A
fishery is an area with an associated
fish or
aquatic population which is harvested for its commercial value. Fisheries can be
marine (
saltwater) or
freshwater. They can also be
wild or
farmed.
Wild fisheries are sometimes called
capture fisheries. The aquatic life they support is not controlled in any meaningful way and needs to be "captured" or
fished. Wild fisheries exist primarily in the oceans, and particularly around
coasts and
continental shelves. They also exist in
lakes and
rivers. Issues with wild fisheries are
overfishing and
pollution. Significant wild fisheries have collapsed or are in danger of collapsing, due to overfishing and pollution. Overall, production from the world's wild fisheries has levelled out, and may be starting to decline.
As a contrast to wild fisheries,
farmed fisheries can operate in sheltered coastal waters, in rivers, lakes and
ponds, or in enclosed bodies of water such as tanks. Farmed fisheries are technological in nature, and revolve around developments in
aquaculture. Farmed fisheries are expanding, and
Chinese aquaculture in particular is making many advances. Nevertheless, the majority of fish consumed by humans continues to be sourced from wild fisheries. As of the early 21st century, fish is humanity's only significant wild food source.
