Metadata Factsheet

3. Goals and Targets addressed

3a. Goal

N/A

3b. Target

Headline indicator for Target 5 Ensure that the use, harvesting and trade of wild species is sustainable, safe and legal, preventing overexploitation, minimizing impacts on non-target species and ecosystems, and reducing the risk of pathogen spillover, applying the ecosystem approach, while respecting and protecting customary sustainable use by indigenous peoples and local communities.

5. Definitions, concepts and classifications

5a. Definition

The indicator, "Proportion of marine fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels", measures the
sustainability of the world's marine capture fisheries by the abundance of the exploited fish stocks with
respect to MSY levels.

For each level of reporting (National, Regional, Global) the indicator is calculated as the ratio between the number of exploited fish stocks classified as "within biologically sustainable levels" and the total number of stocks in the Reference List that were classified with a determined status (within/not within
"biologically sustainable levels").

where Ps is the percentage of stocks classified as "within biologically sustainable levels" for the Reference List of stocks. Ns is the number of stocks in the Reference List classified as "within biologically sustainable levels", Nu is the number of stocks in the Reference List classified as "outside biologically sustainable levels" and N = Ns + Nu is the total number of stocks in the Reference List that have been classified as within or outside "biologically sustainable levels".

Classifying individual stocks as within/outside "biologically sustainable levels":

In order to keep consistency with the 14.4 target ("at least to levels that can produce maximum
sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics" and other earlier international
agreements, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a fish stock is classified as "within biologically sustainable levels" if its abundance is estimated (considering uncertainty) to be equal to or greater than the level that can produce the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY). In contrast, when abundance falls below the MSY level, the stock is classified as "outside biologically sustainable levels".

A wide array of methods and approaches (including documented expert opinion) is used to classify stock status relative to the abundance producing MSY. This varies among countries, regions and stocks. Nevertheless, the reliability of the classification is assessed by FAO as part of the process of producing the index.

Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) is commonly defined as the greatest average amount of catch that
can be harvested in the long-term from a stock under constant and current environmental conditions
(e.g., habitat, water conditions, species composition and interactions, and anything that could affect
birth, growth, or death rates of the stock), without affecting the long-term productivity of the stock. A
stock can produce MSY if its abundance is above a certain level, usually around 50% of its unexploited abundance (but actual value can vary around that level, depending on the biological characteristics of the stock). See more at https://www.fao.org/faoterm/en/?defaultCollId=21

MSY-based reference points are the most common type of reference points used in fisheries
management today. This is primarily because, for decades, reference points from surplus production
models have most often been set based on the concept of MSY and they are the basic benchmarks for the sustainability of fisheries set by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, Article 61(3)). For more on Reference Points in Fish Stock Assessment, see Caddy and Mahon (1995), Cadima (2003) or Haddon (2011).

BMSY: Biomass corresponding to Maximum Sustainable Yield from a production model or from an age- based analysis using a stock recruitment model. Often used as a biological reference point in fisheries management, it is the calculated long-term average biomass value expected if fishing at FMSY.

A population is: “A group of individuals of the same species living in the same area at the same time and sharing a common gene pool, with little or no immigration or emigration.”

A biological stock is: “A subpopulation of a species inhabiting a particular geographic area, having
similar biological characteristics (e.g. growth, reproduction, mortality) and negligible genetic mixing with other adjacent subpopulations of the same species." (FAO, 2004-2021).

The Reference List of Stocks: it is not possible to classify the sustainability of exploitation for all the
exploited stocks from a country, region or the world. Therefore, the indicator must be calculated based on a subset of these stocks. The list of the stocks that are classified for status and used to calculate the indicators is called the "Reference List of Stocks".

