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Concept
Wild fisheries
Summary
A wild fishery is a natural body of water with a sizeable free-ranging fish or other aquatic animal (crustaceans and molluscs) population that can be harvested for its commercial value. Wild fisheries can be marine (saltwater) or lacustrine/riverine (freshwater), and rely heavily on the carrying capacity of the local aquatic ecosystem.
Wild fisheries are sometimes called capture fisheries. The aquatic life they support is not artificially controlled in any meaningful way and needs to be "captured" or fished. Wild fisheries exist primarily in the oceans, and particularly around coasts and continental shelves, but also exist in lakes and rivers. Issues with wild fisheries are overfishing and pollution. Significant wild fisheries have collapsed or are in danger of collapsing, due to overfishing and pollution. Overall, production from the world's wild fisheries has levelled out, and may be starting to decline.
As a contrast to wild fisheries, farmed fisheries can operate in sheltered coastal waters, in rivers, lakes and ponds, or in enclosed bodies of water such as pools or fish tanks. Farmed fisheries are technological in nature, and revolve around developments in aquaculture. Farmed fisheries are expanding, and Chinese aquaculture in particular is making many advances. Nevertheless, the majority of fish consumed by humans continues to be sourced from wild fisheries. As of the early 21st century, fish is humanity's only significant wild food source.
World fish production
Fishing by country
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the world harvest by commercial fisheries in 2010 consisted of 88.6 million tonnes of aquatic animals captured in wild fisheries, plus another 0.9 million tons of aquatic plants (seaweed etc.). This can be contrasted with 59.9 million tonnes produced in fish farms, plus another 19.0 million tons of aquatic plants harvested in aquaculture.
Predator fishForage fishPelagic fishDemersal fishCoral reef fish and Coastal fish
Lentic ecosystems
Worldwide, freshwater lakes have an area of 1.
Official source
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