Fish and fishery products remain among the most commonly traded food commodities in the world. That translates into more than 80 million tons of global marine catches and 39 million jobs in fisheries around the world.
At a local scale, the fishing activity in Galicia has a strong, centuries-old tradition, while from a socio-economic perspective, Galicia accounts for around 43% of the number of vessels and nearly 40% of the number of fishing-related jobs in Spain, with landings exceeding 150,000 tons in 2019 and reaching a value over 470 million euros (pescadegalicia.org).
Nonetheless, unsustainable fisheries have been steadily increasing since the 1970s, although the rate is slowing down. Regulations to adjust fish catches to the Maximum Sustainable Yield or the recently established landing obligation are measures that attempt to increase the abundance and health of fish stocks and ensure the sustainability of fishing.
Sustainable fisheries require innovations to reduce operational costs and improve revenues without damaging stocks. The IIM-CSIC has a long tradition of collaboration with the fisheries industry at different levels to help it adapt to these new challenges
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