Demand for fish is still growing and exerting strong pressures on fish stocks, though growing aquaculture production is now meeting almost half of the demand of fish for food.
This is one of the trends confirmed by the latest data from the ‘State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture’ released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
Highlights of the FAO report:
Capture fisheries production is stagnating while aquaculture output is expanding faster than any other animal-based food sector, with 47% of the fish for food now being produced by aquaculture.
Concerns are mounting with regard the livelihoods of fishers and the sustainability of both commercial catches and the aquatic ecosystems from which they are extracted.
A little over half of all monitored marine fish stocks are now fully exploited, producing catches close to their maximum sustainable limits with no room for further expansion. Another quarter are overexploited, depleted, or slowly recovering.
The large number of stocks that are either fully or over-exploited indicate that the maximum potential for the world’s marine capture fisheries has been reached and that management measures are needed to reduce exploitation.
The current state of fishery resources and their ecosystems allows little room for delay in actions that should have been taken in the last three decades.
The FAO asked GreenFacts to produce a laymen’s version of the report, which you can download at the link below.
About GreenFacts
GreenFacts is an independent, multi-stakeholder non-profit organization based in Belgium. Its mission is to bring complex scientific reports on health and the environment to the reach of non-experts.
GreenFacts was created in 2001 by individuals from scientific institutions, environmental and health organizations, and businesses, who called for wider access to unbiased information on health and the environment.
About FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department
The Fisheries and Aquaculture Department is one of the eight departments of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Its mission is to facilitate and secure the long-term sustainable development and utilization of the world’s fisheries and aquaculture.
Every two years, the Department publishes its flagship publication: ‘The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture’ (SOFIA) with the purpose of providing policy-makers, civil society and those whose livelihoods depend on the sector a comprehensive, objective and global view of capture fisheries and aquaculture, including associated policy issues.
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We often fret about protecting the spirit of animals – no more clubbing baby harp seals, chickens should be allowed to see the sun shine AT LEAST ONCE in their lives, humane slaughtering of cows etc. Salmon are born in fresh water estuaries. Eventually they migrate out to the ocean, becoming acclimatized to salt water (smoltification). Then, they can travel up to thousands of miles in the ocean, avoiding predators like killer wales, dolphins and seals. Eventually they find their way back to their birthplace to spawn. Salmon are food for bald eagles, bears, mink and river otter. Compare this to the life of salmon raised in saltwater feedlots, fed antibiotics and dye to make their flesh turn orange-red. To add insult to injury, these sequestered fish generate lice that infect wild salmon that must navigate around these fish enclosures in order to perform their spawning duty. Sure, I eat salmon. What is out of sight is out of mind in our culture.