The Reference List of Stocks is built differently for the Regional/Global and the National levels. The
process of building the Reference List of Stocks for regional and global level are described in FAO (2011). At National level, countries are requested to define a list of stocks, based on an agreed set of criteria (Appendix 1). National and shared stocks can be included, but not straddling stocks (stocks that are distributed both in national EEZ and Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction).
At this moment, there is not a direct correspondence between the national level Reference Lists (that are defined by each country) and the regional and global Reference lists (that are defined by FAO).
The detailed description of all necessary concepts can be found in the e-learning course (FAO 2019-2021

Unit of measure: Percent %

5b. Method of computation

FAO currently reports the global and regional indicators calculated from FAO’s assessment of a selected list of fish stocks around the world. The methodology is described in the FAO Technical Paper (FAO 2011).

FAO has been developing the new approach for country-level reporting since 2017, and has consulted with countries in three dedicated expert consultation workshops: In November 2017, FAO convened a workshop to exchange views with national practitioners on the new proposed analytical methods to produce Indicator 14.4.1 at country level1. In February 2019, FAO convened an expert consultation workshop on development of the methodologies for the global assessment of fish stock status, with participants from countries and regional fisheries organizations. In order to help countries reporting on the indicator, FAO then organized a series of capacity development workshops on stock status assessment and estimation methods of SDG Indicator 14.4.1 for various regions.
In November 2019, FAO dispatched the first SDG14.4.1 questionnaire calling countries to report on their national indicator. Eighty-three countries submitted their questionnaire and three reported
independently. FAO has reported the full results of this first inquiry through UNSD in February 2022.
For each level of reporting (National, Regional, Global) the indicator is calculated as the ratio between the number of exploited fish stocks classified as "within biologically sustainable levels" and the total number of stocks in the Reference List that were classified with a determined status (within/not within
"biologically sustainable levels")

where Ps is the percent of stocks classified as "within biologically sustainable levels" for the Reference List of stocks. Ns is the number of stocks in the Reference List classified as "within biologically sustainable levels", Nu is the number of stocks in the Reference List classified as "outside biologically sustainable Levels" and N = Ns + Nu is the total number of stocks in the Reference List that have been classified as within or outside "biologically sustainable levels".

Classifying individual stocks as within/outside "biologically sustainable levels":

In order to keep consistency with the 14.4 target ("at least to levels that can produce maximum
sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics" and other earlier international
agreements, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)), a fish stock is classified as "within biologically sustainable levels" if its abundance is estimated to be (considering
uncertainty) at or greater than the level that can produce the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY). In
contrast, when abundance falls below the MSY level, the stock is classified as "outside biologically
sustainable levels".

A wide array of methods and approaches (including documented expert opinion) is used to classify stock status relative to the abundance producing MSY. This varies among countries, regions and stocks. Nevertheless, the reliability of the classification is assessed by FAO as part of the process of producing the index.

Global/Regional:

Global and regional estimates of stock sustainability have been performed for 584 fish stocks around the world since 1974, representing 70% of global landings. The status of each stock is estimated using the methodology described in the FAO Technical Paper (FAO, 2011).

National:

Countries are requested to report the status of a reference list of fish stocks defined by each country onthe basis of the criteria presented in Appendix 1. (https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/files/Metadat...)

5c. Data collection method

Global/regional:

The fish stocks that FAO has monitored since 1974 represent a wide spectrum of data availability, ranging from data-rich and formally assessed stocks to those that have very little information apart from catch statistics by FAO major fishing area and those with no stock assessment at all. For the purposes of using the best available data and information and maintaining consistency among stocks and assessors, a procedure has been defined to identify stock status information (FAO 2011).

National:

FAO collects national data through a questionnaire sent to the Principal Focal Point (PFP) of each country. The PFP organises an institutional set-up which identifies the competent authorities to develop a reference list of stocks and completes the questionnaire.

During the initial stages of national data reporting, the information or data collected through the
questionnaire from a country will initially only inform the indicator for the individual countries, also
acknowledging the need for a learning curve along the few first questionnaire inquiries. As a result, the global/regional indicator remains during these initial stages separate from the national indicators.
However, FAO is working on a convergence (where possible) of the two processes, and good-quality stock status assessments reported by countries for the national indicators will be included in the regional/global indicator calculations, depending on the evolution and further standardization of country reporting over the next 3-5 years.

