WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • DECEMBER 2014 3 Editor’s Note The UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes food security as a social, economic and cultural right; there is a Right to Food. Food security is defined operationally by the FAO as when “all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” Although the number has been declining, there are currently about 870 million people with chronic hunger, or 1 in 8 of the global population. Although less visible, many more are malnourished. The UN estimates that more than 2 billion people do not consume adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals, the so-called “hidden hunger.” The WHO estimates that 1 in 3 living in developing countries suffer from vitamin and mineral deficiencies, lacking vitamin A, iron and iodine. Micronutrient deficiencies are most severe throughout Sub-Saharan Africa but are also very high in India. Fish provides high-quality protein, vitamins and essential fatty acids. Compared to other foods, there has been little attention given to the role of fish in providing food security, despite its potential importance in addressing malnutrition. Although the focus of health benefits is on protein consumption, fish is arguably more important as a source of micronutrients and fatty acids. There are a number of well-known nutritional and health benefits of fish consumption. In developed countries, the link between fish consumption and human health emphasizes the effect of consuming heart-healthy polyunsaturated fatty acids. In developing countries, it is focused on malnutrition or unequal access to food for women and children. The phenomenal growth of aquaculture — about 6 percent per year over the last decade — has expanded the global supply of fish. Aggregate demand for fish has been increasing with human population and with wealth, especially in China and India. Aquaculture provides food security by supplying high-quality animal protein and providing employment, income and livelihood opportunities, especially for poor people. According to the FAO, fish from aquaculture and capture fisheries provides 3 billion people with 20 percent of their average intake of animal protein and an additional 1.5 billion people with about 15 percent of their animal protein intake. Fish provides 50 to 60 percent of protein in human diets in countries with significant aquaculture production, such as Bangladesh and Indonesia. Most nations where fish represents a significant proportion of animal protein consumption are low-income developing countries. Aquaculture is an economic activity that provides food security through employment, income and livelihood opportunities, particularly for poor people in developing countries. The FAO estimates that 660 to 820 million people depend to some degree on fisheries, aquaculture and related activities as a source of income. These include 19 million working directly in production as fish farmers, most (70 to 80 percent) at a small scale, nearly all of which (90 percent) are in Asia. An additional 19 million are employed in other parts of the value chain, including support activities (feeds, hatcheries), production, processing, transportation and marketing. Recently published studies have demonstrated unequivocally that small-scale aquaculture can reduce poverty and improve food security in Asia. However, small-scale aquaculture does not necessarily equate to food security, at least in Africa, where the focus of development efforts has shifted to larger-scale, commerciallyoriented operations to improve food security outcomes. Fish produced in small-scale aquaculture are often more important as a cash crop than direct use as food in these households. Food security and nutrition outcomes are strongly determined by gender, class and ethnicity. Access to resources and way those resources are distributed within countries, along value chains and within households is gendered, with women having a subordinate role. Men dominate the workforce in aquaculture production, with women generally more prominent in processing and marketing. Food security through aquaculture can be improved by addressing gender inequality in the value chain. Food security through aquaculture is threatened by environmental problems, including the availability of freshwater, land degradation that affects production of commodity grains used in feeds and water pollution from industrial activities, among others. It is also threatened by the spread of diseases, early mortality syndrome being a recent example. Food security through aquaculture will depend on the ability of small-scale producers to adapt to climate change. Climate change represents a challenge to food security through the availability of fresh water, sea-level rise and increased incidence of extreme weather such as droughts and floods. Food security will be affected by uncertainty in the fish supply from aquaculture as well as the vulnerability of fish farmers to the effects of climate change. Vulnerability to climate change is very high in coastal areas and river floodplains, areas where most of the world’s aquaculture production occurs. Fish is one of the most globally traded foods and is the most traded form of animal protein. The evidence that global trade in fish from aquaculture is beneficial to producers in developing countries is equivocal. Most benefits tend to accrue to processors and brokers rather than producers. Local or regional trade, especially for lowvalue species, is likely to have better outcomes relative to employment and food security. To realize the full potential of aquaculture to contribute to food security, research and development related to genetic improvement (such as the GIFT program), production system efficiency, fishmeal replacement, health management and the domestication of new species is needed. In short, improving the productivity and sustainability of aquaculture can improve food security and nutrition outcomes. Food security goals and strategies need to be an integral and explicit part of policies and governance of the aquaculture sector. — John A. Hargreaves, Editor-in-Chief Strengthening Aquaculture for Food Security
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