19 The Sea as a Contributor to Global Food Supply
Patricia Corbett and Nikita Dubberley
Food from the sea is produced from wild fisheries and species farmed in the ocean (mariculture), and currently accounts for 17% of the global production of edible meat (FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department 2019; Edwards et al. 2019; FAO 2020; Nijdam et al. 2012). In addition to protein, food from the sea contains bioavailable micronutrients and essential fatty acids that are not easily found in land-based foods, and is thus uniquely poised to contribute to global food and nutrition security (Kawarazuka and Béné 2010; Allison 2011; Golden et al. 2016; Hicks et al. 2019).
‘Fishermen at Dawn Near an Egyptian Lighthouse’ by Abdullah Salah used under a Pexels License
Fisheries and aquaculture contribution to food supply
Although mariculture production has grown steadily over the past 60 years (Figures 1 and 2) and provides an important contribution to food security (Belton et al. 2018), the vast majority (over 80%) of edible meat from the sea comes from wild fisheries (FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department 2019) (Figure 1). Over the past 30 years, supply from this wild food source has stabilised globally despite growing demand worldwide, which has raised concerns about our ability to sustainably increase production. Of nearly 400 fish stocks around the world that have been monitored since the 1970s by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), approximately one third are currently not fished within sustainable limits (FAO 2018). Indeed, overfishing occurs often in poorly managed (‘open access’) fisheries. This is disproportionately true in regions with food and nutrition security concerns (FAO 2018). In open-access fisheries, fishing pressure increases as the price rises: this can result in a ‘backward-bending’ supply curve (Copes 1970; Nielsen 2006), in which higher prices result in the depletion of fish stocks and reduced productivity—and thus reduced equilibrium food provision.
Text Attribution
This text (introductory paragraph and ‘fisheries and aquaculture contribution to food supply’) is from “The Blue Compendium (Chapter: The Future of Food from the Sea)” by © 2023 Christopher Costello, Ling Cao, Stefan Gelcich, Miguel Angel Cisneros, Christopher M. Free, Halley E. Froehlich, Christopher D. Golden, Gakushi Ishimura, Jason Maier, Ilan Macadam-Somer, Tracey Mangin, Michael C. Melnychuk, Masanori Miyahara, Carryn L. de Moor, Rosamond Naylor, Linda Nøstbakken, Elena Ojea, Erin O’Reilly, Ana M. Parma, Andrew J. Plantinga, Shakuntala H. Thilsted & Jane Lubchenco is licensed under CC BY 4.0
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Notes: Excluding aquatic mammals, crocodiles, alligators, caimans and algae. Data expressed in live weight equivalent.
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Figure 1: World Capture Fisheries and Aquaculture Production
Figure 1 is entitled ‘World Capture Fisheries and Aquaculture Production’. There are 4 lines on the graph, each a solid colour for ‘capture fisheries – marine waters’, ‘capture fisheries – inland waters’, ‘aquaculture – marine waters’ and ‘aquaculture – inland waters’. The vertical axis is labelled ‘million tonnes’, beginning at 0 to 180, in increments of 20. The horizontal axis is labelled ‘year’, beginning in 1950 to 2020, in increments of 5 years. In the graph, the ‘capture fisheries – marine waters’ line begins in 1950 at 18 million tonnes, rising steadily to 89 million tonnes in 1995, before plateauing at around 85 million tonnes with some fluctuation before finishing at 80 million tonnes in 2020. The ‘capture fisheries – inland waters’ follows a similar trend, beginning at 20 million tonnes, rising steadily, peaking 1970 at about 66 million tonnes in 1970, before dipping and then rising to 90 million tonnes in 1987, remaining steady with some fluctuations, finishing at 90 million tonnes in 2020. The ‘aquaculture- marine waters’ line begins at 20 million tonnes, steadily rising to 65 million tonnes in 1970, dipping briefly before steadily rising with some fluctuation to 120 million tonnes in 2020. The ‘aquaculture- inland waters’ line begins at 20 million tonnes, rising to 68 million tonnes in 1970, dipping briefly before continuing a steady then steep rise to 178 million tonnes in 2020. Figures are in millions of tonnes; all data is approximate.
