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FAO - Press Conference: Media launch of the FAO State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024 - 06 June 2024
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Press Conferences | FAO
FAO - Press Conference: Media launch of the FAO State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024 - 06 June 2024
The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) is an FAO flagship report that provides a comprehensive analysis of the global and regional status and trends in fisheries and aquaculture. It also offers updates on the status and health of marine fishery resources.
Speaker:
- Manuel Barange, FAO Assistant Director-General and Director of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division
Teleprompter
Hello. So I think, uh, we will start the press conference.
good afternoon.
And thank you for joining, uh, the FA O press conference at the UN office at Geneva.
Today's press conference will cover the launch of FA OS
Flagship Report the State of World Fisheries and Agriculture 2004.
Also known as the Sophia Report,
Sophia provides a comprehensive analysis of,
um of the global and regional status and trends in fisheries and aquaculture.
This year,
the Sophia report will be showcased in Costa Rica
during the high high profile event on Ocean Action,
immersed in change coinciding with World Ocean Day,
which is on 8 June this Saturday.
Today we have with us Doctor Manuel Baran, the FA O,
Assistant Director general and the Director of the
Fisheries and Aquaculture Division connecting from Costa Rica.
Please note that this press conference is under embargo and the embargo
will be lifted on 7 June 8 p.m. Central European summer time.
So please respect the embargo.
And without further ado, I would like to invite Doctor Manuel Baranja to the floor
over to you.
Thank you very much. Uh, good afternoon to all of you in Geneva. Uh,
good morning to those of us here in Costa Rica.
Uh, and thank you for your presence, Uh,
at this conference that has already been introduced.
Uh,
just to know that the speaking points that I will be using
today are available to any journalist if you want to use them.
let me start first, um,
to mention that this is only the second time that the Sophia report
has been launched outside FA
O. It is published every two years, and it is highly awaited.
I will start with the messages.
I'll have seven messages on the highlights of Sophia. The first one
is that, uh,
global fisheries and aquaculture production has reached
an all time high of 223 million tonnes
in 2022.
Uh, 2022 is the year that Sophia, uh, focuses on
this production comprises 100 and 85 million tonnes of
aquatic animals and 38 million tonnes of algae.
Perhaps an even more striking result and perhaps one of the headlines
of Sophia 2024 is that for the first time in history,
global aquaculture production of animal species surpassed fisheries production
with a record 94.4 million tonnes of aquatic animal production, almost 8% higher
than two years ago.
Capture fisheries production, on the other hand,
has remained very stable at around 90 to 95 million tonnes since the mid 19 nineties.
These numbers demonstrate the potential for aquaculture
to feed a growing world population,
and we'll get back to that in a moment.
The second message of Sophia is that as reflected in many recent global dialogues,
the contributions of aquatic food systems to
global food security and nutrition keeps growing.
Almost 90% of aquatic animal production is
currently used for direct human consumption,
and this results in a record per capita consumption of 20.7 kilogrammes of uh,
aquatic animal foods per person in 2022.
In fact, since 1961 this
per capita consumption rate of aquatic animals has been growing
at twice the rate of population growth,
thus making net contributions to our nutritional outcomes.
Aquatic animal production.
Some of it is not used for direct human consumption and is
largely diverted to produce fish meal and fish oil for animal feeds.
But this volume of aquatic animal production, not used for direct humans
has actually been decreasing over time.
It was a record 30 million tonnes in 1994 and it is now 17 million tonnes.
Thus, aquaculture growth has not increased
the need to use more marine ingredients as feed,
and that is thanks to improved feed formulations and also the growing
use of by-product fish by-product in the production of fish meal.
The third message in Sophia 2024 is that Asia was
a source of 91% of all aquaculture production of aquatic animals
with, of course, very significantly lower volumes in other regions.
However,
above average growth rates of aquaculture have been
observed in Africa and Latin America about 8%.
Um since, um,
the turn of the century
compared to below average growth in Europe and North America over the same period.
So the take home message here is that aquaculture production
is still dominated by a small number of countries,
but many are making strides to use this
untapped resource for their aquatic food needs.
May I perhaps mention that Africa, for example,
is currently a net importer of aquatic foods.
The fourth message of Sophia is despite that, despite aquaculture growth,
marine capture fisheries remain vital for food, for livelihoods
and for sustainable development.
