Coastal Statistics:
Length of Coastline was derived from the World Vector Shoreline database
of the United States Mapping Agency. The estimates presented here were calculated
using a Geographic Information System (GIS) with a resolution of 1:250,000 kilometers
and an underlying database consistent for the entire world. In general, the
coastline length of islands that are part of a country, but are not overseas
territories, are included in the coastline estimate for that country (i.e.,
Canary Islands are included in Spain).
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Percent of Population within 100 km of Coast. Estimates were based on 1995
population figures. The Gridded Population of the World is a raster data set
that provides information on the spatial distribution of the world's human population.
The grid cells are approximately 4.6 km on each side. Populations are distributed
according to administrative districts which vary in scale, level and size from
country to country. A 100 km coastal buffer with a 10 km 'safe area' falling
into the sea were used in the geographic information system to calculate the
number of people in the coastal zone for each country individually.
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Area of Continental Shelf. According to the UN Convention of the Law of the
Sea, the Continental Shelf is the area of the seabed and subsoil which extends
beyond the territorial sea to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the territorial
sea baseline and beyond that distance to the outer edge of the continental margin.
Coastal States have sovereign rights over the continental shelf (the national
area of the seabed) for exploring and exploiting it; the shelf can extend at
least 200 nautical miles from the shore, and more under specified circumstances.
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Territorial Sea is defined under the United Nations Convention on the Law of
the Sea (UNCLOS) as the 12-nautical mile zone from the baseline or low-water
line along the coast. The coastal State's sovereignty extends to the territorial
sea, including its sea-bed, subsoil, and air space above it. Foreign vessels
are allowed "innocent passage" through those waters. Even though the
established limit for a territorial sea is 12 nautical miles, some countries
claim larger areas.
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Claimed Exclusive Economic Zone . Under UNCLOS, coastal States can claim sovereign
rights in a 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). This allows for
exploration, exploitation, conservation and management of all natural resources
in the seabed, its subsoil and overlaying waters. UNCLOS allows other states
to navigate and fly over the EEZ, as well as to lay submarine cables and pipelines.
The inner limit of the EEZ starts at the outer boundary of the Territorial Sea
(see above). Under UNCLOS, "land-locked and geographically disadvantaged
States have the right to participate on an equitable basis in exploitation of
an appropriate part of the surplus of the living resources of the EEZ's of coastal
States of the same region or sub-region."
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Sources:
Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN),
World Resources Institute, and International Food Policy Research Institute,
"Gridded Population of the World, Version 2 alpha" (Columbia University,
Palisades, NY, 2000) available at: http://sedac.ciesin.org/plue/gwp.
Pruett, L. and Cimino, J. Unpublished data, Global Maritime Boundaries Database
(GMBD), Veridian - MRJ Technology Solutions, (Fairfax, Virginia, January, 2000).
Coastal Biodiversity and Protected Areas Data:
Area of Mangrove Forests and Percent of Mangrove Forests Protected . Mangrove
estimates were calculated by the World Conservation Monitoring Center (WCMC)
by compiling many national and regional data showing forest extent. The legends
of these maps were harmonized into 15 different tropical and 11 non-tropical
forest types for the globe, defined specifically for this study. Percent protected
includes forest areas that fall within the protected areas in the world that
are listed by IUCN - World Conservation Union as being within their management
categories I-VI.
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Number of Mangrove Species . Mangrove trees and shrubs, including ferns and
palms, are found along river banks and coastlines in tropical and subtropical
countries. Their main characteristic is that they can tolerate salt and brackish
water environments. Original data on species richness was compiled by the World
Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) from a variety of sources including, governments,
mapping agencies, non-governmental organizations, international agencies and
scientists. The year and quality of the data vary from country to country, therefore
figures are not strictly comparable between countries.
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Number of Seagrass Species . Seagrasses are marine angiosperms that live in
seawater. They grow in soft substrates like sandy soils and form large underwater
meadows in coastal regions of the world. The total number of seagrass species
is low, but these plants provide habitat, breeding, and feeding grounds for
many species of fish and shellfish. The year and quality of the data vary from
country to country, therefore figures are not strictly comparable between countries.
