The United Nations Ocean Conference: A third of the global fish wealth is not sustainable, but recovery is possible

A statistic reminded of increasing pressure on the world’s oceans due to overfishing, climate change and unusual management.

The report, Manuel Barrang, assistant general manager of the organization, at a press conference on the historic Limbia Port Petroh, in the coastal city of Nice, reviewed a detailed global glimpse of how to deplete the continuous human activity of the oceans, and how sound management can return the oceans to normal.

Barang said in an interview with United Nations News before the report was issued: “If we use a banking comparison, we extract more than the benefits given to us. We drain the numbers of fish.”.

Entitled Review the state of international marine fish trap resources 2025 “It is based on data from 2570 species of marine fish stocks. The report draws a complex image: While more than a third of the stocks are exploited excessively, 77 percent of the global consuming fish still come from sustainable sources thanks to the increased productivity of the fish traps well.

Parang commented on this data by saying: “Successful (successful) administration. We know how to rebuild fish balances.”.

Breaking variations

Regional disparities are still blatant. In the Pacific Coast of the United States and Canada, more than 90 percent of the fish stocks are hunting sustainable. In Australia and New Zealand, this percentage exceeds 85 percent. In the Antarctica, which is subject to strict international regulations, this percentage reaches 100 percent.

But along the northwestern coast, from Morocco to the Bay of Guinea, more than half of the fish stocks are exposed to overfishing, with minimal indications of recovery.

The Mediterranean is worse, as 65 percent of fish stocks there are not sustainable. However, there is a positive indicator. The number of fishing boats in that region has decreased by about a third during the past decade, so it promises to sensitize the impact of policies.

The UN official believes that the lesson is clear, which is that where there are resource -backed management systems, fish stocks are recovered.

But the science -based administration is expensive, as Barrang said “Some areas cannot afford the costs of the infrastructure needed for monitoring and monitoring, the necessary science, and the necessary institutions.”.

He added: “We have to build the capabilities of areas that do not fulfill well. Not to blame them, but to understand the reasons for their poor performance and support in rebuilding fish stocks.”.

From the edge of the abyss to recovery

Perhaps tuna fish explain an example of a recovery. After it was on the edge of the abyss, those fish living in salt waters achieved a remarkable recovery. Today, 87 percent of the main tuna stocks are hunting sustainable, and 99 percent of the global market comes from these stocks.

Parang said: “This is a very important transformation. Because we took the administration seriously, we have created monitoring, management and compliance systems.”.

It is likely that the full results contained in the new FAO report will be policy discussions beyond Nice. The organization has worked closely with 25 regional fisheries management organizations to enhance accountability and reform. Parang believes that this model is repeated if the political will is available.

Fish and livelihoods

It was reported that the countries have concluded negotiations on the political declaration expected to be approved on Friday at the conclusion of the third United Nations Conference for the Ocean. The advertisement will be part of the Nice Oceanic Action Plan, and aims to compatible with the Kunming-Montreal global framework for biological diversity, an agreement reached in 2022 to protect 30 percent of the planet’s lands and oceans by 2030.

With temperatures rising again over the sidewalks of Nice Hajaria, a city located in one of the most affected regions of Europe, climate change, sustainable fish traps occupied the lead center inside the conference halls.

Labor committees focused on supporting small fishermen and advancing the economies of comprehensive oceans, as the participants explored the depths of how to align the goals of protection and social justice, especially in the areas where millions depend on fishing to survive.

Parang said: “There are 600 million people around the world who depend on their livelihood on fish traps and water biology. In some countries, water animals are the main source of protein. We are not isolated from the ocean, but we are part of it.”.

As the conference approaches its end, the FAO report sheds light on the importance of the ocean, as a third of the global fish stock is still under severe pressure. But the data also provides what may be vague in the field of climate and biological diversity, which is the evidence that recovery is possible.