3.2 State of the World Fisheries and Aquaculture – FAO

World review of fisheries and aquaculture 33 countries to inland waters e.g. Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Kazakhstan, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Zambia. Compared with 2010 global fishing fleet estimates, the slight apparent increase in the global fleet reflects improved data for vessels operating in inland waters especially in Africa, which had been misrepresented in the database until recent years. Although the inland fleet represented 32 percent of the global fleet in 2012, the proportion of vessels operating in inland waters varied substantially by region Figure 9, the highest being in Africa 64 percent, followed by Asia 30 percent and Latin America and the Caribbean 18 percent. Globally, 57 percent of fishing vessels were engine-powered in 2012, but the motorization ratio was much higher 70 percent in marine-operating vessels than in the inland fleet 31 percent. For the marine fleet, there were also large variations among regions, with non-motorized vessels accounting for about 5 and 6 percent respectively in the Near East and Europe, but up to 64 percent in Africa Figure 10. The low percentage of non-motorized vessels in North America could be a reflection of the data collection systems in use there, and the low reporting rate from that region. Globally, the motorized fishing fleet is distributed unevenly among regions. The vast majority of motorized vessels 72 percent were reported from Asia Figure 11. Size distribution of vessels and the importance of small boats In 2012, about 79 percent of the motorized fishing vessels in the world were less than 12 m LOA. Such vessels dominated in all regions, particularly Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and the Near East Figure 12. About 2 percent of all motorized fishing vessels corresponded to industrialized vessels of 24 m and larger roughly more than 100 GT and that fraction was larger in the Pacific and Oceania region, Europe, and North America. The estimated number of industrialized fishing vessels of 24 m and larger operating in marine waters was about 64 000. This figure is about three times higher than the number of fishing vessels registered with a unique identification number provided by the International Maritime Organization. The dominance of small vessels less than 12 m LOA is even higher in inland waters fisheries, where they represent more than 91 percent of all motorized vessels operating in inland waters. Estimations of the relative importance of the small-scale and industrial components of fisheries for social, economic, and food security purposes are likely to be skewed owing to an inadequate appraisal of the small-scale segment. The reasons for this are that often small vessels may not be subject to registration, but even where they are, those figures might not be reflected in national statistics. The lack of information Figure 11 Distribution of motorized ishing vessels by region in 2012 Paciic and Oceania 1 Near East 4 North America 4 Europe 4 Africa 6 Latin America and the Caribbean 9 Asia 72