However, the sustainability of marine fisheries is a continued source of concern.
62.3% of marine stocks are currently fish within biological levels,
and this is a 2.3% deterioration deterioration
from the last assessment that we conducted two years ago
and this continues an alarming trend.
This percentage, however, treats all stocks equally,
regardless of their abundance and the volume of their catch.
If we combine this with their production values,
we are we are allowed to estimate that
approximately 77% of all the marine fisheries landings
are from biologically sustainable stocks.
Sophia breaks down these indices between regions and species group,
but it I think it is worth
noting that
80% of the top 10 species
are sustainably exploited
and that progress is also seen, for example,
among the tuna stops now approaching 90% levels of sustainability,
and this is a remarkable improvement in the last decade.
So what these figures indicate collectively
and this is consistent with academic analysis is
that larger commercial fish stocks are actually better managed
and that this management is producing positive results.
This evidence is the main reason why FA OS Blue Transformation Vision
calls for 100% of fish stocks to
be placed under effective management because management
works and it is the only tool we have to reverse unsustainable practises.
Our fifth message today
is that aquatic food production is not only
crucial for food security and for nutrition,
but also for livelihoods.
The sector employs 62 million people directly,
and if we add those involved in the full value chain of aquatic foods and dependence,
about 600 million people depend on the sector for their livelihood,
the large majority in low to medium income countries.
Our estimates are that only 24% of those employed in the primary sector are women,
but this increases to 62% for post harvest workers,
highlighting the need for gender transformative approaches
to understand the sector and to achieve equality and equity.
The sixth message of Sophia refers to
the importance of fisheries for local economies
with record first sale value of aquatic products in 2022 of $472
billion
some 230 states and territories are active
in the international trade of aquatic products,
generating a record export volume in 2022 of 100 and $92
billion. This is a 19% increase compared to pre covid times,
which reflects a very robust sector recovery from the pandemic.
It is perhaps worth noting that the net benefits of
the trade in aquatic products for low and middle income
countries exceeds the net benefits obtained from the
trade of all other agricultural commodities combined.
Our seventh and final message
is a reflection on the expected rise in demand for aquatic
products fueled by economic development and of course population increase.
Based on our model projections, the sector will grow a further 10% by 2032.
This is mostly thanks to aquaculture.
By 2050 we will grow our population to 9.7 billion people
and this will have significant implications for the supply and the demand of food.
All food systems, including aquatic foods,
will need to contribute to this challenge,
for example,
just to ensure that the consumption of aquatic food
in 2050 is maintained at current per capita levels,
the supply globally will have to grow by 22%.
And in Africa,
a 74% growth in supply will be needed by 2050 just to keep up with population growth.
If we want to keep our current consumption rates that
this is a major challenge and requests and
requires major investments and transformations in the sector,
this highlights the need for to achieve blue transformation,
which is what Sophia, 2024 calls for.
For a world where aquatic foods play a
more significant role in ending hunger and poverty,
but where further growth is environmentally sustainable,
socially equitable and targets food security and nutrition needs first.
In conclusion,
we hope that Sophia 2024 will fulfil the expectations of
the series as a key source of carefully collated,
curated and analysed data and information.
The messages are primarily to assist
members
in the identification of challenges as well,
in the exploration of solutions and strategies
to better the sector and its outcomes.
And with that, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for your attention.
I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you very much, Doctor Manuel Barge,
for your comprehensive overview of the Sophia report.
We will now open the floor for questions.
we will start with questions in the room and please
state your organisation and name before asking your questions.
So, um, we will move on to the platform.
Uh, on zoom. Uh, would there be any journalists? OK, Christian,
The floor is yours.
Hello? Can you hear me?
Yes, we can.
Yes, we can. Hello.
Um, I just had a couple of questions as well. And I
wonder just
how significant is this? Um,
sort of the fact that the,
uh the the the the fish farming the aqua culture has overtaken the,
uh the the the the traditional farming.
I mean, how how significant is that? Has it grown faster than you would expect it?
And then a second question on the issue of, um,
fish stocks around the world that are being overfished.
You said that there were there was some improvement,
but the global figure was still 2.3% worse than two years ago.
