Capture Fisheries
Fish are a significant source of animal protein among the worlds’ poor. Beyond its nutritional importance, at least 200 million people derive direct and indirect income from fish. As such, capture fisheries (i.e. fish caught in the wild) are becoming an increasingly important component of the organic food market. Standards for organic capture fisheries still do not exist and there are no signs that they will be developed in the near future. However, the Marine Stewardship Council has established an ecolabel for fish caught in the wild. Research topics range from supply chain issues with organic fish sales and infrastructure for processing fish as organic to a better understanding of consumer demand in buying an organic product that has been sourced from a wild fishery.
Very little research has been conducted on organic capture fisheries, perhaps resulting from the lack of an international standard for the product. As a result, a sizeable gap still exists in organic fisheries research.