Fish are an important part of man's pattern 

 of survival. 



Directly — ^that is, fish and shellfish con- 

 sumed by man — fish provide about 14 percent 

 of the world's supply of animal protein. The 

 Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of 

 the United Nations has estimated that every 

 man, woman, and child in the world con- 

 sumes an average of 26 pounds of fish each 

 year.i However, that figure varies greatly 

 from country to country, ranging from only a 

 small fraction-of-a-pound per person per year 

 in Afghanistan to more than 86 pounds per 

 person per year in Iceland. In the United 

 States, the average consumption per person is 

 about 12 pounds of fish annually. 2 According 

 to FAO the consumption of fish is likely to in- 

 crease through 1990 at a growth rate higher 

 than that of beef, pork, vegetables, cereal, or 

 milk. 3 This suggests increasing pressure on 

 already heavily utilized ocean resources 

 worldwide in the next 10 years. 



Indirectly — in the form of meal and oil fed 

 to pigs and chickens which are in turn eaten 

 by man — fish provide another 10 or 11 per- 

 cent of the world's animal protein. * 



Twenty years ago, the United States was the 

 world's second largest fishing nation. 5 But by 

 1974 American fisherman were fifth, catching 

 only 4 percent of the world's supply of fish.^ 

 In that time, the U.S. catch had dropped only 

 about 8 percent, but the catch of some foreign 

 nations had increased by as much as 250 per- 

 cent.'' In 1974, the world catch was nearly 70- 

 million metric tons.^ Much of that was coming 



from waters off the United States where, with- 

 in 200 miles of the coasts, about one-fifth of 

 the world's fishery resources are located. ^ 

 Worldwide, the National Oceanic and At- 

 mospheric Administration has projected that 

 the oceans can sustain an annual catch of only 

 100-million metric tons, a catch figure they 

 expect to be reached by 1980.^0 Already, in- 

 creased fishing has caused acute pressure on 

 some stocks, depleting the supply and 

 threatening their existence. For example, off 

 the coast of the United States about 20 species 

 of fish and shellfish are believed to be 

 seriously depleted ii (see figures 1 and 2). 



Figure 1 



U.S. Landings, Imports, 

 and Consumption of 

 Edible Fishery Products 



Source: US. Department of Commerce. National Oceanic 

 and Atmosptieric Administration 



