Many of the most intractable problems we face globally and locally involve collective action to manage a shared resource. Nowhere is this more true than in the management of marine and coastal resources in general and fisheries in particular. Marine ecosystems cover some three-quarters of the globe and support a diversity of living resources that sustain the livelihoods of millions of people across all continents.

Some 260 million people — mostly in the global South — are directly employed in marine fisheries. Fish are also one of the most traded food commodities in regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa. Fish trade supports economic growth processes by providing an important source of cash revenue to service international debt, fund the operations of national governments, and import food for domestic consumption, thus contributing to national food security and diversification of diets. It is deeply troubling, therefore, that world fish stocks are running dangerously low.

Available at: http://www.ictsd.org/bridges-news/biores/news/searching-for-a-sustainable-blue-future-in-the-post-2015-development-agenda