Global recreational consumption of non-native inland fish: higher economic benefits, but lower nutritional value and climate resilience
Inland recreational fisheries support global well‑being but also drive non‑native fish introductions. Using 2021 global harvest data, this study shows non‑native species comprise only 4% of harvested biomass yet contribute 38% of economic value, reduce nutritional value by 21.9% and increase climate‑vulnerability estimates by 70.9%. These findings reveal that non‑native species influence inland fisheries far more than their volume suggests, with strong regional variation shaped by fisher behavior, species distributions and socio‑economic factors. Holistic evaluation of non‑native impacts is essential for sustainable fisheries management.
Subject Tags
- Climate impacts
- Fisheries
- Wildlife
Abstract
Inland recreational fisheries are globally significant leisure pursuits, with well-documented benefits to human health and well-being, but also one of the principal drivers of non-native fish introductions to enhance fishing opportunities, whether for sport or sustenance. In this study, we assess the relative reliance of global inland recreational fisheries on non-native versus native species for harvest. We further examine how this reliance varies by economic and nutritional value as well as the climate vulnerability of the species involved. We demonstrate that, of the 1,325,851 t of inland recreational fishes recreationally harvested for consumption worldwide in 2021, non-native fish were a small proportion (4%; 53,651 t). On a global scale, non-native fish contributed a net positive 38.2 % economic value to inland recreational harvest. However, they also contributed a net negative −21.9% nutritional value to inland recreational harvest. Non-native fishes were also more climate vulnerable (i.e., higher average climate vulnerability index values) and thus proportionally increased overall estimates of climate vulnerability with a net positive of 70.9%. Our results quantitatively demonstrate that non-native species play a more important role in inland consumptive recreational fisheries than their mere harvest volume would suggest. However, many nuances were seen on the continent and country scale, which reflect the complexity of fisher behavior, fish distribution and socio-economic factors. Our findings help unravel the complex effects of non-native species on human activities and underscore the need to evaluate their global impacts holistically.
Citation
Milardi, M., Wood, L. E., Nyboer, E. A., Embke, H. S., Phang, S. C., & Lynch, A. J. (2025). Global recreational consumption of non-native inland fish: higher economic benefits, but lower nutritional value and climate resilience. Science of the Total Environment, 1005, 180872. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.180872
TNC Authors
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Sui C. Phang
Freshwater Fisheries Deputy Director
The Nature Conservancy
Email: sui.phang@tnc.org