Saving Seafood

Tuna Experts Mark 10 Years of Collaboration, Come Together for Workshop on Mitigation of Environmental Impacts of Tropical Tuna Purse Seine Fisheries

May 9, 2019 — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation & Common Oceans ABNJ Tuna Project: 

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) and the Common Oceans ABNJ Tuna Project co-sponsored the Mitigating Environmental Impacts of Tropical Tuna Purse Seine Fisheries workshop, held at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) Headquarters in Rome, on 12-13 March 2019. The workshop reviewed the progress cross-sector research and advocacy efforts have made in reducing bycatch and other environmental impacts and also identified main focus areas for future activities.

Workshop sessions focused on: (1) bycatch of the tuna purse seine fishery; (2) sharks and rays; (3) small bigeye and yellowfin tuna; (4) fish aggregating device (FAD) structure impacts; (5) FAD management; and (6) looking ahead: the next 10 years. Each session comprised an expert presentation followed by a discussion panel including representatives from across the multi-sector workshop participants. The newly released report detailing the six sessions is now available for download. The report also offers data-rich presentations for each session.

Read the full release here

Rising incomes, increased urbanization to underpin seafood consumption growth

May 3, 2019 — The considerable growth in both fisheries and aquaculture production, matched by a rising public awareness of the important role that fish as a food group plays in healthy and diversified diets has driven seafood consumption upwards over the past five decades. Other factors contributing to the steady rise in people eating seafood include reduced wastage, better utilization, improved distribution channels and growing demand.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in per capita terms, global food fish consumption grew from 9 kg in 1961 to 20.2 kg in 2015, representing an average expansion rate of 1.5 percent per annum. Its preliminary estimates for 2016 and 2017 point to further growth to about 20.3 kg and 20.5 kg respectively. Moreover, since 1961, the average annual increase in global food fish consumption of 3.2 percent has outpaced the population growth (1.6 percent) and exceeded the consumption of meat from all terrestrial animals combined (2.8 percent), and individually (bovine, ovine, pig and other), except poultry (4.9 percent).

In 2015, fish accounted for approximately 17 percent of animal protein, and 7 percent of all proteins, consumed by the global population. As such, it provided about 3.2 billion people with almost 20 percent of their average per capita intake of animal protein.

Of course, consumption varies significantly across and within regions because of the influence of cultural, economic and geographic factors – ranging from less than 1 kg to more than 100 kg. In general terms, though, of the global total of 149 million metric tons (MT) consumed in 2015, Asia accounted for more than two-thirds (106 million MT and 24 kg per capita), while Oceania and Africa consumed the lowest share.

The FAO also highlights that while consumers in many advanced economies have a wide choice of value-added fish products and are not deterred by price increases, their per capita consumption levels have been approaching their “saturation point” in terms of quantity. It notes that the growth of per capita fish consumption in the EU and United States has slowed in the past few years, and also over the past two decades in Japan (albeit from a high level), while the per capita consumption of poultry and pig meat in these markets has increased.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Chinese-led supply constraints to drive global seafood prices up by 25 percent

May 2, 2019 — The rising global demand for seafood and a projected slowdown in the growth of fisheries and aquaculture production, particularly by China – the world’s leading provider of these products – will lead to a decade of higher prices, anticipates the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

In 2016, total fish production reached an all-time high of 171 million metric tons (MT), with wild-capture fisheries and aquaculture providing 53 percent and 47 percent respectively. Of the total, 88 percent or 151 million MT was utilized for direct human consumption. Capture fisheries production accounted for 90.9 million MT, while aquaculture supplied 80 million MT. Although the contribution of farmed species to human consumption is higher than that of wild-caught fish.

Based on the assumption of higher demand and technological improvements, the overall production is expected to continue to expand, reaching 201 million MT by 2030. While this would represent a growth of 18 percent or 30 million MT over 2016, it amounts to an annual growth rate of just 1 percent for the 2016-2030 period, compared with 2.3 percent for 2003-2016.

By 2030, the FAO expects capture fisheries production to reach about 91 million MT, only 1 percent more than in 2016. It foresees that factors influencing this limited growth will include a 17 percent decrease of capture fisheries in China due to the implementation of new policies, which it reckons will be compensated for by increased catches in a number of other regions. In this regard, it believes there will be higher landings from fishing areas where stocks of certain species are recovering due to improved management, as well as increased catches in waters of the few countries where there are underfished resources, as well as where new fishing opportunities exist or where fisheries management measures are less restrictive.

In addition, the FAO believes there’ll be enhanced use of fisheries production, including reduced onboard discards, waste, and losses as driven by legislation or higher market fish prices. But it also acknowledges that in some years, the El Niño phenomenon can be expected to reduce catches in South America, especially for anchoveta, resulting in an overall decrease of world capture fisheries production of about 2 percent in those years.

Read the full story at Seafood Source