Fish farming could be solution for food sustainability, report finds
Improving Productivity and Environmental Performance of Aquaculture, the fifth installment of the '2013-14 World Resources Report: Creating a Sustainable Food Future,'听was released in early June.
The working paper, produced by the聽听(奥搁滨),听, the聽,听聽(France), and聽聽(Thailand), is part of a series of papers to be rolled out throughout the year that focus on strategies to feed a global population of nine billion by 2050.
The series focus on a number of different 鈥渕enu items鈥濃�攕trategies highlighted by the WRI as solutions to global food system problems鈥� that are both 鈥減ractical and scalable.鈥� Menu items include: reducing food loss and waste, boosting crop yields, shifting agriculture to degraded lands, and increasing aquaculture鈥檚 productivity.
听(奥搁滨),听聽(WorldFish) and聽聽(World Bank)鈥攖hree of the paper鈥檚 authors鈥攊ntroduced the newest report in a live seminar.
聽鈥淭he wild fish catch has peaked,鈥� informed Waite, and 鈥渢his catch is not sustainable as about 30 percent of fish stocks are currently being fished beyond their biological limit.鈥�
Aquaculture, or fish farming, has emerged in response to overfishing the world鈥檚 oceans as well as to meet the rising demand for fish, particularly in Asia. Waite highlighted that 90 percent of aquaculture is currently in Asia and that the bulk of the growth will continue to be in developing countries.
Waite posed the question, 鈥渉ow big will aquaculture have to get to feed an increasing global population?鈥� Current aquaculture production will have to more than double to cover the growth in future fish demand, Waite stated.
Waite admitted this growth could be a double-edged sword; on the one hand, there are positive economic (employment opportunities) and environmental (farmed fish convert feed much more efficiently than other animal products) benefits associated with the growth of aquaculture. However, Waite highlighted that aquaculture also creates environmental impacts of its own, including water pollution, disease, and damage to ecosystems.
The team modeled the environmental impacts of eight different growth scenarios of aquaculture to 2050. Phillips admitted that keeping the environmental impacts at 2010 levels will be a challenge, but there are many options to reduce the impacts by managing tradeoffs between the land, feed, and water use.
Brummett informed the increases in aquaculture should not be a corporate undertaking, but also reminded there are inherent problems in attracting investment to small-scale operations. 鈥淪mall is beautiful, but complicated,鈥� according to Brummett.
