Aquaculture overtakes wild fisheries for the first time: UN report | THE DAILY STAND

AFP | San Jose, Costa Rica

The daily stand – www.newsofbahrain.com

Aquaculture is playing an increasingly important role in meeting the world’s food needs, surpassing wild fisheries in aquatic animal production for the first time, according to a report published Friday.

With global demand for aquatic food expected to continue growing, increasing sustainable production is crucial to ensure healthy diets, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

In 2022, aquaculture produced 94.4 million tonnes of aquatic animal production – 51 percent of the total, and 57 percent of production intended for human consumption, the report said.

“Aquatic systems are increasingly recognized as essential to food and nutrition security,” said the report, which was released as experts gathered in Costa Rica for talks on ocean conservation.

“Because of their great diversity and capacity to provide ecosystem services and sustain healthy diets, aquatic food systems represent a viable and effective solution that offers greater opportunities to improve global food security and nutrition,” it added.

While wild fisheries production has remained largely unchanged for decades, aquaculture has increased by 6.6 percent since 2020, the report said. The sustainability of wild fish stocks remains a concern, it added.

The share of marine stocks fished within biologically sustainable levels fell to 62.3 percent in 2021, down 2.3 percent from 2019, the report said. “Urgent action is needed to accelerate the conservation and reconstruction of fisheries resources.”

Call for investments

With the world’s population expected to reach 8.5 billion by 2030, “providing adequate food, nutrition and livelihoods for this growing population will require significant investments,” it added.

“Aquaculture has an important role to play, especially in Africa, where its great potential is yet to be realized,” the report said, noting that more than 40 percent of the world’s population cannot afford a healthy diet.

Aquatic products remain one of the most traded food commodities, generating a record $195 billion in 2022 – a 19 percent increase from pre-pandemic levels, the report said.

“Despite these important achievements, the sector continues to face major challenges from climate change and disasters, water scarcity, pollution, biodiversity loss” and other man-made impacts, it added.

The report was released on the occasion of a meeting in San Jose of country representatives, scientists and international experts in preparation for the third UN Ocean Conference, to be held in France in 2025.

United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Social Affairs Li Junhua said at the start of the talks that protecting the ocean was “not an option but a necessity.”

Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves, host of the two-day meeting, said that if the world does not act, “we as a generation would be taking away the future of humanity.”

Participants will debate topics including the ocean’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide, the need for sustainable fishing and tackling marine pollution.