Benefits of rebuilding global marine fisheries outweigh costs

Global marine fisheries are currently underperforming, largely due to overfishing. An analysis of global databases finds that resource rent net of subsidies from rebuilt world fisheries could increase from the current negative US$13 billion to positive US$54 billion per year, resulting in a net gain...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2012-07, Vol.7 (7), p.e40542-e40542
Main Authors: Sumaila, Ussif Rashid, Cheung, William, Dyck, Andrew, Gueye, Kamal, Huang, Ling, Lam, Vicky, Pauly, Daniel, Srinivasan, Thara, Swartz, Wilf, Watson, Reginald, Zeller, Dirk
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accounting
Biology
Commercial fishing
Conservation of Natural Resources - economics
Costs and Cost Analysis
Economic aspects
Ecosystem biology
Ecosystems
Fish
Fisheries
Fisheries - economics
Fishes
Fishing
Food
Internationality
Marine biology
Market value
Models, Biological
Overfishing
Postwar reconstruction
Rebuilding
Seawater
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Social sciences
Subsidies
Sustainable development
Trends
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Summary:Global marine fisheries are currently underperforming, largely due to overfishing. An analysis of global databases finds that resource rent net of subsidies from rebuilt world fisheries could increase from the current negative US$13 billion to positive US$54 billion per year, resulting in a net gain of US$600 to US$1,400 billion in present value over fifty years after rebuilding. To realize this gain, governments need to implement a rebuilding program at a cost of about US$203 (US$130-US$292) billion in present value. We estimate that it would take just 12 years after rebuilding begins for the benefits to surpass the cost. Even without accounting for the potential boost to recreational fisheries, and ignoring ancillary and non-market values that would likely increase, the potential benefits of rebuilding global fisheries far outweigh the costs.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0040542