Consumption unsustainable as fish stocks decline, warns UN

ROME: A third of the world’s oceans are overfished and fish consumption is at an alltime high, raising fears over the sustainability of a key source of protein for millions around the world, the United Nations warned in a report.

Overfishing is particularly bad in parts of the developing world where many people already struggle to get enough nutritious food to eat, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report said yesterday.

“There’s too much pressure on marine resources and we need significantly more commitments from governments to improve the state of their fisheries,” said Manuel Barange, director of the FAO fisheries and aquaculture department.

“We predict that Africa will have to import fish in the future,” he said, adding that shortages could lead to higher prices, disproportionately affecting the poor.

Barange said Africa had great potential for aquaculture but needed support in terms of finance, feed and supply of fish.

Fish farming or aquaculture – the fastest growing agricultural sector for the past 40 years – has been largely responsible for making more fish available, said the report.

As catches from the open sea continue to dwindle, more countries are turning to fish farms. In Algeria, the government is encouraging farmers in the Sahara desert to grow fish to increase their income and boost fish production.

Critics say it can damage the environment and put disease and invasive species into the wild but Barange said the solution was to have “proper regulation, legislation and monitoring and control”.

Traditional fishing nations are also promoting the potential of fisheries to improve nutrition and end hunger.

Fish consumption reached an all-time high of 20.2kg per person from 9kg in 1961, said the report, and further rises are expected as health-conscious consumers turn to fish.