May 20,
2014 -- FAO has released its latest "State of World Fisheries and
Aquaculture" report, covering 2012, and there are a number of
positive news items. First and foremost, 70% of wild capture fisheries are
now being fished within biologically sustainable limits.
This is a "reversal in trend observed during the past few years, a
positive sign in the right direction," says the FAO. Global capture
fisheries remained stable at 80 million tons.
Secondly, the aquaculture production continues to surge. Global aquaculture
production marked a record high of more than 90 million tonnes in 2012,
including almost 24 million tonnes of aquatic plants. China accounted for
over 60 percent of the total share.
Other positive trends were the increase in employment in fisheries and
aquaculture, the greater share o trade coming from developing countries, and
the fact that seafood now accounts for 17% of global protein consumption.
The report also emphasizes the importance and positive role of the FAO Code
of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries which, since its adoption almost two
decades ago, remains key to achieving sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.
More people than ever before rely on fisheries and aquaculture for food and
as a source of income says the new FAO report published today.
According to the latest edition of FAO's The
State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, global fisheries and aquaculture
production totaled 158 million tonnes in 2012 - around 10 million tonnes more
than 2010.
The rapid expansion of aquaculture, including the activities of small-scale
farmers, is driving this growth in production.
Fish farming holds tremendous promise in responding to surging demand for
food which is taking place due to global population growth, the report says.
At the same time, the planet's oceans - if sustainably managed - have an
important role to play in providing jobs and feeding the world, according to
FAO's report.
"The health of our planet as well as our own health and future food
security all hinge on how we treat the blue world," FAO Director-General
José Graziano da Silva said.
"We need to ensure that environmental well-being is compatible with
human well-being in order to make long-term sustainable prosperity a reality
for all. For this reason, FAO is committed to promoting 'Blue Growth,' which
is based on the sustainable and responsible management of our aquatic
resources."
The renewed focus on the so-called "blue world" comes as the share
of fisheries production used by humans for food has increased from about 70
percent in the 1980s to a record high of more than 85 percent (136 million
tonnes) in 2012.
At the same time per capita fish consumption has soared from 10 kg in the
1960s to more than 19 kg in 2012.
The new report also says fish now accounts for almost 17 percent of the
global population's intake of protein -- in some coastal and island countries
it can top 70 percent.
FAO estimates that fisheries and aquaculture support the livelihoods of 10-12
percent of the world's population.
Since 1990 employment in the sector has grown at a faster rate than the
world's population and in 2012 provided jobs for some 60 million people engaged
in capture fisheries and aquaculture. Of these, 84 percent were employed in
Asia, followed by Africa with about 10 percent.
Global marine capture fishery production was stable at about 80 million
tonnes in 2012, the new report indicates.
Currently, under 30 percent of the wild fish stocks regularly monitored by
FAO are overfished - a reversal in trend observed during the past few years,
a positive sign in the right direction.
Just over 70 percent are being fished within biologically sustainable levels.
Of these, fully fished stocks - meaning those at or very close to their
maximum sustainable production - account for over 60 percent and underfished
stocks about 10 percent.
Global aquaculture production marked a record high of more than 90 million
tonnes in 2012, including almost 24 million tonnes of aquatic plants. China
accounted for over 60 percent of the total share.
Aquaculture's expansion helps improve the diets of many people, especially in
poor rural areas where the presence of essential nutrients in food is often
scarce.
However, the report warns that to continue to grow sustainably, aquaculture
needs to become less dependent on wild fish for feeds and introduce greater
diversity in farmed culture species and practices.
For example, small-sized species can be an excellent source of essential
minerals when consumed whole. However, consumer preferences and other factors
have seen a switch towards larger farmed species whose bones and heads are
often discarded.
The role of fish is set to feature prominently at the Second International
Conference on Nutrition jointly organized by FAO and the World Health
Organization (WHO) for 19-21 November 2014 in Rome.
Fish remains among the most traded food commodities worldwide, worth almost
$130 billion in 2012 - a figure which likely will continue to increase.
An important trend sees developing countries boosting their share in the
fishery trade - 54 percent of total fishery exports by value in 2012 and more
than 60 percent by quantity (live weight).
This means fisheries and fish farming are playing an increasingly critical
role for many local economies. Some 90 percent of fishers are small scale and
it is estimated that, overall, 15 percent are women. In secondary activities
such as processing, this figure can be as high as 90 percent.
FAO, through the 2014 International Year of Family Farming, is raising the
profile of smallholder activities - including fisheries and aquaculture -
with an emphasis on improving access to finance and markets, securing tenure
rights and protecting the environment.
An estimated 1.3 billion tonnes of food are lost per year - to about
one-third of all food produced. This figure includes post-harvest fish
losses, which tend to be greater in small-scale fisheries.
In small-scale fisheries, quality losses are often far more significant than
physical losses. Improved handling, processing and value-addition methods
could address the technical aspects of this issue, but it is also vital to
extend good practices, build partnerships, raise awareness, and develop
capacity and relevant policies and strategies.
The report also notes that illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing
remains a major threat to marine ecosystems and also impacts negatively on
livelihoods, local economies and food supplies.
Food chain traceability is increasingly a requirement in major fish markets,
especially in the wake of recent scandals involving the mislabeling of food
products.
FAO provides technical guidelines on certification and ecolabeling which can
help producers demonstrate that fish has been caught legally from a
sustainably managed fishery or produced in properly run aquaculture facility.
In particular, the report stresses the importance of the Code of Conduct for
Responsible Fisheries which, since its adoption almost two decades ago,
remains key to achieving sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.
The Code promotes the responsible use of aquatic resources and habitat
conservation to help boost the sector's contribution to food security, poverty
alleviation and human well-being.
FAO is also promoting "Blue Growth" as a framework for ensuring
sustainable and socioeconomically-sensitive management of oceans and
wetlands.
At the Global Oceans Action Summit on Food Security and Blue Growth held last
month in The Hague, Netherlands, governments and other participants committed
to actions focused on tackling climate change, overfishing, habitat loss and
pollution in a bid to restore productive, resilient oceans.
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