In addition to striving to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, the global community is also grappling with other pressing and complex challenges such as the widespread economic crisis and the effects of climate change. It is in this context that this edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture highlights the vital role of fisheries and aquaculture in both food and nutrition security as well as economic expansion.
The sector remains a major supplier of high-quality animal protein and supports the livelihoods and well-being of more than ten percent of the world’s population.
International trade in fish has reached new peaks as overall production has continued to rise. Yet, as the document underlines, an array of problems – ranging from the need for more effective governance to that of ensuring environmental sustainability – threatens to undermine the sector’s valuable contribution to alleviating hunger and reducing poverty. Using the latest available statistics on fisheries and aquaculture, this edition presents a global analysis of the sector’s status and trends. It also examines broader related issues such as gender, emergency preparedness and the ecosystem approach to fisheries and aquaculture. Selected highlights, from ecolabelling and certification to the effects of fisheries management policies on fishing safety, provide insights on specific topics. Finally, the document looks at the opportunities and difficulties for capture fisheries in the coming decades.
Globally, 29.2 million tonnes industrial compound aquafeeds were manufactured in 2008, according to the FAO report. This represents 4.1 percent of the 708 million tonnes animal feeds. Fed carp consumed 9.1 million tonnes, accounting for 31.3 % of the market. Marine shrimp was the next largest segment at 17.3 %, followed by: tilapia (13.5 %); catfish (10.1 %); marine fish (8.3 %); salmon (7.0 percent); freshwater crustaceans (4.5 %); trout (3.0 %); milkfish (2.0 %); eels (1.4 %) and miscellaneous freshwater fishes (1.6 %).
Best guess estimates of farm-made aquafeeds is that it was between 18.7 million and 30.7 million tonnes were produced in 2006. The report said farm-made aquafeeds play an important role in the production of low-value freshwater fish species. More than 97 percent of carp feeds used by Indian farmers are farm-made (7.5 million tonnes in 2006/07), and they are the mainstay of feed inputs for low-value freshwater fish in many other Asian and sub-Saharan countries.
Apart from ensuring the sustained availability of feed ingredients to meet the growing demand of aquaculture, several other important areas and issues also require attention. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper analyses the demand and supply of feed ingredients in aquaculture, raises several issues and questions, and provides recommendations on how to meet the challenge of increasing aquaculture production. These aspects are reviewed.
Table of Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations and acronyms
Part 1
WORLD REVIEW OF FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE
Status and trends
Overview
Capture fisheries production
Aquaculture
Fishers and fish farmers
The status of the fishing fleet
The status of fishery resources
Fish utilization and processing
Fish trade and commodities
Fish consumption
Governance and policy
Notes
Part 2
SELECTED ISSUES IN FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE
Mainstreaming gender in fisheries and aquaculture: from recognition to reality
The issue
Possible solutions
Recent actions
Outlook
Improved preparedness for and effective response to disasters in fisheries and aquaculture
The issue
Possible solutions
Recent actions
Outlook
Barriers to achieving low-impact fuel-efficient fishing
The issue
Possible solutions
Recent actions
Outlook
Putting into practice the ecosystem approach to fisheries and aquaculture
The issue
Possible solutions
Recent actions
Outlook
Notes
Part 3
HIGHLIGHTS OF SPECIAL STUDIES
Effects of fisheries management policies on fishing safety
Methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusions and follow-up
Demand and supply of aquafeed and feed ingredients for farmed fish and crustaceans: trends and future prospects
Introduction
Acquaculture growth and aquafeed
Aquafeed production and use
Feed ingredient production and availability
Current feed ingredient usage and constraints
Conclusion
Issues to be addressed
Global guidelines on ecolabelling and certification in capture fisheries and aquaculture
Introduction
The Marine Guidelines
The Inland Guidelines
The Acquaculture Guidelines
Evaluation framework
Remaining issues
The OECD–FAO Agricultural outlook: chapter on fish
The model
Projections 2012-2021
Notes
Part 4
OUTLOOK
The role of capture fisheries in a global sustainable food production system: opportunities and challenges Context
Capture fisheries as targets of efforts to reduce resource use and greenhouse gas emissions
Minimizing waste
Improving governance
Notes
Published by
FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, Rome, 2012
Download The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture - 2012 from the FAO website
