“We now have the clearest picture ever of the state of marine fisheries. The evidence shows what works and where we are falling short,” said FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu, releasing the Review of the state of world marine fishery resources - 2025.
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A new global assessment released this week by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) shows that while some marine fisheries are improving under strong management, many others continue to face serious sustainability challenges.
Presented at the UN Ocean Conference this week, the Review of the state of world marine fishery resources - 2025 is the most comprehensive analysis of its kind ever published.
It examines the status of 2,570 individual fish stocks, a significant expansion over previous reports, and includes input from more than 650 experts across 90 countries.
The findings show that 64.5% of global fish stocks are fished within biologically sustainable levels. When measured by volume, 77.2% of global fisheries landings come from sustainable stocks, according to the FAO figures.
However, 35.5% of stocks remain overfished, with overfishing increasing by an average of 1% per year, and the figures show marked variability between regions and species.
“Effective management remains the most powerful tool for conserving fisheries resources,” said FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu, in a news release. "This review provides an unprecedentedly comprehensive understanding, enabling more informed decision-making based on data."
The report highlights that regions with strong, science-based management frameworks are seeing markedly better results.
In the Northeast Pacific, for instance, 92.7% of stocks are sustainably fished, with similar success noted in the Southwest Pacific, at 85% - evidence, the FAO contends, that "long-term investment and robust management frameworks are paying off".
The review includes fish stocks in the Antarctic for the first time, finding that all assessed stocks in the region are managed sustainably. "While small in volume these fisheries demonstrate what is possible with ecosystem-based management and international cooperation," the FAO asserted.
However, in other regions, where fisheries play a crucial role in food security, nutrition and employment, are struggling, with stocks under "intense pressure". The FAO report found that in the Southeast Pacific and Eastern Central Atlantic, less than half of the stocks are sustainable: "With limited institutional capacity, fragmented governance, and major data gaps, these areas face steeper trade-offs and tighter constraints."
Meanwhile, in the Mediterranean and Black Seas region, the review found that although only 35.1% of fish stocks are currently fished sustainably, fishing pressure has decreased by 30% and fish populations have grown by 15% since 2013. "This shows that regional cooperation and national efforts are starting to make a difference," the FAO suggested.
“Positive outcomes like the Antarctic, Northeast Pacific, and Southwest Pacific reflect the benefit for sustainable fishery management of having strong institutions, consistent and comprehensive monitoring, the integration of scientific evidence into management decisions and the implementation of precautionary and ecosystem-based approaches,” said David Agnew, Executive Secretary of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, and one of the contributors to the report.
On a species level, the ten most widely-fished species, including skipjack tuna, anchoveta, Alaska pollock and Atlantic herring showed sustainability rates of 60%, and when weighted according to production volume, 85.8% are estimated to originate from biologically sustainable stocks, according to the FAO.
Notable among these are tuna stocks, with 87% assessed as sustainable, contributing 99% of tuna landings.
However, deep-sea species remain under threat, the FAO warns, with only 29% of these sustainably fished. Concerns also remain about highly migratory sharks, often caught as bycatch in tuna fisheries.
The FAO is now calling for urgent action to improve data collection and expand the use of science-based management, especially in small-scale fisheries where information gaps are greatest.
“We now have the clearest picture ever of the state of marine fisheries. The evidence shows what works and where we are falling short,” Qu said.
“The next step is clear: governments must scale up what works and act with urgency to ensure marine fisheries deliver for people and planet."
"This is the essence of FAO’s Blue Transformation, a call to build more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable aquatic food systems to increase their contribution to global food security, meet nutrition requirements and improve livelihoods of a growing population," he concluded.