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| | | Fisheries and Aquaculture |
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| | Major challenges in fisheries | | |  Fish and fish products provide a significant proportion of humanity's animal protein needs. For many of the world's most vulnerable people living on coastal zones or islands, it is a particularly important and often vital source of protein and of many micronutrients necessary for a healthy life. In the field of fisheries, the principal challenge regarding food security lies in organizing and stimulating production in order that per capita supply of fish as food does not decline while ensuring responsible fishery practices. | | | | Capture fisheries | | |  In the capture fisheries sector, problems arise due to overfishing and costs of catch for some species. In developing countries these issues are complicated by the low-income of artisanal fishers who are not in a position to maintain sustainable fishing practices to protect future generations, and a lack of enforcement of any regulations in such small outlying communities. Although there is growing pressure to ban certain types of fishing which threaten biodiversity, such bans cannot function alone but must be reinforced by policies which concentrate on selective but economically viable fishing and which include research into unexploited oceanic stocks e.g. mesopolagics and squids. Likewise in the field of coastal fisheries, policies need to be developed which ensure both a sustainable and optimal supply of fish. A special effort should be made in the aquaculture section to provide high-volume/low-value species which will give an assured supply of affordable fish, bearing in mind that the inputs needed in commercial aquaculture are also used for agriculture or livestock production. However, such aquaculture practices which provide affordable fish have to be closely monitored for possible pollution problems. | | | | Trade practices | | |  In the field of international fish trade, a danger lies in the increase of trade in the low-cost fish which could provide greater exports for fishmeal at the cost of depriving the poor of a basic food. It is important that fishery management systems take into account both the needs of fishers and environmental security. | | | | |
 | | | | | Fishery Statistics: Reliability and policy implications
by FAO, FAO 01 February 2002 | |
| | 12 February 2002 A recent scientific article in Nature indicated that China?s marine capture fishery production for 1995-1999 has been overstated in Chinese statistics submitted to and published by FAO. The paper states that a consequence of this is that global marine capture fishery production - excluding Peruvian anchoveta - has probably been declining since 1988 rather than remaining fairly constant as indicated by the statistics. According to the authors from the University of British Columbia (UBC), this would have led to understating the degradation of world fisheries and wrong policy and investment decisions. The issue has been subsequently taken up in a number of newspapers and web media including The Economist. While usefully drawing attention of the wider public on the importance of reliable statistics for fisheries management and monitoring, the articles also reflected a number of misconceptions about: (1) FAO?s understanding of Chinese statistics; (2) FAO?s role in global fisheries statistics; and (3) the possible consequences of an over-estimate of China?s fisheries production on global fisheries management advice, policy and contribution to food security. | |
Read more at http://www.fao.org/fi/st ... jan02.asp.
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| Serge Garcia
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1076 Topics - 5135 Related Knowledge - 2534 Members - 34 Editors |
