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Nature 414, 477 (29 November 2001) | doi:10.1038/35107216

China caught out as model shows net fall in fish

Helen Pearson

Despite a wealth of local evidence suggesting that world fish stocks are in peril, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has consistently reported that global catch sizes are stable or rising.But new research suggests that the FAO statistics, which have encouraged investment in the fishing industry, may have been distorted by exaggerated estimates of catch sizes by some countries — particularly China.