2026-09-23 · percent of assessed marine stocks
A third of fish stocks are overfished
Biologically sustainable vs overexploited — FAO tracks the split.
Roughly a third of the world's assessed marine fish stocks are overfished — pushed past biologically sustainable limits, according to FAO's SOFIA stock status categories. Most of the rest are fished right at their maximum sustainable level, leaving little room for error in global fisheries management.
1 cell = 0.1 percent of assessed marine stocks (0.1% of marine fish stocks) · 1,000 cells
Context
FAO's SOFIA assessment sorts monitored marine stocks into three buckets: 35% are overfished, 57% are fished at their maximum sustainable yield, and 8% are underfished.
The 57% fished at maximum sustainable yield is the largest share, meaning most stocks have no buffer — any pressure above the sustainable level pushes them toward overfishing.
Underfished stocks, at just 8%, represent the small remaining share where catch could theoretically grow without breaching sustainability.
FAO SOFIA stock status categories.
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Credit this grid as Inagrid — https://inagrid.com/e/2026-09-23-overfishing-stocks
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