The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022: Towards Blue Transformation

The total production in fisheries and aquaculture in 2020 was 214 million tonnes – 178 million tonnes of aquatic animals and 36 million tonnes of algae. It was an all-time record surpassing the previous record of 213 million tonnes from 2018.

Asian countries accounted for the highest production of aquatic animals in 2020, making up 70 per cent of the total. China was the largest contributor with 35 per cent of the overall production.

Global capture fisheries production (excluding algae) was reported to be 90.3 million tonnes in 2020 – 78.8 million tonnes from marine waters and 11.5 million tonnes from inland waters. The overall production was valued at approximately 141 billion US dollars.

Inland fisheries production was at a historically high level of around 11.5 million tonnes, despite a 5.1 per cent decrease compared to 2019 figures. Asia contributed around two-thirds of overall inland fisheries, followed by Africa. India was the top producer with 1.8 million tonnes of catch. The report notes that inland fisheries is especially important in these regions for food security.

Inland fisheries production was at a historically high level of around 11.5 million tonnes, despite a 5.1 per cent decrease compared to 2019 figures. Asia contributed around two-thirds of overall inland fisheries, followed by Africa. India was the top producer with 1.8 million tonnes of catch. The report notes that inland fisheries is especially important in these regions for food security.

The FAO found that marine fishery resources have continues to decline over the past decades. However, one positive trend was noticed in the higher percentage of biologically sustainable stocks (82.5 per cent) in the total of aquatic products landed (caught) in 2019. On average, 66.7 per cent stocks of the 10 most landed species were fished at biologically sustainable levels.

The report suggests that rebuilding stocks of overfished species could boost production in marine capture fisheries by 16.5 million tonnes. This would contribute to improving food security, nutrition and economics of coastal communities. However, such changes would involve implementing innovative programmes that encourage conservation and sustainable use.

 FAO data on threat to inland fisheries show that across all major basins, 55 per cent are under moderate pressure and 17 per cent are under high pressure.

The total number of fishing vessels was placed at 4.1 million in 2020, a 10 per cent decrease since 2015. This shows an effort in China and Europe to reduce their fleets. Asia still accounts for about 75 per cent of the 2.5 million motorised vessels globally.

In 2020, approximately 58.5 million people worked as full-time or part-time workers in primary production within the fisheries and aquaculture sector. Around 21 per cent of these were women. The report also states that 84 per cent of all fishers and fish farmers are based in Asia.

Of the overall production (except algae) in 2020, 89 per cent (157 million tonnes) was used for direct consumption, compared with 67 per cent in the 1960s. The roughly 20 million tonnes of the remainder was used majorly for fishmeal and fish oil followed by bait, pharmaceutical applications, pet food, and as animal feed.

The rate of aquatic food consumption grew at an average annual rate of three per cent between 1961 to 2019 – two times the annual growth in world population. Consumption fell a little in 2020 due to covid-19 but picked up again in 2021.

The world’s largest exporter of aquatic animal products was China, followed by Norway and Viet Nam. In imports, the European Union market had the highest numbers, with the United States of America, China and Japan following.

The report estimates that aquatic food production is set to increase 15 per cent by 2030.

The covid-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions to the fishery and aquaculture industries, resulting in disruption of production and distribution lines in addition to loss of employment and livelihoods. Marginalised people, especially women, experienced disproportionate impacts of this. However, as per the report, the pandemic also accelerated digitalisation, e-monitoring and the use of green energy and clean technologies.

Focus and Factoids by Jyotika Tomar.