A Review Of The Inland Fisheries Of The People S Republic Of China And The Strengthening Of Capacity In The Collection And Analysis Of Inland Fisheries Statistics

China’s surface waters cover 20.6 million ha. The aquatic living resources in these waters not only sustain wild natural fishery production, but also support fish production based on stock enhancement and aquaculture. Most inland capture fisheries are concentrated in the major rivers and lakes, whereas reservoirs are dominated by enhanced fisheries. In 2020, the national freshwater fishing output was 1.46 million tonnes, which was a decrease of 20.84 percent from the previous year. Since 2005, the output value of freshwater capture fishing and aquatic products in China has exceeded CNY 20 billion, reaching a peak of CNY 46.577 billion in 2018. With increasing economic development, the role of inland capture fisheries in the social economy has changed. Since the 1990s, there has been a gradual increase in aquaculture and since 2010 a gradual decrease in inland capture fishery production. With the issuance of various fishing ban policies and the strengthening of enforcement actions, especially the implementation of the “10-year fishing ban” on the Yangtze River and the fishing ban on major lakes, inland capture fisheries production has dropped sharply since 2016 and this development is expected to continue due to the increased awareness of the need for ecological protection in large waterbodies, the implementation of the fishing ban policy and the strengthening of law enforcement. However, even though aquaculture production has massively increased and provides the bulk of freshwater fish supply, high-quality aquatic products from natural waters are still highly sought after by consumers.

The FAO Fishery and Aquaculture Circular C942 Revision 3 (C942 Rev. 3) updates and expands the scope of previous revisions of the circular. C942 Rev. 3 is an important baseline document, intended to assist in the global understanding of inland fisheries and inform dialogue on their current and future role. The third revision reviews the status and trends of inland fisheries catch at global, continental and subcontinental levels. It places inland capture fisheries in the context of overall global fish production, and calls attention to the importance of inland capture fisheries with respect to food security and nutrition and the Sustainable Development Goals. It quantifies global inland fisheries resources in terms of food production, nutrition, employment, economic contribution with respect to those countries/regions or subnational areas where they are important. A characterization approach to distinguish large-scale and small-scale fishing operations and their relative contributions is provided. The review provides estimated economic values of inland fisheries, as well as a valuation of potential replacement cost of these (in terms of dollars, other resources such as land and water, feeds). There is also an analysis of the extent and economic value of recreational inland fisheries. The contribution to employment and the gender differences related to this are quantified. The linkages between inland fisheries and biodiversity are also explored. C942 Rev. 3 discusses ways to measure and assess inland fisheries, in particular, how to establish more accurately inland fishery catches in the many situations where there are challenges to collection of catch statistics.

The session reviewed EIFAC's activities since 1998 in the fields of fishery biology and management, aquaculture and protection of the aquactic resources. EIFAC decided its future, structure and programme of work, and in particular the activities which should be carried out until the next session of the Commission in 2002.

This session was held in concomitance with a Symposium on Inland Fisheries Management and the Aquatic Environment. The session reviewed EIFAC's activities since 2000 in the fields of fishery biology and management, aquaculture, protection of the aquatic resource, and social and economic issues.

EIFAC reviewed in depth the status and future direction of the inland fisheries and aquaculture sectors of Europe. The session reviewed EIFAC's activities since 1992 in the fields of fishery biology and management, fish culture and diseases and water pollution control.