8 JUNE 2014 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has released its most-recent global review of the “State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture.” The report covers information, statistics and trends in global fisheries and aquaculture in 2012 and is subtitled “Opportunities and Challenges.” Here are some select highlights about aquaculture from the report, which can be viewed in full at the FAO website (www.fao.org). World aquaculture production continues to grow and now provides almost half of all fish for human consumption. In 2013, global foodfish production from aquaculture was 70.5 million t and seaweed production was 26.1 million t. In 2013, China alone produced 43.5 million t of foodfish and 13.5 million t of aquatic algae, accounting for over 60 percent of total aquaculture production. Farmed foodfish contributed a record 42.2 percent of the 158 million t of fish produced by capture fisheries (including for nonfood uses) and aquaculture in 2012. Asia as a whole has been producing more farmed fish than wild catch since 2008. Worldwide, 15 countries produced 92.7 percent of all farmed food fish in 2012. Among them, Chile and Egypt became millionton producers in 2012. The top five producers (China, India, Viet Nam, Indonesia, and Bangladesh) account for about 80 percent of production. Among the leading producers, the major groups of species farmed and the farming systems vary greatly. Aquaculture output by some industrialized regional major producers, most notably the United States of America, Spain, France, Italy, Japan and the Republic of Korea, has fallen in recent years. A decline in finfish production is common to all these countries. The availability of fish imported from other countries where production costs are relatively low is seen as a major reason for such production declines. The resulting fish supply gap has been one of the drivers encouraging production expansion in other countries with a strong focus on export-oriented species. In 2012, global production of non-fed species from aquaculture (excluding aquatic plants) was 20.5 million t. The share of non-fed species in total farmed food fish production declined further from 33.5 percent in 2010 to 30.8 percent in 2012, reflecting a relatively stronger growth in the farming of fed species. Although finfish species grown in mariculture represent only 12.6 percent of the total farmed finfish production by volume, their value (US$23.5 billion) represents 26.9 percent of the total value of all farmed finfish species. In 2012, farmed crustaceans accounted for 9.7 percent (6.4 million t) of foodfish aquaculture production by volume but 22.4 percent (US$30.9 billion) by value. Mollusc production (15.2 million t) was more than double that of crustaceans, but its value was only half that of crustaceans. As of 2012, there were 567 species produced in aquaculture. The farming of tilapias is the most widespread type of aquaculture in the world. Highlights from the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2014 Inland aquaculture of finfish now accounts for 57.9 percent of farmed foodfish production globally. Freshwater fish farming makes the greatest direct contribution to the supply of affordable protein food, particularly for people still in poverty in developing countries. This subsector is also expected to be the lead player in achieving long-term food and nutrition security and in meeting the increased demand for foodfish by the growing population in many developing countries in the coming decades. More people than ever before rely on fisheries and aquaculture for food and as a source of income. Per capita fish consumption has soared from 10 kg in the 1960s to more than 19 kg in 2012, driven by higher demand from a growing population, rising incomes, and more efficient distribution channels. Fish now accounts for almost 17 percent of the global population’s intake of animal protein — in some coastal and island countries it can top 70 percent. The aggregate FAO Fish Price Index reached a record high in October 2013. 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. Fish remains among the most traded food commodities worldwide, worth almost $130 billion in 2012 — a figure which likely will continue to increase. In 2012, 200 countries reported exports of fish and fishery products. Trade in fish and fishery products is especially important for developing nations, in some cases worth over half of the total value of traded commodities. Developing countries are 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). China is the largest exporter of fish but is now the third largest importer, after the USA and Japan. Food chain traceability is increasingly a requirement in major fish markets, especially in the wake of recent scandals involving the mislabelling of food products. FAO provides technical guidelines on certification and ecolabelling which can help producers demonstrate that fish has been produced in a properly run aquaculture facility. The FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, nearly 20 years on, serves as an internationally accepted benchmark and framework for the sustainable use of aquatic resources. The ecosystem approach to aquaculture (EAA) and spatial planning are becoming important in supporting implementation of the Code, particularly with respect to social license and environmental integrity. FAO is also promoting “Blue Growth” as a coherent framework for the sustainable, integrated and socioeconomically sensitive management of oceans and wetlands, focusing on capture fisheries, aquaculture, ecosystem services, trade and social protection of coastal communities.
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