Marine resources, their status of exploitation and management in the People's Republic of China.

Marine capture fisheries have developed very quickly in the past decade as reflected by the rapid increase in the number of fishing vessels. Total fishing effort has grown from 42,779 vessels in 1975 to 273,978 in 1995 or in terms of horsepower from 2,150,000 kW to 9,801,000 kW. Meanwhile total catch increased from 2,773,000 tonnes to 10,268,000 tonnes during the same period. Due to the continued increase in fishing effort, some important fish stocks (except for some pelagic species and squids) are in serious threat. Most of the stocks experienced both “growth” and “recruitment” overfishing. The species composition of catches has shown some changes associated with the increase in catch. The number of species of low trophic level (e.g. mackerels, anchovies, and shrimps) and other immature fish has risen in recent years. Various management measures have been introduced including the licensing scheme, protection (conservation) area and closed season. Yet, fisheries management still faces immense challenges. Those include low-level of awareness of management concept among stakeholders, weakness in law enforcement and inadequate funds for fisheries research in support of management.