Medidas de Gestao das Pescarias Marinhas e Aquicultura 2019 The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018 | Page 129
THE STATE OF WORLD FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE 2018
as recommended in the SSF Guidelines (FAO,
2015a, p. 6). However, effective strategies for
achieving this outcome are few so far. Funge-
Smith (2018) summarizes these contributions and
progress being made across a range of SDGs. n
species useful for local communities (Halwart
and Gupta, 2004). When managed for this
biodiversit y, for example through integrated pest
management, farmers use lower amounts of
pesticides and herbicides in addition to receiving
additional food and income. This biodiversit y is
threatened primarily due to habitat loss and
degradation (Dudgeon et al., 2006) and changing
agricultural practices.
FISH FOR FOOD
SECURITY AND HUMAN
NUTRITION
Inland fish are one of the important provisioning
ser vices of freshwater ecosystems, but to sustain
their benefits it is crucial to conser ve the aquatic
ecosystem. Inland fisheries are v ulnerable to
activities in the water sector and changes in land
use that result in substantial changes to water
f low and qualit y. Inland fisheries can provide a
justification for protecting and/or rehabilitating
habitats. Indeed one of the criteria for
designating a wetland as a Ramsar Site of
International Importance is the presence of
important fisheries or aquatic species (Ramsar
Convention, 2005). However, the inland fisher y
sector has limited negotiating power and usually
obtains concessions from other sectors only as
part of reg ulator y requirements or environmental
trade-offs.
The fisheries and aquaculture sector is crucial to
improving food securit y and human nutrition and
has an increasingly important role in the fight
against hunger, as articulated in the 2030
Agenda. People have never consumed as much
fish as they do today, with per capita global fish
consumption having doubled since the 1960s.
Trade in fish products is also rising, particularly
from and among developing countries (Thompson
and Amoroso, 2014), and the demand is likely to
continue to grow. The United Nations Decade of
Action on Nutrition for 2016 –2025, led by FAO
and the World Health Organization ( W HO),
provides a critical opportunit y to raise awareness
about the role of fish and to ensure its
mainstream incorporation into food securit y and
nutrition policy.
Moving forward: securing the contribution of
inland fisheries
Food securit y exists when all people, at all times,
have physical, social and economic access to
sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets
their dietar y needs and food preferences for an
active and healthy life. Progress towards food
securit y differs markedly within countries as well
as across regions. It is estimated that in the
period 2014–2016 more than one in nine people
in the world suffered from hunger, while
13 percent of developing region populations were
undernourished (FAO, IFAD and W FP, 2015). In
addition to providing nutrients, fish also
contributes to the food and nutritional securit y of
poor households in developing countries through
livelihood diversification and income generation
(Thompson and Amoroso, 2014; Béné et al., 2015).
Inland capture fisheries are important
stakeholders that both contribute directly to the
achievement of the SDGs and are indirectly
affected by the efforts of others. They will
particularly benefit from those efforts aimed at
improving protection of freshwater habitats and
environments and at more effective integrated
resource management in watershed areas, which
in turn will enhance the resource base. The
productivit y of some inland waters can
potentially be enhanced through culture-based
fisheries, habitat enhancement and more effective
management of water. A key to ensuring the
contribution of inland fisheries is to focus on
greater appreciation of their role in nutrition and
livelihood resilience and securing this role in
v ulnerable countries. It is also important to
recognize the efficiency and value of current
inland fisher y production as an asset that should
not be traded off lightly against competing
demands from other sectors, especially for water,
Fish: a treasure store of nutrients
Fish is an important, consistently affordable
dietar y component worldwide, albeit with large
geographic variance. It provides more than 20
| 113 |