Transparent Assessment Framework Estimates of Stock Status and Introduction to the FAO Questionnaire on Fisheries Management Effectiveness
Since 1971, FAO has been publishing regular analyses of the state of fish stocks1, including the summary updates presented in the FAO flagship publication "The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture" Report2. To promote consistency and comparability across time these analyses are based on a fixed list of stocks (which account for over 70% of global fish landings), and a clear process and methodology that has only had minor adjustments since the start of the series3. However, the fisheries sector is now appreciably different compared to the 1970s. First, the dominant stocks and modes of exploitation have changed. Second, the tools and the requirements for calculating and presenting global sustainability information are constantly evolving, including the need for increasing transparency and the use of local knowledge. Finally, the emergence of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Indicator 14.4.1, has generated parallel monitoring processes that are worth connecting. Thus, FAO considers that the time is right to conduct a methodological update to compute and report on the global state of world fish stocks, better aligned with national SDG reporting initiatives, with broader expert participation and transparency, while maintaining the crucial integrity of the time series. The new methodology for the stock assessment process will continue to generate stock status indices at the FAO fishing regions level, where gaps in assessment can be narrowed over time in a process of continuous improvement. While the IOTC regularly assess tuna stocks, the larger groups of stocks in the area are not assessed regularly and this is an attempt to get a realistic picture on the State of Stocks in this region. The FAO analysis of the State of the Stocks does not represent or measure the status and trends in fisheries management. Country members have expressed interest in developing a complementary approach to understand how well fisheries are being managed around the world. Thus, FAO is developing a process to monitor Fisheries Management Effectiveness through an index-based approach that uses an expert-based brief questionnaire. It is aimed at providing a broad understanding of the management intensity and effectiveness at the FAO fishing area level.