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This figure and its accompanying text is from “The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022 Towards Blue Transformation” by FAO, Rome, https://doi.org/10.4060/cc0461en, is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
Notes: Data on aquatic animals excludes crocodiles, aligators, caimans, aquatic products (corals pearls, shells and sponges) and algae. Data expressed in live weight equivalent for aquatic and wet weight for algae. SOURCE: FAO. 2024. FishStat: Global aquaculture production 1950-2022. [Accessed on 29 March 2024]. In: FishStaU. Available at: www.fao.org/fishery/en/statistics/software/fishstatj. Licence: CC-BY-4.0.
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Figure 2: World Aquaculture Production, World Inland Aquaculture and World Marine and Coastal Aquaculture
Figure 2 is entitled ‘World Aquaculture Production, World Inland Aquaculture and World Marine and Coastal Aquaculture’. These represent 3 different graphs.
Graph 1 is ‘World aquaculture production’, there are 5 lines on the graph, each a solid colour for ‘finfish’, ‘crustaceans’, ‘molluscs’, ‘other aquatic animals’ and ‘algae’. The vertical axis is labelled ‘million tonnes’, beginning at 0 to 140, in increments of 20. The horizontal axis is labelled ‘year’, beginning in 1990 to 2022, in increments of 2 years. In the graph the ‘finfish’ line begins at 10 million tonnes in 1990, steadily increasing to 56 million tonnes in 2022. The ‘crustaceans’ line begins at 11 million tonnes in 1990, steadily increasing to 77 million tonnes in 2022. The ‘molluscs’ line begins at 15 million tonnes in 1990, steadily increasing to 96 million tonnes in 2022. The ‘other aquatic animals’ line begins at 15 million tonnes in 1990, steadily increasing to 98 million tonnes in 2022. The ‘algae’ line begins at 18 million tonnes in 1990 to 130 million tonnes in 2022.
Graph 2 is ‘World inland aquaculture’, there are 5 lines on the graph, each a solid colour for ‘finfish’, ‘crustaceans’, ‘molluscs’, ‘other aquatic animals’ and ‘algae’. The vertical axis is labelled ‘million tonnes’, beginning at 0 to 80, in increments of 10. The horizontal axis is labelled ‘year’, beginning in 1990 to 2022, in increments of 4 years. In the graph the ‘finfish’ line begins at 7 million tonnes in 1990, steadily increasing to 52 million tonnes in 2022. The ‘crustaceans’ line begins at 7 million tonnes in 1990, steadily increasing to 58 million tonnes in 2022. The ‘molluscs’ line begins at 7 million tonnes in 1990, steadily increasing to 59 million tonnes in 2022. The ‘other aquatic animals’ line begins at 7 million tonnes in 1990, steadily increasing to 60 million tonnes in 2022. The ‘algae’ line begins at 7 million tonnes in 1990 to 60 million tonnes in 2022.
Graph 3 is ‘World marine and coastal aquaculture’, there are 5 lines on the graph, each a solid colour for ‘finfish’, ‘crustaceans’, ‘molluscs’, ‘other aquatic animals’ and ‘algae’. The vertical axis is labelled ‘million tonnes’, beginning at 0 to 80, in increments of 10. The horizontal axis is labelled ‘year’, beginning in 1990 to 2022, in increments of 4 years. In the graph the ‘finfish’ line begins at 2 million tonnes in 1990, steadily increasing to 9 million tonnes in 2022. The ‘crustaceans’ line begins at 3 million tonnes in 1990, steadily increasing to 11 million tonnes in 2022. The ‘molluscs’ line begins at 5 million tonnes in 1990, steadily increasing to 30 million tonnes in 2022. The ‘other aquatic animals’ line begins at 5 million tonnes in 1990, steadily increasing to 31 million tonnes in 2022. The ‘algae’ line begins at 10 million tonnes in 1990 to 72 million tonnes in 2022.