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Number of Sceleractinia Coral Genera . Coral reefs are home to more than a
quarter of all known marine fish species. In general coral reefs are found in
shallow waters, between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer. Most
reef-forming corals belong to the family Scleractinia, which are also called
true or stony corals. They may be solitary or colonial and have a heavy external
calcareous skeleton. The year and quality of the data vary from country to country,
therefore figures are not strictly comparable between countries.
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International Legal Net Trade in Live Corals includes pieces of all coral species
traded under the regulation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species (CITES). Net trade is calculated as total imports minus total exports;
a negative value means that a country or region exports more coral than they
import. CITES monitors the trade in more than 2000 species of Coral. The typical
size of live coral pieces in trade is 10 x 6 cm in cross section, 6cm in height
and weighing about 200g. Species traded within national borders or illegal trade
in wildlife and wildlife products are not reflected in these figures. Mortality
of individuals during capture or collection, transit, or quarantine also are
not reflected in these numbers.
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Number of Marine or Littoral Protected Areas . IUCN defines a 'marine protected
area' as: "any area of intertidal or subtidal terrain, together with its
overlying water and associated flora and fauna, historical and cultural features,
which has been reserved by law or other effective means to protect part or all
of the enclosed environment." "Marine" is defined as any site
which is known to incorporate at least some subtidal area permanently submerged
under the ocean. "Littoral" is defined as any site which is known
to incorporate at least some intertidal area. The categories of marine and littoral
are not exclusive. Many of these protected areas have a large terrestrial component.
The degree of protection varies from one country to another.
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Wetlands of International Importance, Extent . The Convention on Wetlands of
International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat, signed in Ramsar,
Iran, 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty for the conservation and sustainable
use of wetlands. When a country becomes a Party to the Convention, it agrees
to designate at least one wetland for inclusion in the List of Wetlands of International
Importance (the "Ramsar List") and to promote its conservation. In
order for a site to qualify as a Ramsar site, it has to have "international
significance in terms of ecology, botany, zoology, limnology or hydrology."
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Sources:
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES) annual report data, World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) CITES
Trade Database (WCMC, Cambridge, U.K., December, 1999). Iremonger, S., C. Ravilious,
T. Quinton, "A statistical analysis of global forest conservation."
In: S. Iremonger, C. Ravilious, and T. Quinton (Eds). "A Global Overview
of Forest Conservation CD-ROM" (World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC)
and Centre for International Forestry Research, Cambridge, U.K., 1997). Protected
Areas Database of the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), unpublished
data (WCMC, Cambridge, U.K., August, 1999). Ramsar Convention Bureau, Gland,
Switzerland. Available : http://ramsar.org/sitelist.pdf Spalding,
M., F. Blasco, and C. Field (Eds.). "World Mangrove Atlas", The International
Society for Mangrove Ecosystems (ISME), Okinawa, Japan, 1997. World Conservation
Monitoring Centre, unpublished data, WCMC, Cambridge, UK (August, 1999). The
data presented here has been compiled by WCMC from different published sources.
Fisheries Production, Consumption and Trade:
Capture is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO) as "the nominal catch of fish, crustaceans and molluscs, the production
of other aquatic animals, residues and plants and catches of aquatic mammals,
taken for commercial, industrial, recreational and subsistence purposes from
marine waters. " Statistics for aquaculture are not included in the capture
totals. Production of fish, crustaceans and molluscs is expressed in live weight--the
nominal weight of the aquatic organisms at the time of capture. Data include
all quantities caught and landed for both food and feed purposes but exclude
discards. Figures are national totals which include fish caught by a country's
fleet anywhere in the world. Marine Fish Captured include cods, hakes and haddocks;
flounders, halibuts and soles; herrings, sardines and anchovies; jacks, mullets
and sauries; redfishes, basses and congers; tunas, bonitos and billfishes; and
miscellaneous marine fishes. Marine capture totals exclude freshwater species,
brackishwater species, and harvest totals from mariculture and aquaculture.
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Mollusc and Crustacean Capture data refer to marine and inland waters molluscs
and crustaceans caught or trapped. Crustaceans include freshwater crustaceans,
sea-spiders, crabs, lobsters, shrimps, prawns, and miscellaneous marine crustaceans.
