Medidas de Gestao das Pescarias Marinhas e Aquicultura 2019 The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018 | Page 85
THE STATE OF WORLD FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE 2018
» 2017, fishmeal and fish oil prices followed a
Fish and fish products have a crucial role in
nutrition and global food securit y, as they
represent a valuable source of nutrients and
micronutrients of fundamental importance for
diversified and healthy diets (see “Fish for food
securit y and human nutrition” in Part 2). Public
awareness of these health benefits has been
growing in recent years, amid a broader trend of
increasing health consciousness among
consumers, particularly in middle-income and
developed markets. In lower-income countries,
the importance of fish as a food group is
enhanced by the fact that fish contains many of
the vitamins and minerals required to address
some of the most severe and widespread
nutritional deficiencies. For pregnant women and
ver y young children in particular, fish can be an
essential component of a nutritious diet, as it
contributes to neurodevelopment during the most
crucial stages of an unborn or young child’s
growth. In addition, there is evidence of
beneficial effects of fish consumption in mental
health and prevention of cardiovascular diseases,
stroke and age-related macular degeneration. In
low-income populations that depend heavily on a
narrow range of calorie-dense staple foods, fish
can represent a much-needed means of
nutritional diversification that is relatively cheap
and locally available. While average per capita
fish consumption may be low, even small
quantities of fish can provide essential amino
acids, fats and micronutrients, such as iron,
iodine, vitamin D and calcium, which are often
lacking in vegetable-based diets. Experts agree
that the positive effects of high fish consumption
largely outweigh the potential negative effects
associated with contamination or other safet y
risks (FAO and W HO, 2011).
downward trend (Figures 27 and 28) owing to the
normalization of climatic conditions in South
America following El Niño as well as good
catches in European small pelagic fisheries
supplying raw material, but they later rebounded.
Because of the steady and growing demand, long-
term fishmeal and fish oil prices are expected to
increase again. In the past two years Peru
continued to be the leading world producer and
exporter of fishmeal and fish oil. China has
consistently been the main consumption market
for fishmeal and Norway for fish oil, primarily for
their impressive aquaculture industries. n
FISH CONSUMPTION
The significant growth in fisheries and aquaculture
production since the middle of the twentieth
century, and especially in the past two decades, has
enhanced the world’s capacity to consume diverse
and nutritious food. Since 1961, the average annual
increase in global apparent food fish consumption 8
(3.2 percent) has outpaced population growth (1.6
percent) and exceeded consumption of meat from
all terrestrial animals, combined (2.8 percent) and
individually (bovine, ovine, pig, other), except
poultry (4.9 percent). In per capita terms, food fish
consumption has grown from 9.0 kg in 1961 to
20.2 kg in 2015, at an average rate of about 1.5
percent per year. Preliminary estimates for 2016
and 2017 point to further growth to about 20.3 and
20.5 kg, respectively. The expansion in
consumption has been driven not only by increased
production, but also by a combination of many
other factors, including reduced wastage, better
utilization, improved distribution channels and
growing demand, linked with population growth,
rising incomes and urbanization.
Globally, fish and fish products provide an
average of only about 34 calories per capita per
day. However, their daily contribution can exceed
130 calories per capita in countries where
alternative protein foods are lacking and where a
preference for fish has developed and endured
(e.g. Iceland, Japan, Norway, the Republic of
Korea and several small island States). More than
as an energ y source, the dietar y contribution of
fish is significant in terms of high-qualit y, easily
digested animal proteins. A portion of 150 g of
fish provides about 50 to 60 percent of an adult ’s
daily protein requirement. Fish proteins are
8 All consumption statistics reported in this section refer to apparent
consumption derived from FAO Food Balance Sheets as per March
2018 (FAO, 2018d). Consumption data for 2015 should be considered
preliminary. The Food Balance Sheets refer to “average food available
for consumption” (or apparent consumption), which, for a number of
reasons (e.g. waste and losses), is likely to be higher than average food
intake or average actual food consumption. Apparent consumption is
calculated as production (capture fisheries and aquaculture) minus non-
food uses (including amount used for reduction into fishmeal and fish
oil), minus fish exports, plus fish imports, plus or minus stocks. All
calculations are expressed in live weight equivalent. Records of
production from subsistence and recreational fisheries, as well as cross-
border trade between some developing countries, may be incomplete,
which may lead to underestimation of consumption.
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