The FAO (1995, 2005) is involved in the task of recording the world statistics of food production and often publishes assessments accounting for the status of world fisheries (FAO 1995, 2005; Froese and Pauly 2012). The catch records are grouped by statistical regions subdivided in 17 sub regions and in the following paragraphs, some highlights on the current status of the fisheries of these regions and sub regions is given, as well as some rough estimations of the biomass on which the exploitation of fish resources is based.

2.1.1. The Atlantic

decrease in biomass of 6 million mt in the last three years (Table 1). In Fig. 2B, the maximum catch of the Atlantic Eastern Central is displayed, and corresponds to 3.7 M mt, attained in the year 2000; this figure corresponds to a biomass of 7.4 M mt, but at the end of the period displays an increase of 100,000 mt. In the Atlantic South eastern, the maximum yield was obtained in the early eighties, with 2.7 M mt (Fig. 2C); the corresponding biomass is 5.4 M mt, with a significant decrease in biomass during the last three years to only 2.6 M mt. The catch trend of the Atlantic North western (Fig. 2D) is declining, with a maximum of 3.5 M mt attained in the early seventies; to this figure corresponds a biomass of 7 M mt (Table 1). The low biomass estimated for the years 2008-2010, with somewhat more than 4.8 M mt, is something to be concerned. The catch trend of the Atlantic South western (Fig. 2E) is not very clear, because it seems to attain a maximum followed by a decline, but the projection of the regression line suggests that the maximum yield will be reached until the year 2030 with

Figure 2. Trend of total catches extracted from several regions of the Atlantic in the period 1950 — 2010. A. Atlantic north eastern; in this region the maximum catches were obtained in the late eighties. B. Atlantic eastern central; the maximum yields were obtained around the year 2000. C. Atlantic south eastern; the maximum yield was obtained in the early eighties. D. Atlantic north western; the maximum yield was obtained by the year 1970, with a declining trend afterwards. E. Atlantic south western. It is not clear whether the maximum yield was attained by the early 2000 s, or it still may grow to a maximum near the year 2030. In the Gulf of Mexico, whose data are included in those of Fig. 2.E, more than 60 species caught and recorded in the statistics, are included in this analysis; here, the MSY was attained in the middle 80s.

2.65 M mt. The corresponding biomass will be 5.3 M mt (Table 1); the stock current biomass is 3.68 M mt. It was possible to examine with some detail the catch trend of the Gulf of Mexico (Fig. 2F), whose values are part of those for the Atlantic South western; in this case, the maximum yield was obtained in the late eighties with 800,000 mt, with a corresponding biomass of 1.6 Million mt; the current biomass is only 1.1 M mt. The global MSY for the Atlantic Ocean is 24.15 M mt, corresponding to a biomass of 48.3 M mt but these values do not correspond to the same year; unfortunately in all cases but one, current yields were left behind and the current biomass is considerably lower than the figures provided. The current biomass estimated for the Atlantic Ocean amounts to 35.78 M mt (Table 1).