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Aqaculture is defined by FAO as "the farming of aquatic organisms, including
fish, molluscs, crustaceans, and aquatic plants. Farming implies some form of
intervention in the rearing process to enhance peoduction, such as regular stocking,
feeding, protection from predators, etc. [It] also implies ownership of the
stock being cultivated." Aquatic organisms that are exploitable by the
public as a common property resource are included in the harvest of fisheries.
Total aquaculture production includes marine, freshwater, and diadromous fish,
molluscs, crustaceans, cephalopods, miscellaneous aquatic animals, and aquatic
plants cultivated in marine, inland or brackish environments.
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Marine and Diadromous Fish . Diadromous fish include sturgeons, paddlefishes,
river eels, salmons, trouts, smelts, shads, and miscellaneous diadromous fishes.
Marine Fish include cods, hakes and haddocks; flounders, halibuts and soles;
herrings, sardines and anchovies; jacks, mullets and sauries; redfishes, basses
and congers; tunas, bonitos and billfishes; and miscellaneous marine fishes.
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Molluscs and Crustaceans . Molluscs include freshwater molluscs, abalones,
winkles, conchs, oysters, mussels, scallops, pectens, clams, squids, and miscellaneous
marine molluscs. Crustaceans include freshwater crustaceans, sea-spiders, crabs,
lobsters, shrimps, prawns, and miscellaneous marine crustaceans.
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Aquatic plants include brown, red, and green seaweeds, and miscellaneous aquatic
plants.
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Per Capita Food Supply from Fish and Fishery Products is defined as the quantity
of both freshwater and marine fish, seafood and derived products available for
human consumption. Data were calculated by taking a country's fish production
plus imports of fish and fishery products, minus exports, minus the amount of
fishery production destined to non-food, and plus or less variations in stocks.
The data represent apparent consumption in live weight basis, which means that
the amounts of fish and fishery products consumed include all parts of the fish,
including bones.
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Fish Protein as a percent of total protein supply is defined as the quantity
of protein from both freshwater and marine fish, seafood and derived products
available for human consumption as a percentage of all the animal protein available.
Data were calculated by taking a country's fish production plus imports of fish
and fishery products, minus exports, minus the amount of fishery production
destined to non-food uses (i.e., reduction to meal, etc.), and plus or less
variations in stocks. The data represent apparent consumption in live weight
basis, which means that the amounts of fish and fishery products consumed include
all parts of the fish, including bones.
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Annual Trade in Fish and Fishery Products . Import and export values of fish
and fisheries products includes that of fish that are live, fresh, chilled,
frozen, dried, salted, smoked or canned, and other fish products and preparations.
Molluscs, crustaceans, meals, oils, sponges, corals, and inedible products are
also included in these totals. Values are expressed in thousands of United States
dollars.
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Sources:
Fishery Information, Data and Statistics Unit, Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO). 2002. FISHSTAT Plus: Universal software for fishery
statistical time series, Version 2.3 (available http://www.fao.org/fi/statist/FISOFT/FISHPLUS.asp);
Aquaculture Production dataset. Rome: FAO. Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO), FAOSTAT on-line statistical service. Available
http://apps.fao.org. FAO: Rome, 2002.
Fishing Effort, both Freshwater and Marine:
People employed in fishing and aquaculture includes the number of people employed
in commercial and subsistence fishing (both personnel on fishing vessels and
on shore), operating in freshwater, brackish and marine areas, and in aquaculture
production activities.
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Decked Fishery Vessels . The term "fishery vessel" refers to "mobile
floating objects of any kind and size, operating in freshwater, brackish and
marine areas, and used for catching, harvesting, searching, transporting, landing,
preserving and/or processing fish, shellfish and other aquatic animals, residues
and plants." Decked vessels are those that have a fixed structural deck
covering the entire hull above the deepest operating waterline. Decked fishery
vessels data include trawlers, purse seiners, gill netters, long liners, trap
setters, other seiners and liners, multipurpose vessels, dredgers and other
fishing vessels, and nonfishing vessels such as motherships, fish carriers,
fishery research vessels, etc.
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Sources:
Fishery fleet data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO), Fishery Information, Data and Statistics Unit (FIDI),
July, 2002.