Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on World fisheries and aquaculture
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| Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on World fisheries and aquaculture |
Everywhere we go, we see the Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the World; as face masks is fast becoming a must-have if we are to go out.
But has the Impact of COVID-19 pandemic, been felt only in our social lives?
For us as fish farmers, what has been the Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on fisheries and aquaculture? And how will covid-19 affect fish prices in the times to come, post pandemic? Let's find out!
Since the ancient times and even in this our recent times, the global appetite for fish protein and fish related products have shown no sign of slowing down. This report shows the important and significant role of fisheries and aquaculture practice in providing food, nutrition, and employment for young people worldwide.
The fisheries and aquaculture industry has expanded significantly in size, in recent times, and total production, trade and consumption indeed, reached an all-time records high in 2018.
However, since the early 1990s, most growth and improvement in the fisheries and aquaculture industry as a whole has been from aquaculture, while capture fisheries production has been relatively stable with some growth essentially focused on inland capture fisheries.
Data have shown that, their has been a 14% rise in global capture fisheries production from 1990 to 2018. Their has been an increase in the global aquaculture production from 1990 to 2018. Data also shows that the total food fish consumption from 1990 to 2018 increased by 527%. However, a 122% rise in aquaculture development and effective fisheries' management is critical to maintain these upward trends. For fisheries, there is growing evidence that when they are properly managed; stocks are consistently produced above target levels.
The successes achieved in some countries and regions In the area of aquaculture, has not been sufficient to reverse the global trend of waste and losses, resulting from over fished stocks.
When we talk about aquaculture and fisheries; what we are really talking about is freshwater, brackish water and saltwater fish populations. So in this post I will provide recent data, as provided by the FAO, on wild capture, saltwater fisheries and freshwater aquaculture.
Growth and advancements in the wild Capture fisheries industry:
Data provided by the FAO in 2018 showed that; total global capture fisheries production reached its highest level ever recorded at 96.4 million tonnes, which is an increase of 5.4% from the average of the previous three years.
When we say capture fisheries, what we are talking about is; marine waters aquaculture, inland waters Capture fisheries, marine waters Capture fisheries, seas, and saltwater fish production.
The increase in 2018 was mostly driven by marine capture fisheries, with production from marine areas increasing to 84.4 million tonnes in 2018, up from 81.2 million in the previous year. These increase in marine capture fisheries, shows that the huge investment capital and technological advancements put into this sector did pay off, yet more should done to further inprove this sector, for it to yield better fruits. In the short term, more needs to be done to boost productions, given the increasing demand for fish and fish related products.
The global capture fisheries production experienced a boom in 2018, which was mainly driven by 10 top producing nations of the world namely;
China
Indonesia
Peru
India
the Russian Federation
the United States of America
Viet Nam
These countries accounted for almost 50 percent of total global capture production.
The top species of fish that were captured were:
The most popular fish species that were caught from 2008 to 2018, was the Peruvian anchoveta with over 7 million tonnes captured, with Peru and Chile accounting for most of the increase in catches in 2018.
The second highest fish to be captured was the Alaska pollock with 3.4 million tonnes captured in the wild.
The third highest marine captured fish are the Skipjack tuna, which has also ranked third for nine consecutive years. 3.2 million tonnes of Skipjack tuna was produced in 2018.
On the other hand, marine captures of tuna and tuna-like fish species has continued their 3-year back to back increase, with productions reaching the highest levels in 2018, with 8 million tonnes produced. These catches of tuna and tuna like fishes are mostly in the Western and Central Pacific. This was achieved because of the good fisheries' management put in place, resulting in the number of over fished stocks decreasing to reach 66.7 percent of tuna and tuna-like stocks at sustainable levels.
Data on the happenings in the aquaculture world:
We already know that aquaculture is the farming of aquatic animals, including fin fish, crustaceans, mollusks, etc. and aquatic plants, mostly algae, using or within freshwater, sea water, brackish water and inland saline water. Note that the aquaculture species mentioned here excludes aquatic mammals, crocodiles, alligators, and caimans, seaweeds and other aquatic plants.
The World's aquaculture production in 2018, attained an all-time record high of 114.5 million tonnes in live weight, with a total revenue generated being valued at USD 263.6 billion; this value is believed to represent the fish stocks on farm ready for sale, and this excludes transport or delivery charge.
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| aquaculture and fish farming is rapidly expanding |
To Breaking down this data; we see
That, The total production consisted of:
82.1 million tonnes worth of aquatic animals
32.4 million tonnes worth of aquatic algae
26 000 tonnes worth of ornamental seashells and pearls.
In 2018, inland aquaculture production, supplied 51.3 million tonnes of aquatic animals which was consumed globally. This figure accounted for 62.5 percent of the world’s farmed food fish production. This refers to aquaculture produced either from inland natural water sources, such as rivers and lakes and fish farms.
World aquaculture production of farmed aquatic animals has for a long time, been dominated by Asia countries, with an 89 percent share in aquaculture production, since the last two decades or so. The major producing countries includes; China, India, Indonesia, Viet Nam, Bangladesh, Egypt, Norway and Chile. These countries have consolidated their share in regional or world production to varying degrees over the past two decades. All around the world, the fisheries and aquaculture sector has been a major source of employment for young and old people alike.
How has aquaculture provided employment for people all around the world?
Recent data released by FAO showed that In 2018, alone, an estimated 59.5 million people were engaged in fisheries and aquaculture. This figure shows that about 20.5 million people were employed in aquaculture and 39 million in fisheries, an increase from 2016.
FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE
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| fisheries and aquaculture has employed thousands of men and women globally. |
Now one questions comes up; has the global employment for fishers and fish farmers been provided equally to the females as much as the males?