And it seems to me since the 19 seventies, it's always been a kind of a getting worse.
Um, when do you expect that? Do you expect that figure to
to to improve
two years down the line.
You talked about the need for the management of the fish stocks. Do you?
Do you see enough
movement in this area to be hopeful that this is a problem that can be overcome?
Thank you very much.
Thank you. Um, shall I respond to the question one by one?
I'm assume so.
All right. Um, thank you for this, uh, questions very, very relevant.
So first on the issue of aquaculture growth,
aquaculture has been growing, uh, for several decades now.
It's the fastest growing food production system, uh, for the last five decades.
So it's not a surprise that eventually it overtakes capture fisheries.
Um, from the turn of the century, it has grown at 5% per year globally,
so there's 23 years of growing at 5%.
So this is very relevant for a number of reasons.
First of all, because it, uh, allows, uh,
a better access of aquatic products for
consumers without increasing pressure on marine resources.
I mentioned that capture fisheries at global level has
remained very stable over the last 30 years.
And that is logical because it's a natural resource
that depends on the on on on nature's fluctuations,
and there is a limit to how much nature can produce.
But aquaculture allows us then to bring high quality, uh,
proteins and high quality micronutrients for a growing population
without having more impact on the marine environment.
it is also a great opportunity, which is why we want to highlight it.
Because, as I mentioned, 91% of aquaculture,
uh, happens in Asia,
and that means that there are there's great interest, uh, in many of the regions
to develop aquaculture as well, not just for food, but also for livelihoods.
And may I say that, uh, 60% of aquaculture is actually inland.
Aquaculture is not on on seas. It's not on the coastlines. It's actually inland
in lakes and rivers in ponds.
So there is an opportunity to diversify the production of aquatic foods.
Um, in that way,
the with respect to the to to fisheries Uh, what I will say is that, um,
the issue of sustainability is of great concern to us.
The the global figures, as you as you reflected, are not good.
We do have a very good, um,
examples of progress in many regions,
the Northeast Atlantic, for example, the European, uh, European Atlantic waters.
Sustainability has gone from 23% sustainable stocks to 75% sustainable stocks
in just 20 years.
Um, countries like the US, uh, 93% of the stocks are sustainably exploited.
I mentioned a couple of other examples in my speech,
so they are very good examples of progress.
And,
um but we that means that there are many other examples where
progress is not happening or it is not happening fast enough.
And the failures of sustainability are failures of governance.
They are multifaceted. They have to be understood in all this complexity.
It requires policies. It requires institutions.
It requires scientific capacity,
it requires political will.
And we work with countries one by one and collectively in improving
their data collection systems in helping them develop the institutions and their
and their management systems.
But it is not something that happens fast,
and it has to be taken very seriously if we
we don't want to see this deterioration to continue.
Thank you.
Hope that clarified your question. Chris,
Um, do we have any follow up questions or any additional
looking at the zoom.
Um, so I guess I don't see any further questions from the journalist.
So, um, please let us know if you have any follow ups or interview request.
We'll be very happy to facilitate, um, to support your reporting.
Um, with this, we will conclude the FA O press conference today. And we wish you a Oh,
I see.
I see a hand up from
Manuel Barrand.
Would you like to add one last comment?
Y? Yes. Uh, thank you. And just as there, there's no other question.
I just wanted to mention that
one element that is very important on aquatic foods that is unique
to to this sector is the enormous diversity that it relies on.
So, uh, in our databases, we have
3400 species that we, uh, use in capture fisheries at some level.
Uh, but we also have over 730 species that we culture in in aquaculture systems.
This diversity is unique in in the food systems, uh, sectors
and
also makes aquatic foods much more flexible and adaptable,
for example to climate change, which has not been
mentioned in my my my statement. But of course, we are well aware of.
And Sophia discusses this at length.
So the biodiversity of aquatic food systems is actually
part of the success and part of the,
uh, expectations placed on it.
Thank you.
All right, thank you very much for the very, um, last, uh,
comments Doctor Manuel Bran.
A very important information.
So, um
so yes, as mentioned earlier, Please let us know if you have any, uh,
follow up requests or interview requests as well.
We will be very happy to facilitate.
And, um, with this, we will con conclude the FA O press conference today.
We wish you a lovely afternoon and thank you very much.