The table compares the characteristics of large-scale and small-scale sea fishing industries worldwide in terms of workforce, production, costs, and fuel usage.
Overall, small-scale fishing provides far more employment but produces less output per worker, while large-scale fishing is more capital-intensive, fuel-consuming, and focused not only on food but also on industrial processing.
In terms of employment, local boats involve around 12 million workers, which is vastly higher than the half a million engaged in the industrial sector. Despite this, large-scale ships catch a greater quantity of fish for food, 29 million tonnes compared to 22 million tonnes. Moreover, only the industrial sector contributes significantly to industrial processing, with 24 million tonnes, whereas small-scale fishing produces almost none in this category.
On the other hand, capital investment and fuel consumption are much higher in industrial fishing. Each job in this sector costs between $30,000 and $300,000, compared to only $250-2,500 in the small-scale industry. Similarly, large-scale ships use 14-19 million tonnes of fuel annually, which is nearly ten times more than the 1.5-1.8 million tonnes consumed by local
boats.