Nearly half of the fish caught worldwide are from stocks that are scientifically monitored and, on average, are increasing in abundance. Effective management appears to be the main reason these stocks are at sustainable levels or successfully rebuilding. That is the main finding of an international project led by the University of Washington to compile and analyze data from fisheries around the world. The results were published Jan. 13 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "There is a narrative that fish stocks are declining around the world, that fisheries management is failing and we need new solutions - and it's totally wrong," said lead author Ray Hilborn. "Fish stocks are ... increasing in many places, and we already know how to solve problems through effective fisheries management." The team's database includes information on nearly half of the world's fish catch, up from about 20% represented in the last compilation in 2009. Still, most of the fish stocks in South Asia and Southeast Asia do not have scientific estimates of health and status available. Fisheries in India, Indonesia and China alone represent 30% to 40% of the world's fish catch that is essentially unassessed. This analysis found that more intense management led to healthy or improving fish stocks, while little to no management led to overfishing and poor stock status.