A fish species can be called mesopelagic if it spends the day in the mesopelagic zone. The mesopelagic zone has been defined in different ways based on depth, temperature and light regimes. For the present purpose, depth seems to be the best criterion and mesopelagic fish can thus be defined as species generally spending the day at depths between approximately 200 and 1 000 m. Generally they perform a diel migration, coming to the upper 200 m or even to the surface during the night. The present report briefly reviews the systematics ecology and life history of important groups of mesopelagic fish. Further, some methods used for abundance estimation of these fish are described and discussed. The bulk of the report reviews the present knowledge of abundance and species composition of mesopelagic fish in each of the FAO statistical areas. Although the data in most cases are few, an attempt has been made to give tentative estimates of the biomass and production in the various areas. When available, information on the life history of the most important species in each area is also given.

From Michael Klare, the renowned expert on natural resource issues, an invaluable account of a new and dangerous global competition The world is facing an unprecedented crisis of resource depletion—a crisis that goes beyond "peak oil" to encompass shortages of coal and uranium, copper and lithium, water and arable land. With all of the planet's easily accessible resource deposits rapidly approaching exhaustion, the desperate hunt for supplies has become a frenzy of extreme exploration, as governments and corporations rush to stake their claim in areas previously considered too dangerous and remote. The Race for What's Left takes us from the Arctic to war zones to deep ocean floors, from a Russian submarine planting the country's flag on the North Pole seabed to the large-scale buying up of African farmland by Saudi Arabia, China, and other food-importing nations. As Klare explains, this invasion of the final frontiers carries grave consequences. With resource extraction growing more complex, the environmental risks are becoming increasingly severe; the Deepwater Horizon disaster is only a preview of the dangers to come. At the same time, the intense search for dwindling supplies is igniting new border disputes, raising the likelihood of military confrontation. Inevitably, if the scouring of the globe continues on its present path, many key resources that modern industry relies upon will disappear completely. The only way out, Klare argues, is to alter our consumption patterns altogether—a crucial task that will be the greatest challenge of the coming century.

This powerful book sets out arguments and an agenda of policy proposals for achieving a sustainable and prosperous, but non-growing economy, also known as a steady-state economy. The authors describe a plan for solving the major social and environmental problems which face us today on a finite planet with a rapidly growing population.

The aim of this report is to help improve the quality of the knowledge on the state of the world's water resources. In order to provide a basis for discussing the issues, FAO's Aquastat programme compiles existing quantitative and qualitative information on water resources, water use and irrigation by country. This report focuses on the work done through the Aquastat surveys to collect and analyse available information on water resources for all countries in the world. The report presents the concepts and methodology applied in order to compute country-level water resources data. It presents and analyses the key findings at both global and regional levels. It also discusses the limitations of the approach and the information gaps that remain.