ABSTRACT
It was well into the present century before any real attempt was made to estimate world catch, and only since the Second World War has there been an organised and comprehensive data base for it in the collected and published statistics of the FAO, although even these rely on estimates to a significant degree. Kustov has estimated a total figure for the global catch of between 1.5 and 2 million tonnes for 1850, 4 million tonnes for 1900 and 9.5 million tonnes for 1913 (Kustov 1968:7); and such figures must be broadly in accord with the accelerating rate of exploitation from the latter part of last century, with the advances made in fishing methods, the advent of power-driven vessels and the expansion of markets.
