Wild-caught fish are critically important natural resources, both for the sake of biodiversity but also for sustainable livelihoods for the communities and nations who depend on them. In 2018, the Food and Agriculture Organization estimates global fisheries and aquaculture generated approximately 179 million metric tons of catch, with a “first sale” value estimated at $401 billion, and with 60% coming from low- and middle-income countries.

Across coastal countries that are fisheries-dependent, food production and sustainable fisheries are the key to the future. Through our decades of fisheries and coastal management work, Tetra Tech has seen a continued lack of focus on the science, including data and the tools and methods to collect it, to identify how and what management interventions are appropriate.