Marine ecosystems

Marine ecosystems , including fisheries , were and are an important source of protein for direct consumption by humans and feed on the other hand , support an important economic activity that generates employment and income, particularly in the developing countries, where it is estimated that at least 100 million people live in fishing activities or related to it.

Fisheries contribute 16 % of global consumption of animal protein, and 19 % for the same consumption in developing countries. In Asia provides 30 % of this consumption and Africa 's contribution is 21 % . In Latin America , despite the enormous extent of its coastline and abundance of lakes and rivers , the contribution is only 8 % . Japan is the country with the highest fish consumption per capita : 72 kg , and the lowest values are those of North Africa and Latin America with 8 kg and 8.5 kg respectively. The average per capita consumption of fish from developing countries was , in 1991 , of 13.3 kg of 11 kg in 1971 and 11.8 kg in 1981 in developed countries is 26.4 kg , and 22.3 kg in 1971.

Fish production , 30 % is converted into flour for animal consumption , in order to increase the supply of animal protein fish , although a growing percentage goes to the farms . Global production of fishmeal has increased from 19.5 million tons in 1981 to 27.8 million in 1991 . One sector that has greatly increased fish production is frozen .

However, the future of the fishing industry is conditioned by intrinsic characteristics of marine resources and economic behavior that they induce or derives from the rationality (or perhaps lack thereof) of the economic system over the resources of the sea.

The resources of the sea , lakes and rivers are alive with their own very particular " production function ". Fish can not occur in the same way that cars , shoes, loaves of bread and not even based on the same or similar principles guiding agricultural production. Society may have some influence , but can not control the growth and reproduction of marine biological resources . The habitat of these consists of large areas that can not be grown as agricultural land is cultivated .

To understand the economic activity related to marine ecosystems is necessary to understand the biological characteristics of living marine resources - fish , cephalopods , shellfish , marine mammals - as well as their interactions with their habitats . Incorporate these peculiarities in economic analysis is difficult , not only the unknowns are still many , both in relation to the biological aspects and dynamics and in relation to the marine ecosystem responses and interactions with human action , but also by the shortcomings of existing instruments . How to overcome these shortcomings is currently an issue that attracts the attention of politicians , fisheries experts and economists , since for most species catch levels are increasingly

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