of which decreased in the early 1990s, in the late 1990s amounted to less than 100,000 tons, and in 2020 increased to 455,000 tons. The catch of the second largest species – the Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) – remained relatively stable and ranged from 10,500 to 12,200 tons per year.
In 2020, the total global volume of industrial fishing products in inland waters amounted to 11.5 million tons, which is 5.1% less than in 2019. Like marine fishing, fishing in inland waters in 2020 was seriously reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was exacerbated by a reduction in catch volumes in China. Despite the decrease in catch in inland waters in 2020, the indicator remains at a record high and has only slightly decreased compared to the maximum level recorded in 2019 (12 million tons).
The growth trend that has been observed for a long time may be due to the improvement of the accounting and evaluation system at the country level. Nevertheless, inland water data collection systems often do not provide reliable information or do not exist at all, and even improved data presentation methods are not always able to reflect the real situation in individual countries.
In 2020, for the first time since the mid-1980s, China lost the first place in terms of catch in the inland waters to India, where the highest catch was recorded, amounting to 1.8 million tons. While China remains one of the largest producers of industrial fishing products in inland waters, the volume of catch in the country has decreased by more than 33% – from 2.2 million tons in 2017 to 1.5 million tons in 2020. The reason for such a significant reduction was the adoption by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China of a new policy, including, first of all, the introduction of a ban on fishing in the waters of the Yangtze River for 10 years in order to preserve living water resources. It is assumed that the demand for food products from aquatic biological resources, which has increased due to a decrease in catch in inland waters, can be met through the development and expansion of aquaculture in inland waters and fishing based on such aquaculture.
With the exception of China, the volume of fishing products in inland waters continues to grow largely due to the growth of indicators in a number of other countries with a high volume of catch – India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Uganda. The products supplied by most of the countries reporting a decrease in inland catch volumes account for a relatively small share of global production, but some of them, in particular Cambodia, Brazil, Vietnam and Thailand, supply a significant share to national or regional markets.
The production of industrial fishing products in inland waters is concentrated in fewer countries than the production of marine fishing products: the main share of these products is provided by countries on whose territory there are large reservoirs or river basins. If the main share of catch in the seas in 2020 accounted for 20 countries, then more than 75% of fishing products in inland waters were produced in 13 countries.
In Africa, which produces over 25% of the world's inland fisheries, these products play an important role in ensuring food security, especially in landlocked and low-income countries. The total catch in the inland waters of Europe, North and South America is about 8% of the world volume, while in Oceania this figure is negligible.
About 75% of the catch in inland waters falls on three main species groups. The most significant share of the increase in catch in inland waters belongs to the first of them – "carp, common barbels and other carp"; the catch of species of this group is constantly growing, amounting to approximately 0.7 million tons per year in the mid-2000s and reaching almost 1.9 million tons in 2020, which explains most of the volume growth catch in inland waters in recent years. Annual catch volumes of species belonging to the second largest group – tilapia and other cichlids – have increased from 0.7 million to 0.9 million tons per year in recent years. The catch volumes of the third largest group – "freshwater crustaceans" – ranged from 0.4 million to 0.45 million tons per year; however, in 2020 they fell to 0.3 million tons, primarily due to a decrease in catch in China's inland waters.
