Working Toward Sustainable Global Fisheries

If the world begins fishing smarter—not harder—the dividends could immense.



The ocean is a frontier for sustainable growth. It offers increased food security, economic growth and value-addedINVESTMENT opportunities to nations willing to develop maritime resources without using them up. Yet there is an urgent need to deal directly with declines in the value and harvest of wild-capture fisheries around the world.

Globally, marine fisheries support 260 million jobs, add more than $270 billion to global gross domestic product and provide 3 billion people with nutritious sources of protein. But half of these fisheries produce less seafood, jobs, value and biodiversity than they could otherwise. This is primarily due to perverse incentives, weak laws, poor enforcement, unreported harvests and widespread poaching.

Specific political and economic measures andINVESTMENTS are required to deal with these challenges. Governments need to reduce overfishing, enforce regulations of illegal fishing and enable those with the legal right to manage these resources. There is growing evidence that the benefits of such incremental investments far outweigh the costs. Countries that understand this are taking action.

In Indonesia, overfishing is rampant. Illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing costs the economy more than $20 billion each year. The government has responded with a series of important measures, including a prohibition on the use of all trawl and seine nets, size limits and restrictions on important species that are in decline, a moratorium on new fishing licenses for foreign built vessels, and the destruction of illegal vessels that threaten Indonesia’s sovereignty and prosperity.

Underscoring the demand for seafood, during the first quarter of 2015 Indonesia’s fisheries industry grew at twice the national rate. Catches for certain fish are also up, with Indonesia’s tuna yield increasing 80% from April to May of this year. Now the challenge is to ensure that these fisheries are sustainable, otherwise such benefits will quickly erode.

There are examples to suggest that this goal can be achieved. Over the past 14 years, the U.S. has accomplished a dramatic reversal in the state of fisheries in its federal waters by improving governance, empowering responsible domestic fishermen, discouraging poachers and increasing transparency. It has slashed the number of overexploited stocks to 37 from 92, while increasing the number of rebuilt populations. The number of fishing jobs in recent years has increased 23% while revenues are up 30%.

There’s every reason to believe that other countries can bring about similar transformations in their waters, and there are compelling incentives to do so. New research shows we can increase profits in the global fishing sector by $74 billion a year if fisheries are managed sustainably. Even though fisheries are currently being heavily harvested in most countries, global fish production could rise by 14% if we fished smarter, not harder. This transition to ocean prosperity could also come fast, unfolding on average within a decade. While it isn’t free, the benefits from transitioning from business-as-usual far outweigh the costs, on the order of 10 to one.

The same research, however, suggests that the alternative scenario of continuing with business as usual is a dark one—a dramatic fall in fish production and a steady erosion in profits until the sector becomes a netMONEY loser, unable to survive without substantial subsidies from the government.

There is no reason to passively accept this narrative. What is required are for more leaders to work with fishers and private-sector partners to achieveINVESTMENT opportunities that implement reforms and unlock the value fisheries hold for those that rely on them.

Ms. Pudjiastuti is Indonesia’s minister of marine affairs and fisheries. Ms. Lubchenco is on the faculty at Oregon State University and was from 2009 to 2013 the administrator of NOAA and under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere.