Medidas de Gestao das Pescarias Marinhas e Aquicultura 2019 The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018 | Page 134

PART 2 FAO FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE IN ACTION
» The challenge of meeting consumer needs with a
annual food supply patterns. As they present
national averages, they are generally used in
policy analysis and decision-making, assessing
self-sufficiency, evaluating whether nutritional
requirements are met and projecting food
demand. For fish and fish products, they are also
useful for monitoring developments in overall
domestic fish availabilit y and supply utilization
and changes in the species consumed. They give
an indication of the role of fish in total food
supply and its share in animal and overall
proteins. They are also a powerful instrument for
verif ying and cross-checking the qualit y of the
data collected, linking production to use. FAO
continuously adapts and improves the calculation
methodolog y and conversion factors. Recent
efforts have been made to ensure that fisher y
data from the Food Balance Sheets are available
to users on a wider range of platforms. In using
the data, it is important to consider that they only
show the food available for human consumption,
but not the amount effectively eaten or any waste
along the supply chain (which can only be
monitored through other means such as
household or individual consumption sur veys).
sustainable supply of aquatic foods persists, and
fisheries management and environmental
protection are important in this regard. In the
future, aquaculture and aquaponics may play a
greater role in coping with the increased demand
of a growing world population. Traditional forms
of aquaculture (such as rice–fish production) can
have positive outcomes including income
diversification, improved food securit y and
nutrition and environmental benefits (reduced
pesticide use). Emphasizing those species most
beneficial to target populations can strengthen
the opportunities for policies and programmes to
improve food securit y and nutrition outcomes.
The SSF Guidelines (FAO, 2015a), endorsed by
COFI in 2014, have the principal objective of
enhancing the contribution of small-scale fisheries
to global food security and nutrition and to the
progressive realization of the right to adequate
food. The 2017 Conference of FAO in Rome (FAO,
2017p) recommended the development of policy
and field programmes to promote investment by
countries in nutrition-focused fish and
aquaculture value-chain development.
The FAO/INFOODS Global Food Composition
Database for Fish and Shellfish (uFiSH) (FAO,
2016h) includes a complete nutrient profile
(minerals, vitamins, amino acids and fatty acids)
for 78 species in raw, cooked and processed forms.
The data were extracted from 2 630 food records
from 250 data sources and compiled following
international FAO/INFOODS (International
Network of Food Data Systems) standards. The
uFiSh database is relevant for examining the
importance of aquatic foods in food security and
nutrition at a range of geographic scales. It can be
used to compare nutrient composition, to estimate
nutrient share of fish in agricultural production and
diets, and to identify appropriate species and
products for production and healthy diets. In short,
uFiSh is an excellent tool for well-targeted
programme and policy design and implementation.
For example, it has been used in the forthcoming
updates of the Kenyan and West African food
composition tables to help decision-makers
promote programmes and policies for improving
nutrition in their countries by producing more
nutritious fish and fish products. The uFiSh
database can be downloaded free of charge in Excel
format with documentation (www.fao.org/infoods/
Data-driven support for food security and
nutrition policy
Quantitative information on the role of fisheries
(notably small-scale fisheries) and aquaculture
in food securit y and nutrient supplies is
generally lacking. When available, such
information tends to be scattered, which leads to
its underutilization and sometimes misuse. Fish
has thus been largely absent in the development
of food-based approaches for greater food
securit y and nutrition. FAO therefore has an
important role in coordinating existing databases
on the nutritional composition of fish and fish
products and in addressing information gaps and
research needs related to their contribution to
improved nutrition.
An increasing number of data sources support
indicator development in the sector, covering
parameters ranging from fish supply to nutrient
composition and food access.
The FAO Food Balance Sheets (available at w w w.
fao.org/faostat/en/#data/FBS) present countries’
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