State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) Report States 78.7% of Seafood is Sustainable
On June 8th, 2020 the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released its biennial SOFIA report, the largest and most reliable summary of global seafood data. It includes updates through 2018 and new calculations not reported before, like the fact that 78.7% of seafood comes from biologically sustainable fish populations.
The report provides seafood sustainability updates noting that with total landings calculations in 2020: 65.8% of fisheries are sustainable supplying 78.7% of seafood, while the 34.2% of overfished fisheries contribute 21.3% of catch.
FAO reports heavily on a paper by Hilborn et al. (2020) showing that, on average, fisheries with consistent data (implying a certain level of management) are healthy and/or improving. FAO cites recovery on the horizon, “In general, intensively managed fisheries have seen decreases in average fishing pressure and increases in stock biomass, with some reaching biologically sustainable levels.”
The report also states that seafood remains an increasingly important part of the global food system. In 2018, 179 million metric tons of fish were produced, of which 82 million were produced by aquaculture. Total fish production is expected to expand to 204 million metric tons in 2030. In 2017, seafood accounted for 17% of the global population’s intake of animal protein (7% of all protein). People are eating more fish than ever before due to increasing production (better technology and less waste), rising incomes, and increased awareness of the health benefits.
The 2020 SOFIA report also has a strong focus on gender in fisheries stating that most women in seafood live in developing countries and fish small-scale or artisanal. FAO reports that in seafood production, only 14% of the workforce is women. In secondary (post-harvest) production, half of workers are women, but labour is often not equitable.
Read the full post here.
June 2020