Economy - overview:
The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch. It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the construction industry. In 1996, over 60% of the world's fish catch came from the Pacific Ocean. Exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves is playing an ever-increasing role in the energy supplies of the US, Australia, NZ, China, and Peru. The high cost of recovering offshore oil and gas, combined with the wide swings in world prices for oil since 1985, has led to fluctuations in new drillings.

Marine fisheries:
the Pacific Ocean fisheries are the most important in the world accounting for 59%, or 46,706,536 mt, of the global marine capture in 2016; of the six regions delineated by the Food and Agriculture Organization in the Pacific Ocean, the following are the most important:

Northwest Pacific region (Region 61) is the world’s most important fishery producing 28% of the global catch or 22,411,224 mt in 2016; it encompasses the waters north of 20º north latitude and west of 175º west longitude with the major producers including China (14,776,769 mt), Japan (2,896,073 mt), South Korea (944,558 mt), and Taiwan (378,990 mt); the principal catches include Alaska Pollock, Japanese anchovy, chub mackerel, and scads

Western Central Pacific region (Region 71) is the world’s second most important fishing region producing 16%, or 12,742,955 mt, of the global catch in 2016; tuna is the most important species in this region; the region includes the waters between 20º North and 25º South latitude and west of 175º West longitude with the major producers including Indonesia (4,704,382 mt), Vietnam (2,678,406 mt), Philippines (1,865,213 mt), Thailand (950,219 mt), and Malaysia (792,163 mt); the principal catches include Skipjack and Yellowfin tuna, sardinellas, and cephalopods

Southeast Pacific region (Region 87) is the third major Pacific fishery and fifth largest in the world producing 8%, or 6,329,328 mt, of the global catch in 2016; this region includes the nutrient rich upwelling waters off the west coast of South America between 5º North and 60º South latitude and east of 120º West longitude with the major producers including Peru (3,774,887 mt), Chile (1,495,359 mt), and Ecuador (612,755 mt); the principal catches include Peruvian anchovy (50% of the catch), Jumbo flying squid, and Chilean jack mackerel Pacific Northeast region (Region 67) is the fourth largest Pacific Ocean fishery and eighth largest in the world producing 4% of the global catch or 3,092,529 mt in 2016; this region encompasses the waters north of 40º North latitude and east of 175º West longitude including the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea with the major producers including the US (2,900,835 mt), Canada (180,664 mt), and Russia (11,030 mt); the principal catches include Alaska pollock, Pacific cod, and North Pacific hake