Figures are in millions of tonnes; all data is approximate.
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This figure and its accompanying note are from “The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024 – Blue Transformation in action” by FAO, Rome, https://doi.org/10.4060/cd0683en, is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Fisheries and aquaculture as a solution to food security
Fishery management allows overexploited stocks to rebuild, which can increase long-term food production from wild fisheries (Hilborn and Costello 2018; Hilborn et al. 2020). Although the production of wild fisheries is approaching its ecological limits, current mariculture production is far below its ecological limits and could be increased through policy reforms, technological advancements and increased demand (Gentry et al. 2017; Joffre et al. 2017).
Global food demand is rising, and expanding land-based production is fraught with environmental and health concerns. Because seafood is nutritionally diverse and avoids or lessens many of the environmental burdens of terrestrial food production, it is uniquely positioned to contribute to both food provision and future global food and nutrition security.
Text Attribution
This text is from “The Blue Compendium (Chapter: The Future of Food from the Sea)” by © 2023 Christopher Costello, Ling Cao, Stefan Gelcich, Miguel Angel Cisneros, Christopher M. Free, Halley E. Froehlich, Christopher D. Golden, Gakushi Ishimura, Jason Maier, Ilan Macadam-Somer, Tracey Mangin, Michael C. Melnychuk, Masanori Miyahara, Carryn L. de Moor, Rosamond Naylor, Linda Nøstbakken, Elena Ojea, Erin O’Reilly, Ana M. Parma, Andrew J. Plantinga, Shakuntala H. Thilsted & Jane Lubchenco is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
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Blue Transformation – A vision for resilient, equitable and sustainable aquatic food systems
Watch the below video from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations on how fisheries and aquaculture may contribute towards better nutrition and food security, globally.
References
Allison, E. H. (2011). Aquaculture, fisheries, poverty and food security.
Belton, B., Bush, S. R., & Little, D. C. (2018). Not just for the wealthy: Rethinking farmed fish consumption in the Global South. Global Food Security, 16, 85-92.
FAO (Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Fisheries Department.). (2018). The state of world fisheries and aquaculture. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department. (2019). FishStatJ – software for fishery and aquaculture statistical time series.
FAO (2020) FAOSTAT. http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home
Gentry, R. R., Froehlich, H. E., Grimm, D., Kareiva, P., Parke, M., Rust, M., … & Halpern, B. S. (2017). Mapping the global potential for marine aquaculture. Nature ecology & evolution, 1(9), 1317-1324.
Golden, C. D., Allison, E. H., Cheung, W. W., Dey, M. M., Halpern, B. S., McCauley, D. J., … & Myers, S. S. (2016). Nutrition: Fall in fish catch threatens human health. Nature, 534(7607), 317-320.
Hicks, C. C., Cohen, P. J., Graham, N. A., Nash, K. L., Allison, E. H., D’Lima, C., … & MacNeil, M. A. (2019). Harnessing global fisheries to tackle micronutrient deficiencies. Nature, 574(7776), 95-98.
Joffre, O. M., Klerkx, L., Dickson, M., & Verdegem, M. (2017). How is innovation in aquaculture conceptualized and managed? A systematic literature review and reflection framework to inform analysis and action. Aquaculture, 470, 129-148.
Kawarazuka, N., & Béné, C. (2010). Linking small-scale fisheries and aquaculture to household nutritional security: an overview. Food Security, 2(4), 343-357.
Nijdam, D., Rood, T., & Westhoek, H. (2012). The price of protein: Review of land use and carbon footprints from life cycle assessments of animal food products and their substitutes. Food policy, 37(6), 760-770.