The data provided by the FAO back in 2018, showed that women accounted for just 14% of the 59.5 million men and women engaged in the primary sector of fisheries and aquaculture in 2018.
Many international agency have said that; both in the primary and secondary fisheries and aquaculture sector; one out of every two workers on a fish farm is a woman.
It is good that we show care, and give help and support to the girl child because women play a crucial role throughout the fish farming and aquaculture value chain, providing labor in both commercial and artisanal levels and acting as small-scale entrepreneurs where capital, and family life allows them.
How has all these tonnes of fish produced been used?
In 2018, about 88 percent of the 179 million tonnes of total fish produced was utilized for direct human consumption, while 12 percent was used for non-food purposes. Also In 2018, live, fresh, or chilled fish represented the largest share of fish utilized for direct human consumption which is 44 percent.
A significant but declining proportion of world fisheries' production is processed into fish meal and fish oil. Fish meal and fish oil is still considered the most nutritious and most digestible ingredients for farmed fish, and fish oil represents the richest available source of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which perform a wide range of critical functions for human health. However, their inclusion rates in compound feeds for aquaculture has shown a clear downward trend. However, fish is crucial to a nutritious diet in many areas across the world.
Fish and fish related products are recognized not only as some of the healthiest foods on the planet, but also as some of the least impactful on the natural environment. For these reasons, they are vital for national, regional, and global food security, and nutrition strategies, and have a big part to play in transforming food systems and eliminating hunger and malnutrition in the world.
Fish provides about 3.3 billion people with almost 20 percent of their average per capita intake of animal protein, and in 2017, fish accounted for about 17 percent of total animal protein, and 7 percent of all proteins, consumed by humans globally.
The Key nutrients in seafoods are;
LONG CHAIN OMEGA-3 FATS, which are Mainly found in fish and seafood, these fatty acids are essential for optimal brain development.
IODINE: Seafood is in practice the only natural source of this crucial nutrient. Iodine serves several purposes like aiding thyroid function. It is also essential for neurodevelopment.
VITAMIN D: Another nutrient crucial for mental development, this vitamin also regulates the immune system function and is essential for bone health.
IRON: During pregnancy, iron intake is crucial so that the mother can produce additional blood for herself and the baby.
CALCIUM, ZINC, OTHER MINERALS: Diet without dairy products often lack calcium and zinc deficiency, which slows down a child's development.
In the period between 1961 2017, the average annual growth rate of total food fish consumption, increased by 3.1 percent, outpacing annual population growth rate of 1.6 percent.
In per capita terms; food fish consumption rose from 9.0 kg in live weight in 1961 to 20.3 kg in 2017. Estimates for per capita fish consumption in 2018 stood at 20.5 kg.
Aquaculture has expanded fish availability to regions and countries with otherwise limited or no access to the cultured species, often at cheaper prices, leading to improved nutrition and food security. At the global level, since 2016, aquaculture has been the main source of fish available for human consumption. In 2018, this share was 52 percent, a figure that can be expected to continue to increase in the long-term.
All this increasing advancement and expansion experienced in aquaculture are due to technological advancement in the sphere of genetic science, rising income worldwide, increased production, reduction in waste and losses, and increased awareness of the health benefit of fish.
The business of fish farming:
Fish and fish related products are among some of the most traded food commodity in International markets, so it is no surprise that in 2018; 67 million tonnes of fish in live weight, was traded internationally which resulted in a total exports value of USD164 billion. These equals to more than 37 percent of all fish caught or farmed globally.
However, trade has recently been been on a slight decline. Available data for 2019 suggest that total trade value contracted by about 2 percent in both quantity and value compared with 2018.
What has been the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on World fisheries and aquaculture?
The outbreak of corona virus disease (COVID-19) has already negatively impacted trade among key exporters and importers in 2020.
China has for long been a major fish producer and exporter of fish and fish related products since 2002.
Norway on the other hand, has since 2014, been the second major exporter, and now they are being followed by Viet Nam. Developed economy has dominated the fish imports with the European Union as first, followed by the United States of America and Japan. The importance of developing countries as consumers, and now becoming producers of fish and fish products have been increasing, and indeed a developing nation like Nigeria needs to do more in this respect.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected most countries in the world with severe impacts on the global economy. The following projections are based on the assumption there will be a significant disruption in the short term for production, consumption and trade, with a recovery in late 2020 or early 2021.
What is the price outlook in the future for fish and fish products, post covid-19?
Post covid-19, fish prices are expected to rise in the long-term up to 2030.
World fish production, consumption and trade are expected to go up, but with a growth rate that will decline a bit over time.
Total fish production is expected to increase from 179 million tonnes in 2018 to 204 million tonnes by the year 2030.
Aquaculture production is projected to reach 109 million tonnes by the year 2030, an increase of 32 percent which is 26 million tonnes over 2018.
Who will dominate the global aquaculture trade post covid-19?
Asia will continue to dominate the aquaculture trade and will be responsible for more than 89 percent of the increase in production and trade share index by 2030. The aquaculture industry is expected to expand most in Africa continent, up to 48 percent, and this expansion will be driven by the technological advancement and additional culturing capacity put in place in recent years.
Conclusion:
Despite the recent halt in industrial processes and trade, due to the ongoing covid 19 pandemic, the aquaculture and fish farming industry is expected to expand, because aquaculture still remains a key employer of labor and also serves as means of providing food and nutrition world over.
So this the right time to invest in aquaculture, but this is just my thought.
What do you think; will aquaculture and fish farming expand in the coming years? Or will it experience a decline due to the covid 19 pandemic?
Please let us know your thoughts and suggestions in the comments box below.
