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Over the last three decades, employment in
fishing and aquaculture worldwide has grown faster
than employment in agriculture.
From 1970 to 1990 the number of fishers and fish
farmers more than doubled. Most of this growth took
place in the 80s and mainly in Asian countries,
where four-fifths of world fishers and
fish farmers dwell.
Generally, fishers are men involved in offshore
and deep-sea fisheries. In some regions, women fish
inshore from small boats or collect shellfish and
seaweed. In many artisanal fishing communities,
women are also mainly responsible for activities
such as making and repairing nets and post-harvest
processing and marketing.
In 1970, 13 million people were engaged in
fishing and aquaculture as their source of income
and food, representing 1.5 % of the economically
active in the agriculture sector. Overall they
produced 65 million tonnes of fish, that is a world
average of almost 5 tonnes per person in that
year.
A decade later, the number of fishers and
aquaculturists increased by 26% to nearly 17
million. Total fishery production amounted to 72
million tonnes, corresponding to a slightly lower
productivity of 4.3 tonnes per person.
By 1990, whereas the number of people
economically active in agriculture increased to 1.2
billion (implying a ten year growth of 15%), the
number of fishers increased by 72% to 28.5 million.
This showed an opposite trend, increasing to 2.3%
the percentage of the agriculture sector's
economically active population accounted for by
fishers and fish farmers. The absolute growth in
numbers - largely explained by the wide expansion
of the aquaculture sector - associated with a total
fishery production of 98 million tonnes in 1990
implies an overall decrease in average productivity
to 3.4 tonnes per person. However, much aquaculture
production is of species which are more valuable
than those exploited in many highly industrialized
fisheries such as those for small pelagic fish, so
that in economic terms productivity would not
reflect the same decrease.
Around the world
Closely mirroring the global population pattern,
in 1990, 84% of the world's fishers were
concentrated in Asia (9 million in China, nearly 6
million in India, and 4 million in Vietnam,
Indonesia, Bangladesh and the Philippines
combined). This compares with 77% in 1970 and 80%
in 1980.
Africa, where artisanal fisheries still dominate
but local industrial fisheries are gradually
developing, represented 6.5 percent of the world's
fishers. Between 1970 and 1990 the number of
Africa's fishers grew by 37% to 1.9 million.
South America has maintained a share close to
three percent in the world total; after a marginal
decrease in absolute numbers between 1970 and 1980,
the number of South American fishers and fish
farmers grew by above 50% in the following
decade.
Europe has dropped markedly from 3.3 % in 1970
to 2.2% in 1980 and 1.4% in 1990, with a parallel
dip in production. Despite decreases in employment
opportunities offered by the long-range fleets
operating in distant marine fisheries as a
consequence of the widespread extension of national
fisheries jurisdiction to 200 nautical miles, the
number of European fishers increased in absolute
terms between 1980 and 1990. Part of this increase
is probably due to the emerging aquaculture
industry.
In scantily populated Oceania, commercial
fishers only number about 1% the world total, but
often account for a significant part of the
economically active population in agriculture, and
in its Small Island Developing States the fish they
produce is crucial for the food security of the
population.
Growth in developing countries
In 1990, 95% of the world's fishers were from
developing countries and produced nearly 2/3 of the
98 million tonnes of global catch. In most
developing countries of low and middle-income,
where the majority of people are employed in the
agricultural sector, those employed in fishing and
aquaculture has been growing steadily. In
industrialized economies offering occupational
alternatives, the numbers of fishers have been on a
declining trend or at best stationary. For instance
in two important fishing countries, Japan and
Norway, the number of fishers halved between 1970
and 1990.
In many countries, fishing is a seasonal or a
part-time occupation, peaking in the months when
riverine, coastal and offshore resources are more
abundant or available, but leaving time in seasonal
lows to other activities. This is especially true
in fisheries for migratory species and those
subject to seasonal weather variations. In 1990
full-time fishers - that is, according to the
definition used in compiling the data, those
receiving at least 90% of their livelihood from
fishing - numbered close to 12 million people (or
41% of the total), while an additional 10 million
people, identified as part-time fishers, were those
deriving between 30 and 89% of their income from
fishing. The remaining 6.5 million people were
occasional fishers who acquired only less than 30%
of their livelihood from fishing and
aquaculture.
While employment in fisheries is not the sole
indicator of the importance of the sector to a
national economy, it is interesting to note that in
1990 fishers represented more than 5% of the
population economically active in agriculture in 38
countries (in 15 of which the percentage was above
10%). Furthermore, fisheries and aquaculture
provide local employment opportunities - indeed
those two industries are the backbone of coastal
areas.
There are wide variations among countries in
fishery labour productivity and in capital
intensity. Highly industrialized fisheries
generally employ few fishers per unit of output.
For instance, in 1995 each of Iceland's 5600
fishers - 600 of whom are women - produced an
average 280 tonnes of fish. Also in 1995, it took
301 000 Japanese fishers, including
54 000 women, to produce 6.7 million tonnes of
fish, while nearly 6 million Indian fishers
produced some 5 million tonnes of fish.
Recent trends
Although the way in which countries are
requested to report their data to FAO attempts to
distinguish commercial fishers from those that
practice subsistence fishing, marine fishers from
those operating in inland waters, those engaged in
capture fisheries from those in aquaculture, and
male and female workers, the data provided by most
national statistical offices are often provided as
a total and do not allow a correct estimate of the
world totals for each of the above
subdivisions.
According to estimates tabulated by the FAO
Department of Fisheries, there are some 15 million
fishers employed aboard decked and undecked fishing
vessels in marine capture fisheries, of whom about
90% are occupied on vessels less than 24 m in
length . More than half of the total number of
fishers work aboard undecked vessels or fish
without boats. The number of people working in
aquaculture production, both in marine and
freshwater, may be close to 9 millions, while
inland capture fishers and people (often women)
engaging in land-based activities ancillary to
fishing, account for the rest.
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