Less than six years before 2030, there are major concerns that progress on most of the Sustainable Development Goals is either moving much too slowly or has regressed, shadowed in the face of intensified challenges. Conflict, climate extremes, environmental degradation and economic shocks combined with the high cost of nutritious foods and growing inequalities continue to threaten food security and nutrition. We know that over 3.1 billion people – more than 40 percent of the world population – cannot afford a healthy diet. Hunger and malnutrition occur unevenly across and within continents and countries, and current agrifood systems are highly vulnerable to shocks and disruptions arising from climate variability and extremes, exacerbating growing inequities.
Today, aquatic systems are increasingly recognized as vital for food and nutrition security. But more can be done to feed a growing and more urbanized population. Because of their great diversity and capacity to supply ecosystem services and sustain healthy diets, aquatic food systems represent a viable and effective solution that offers greater opportunities to improve global food security and nutrition today and for generations to come. However, if we want aquatic food systems to enhance their contribution to sustainable development, transformation is essential. In 2021, FAO adopted the Blue transformation, a Programme Priority Area anchored in the FAO Strategic Framework 2022–2031, aimed at maximizing the opportunities presented by aquatic food systems to enhance food security, improve nutrition, eradicate poverty and support the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Furthermore, these objectives fully align with the key FAO strategies on climate change, innovation and biodiversity.
This edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture is devoted to “Blue Transformation in action”. It illustrates how FAO effectively uses its resources, expertise and comparative advantage to promote collaborative efforts and initiatives involving Members, partners and key stakeholders. Implemented through the Blue Transformation Roadmap – presented at FAO Regional Conferences during 2024 – these efforts focus on priority actions to achieve three global objectives: sustainable aquaculture growth to meet the increasing demand for aquatic foods; effective fisheries management for healthier fishery stocks and equitable livelihoods; and upgrading of aquatic food value chains to guarantee their social, economic and environmental sustainability.
The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024 has benefited from significant improvements in data collection, analytical and assessment tools, and methodologies generating more reliable and expanded data on the state of world fisheries and aquaculture resources, and their exploitation and utilization. In 2022, fisheries and aquaculture production reached an all-time high of 223.2 million tonnes, worth a record USD 472 billion and contributing an estimated 20.7 kg of aquatic animal foods per capita. This constituted about 15 percent of the animal protein supply, reaching over 50 percent in several countries in Asia and Africa. While capture fisheries production has remained largely unchanged for decades, aquaculture has increased by 6.6 percent since 2020, contributing over 57 percent of aquatic animal products used for direct human consumption. The fisheries and aquaculture sector employs an estimated 62 million people in primary production alone. Where sex-disaggregated data are available, approximately 24 percent of the total workforce were women; of these, 53 percent were employed in the sector on a full-time basis, a great improvement since 1995, when only 32 percent of women were employed full time. Aquatic products continue to be one of the most traded food commodities, involving over 230 countries and territories and generating a record USD 195 billion in 2022 considering all aquatic products.
Despite these significant achievements, the sector still faces major challenges from climate change and disasters, water scarcity, pollution, biodiversity loss and other anthropogenic impacts. We need to accelerate efforts to ensure 100 percent of fishery stocks are placed under effective management, to reverse unsustainable practices, combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and reduce overfishing. An ecosystem approach should be at the centre of future aquaculture intensification and expansion, to minimize environmental impacts and secure animal health and food safety, with an efficient, diverse and sustainable use of inputs and resources, in particular water, land and feed, while improving yields and supporting livelihoods, especially for the most vulnerable communities and populations. Although significant improvements are reported in processing and utilization of aquatic foods, additional efforts are required to reduce loss and waste of aquatic products, upscaling successful FAO initiatives promoting innovative technologies, implementing circular economy solutions, facilitating access of producers, particularly small-scale ones, to regional and international markets and making aquatic foods available to all consumers.
The importance of fisheries and aquaculture for Sustainable Development Goal 14 – Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development – highlights the responsibility of FAO, as custodian of four out of ten indicators of SDG 14, to accelerate the global momentum to secure healthy diets from healthy and productive oceans. This is being effectively implemented through activities aimed at improving the capacities of Members to implement, monitor and report progress and to inform on the challenges they face for achieving SDG 14 targets related to fisheries and aquaculture.
Recognition of the importance of fisheries and aquaculture in global fora is illustrated by the increasing inclusion of aquatic food systems in United Nations Food Systems Summit dialogues, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, in addition to the adoption of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction, and the World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, as well as the upcoming international agreement on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.
Our world population is projected to reach 8.5 billion by 2030 – many living in urban areas – with almost 600 million people remaining chronically undernourished. Providing sufficient food, nutrition and livelihoods for this growing population demands significant investments. As highlighted in this report, aquaculture has a major role to play, particularly in Africa where its great potential is not yet realized. We need to urgently explore all opportunities and take transformative action to make agrifood systems more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable. These transformative actions are needed to move forwards into a world with better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind.
The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, an FAO flagship publication, continues to provide evidence-based information, policy and technical insights on challenges and innovations shaping the present and future of the sector. I hope that this 2024 edition will meet the expectations of its expanding audience of policymakers, managers, scientists, fishers, farmers, traders, civil society and consumers to inform on the vital role and contributions of fisheries and aquaculture in addressing the challenges of the twenty-first century.
Qu Dongyu |
