The Hindu Business Line : `45.5 mt farmed fish consumed every year'

Currently, freshwater and marine capture fisheries produce 95 million tonnes annually, of which 60 million tonnes is destined for human consumption. It implies that there are not enough fish in the sea.

Globally, consumer demand for fish continues to increase, especially in affluent, developed nations, which in 2004 imported 33 million tonnes of fish worth over $61 billion - 81 per cent of all fish imports that year, in value terms.

But levels of fish captures in the wild have remained roughly stable since the mid-80s, hovering around 90-93 million tonnes annually.

According to the FAO, there is little chance of any significant increases in catches beyond these levels.

The most recent global assessment by the organisation of wild fish stocks found that of nearly 600 species groups it monitors, 52 per cent are fully exploited while 25 per cent are either overexploited (17 per cent), depleted (seven per cent) or recovering from depletion (one per cent).

Twenty per cent are moderately exploited, and only three per cent are ranked as under-exploited.

"Catches in the wild are still high, but they have levelled off, probably for good," said Mr Rohana Subasinghe of FAO's Fisheries Department and Secretary of the Sub-Committee on Aquaculture.

This levelling off, coupled with growing world population and increasing per capita demand for fish, spells trouble, he added.

The growth in demand is likely to be so high that an additional 40 million tonnes of aquatic food will be required by 2030 - just to maintain current levels of consumption, according to FAO estimates.

And the only way out to meet future demand is to farm fish, Mr Subasinghe said.

"Aquaculture could cover the gap between supply and demand, but there are many forces which could pull production in the opposite direction, making it difficult for the industry to grow substantially enough to meet demand in the decades to come."

Sustaining a growth rate of around eight per cent the aquaculture has been experiencing a boom since the mid-1980s. Today it continues to expand in almost all world regions, with the notable exception of sub-Saharan Africa.

But FAO is concerned that "momentum could taper off if governments and development agencies don't adjust their policies to respond to emerging challenges that threaten to damper the sector's future growth".

One serious bottleneck, says FAO, is the lack of investment capital for producers in the developing world. Another is a shortage of land and freshwater for use in aquaculture. Rising energy costs also pose a problem, and environmental impacts and questions of product safety continue to require attention.

The agency's report has also expressed doubts about future supplies of fishmeal and oil, used to feed carnivorous cultured species, such as salmon, grouper and sea bream.

Since 1985, world production of fishmeal and fish oil -- manufactured using fish which are caught in large volumes but which are not consumed by humans -- has stabilized at 6 to 7 million tonnes and one million tonnes, respectively, it said.

While the vast bulk of fishmeal is used for livestock feed, chiefly by the poultry sector, aquaculture now accounts for 35 percent of the world's fishmeal supply. So as aquaculture's fishmeal needs grow, competition with terrestrial livestock for a limited resource will intensify, with ramifications for both price and availability.

Key to resolving the dilemma will be continued progress in improving the efficiency of feed formulations -- reducing the amount of fishmeal they contain -- and coming up with adequate vegetable-based additives.

"We need to start planning now for handling these challenges, because aquaculture is crucial to the fight against global hunger," Ichiro Nomura, FAO Assistant Director-General for Fisheries, said. "It offers a source of food that is rich in protein, essential fatty acids and vitamins and minerals. And it offers a way to boost development by providing jobs, improving people's incomes, and increasing returns on natural resource use. We must ensure that the sector continues to expand, sustainably, to provide more people with food and income, especially in areas like sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, where hunger and poverty prevail."

The report was issued during the biennial meet of the FAO Sub-Committee on "The State of World Aquaculture 2006" in New Delhi from Sep 4-8, which was attended by delegates from more than 50 countries.

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