World Aquaculture - December 2014

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• WORLD AQUACULTURE • DECEMBER 2014 3
E d i tor ’ s N ote
The UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes
food security as a social, economic and cultural right; there is a Right
to Food. Food security is defined operationally by the FAO as when
“all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to
sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and
food preferences for an active and healthy life.”
Although the number has been declining, there are currently
about 870 million people with chronic hunger, or 1 in 8 of the global
population. Although less visible, many more are malnourished.
The UN estimates that more than 2 billion people do not consume
adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals, the so-called “hidden
hunger.” The WHO estimates that 1 in 3 living in developing
countries suffer from vitamin and mineral deficiencies, lacking
vitamin A, iron and iodine. Micronutrient deficiencies are most
severe throughout Sub-Saharan Africa but are also very high in India.
Fish provides high-quality protein, vitamins and essential fatty
acids. Compared to other foods, there has been little attention given
to the role of fish in providing food security, despite its potential
importance in addressing malnutrition. Although the focus of health
benefits is on protein consumption, fish is arguably more important as
a source of micronutrients and fatty acids.
There are a number of well-known nutritional and health
benefits of fish consumption. In developed countries, the link
between fish consumption and human health emphasizes the effect of
consuming heart-healthy polyunsaturated fatty acids. In developing
countries, it is focused on malnutrition or unequal access to food for
women and children.
The phenomenal growth of aquaculture — about 6 percent
per year over the last decade — has expanded the global supply
of fish. Aggregate demand for fish has been increasing with
human population and with wealth, especially in China and India.
Aquaculture provides food security by supplying high-quality
animal protein and providing employment, income and livelihood
opportunities, especially for poor people.
According to the FAO, fish from aquaculture and capture
fisheries provides 3 billion people with 20 percent of their average
intake of animal protein and an additional 1.5 billion people with
about 15 percent of their animal protein intake. Fish provides 50 to
60 percent of protein in human diets in countries with significant
aquaculture production, such as Bangladesh and Indonesia. Most
nations where fish represents a significant proportion of animal
protein consumption are low-income developing countries.
Aquaculture is an economic activity that provides food
security through employment, income and livelihood opportunities,
particularly for poor people in developing countries. The FAO
estimates that 660 to 820 million people depend to some degree on
fisheries, aquaculture and related activities as a source of income.
These include 19 million working directly in production as fish
farmers, most (70 to 80 percent) at a small scale, nearly all of which
(90 percent) are in Asia. An additional 19 million are employed in
other parts of the value chain, including support activities (feeds,
hatcheries), production, processing, transportation and marketing.
Recently published studies have demonstrated unequivocally
that small-scale aquaculture can reduce poverty and improve
food security in Asia. However, small-scale aquaculture does not
necessarily equate to food security, at least in Africa, where the focus
of development efforts has shifted to larger-scale, commercially-
oriented operations to improve food security outcomes. Fish
produced in small-scale aquaculture are often more important as a
cash crop than direct use as food in these households.
Food security and nutrition outcomes are strongly determined
by gender, class and ethnicity. Access to resources and way those
resources are distributed within countries, along value chains and
within households is gendered, with women having a subordinate
role. Men dominate the workforce in aquaculture production, with
women generally more prominent in processing and marketing. Food
security through aquaculture can be improved by addressing gender
inequality in the value chain.
Food security through aquaculture is threatened by
environmental problems, including the availability of freshwater,
land degradation that affects production of commodity grains used in
feeds and water pollution from industrial activities, among others. It
is also threatened by the spread of diseases, early mortality syndrome
being a recent example.
Food security through aquaculture will depend on the ability
of small-scale producers to adapt to climate change. Climate change
represents a challenge to food security through the availability
of fresh water, sea-level rise and increased incidence of extreme
weather such as droughts and floods. Food security will be affected
by uncertainty in the fish supply from aquaculture as well as the
vulnerability of fish farmers to the effects of climate change.
Vulnerability to climate change is very high in coastal areas and river
floodplains, areas where most of the world’s aquaculture production
occurs.
Fish is one of the most globally traded foods and is the most
traded form of animal protein. The evidence that global trade in fish
from aquaculture is beneficial to producers in developing countries
is equivocal. Most benefits tend to accrue to processors and brokers
rather than producers. Local or regional trade, especially for low-
value species, is likely to have better outcomes relative to employment
and food security.
To realize the full potential of aquaculture to contribute to food
security, research and development related to genetic improvement
(such as the GIFT program), production system efficiency,
fishmeal replacement, health management and the domestication
of new species is needed. In short, improving the productivity and
sustainability of aquaculture can improve food security and nutrition
outcomes. Food security goals and strategies need to be an integral
and explicit part of policies and governance of the aquaculture sector.
— John A. Hargreaves, Editor-in-Chief
Strengthening Aquaculture for Food Security