Aquaculture only way to meet surging fish demand : FAO

New Delhi, Sep 4 (UNI) Nearly half the fish consumed as food worldwide are raised on fish farms rather than caught in the wild, says a new report from Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

''The State of World Aquaculture 2006'' was presented today to delegates from more than 50 countries attending the biennial meeting of the FAO Sub-Committee on Aquaculture which began here today.

While in 1980, just nine percent of the fish consumed by human beings came from aquaculture, today 43 percent does, the report shows.

That's 45.5 million tonnes of farmed fish, worth 63 billion US dollars, eaten each year. Currently, freshwater and marine capture fisheries produce 95 million tonnes annually, of which 60 million tonnes is destined for human consumption.

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

FAO's report estimates that an additional 40 million tonnes of aquatic food will be required by 2030 -- just to maintain current levels of consumption.

The only option for meeting future demand for fish is by farming them, it said.

''Aquaculture could cover the gap between supply and demand, but there are also 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,'' the report notes.

Aquaculture has been experiencing a boom since the mid-1980s, sustaining a growth rate of around 8 per cent per year.

But levels of capture of fish in the wild have remained roughly stable since the mid-1980s, hovering around 90-93 million tonnes annually.

There is little chance of any significant increases in catches beyond these levels, FAO says.

One serious bottleneck 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.

''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, says.

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.

It should be ensured 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.

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