Despite this effort, due to the heterogeneity of reporting from countries in the same FAO Major FishingArea, and the necessary inclusion of straddling and highly migratory stocks and fisheries in the regionaland global indicator, it is unlikely that a full convergence will be achieved in a short time-frame

5d. Accessibility of methodology

In each country, the data available for each stock and expertise level to conduct different types of assessments will differ. Some countries may have classic stock assessments already conducted for many of their stocks, while others may have very few or no assessments available.

For some countries, little stock assessment has been done. To help these countries and to facilitate their reporting, FAO prepared online materials and tools, including a selection of methods that can be used to evaluate stock status with data limited methods such as length-based and catch-only methods. The strengths and limitations of these methods are discussed in an eLearning course (Lesson 4), and caveats were also provided to avoid misuse and exercise cautions in practice. Furthermore, capacity building workshops have been organised to provide support to countries in stock assessment and reporting on the SDG 14.4.1.

eLearning course: https://elearning.fao.org/course/view.php?id=502

5e. Data sources

The classification of the status of exploited stocks relatively to the abundance that can produce MSY is often established through a formal stock assessment process. The data to inform stock assessments can come from many different sources, including fishery-dependent and fishery-independent sources. Fishery-dependent data are collected from the fishery itself, using both commercial and recreational sources through reporting or sample-based surveys at sea, at landing sites, or within fishing communities.

They can include information on removals of fish from the sea, which can include landings and discards, and information on the fleet such as number of boats, number of tows, time spent on the sea, as well as economic and social information like fish prices, fuel expenditures, total sales, employment or other.

Fishery-independent data are obtained in ways not related to any fishing activity and are typically
collected by scientists via surveys (often scientific cruises) designed to estimate species abundance and biomass over long time series, and over consistent seasons and geographic areas. Typically, fisheries- independent data also include biological information on the species (age, length, weight, maturity, etc.), and habitat and environmental information (temperature, salinity, depth, etc.).

These data and other information are used by Stock Assessment scientists to classify the stock status. References on the methods most commonly used can be found in Cadima (2003), Haddon (2011), Sparre and Venema (1998) and other publications dealing with the methods of stock assessment.

The information used for the indicator at the Global/Regional level is based on a different process and
data sources than that used for the national level

Global/Regional:

Because of the high data demands of classical stock assessment methods, only a limited number of fish stocks have been assessed. These species account for ca 50 percent of the global catch (Hilborn et al., 2020), and most are caught by industrial fisheries in developed countries .To balance the global representativeness of the assessment results and the goal of using the best available information, the
FAO uses a wide spectrum of data and methods to extend its assessment to the fish stocks that account for the majority (70-80 percent) of the global catch (FAO, 2011).

National:

The national level indicator, on the other hand, is based exclusively on the stock status reported by
countries. A multiplicity of methods are used to classify the stock status, including model-based
estimates, empirical indicators and documented expert opinion.

For country reporting, a questionnaire was sent out to all FAO member States with marine boundaries

(i.e. 165 States) in 2019, and will be resent in 2021, and then on a two-year basis. For the complete list of questions used to inform this indicator, please refer to Appendix 2 (https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/files/Metadat...)

5f. Availability and release calendar

Data availability:

• Global/regional: the indicator has global and regional data from 1974 to 2019. Regional breakdown is by FAO major fishing area. The regional and global indicators were calculated based on the reference list of fish stocks FAO established in 1974. Countries are not directly involved in the computation of the indicator at global/regional level.
• National: the national-level questionnaire was dispatched for the first time in November 2019; FAO identifies 165 countries with a marine border, and three countries with Caspian Sea border, as being eligible, in principle, to report. As the result of the first questionnaire call, ninety-eight countries expressed interest in the indicator (59%), of which eighty-three replied with completed questionnaires while three countries reported the indicator separately (52%), 11 countries stated that they could not report due to lack of data or time, and one responded with some catch data.

Data release calendar:

• Global/regional: biennially
• National: biennially

5g. Time series

Global/regional level:

• 1974 to 2019.

