Part of the initial catch (fish and seafood harvested) discarded, lost and wasted in different regions and at different stages in the food supply chains (FSC). Gustavsson, et al., 2011 / FAO

Discards, the proportion of total catch that is returned to the sea (in most case dead, dying, or badly damaged), represent a significant part of the world’s marine catches and are generally considered to be a wasteful misuse of marine resources. The first global assessment was published in 1994 and it identified a total discard of 27 million ton (Alverson et al., 1994). The latest global study conducted by FAO in 2005 suggests that discard have dropped to 7.3 million but the figures are not totally comparable. Even if the first was overestimated and the latter underestimated, reductions seem to have been significant. The latest assessment corresponds to a weighted global discard ratio of 8%. However, large variations among fishing methods and regions exist (Kelleher, 2005). For all three industrialized regions, losses in primary fish and seafood (Figure 8) production are significant due to discard rates of between 9-15% of marine catches. A large proportion of purchased fish and seafood is also wasted by consumer households. In developing countries, losses in primary production mostly depend on discard rates between 6-8% of marine catches. High losses at the distribution level can be explained by high levels of deterioration occurring during fresh fish and seafood distribution.

Global Food Losses and Food Waste: Extent, Causes, and Prevention [pdf]