The EU’s ban on discarding caught fish in February 2013 has received widespread applause. Why?

After environmental and economic turbulence, Canada’s fisheries are being reformed. The sector is now undergoing a renaissance, though challenges remain.

Anyone ordering salmon in a European restaurant will easily recognise the similarity between salmone (Italian), salmão (Portuguese), saumon (French) or solomós (Greek), and may make the leap from the Yiddish lox to lachs (German), laks (Norwegian) or lax (Swedish). But identifying the same fish as yeoneo (Korean), som balig˘i (Turkish), sake masu-rui (Japanese) or losos (Croatian) calls for a fish glossary.

Fisheries may be an ancient economic activity, but nowadays they are at the forefront of globalisation. First, there is the trade itself: a blue hake caught off the coast of New Zealand by a Japanese vessel may be processed in China before being flown to a market in London or Paris.

With ocean stocks depleting, sustainable fisheries is now high on political agendas in OECD countries. Governments grappling with reform may find it reassuring to know that one of the OECD’s oldest committees, the Committee for Fisheries, is still going strong after 46 years at the helm. Indeed, the committee just held its 100th session on 29-31 October 2007.

A weekly catch from behind the headlines on oecd.org, No 1

Leaders et the OECD; Jobs; Spanish bull; Web sense; Fish

Nobel laureate for Economics, Elinor Ostrom, spoke at the OECD in June. At a time when new models are needed, could her ideas on common resources and governance offer guidance?

In 2004, net exports of fish reeled in more than $20 billion to developing countries– nearly four times more than coffee exports and nearly ten times more than tea exports. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), that same year, fish provided more than 2.6 billion people around the world with at least 20% of their average per capita animal protein intake. As Globalisation in Fisheries and Aquaculture: Opportunities and Challenges makes clear, only through international co-operation will these vast and crucial industries be saved from their own success.

Could fish farming help secure the food supply of the future? Yes, but there are challenges.

The fisheries sector in OECD countries receives around $6.4 billion a year in transfers from governments. Around 38% of the transfers are provided for the management, research and enforcement of fisheries while 35% is directed to the provision of fisheries infrastructure, from harbour and landing facilities, to navigation services, and search and rescue support.

Fish piracy, or illegal fishing activity, depletes global fish stocks and undermines efforts to ensure continued, renewable stocks for the future. It also damages the economic and social welfare of those involved in legal fishing, and reduces incentives to play by the rules. But despite national and international efforts, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing continues to thrive worldwide.