The Environmental Food Crisis

Current projections for aquaculture suggest that previous growth is unlikely to be sustained in the future as a result of limits to the availabil- ity of wild marine fish for aquaculture feed (FAO, 2008). Small pelagic fish make up 37% of the total marine capture fisheries landings. Of this, 90% (or 27% of total landings) are processed into fishmeal and fish oil with the remaining 10% used directly for ani- mal feed (Alder et al ., 2008). In some regions, such as in parts of Africa and South- east Asia, increase in fisheries and expansion of crop- land area have been the primary factors in increasing food supply. Indeed, fisheries are a major source of en- ergy and protein for impoverished coastal populations, in particular in West Africa and Southeast Asia (UNEP, 2008). Here, a decline in fisheries will have a major impact on the livelihoods and wellbeing of hundreds of millions of people (UNEP, 2008).

World fisheries and aquaculture production (million tonnes)

Mean depth of fish catches (m)

0

120

-50

-100

Aquaculture, marine Aquaculture, inland

80

Capture fisheries, inland Capture fisheries, marine

-150

-200

40

-250

-300

0

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000 2005

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2001

Figure 10: Fishing has expanded deeper and farther offshore in recent decades (left panel) . The decline in marine fisheries landings has been partly compensated for by aquaculture (right panel). (Source: FAO FISHSTAT, MA, 2005; UNEP, 2008).

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