Fish Are Feeding World, but Illegal Fishing Must End

A fishing boat brings in the catch in southeastern U.S. waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

Washington — Fish is being served more than ever on world dinner tables, but threats like illegal and unsustainable fishing must be reeled in if global fisheries are to remain a major food source and an important livelihood for many families around the world. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued these findings May 19 in The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, a biennial report compiled by the Rome-based organization.

Compiling data from 2012, the FAO reports that fish account for an average of 17 percent of the food protein consumed by the global population. Predictably, many marine states and ocean communities are even more dependent on fish for protein — as much as 70 percent in some places.

Fish consumption has almost doubled on a per capita basis in the last 50 years, now estimated at 19 kilograms per year.

The FAO warns about whether world fisheries can continue to feed a hungry global population into the future. “We need to ensure that environmental well-being is compatible with human well-being in order to make long-term sustainable prosperity a reality for all,” said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva as the report was released.

About 30 percent of the fish stocks monitored by FAO are overfished, but that is an improvement from previous findings in 2010. The other 70 percent are being sustainably fished, but the majority is at or near the harvest limit that stocks can support.

The FAO encourages greater adherence to the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, a 20-year-old strategy designed to promote food security, poverty alleviation and human well-being.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is also concerned about illegal and unreported fishing practices, calling them “a major threat to global food security.” In appearances at two major conferences on marine issues in 2014, Kerry has advocated government policies that allow market access to fishermen only if they can verify that their catch has been harvested with approved practices.

“This would help us to level the playing field for honest fishermen, while at the same time protecting fish stocks around the world,” Kerry said at a recent FAO-sponsored meeting held in the Netherlands.

In other findings, the FAO reports that global aquaculture is a fast-growing enterprise, reaching an all-time production high of 90 million metric tons of both animals and plants. Aquaculture produces almost half of all the fish used for human food, but this industry also needs to increase sustainability awareness, according to the U.N. agency.

For aquaculture to meet world food needs of the future, the FAO advises adoption of better practices in feeding the stock and increased diversity among farmed species.

The FAO findings and the issue of sustainable fishing will be under discussion in Washington in June. Secretary Kerry will host a major conference about the world’s oceans to stimulate “a far more robust international dialogue on protecting and governing our oceans.”

Overfishing, pollution and acidification are the three principal issues on the agenda for the June meeting, to be held at the State Department in Washington. Government officials from nations with significant maritime interests, scientists, specialists and advocates will be among those attending the conference.