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SOFIA 2020: Sustainability in action While the rise in global aquaculture production from 1990 to 2018 was +527%, the message was that more needs to be done to ensure that fisheries and aquaculture around the world are sustainable.
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n June 8, FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department held a virtual launch of its 2020 edition flagship publication, State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) 2020. SOFIA aims to provide objective, reliable and up-to-date information to a wide range of audience – policymakers, managers, scientists, stakeholders and those interested in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. This 2020 edition has a focus on sustainability and reflects the 25th anniversary of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (the Code). Several Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) indicators mature in 2020. FAO hosted the International Symposium on Fisheries Sustainability in late 2019 and 2020 sees the finalisation of specific FAO guidelines on sustainable aquaculture growth, and on social sustainability along value chains. The message was, “All of us must work together to protect the oceans, seas and inland waters and marine resources, and ensure sustainable livelihoods, diets and development for the future.”
milestones were reached in 1986 for freshwater fish, 1997 for diadromous fishes and in 2014 for crustaceans. However, despite the increasing output from farming of marine fishes, this is unlikely to overtake marine capture production in the future. The contribution of world aquaculture to world fish production has constantly increased, reaching 46% in 2016–2018, up from 25.7% in 2000. The share of aquaculture in Asian fish production (excluding China) rose to 42% in 2018, up from 19.3% in 2000. The report noted that 39 countries produced more from aquaculture; combined they produced 63.6 million tonnes of farmed fish versus capture production at 26 million tonnes. Among the top ten aquaculture and fisheries producers, China had 76.5% from aquaculture, India 57%, Vietnam 55.3% and Bangladesh 56.2%. In Indonesia, aquaculture contributed only 42.9% to fish supply, Myanmar 35.7% and Thailand 34.3%.
Record aquaculture production in 2018
Fish consumption
World aquaculture production rose 527% from 1990 to 2018 to a record 114.5 million tonnes in live weight with a total farmgate value of USD263.6 billion. Some 82.1 million tonnes of aquaculture production were for food supply worth USD250.1 billion. Finfish dominated at 54.3 million tonnes, comprising 47 million tonnes from inland aquaculture and 7.3 million tonnes from marine and coastal aquaculture.
In per capita terms, global food fish consumption rose from 9.0kg in 1961 to 20.3kg in 2017, at an average rate of about 1.5% per year. Globally, since 2016, aquaculture has been the main source of fish available for human consumption. In 2018, this share was 52%. Preliminary estimate for per capita fish consumption in 2018 was 20.5kg.
Average growth was 5.3% per year in the period 2001-2018; the slower growth was largely due to the slowdown in China where growth in production was only 2.2% in 2017 and 1.6% in 2018. The growth for the rest of the world was moderate at 6.7% in 2017 and 5.5% in 2018. Asia dominated production at 89% over the last two decades. The major producing countries were China, India, Indonesia, Manuel Barange, Director, FAO Fisheries Department presented the above during theDepartment virtual launch of SOFIA 2020. Manuel Barange, Director, FAO Fisheries presented Vietnam, Bangladesh, Egypt, Norway and Chile. SpeciesSince 2016, aquaculture (in blue) has beenthe the mainduring sourcethe of fish available above virtual launchfor ofhuman SOFIA consumption. 2020. Since 2016, wise, the production of Chinese carps at 19.2 million aquaculture (in blue) has been the main source of fish available for tonnes, dominated finfish production at 20% in 2018. The human consumption. production of farmed vannamei shrimp at 4.9 million tonnes was 52.9% of the total crustacean produced in 2018.
Aquaculture surpassed fisheries Based on time-series data of major species groups, world aquaculture production has progressively surpassed that of capture fisheries. The “farming more than catch” July/August 2020 AQUA Culture Asia Pacific
Reference: FAO. 2020. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020. Sustainability in action. Rome. https://doi.org/10.4060/ ca9229en