National level:

• First questionnaire dispatched in November 2019, considered a trial/testing phase. Upon comprehensive Quality Assurance analysis, FAO reported the full results of this first inquiry through UNSD in February 2022

5h. Data providers

FAO provides global and regional data. National-level data are generally reported by the National Statistics Office or the Ministry of Fisheries and/or Agriculture

5i. Data compilers

FAO

5j. Gaps in data coverage

5k. Treatment of missing values

Global/regional levels

• To ensure completeness of regional and global information on stocks, FAO gathers additional information outside of what is provided by each country, in particular concerning the highly migratory and straddling fishing stocks. For shared stocks, FAO may consult with Regional Fisheries Bodies (RFBs), who are mandated to assess and manage stocks with their contracting parties, in order to receive information and data and conduct stock assessment when necessary.

National level

• This indicator examines marine fish stocks. If a country has no marine capture fisheries, then the indicator is not calculated for that country. In such case, no imputation is performed to derive estimates. For countries reporting limited marine fish stock data, or data scored of low quality after quality assurance process, these are reported as Low reliability (code “U” of the OBS_STATUS flag)

However, the estimation of the indicator at regional and global levels was estimated not based on country questionnaires, but by the FAO through a systematic assessment of a reference list selected globally.

6. Scale

6a. Scale of use

Scale of application: Global, Regional, National

Scale of data disaggregation/aggregation:

Global/ regional scale indicator can be disaggregated to national level:

National data is collated to form global indicator:

6b. National/regional indicator production

In each country, the data available for each stock and expertise level to conduct different types of
assessments will differ. Some countries may have classic stock assessments already conducted for many of their stocks, while others may have very few or no assessments available.
For some countries, little stock assessment has been done. To help these countries and to facilitate their reporting, FAO prepared online materials and tools, including a selection of methods that can be used to evaluate stock status with data limited methods such as length-based and catch-only methods and an online platform for hands-on practice. The strengths and limitations of these methods are discussed in an eLearning course (Lesson 4), and caveats were also provided to avoid misuse and exercise cautions in practice. Furthermore, capacity development workshops have been organised to provide support to countries in stock assessment and reporting on the SDG 14.4.1.
eLearning course: https://elearning.fao.org/course/view.php?id=502

6c. Sources of differences between global and national figures

Sources of discrepancies:

The indicator is estimated by the FAO based on the methodology developed in the 1980s (FAO, 2011). Although regular updates were carried out to incorporate technical advances and changes in major fish species, some discrepancies between regions may occur in the representativeness of the reference list in practical fisheries. However, this will not pose a large impact on the reliability of the Global indicator’s temporal trends which covers 75% of global landings.

6d. Regional and global estimates & data collection for global monitoring

6d.1 Description of the methodology

As explained in the “Rationale” section, national data alone cannot be meaningfully aggregated at global/regional level because country-level reporting will be limited to the assessment of stocks that are found only within a country’s EEZ (including stocks shared with neighbouring countries’ EEZs), and therefore not include straddling stocks, highly migratory species, or stocks in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ). Therefore, regional “aggregates” by FAO Major Fishing Area and the global indicator value are calculated with a specific approach, as described in the FAO Technical Paper (FAO 2011)

6d.2 Additional methodological details

FAO carries out a series of validations to assure that the data and information are provided by countries in line with the questionnaire instructions. The validation process consists of: (i) identification of errors, mistakes and missing value in the data and, (ii) correcting errors, mistakes and missing values in close consultation with the countries concerned. Each country is asked either to confirm that the data provided are correct or to provide remarks and / or revise data accordingly if they identify any errors.

6d.3 Description of the mechanism for collecting data from countries

7. Other MEAs, processes and organisations

7a. Other MEA and processes

Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES): Core Indicator

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicator 14.4.1 https://www.fao.org/sustainable-development-goals-...

7b. Biodiversity Indicator Partnership

Yes

10. Data reporter

10a. Organisation

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

10b. Contact person(s)

Yimin Ye (Yimin.Ye@fao.org)

Marc Taconet (Marc.Taconet@fao.org )

SDG-indicators@fao.org (as per this page https://www.fao.org/sustainable-development-goals/indicators/1441/en/)