Today, Humanitas Global attended a seminar on ‘Sustainable Aquaculture and Food Security.’ Presenters from USAID, the FAO and the World Bank, not only provided an overview of the relevant fishery landscape, but also how to utilize fisheries (capture fisheries and aquaculture) in addressing food security issues – as our population increases and demand for food diversity grows.
However, in order to meet these demands, fish production on a global scale will need to reach approximately 172 million tons by 2021, according to the FAO. This increase in production will need to come from the aquaculture sector given the impact that capture fisheries have experienced from issues such as overfishing, climate change and pollution. Providing fishery workers with the capacity to run efficient businesses will increase not only their income but also the number of jobs.
Women + Livelihoods
According to the FAO, approximately 120 million people in the world are dependent on fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihoods – as many as 56 million in developing countries are women. As the fastest growing food sector, this will equate to millions more jobs for women in future decades.
Protein consumption:
Seventeen percent of the global population have their protein needs meet through the consumption of fish. With our population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, demand for fish protein will substantially increase – therefore, sustainable solutions to aquaculture challenges must be a priority.
The integration of agriculture-aquaculture:
The use of agriculture-aquaculture systems is perhaps most effective for small producers as it can help control production costs. For example, fish have been added to some rice paddies in Asia. The fish help to control weeds and feed on insects in the paddy fields. And in turn their waste fertilizes the rice. Once the rice has been harvested, the farmers can then harvest the fish. This combination of agriculture and aquaculture can provide a sustainable solution to one of the problems many poor farmers face – how to afford fertilizer and pest controls.
Important issues for sustainability
The sustainability of aquaculture depends greatly on the management of the fisheries. As noted by the FAO, there are several challenges for ensuring the sustainability of aquaculture in the future, including: water scarcity/quality, fish disease, loss of biodiverse systems, etc. With only 1.5% of aquaculture farms being certified, mismanagement is a huge blockade and the ability to tackle the challenges mentioned above presents an even bigger hurdle to climb. And the ability to expand and cultivate efficient fisheries would provide solutions not only for food security issues, but also poverty and livelihood issues.
