Global Aquaculture Outlook In The Next Decades

Aquaculture production is expected to play a crucial role in forthcoming decades in compensating for stagnant capture fisheries and in meeting increased demand for aquatic products. This report is designed to ascertain the compatibility of national aquaculture production forecasts with the global prevision of the sector's growth to 2020 and beyond.

The seemingly inexhaustible oceans have proved to be finite after all. Landings of wild fish have leveled off since the mid-1980s, and many stocks of fish are fished so heavily that their future is threatened. And yet the world’s appetite for fish has continued to increase, particularly as urban populations and incomes grow in developing countries. Aquaculture—fish farming—has arrived to meet this increased demand. Production of fish from aquaculture has exploded in the past 20 years and continues to expand around the world. But will aquaculture be sufficient to provide affordable fish to the world over the next 20 years? And what environmental and poverty problems will aquaculture face as it expands? Using a global model of supply and demand for food and feed commodities, this report projects the likely changes in the fisheries sector over the next two decades given present trends. As prices for most food commodities fall, fish prices are expected to rise, reflecting demand for fish that outpaces the ability of the world to supply it. Alternative scenarios using different assumptions are also investigated. The model shows that developing countries will consume and produce a much greater share of the world’s fish in the future, and trade in fish commodities will also increase. As aquaculture expands, especially in developing countries, environmental concerns such as effluent pollution, escaped farmed fish, land conversion, and pressure on stocks from fishmeal demand will only increase with time unless technologies and policies promote sustainable intensification. And small, poor producers are at risk of being excluded from rapidly growing export markets unless ways can be found to facilitate affordable certification of food safety and environmentally sound production.

This biennial report sets out a comprehensive review of world fisheries and aquaculture, as well as examining selected policy issues including capture-based aquaculture, labour standards, fisheries management and CITES, trade issues, depleted stocks recovery, deep-water fisheries, production forecasts to 2030, fisheries subsidies, and fishing capacity. Findings include that developments in world fisheries and aquaculture during recent years have continued to follow the trends that were already becoming apparent at the end of the 1990s, with capture fisheries production stagnating, aquaculture output expanding and growing concerns with regard to safeguarding the livelihoods of fishers and the sustainability of both commercial catches and the aquatic ecosystem from which they are extracted.

The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2020-2029 is a collaborative effort of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, incorporating expertise from collaborating member countries and international commodity organisations. It provides market projections for national, regional and global supply and demand of major agricultural commodities, biofuel and fish.

The 2022 edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture coincides with the launch of the Decade of Action to deliver the Global Goals, the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. It presents how these and other equally important United Nations events, such as the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022), are being integrated and supported through Blue Transformation, a priority area of FAO’s new Strategic Framework 2022–2031 designed to accelerate achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in food and agriculture. The concept of Blue Transformation emerged from the Thirty-fourth Session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries in February 2021, and in particular the Declaration for Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture, which was negotiated and endorsed by all FAO Members. The Declaration calls for support for “an evolving and positive vision for fisheries and aquaculture in the twenty first century, where the sector is fully recognized for its contribution to fighting poverty, hunger and malnutrition.” In this context, Part 1 of this edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture reviews the world status of fisheries and aquaculture, while Parts 2 and 3 are devoted to Blue Transformation and its pillars on intensifying and expanding aquaculture, improving fisheries management and innovating fisheries and aquaculture value chains. Blue Transformation emphasizes the need for forward-looking and bold actions to be launched or accelerated in coming years to achieve the objectives of the Declaration and in support of the 2030 Agenda. Part 4 covers current and high-impact emerging issues – COVID-19, climate change and gender equality – that require thorough consideration for transformative steps and preparedness to secure sustainable, efficient and equitable fisheries and aquaculture, and finally draws some outlook on future trends based on projections. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture aims to provide objective, reliable and up-to-date information to a wide audience – policymakers, managers, scientists, stakeholders and indeed everyone interested in the fisheries and aquaculture sector.

The Global Atlas of Marine Fisheries is the first and only book to provide accurate, country-by-country fishery catch data. This groundbreaking information has been gathered from independent sources by the world's foremost fisheries experts. Edited by Daniel Pauly and Dirk Zeller of the Sea Around Us Project, the Atlas includes one-page reports on 273 countries and their territories, plus fourteen topical global chapters. Each national report describes the current state of the country's fishery; the policies, politics, and social factors affecting it; and potential solutions. The global chapters address cross-cutting issues, from the economics of fisheries to the impacts of mariculture. Extensive maps and graphics offer attractive and accessible visual representations.

ÿFish?including finfish and shellfish?are an important item in the human food basket, contributing 17 percent of the global animal-based protein supply in 2010. They are an especially valuable food source in developing countries, where more than 75 percent of the world?s fish consumption occurs. In addition to protein, fish contain micronutrients and longchain omega-3 fatty acids that are essential for maternal and child health, but often deficient in the diets of the poor. However, the global supply of wild-caught fish has long peaked and is unlikely to rise again unless overexploited stocks are rehabilitated. As world fish consumption continues to grow, aquaculture (fish farming) has emerged to meet demand. Already, just under half of all fish that people consume come from aquaculture, which is one of the world?s fastest-growing animal food producing sectors. With the supply of wild-caught fish stagnant, any future increase in world fish consumption will need to be supplied by aquaculture. This working paper explores the potential role of aquaculture in meeting global fish demand in 2050, finding that aquaculture production will need to more than double by midcentury. The authors examine scenarios of aquaculture?s growth and environmental impacts in 2050 and close with a series of recommendations for how to sustainably grow aquaculture production.