science

The Sunken Billions

The Sunken Billions is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The Sunken Billions rather than just read about it. In short: The Sunken Billions is a study jointly published in 2008 by the World Bank and by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The report shows that the difference between the potential and actual net economic benefits from marine fisheries is about USD 50 billion per year or some USD 2 trillion over the last three decades.

Key takeaways

The Sunken Billions belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect The Sunken Billions to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of The Sunken Billions from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Sunken Billions is a study jointly published in 2008 by the World Bank and by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The report shows that the difference between the potential and actual net economic benefits from marine fisheries is about USD 50 billion per year or some USD 2 trillion over the last three decades. According to the report, "by improving governance of marine fisheries, society could capture a substantial part of this $50 billion annual economic loss. Through comprehensive reform, the fisheries sector could become a basis for economic growth and the creation of alternative livelihoods in many countries. At the same time, a nation's natural capital in the form of fish stocks could be greatly increased and the negative impacts of the fisheries on the marine environment reduced." If fish stock were rebuilt, the current marine catch could be achieved with approximately half of the current global fishing effort. This illustrates the massive overcapacity of the global fleet. The excess competition over the limited fish resources results in declining productivity, economic inefficiency, and depressed fisher incomes. A 2017 update of the report found that the difference between potential and actual economic benefits from global fisheries had grown to USD 83 billion per year.

References Arnason R, Kelleher K and Willmann R (2008) The Sunken Billions: The Economic Justification for Fisheries Reform. Joint publication of the World Bank and the FAO. ISBN 978-0-8213-7790-1. FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries

External links World Bank - Fisheries and Aquaculture FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Presentation material from the speakers at Conference on Green Fishing Technologies and Solutions - October 7th, 2009 Aalborg, Denmark The Sunken Billions Summary on www.illegal-fishing.info Global Fisheries' Sunken Billions - The World Bank

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Sunken Billions

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Sunken Billions claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The Sunken Billions before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The Sunken Billions ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The Sunken Billions

In research: The Sunken Billions appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The Sunken Billions in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The Sunken Billions is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2008 works, Fisheries science, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The Sunken Billions outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study The Sunken Billions in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what The Sunken Billions means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain The Sunken Billions out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The Sunken Billions in simple terms?

Why does The Sunken Billions matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The Sunken Billions?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The Sunken Billions.