Article and photos by Henk Stander
Aquaculture Division, Department of Animal Sciences,
University of Stellenbosch
F
isheries and aquaculture
play important roles in
providing food and income in many developing
countries, either as a stand-alone
activity or in association with crop
agriculture and livestock rearing.
The global aggregate wealth generated from both aquaculture and
fisheries in marine and freshwater
environments is unquantified but,
based on an estimate of US$ 225
to 240 billion for marine capture
fisheries alone, is likely to be of the
order of US$ 500 billion or more
per year. The sector’s economic
output provides important contributions to poverty and food security through three main, interlinked pathways: (1) nutritional
benefits from the consumption of
fish; (2) income to those employed
in the sector and multiplier and
spill over effects in fisherydependent regions; and (3)
through generation of revenues
from exports, taxation, license fees
and from payment for access to
resources by foreign fleets or foreign investment in aquaculture.
Feeding juvenile tilapia
Aquaculture production has grown
steadily since its emergence as a
significant food production sector
six decades ago, at rates equivalent to about a doubling of production each decade; aquaculture
now delivers 50% of aquatic food
products. The growth of aquaculture (> 7% per year) far exceeds
that of population growth (0.5%
per year), as well as that of food
production on land (about 2.0%
per year).
Ceilings to traditional agricultural food production:
Food sufficiency requires some
900 cubic meters (m3) of water per
person per year, and about 9 000
to 14 000 km3 per year are available for human use. Thus, a maximum of 10 000 million to 15 500
million people can be supported.
Indeed, estimates of the maximum
human population that Earth can
sustain range from 6 000 million
to 15 000 million, with a median
of about 10 000 million people.
Far fewer people can be supported
if less water is available for agriculFish Farmer Lesotho
Definitions related to food security
and poverty:
Food security – 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.
Food sovereignty – “The right of
peoples to define their own food
and agriculture policies; to protect
and regulate domestic agricultural
production and trade in order to
achieve sustainable development
objectives…..Food Sovereignty
does not negate trade, but rather,
it promotes the formulation of trade
policies and practices that serve
the rights of peoples to safe,
healthy and ecologically sustainable production” (via Campesina).
Hunger – is often used to refer in
general terms to MDG1 and food
insecurity. Acute hunger is when
lack of food is short term, and is
often caused when shocks such as
drought or war affect vulnerable
populations. Chronic hunger is a
Feeding Trout on Katse dam