Aquaculture only way to meet global demand
November 21st, 2007 by AndrewBy 2030 an additional 37 million tonnes of fish per year will be needed to maintain current levels of fish consumption for an expanded world population. Because traditional capture fisheries have reached their maximum production levels, fish farming represents the only way to fill the gap. But it will only do so if it is promoted and managed in a responsible fashion.
According to the FAO, for a quarter century, fish farming has been the world’s fastest growing food production sector, sustaining an annual growth rate of 8.8% since 1970. By way of comparison, livestock production, also considered a growth sector, increased at a rate of just 2.8% a year during the same period.
Today, some 45% of all fish consumed by humans — 48 millions tonnes in all — is raised on farms.
By 2030, the addition of 2 billion more people to the world population will mean that aquaculture will need to produce nearly double that, 85 million tonnes of fish per year, just to maintain current per capita consumption levels.
Citing these trends, FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf told a Rome meeting that further development of the aquaculture sector should be a priority for the international development agenda.
The full news item is available here.
Posted in This Project. Permalink for this post: permalink.
If you are a Digg user, please 
Digg this post. If you use use Del.icio.us, then add us in: 
Del.icio.us
What do you think?
Leave a comment! Or send a trackback from your own blog.
Like to read more? Subscribe with RSS
