The global contribution of forage fish to marine fisheries and ecosystems |
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| Authors: | Ellen K Pikitch Konstantine J Rountos Timothy E Essington Christine Santora Daniel Pauly Reg Watson Ussif R Sumaila P Dee Boersma Ian L Boyd David O Conover Philippe Cury Selina S Heppell Edward D Houde Marc Mangel Éva Plagányi Keith Sainsbury Robert S Steneck Tess M Geers Natasha Gownaris Stephan B Munch |
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| Institution: | 1. School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, , Stony Brook, NY, 11794‐5000 USA;2. School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, , Seattle, WA, 98195‐5020 USA;3. Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia, , Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T 1Z4;4. Department of Biology, University of Washington, , Seattle, WA, 98195‐1800 USA;5. NERC Sea Mammal Research Unit, Gatty Marine Laboratory, University of St Andrews, , St Andrews, Fife, KY16 8LB UK;6. Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMR EME‐212, Centre de Recherche Halieutique Méditerranéenne et Tropicale, , BP 171, 34203 Séte Cedex, France;7. Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, , Corvallis, OR, 97331‐4501 USA;8. University of Maryland, Center for Environmental Science, , Cambridge, MD, 21613 USA;9. Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, University of California, , Santa Cruz, CA, 95064 USA;10. CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, , Hobart, Tasmania, 7000 Australia;11. Institute of Marine and Antarctic Science, University of Tasmania, , Sandy Bay, Tasmania, Australia;12. School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, , Walpole, ME, 04573 USA |
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| Abstract: | Forage fish play a pivotal role in marine ecosystems and economies worldwide by sustaining many predators and fisheries directly and indirectly. We estimate global forage fish contributions to marine ecosystems through a synthesis of 72 published Ecopath models from around the world. Three distinct contributions of forage fish were examined: (i) the ecological support service of forage fish to predators in marine ecosystems, (ii) the total catch and value of forage fisheries and (iii) the support service of forage fish to the catch and value of other commercially targeted predators. Forage fish use and value varied and exhibited patterns across latitudes and ecosystem types. Forage fish supported many kinds of predators, including fish, seabirds, marine mammals and squid. Overall, forage fish contribute a total of about $16.9 billion USD to global fisheries values annually, i.e. 20% of the global ex‐vessel catch values of all marine fisheries combined. While the global catch value of forage fisheries was $5.6 billion, fisheries supported by forage fish were more than twice as valuable ($11.3 billion). These estimates provide important information for evaluating the trade‐offs of various uses of forage fish across ecosystem types, latitudes and globally. We did not estimate a monetary value for supportive contributions of forage fish to recreational fisheries or to uses unrelated to fisheries, and thus the estimates of economic value reported herein understate the global value of forage fishes. |
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| Keywords: | Ecosystem service ecosystem‐based management fisheries value forage fish supportive values trade‐offs |
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