FAO’s State of the World’s Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020 tracks growing fish production and consumption, and highlights the promise of sustainability actions

Worldwide per capita fish consumption has reached a new record of 20.5 kilograms per year and is poised to increase further in the decade ahead, underscoring its critical role in global food and nutrition security.

Total fish production is set to increase to 204 million tonnes in 2030, up 15 percent from 2018, with aquaculture’s share growing from its current 46 46 percent according to The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA).

The Director-General also pointed to SOFIA’s reporting of growing evidence that while effective fisheries management results in robust or rebuilding of fish stocks, failure to implement these measures threaten their contributions to food security and livelihoods.

The significant dietary values of fish galvanize the importance of aquaculture development, especially in Africa, and of harness strategies to help it intensify production sustainably using innovative techniques in the areas of feeds, genetic selection, biosecurity and business developments, FAO’s Director-General emphasizes, noting that FAO’s Hand-in-Hand Initiative is “an ideal framework for efforts that combine fisheries and aquaculture trends and challenges in the context of blue growth.”

Key numbers from The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020

-Share of that from marine capture fisheries: 84.4 million tonnes

-Amount of production consumed by humans as food: 156 million tonnes

-First-sale value of all fisheries and aquaculture production in 2018: $401 billion

-Share of that from aquaculture: $250 billion

-Number of people employed in the primary sector of fisheries and aquaculture: 59.5 million, of whom 14% are women

-Region with the most fishers and fish farmers: Asia (85% of the total)

-Number of fishing vessels on the planet: 4.56 million

-Largest fleet by region: Asia (3.1 million vessels, or 68% of the global fleet)

-Share of motorized vessels less than 12 meters in length: 82%

-Africa is a net importer in volume terms but a net exporter in value terms.

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