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In conjunction with increasing demand for fish and fish products the output of the fisheries industry world-wide has continued to increase steadily since the 1950s. In 1999, the total production of finfish, shellfish and aquatic plants from capture fisheries and aquaculture combined, reached 126.2 million metric tons (MMT). Of this total, aquaculture accounted for 33.3 million metric tons and capture production 92.9. (FAO 1999)
The latest figures provided by FAO show that, among the major marine fish stocks or groups of stocks for information is available, about 47 to 50 percent of stocks are fully exploited and are, therefore, producing catches that have either reached or are very close to their maximum limits. Another 15 to 18 percent are overexploited and evidently have no potential for further increase.
It is widely acknowledged in the fisheries industry that supplies from traditional marine and inland capture fisheries are unlikely to increase substantially and that the projected global shortfall in fish supply will probably be met from expansion within the aquaculture sector. “For two decades following 1950, world marine and inland capture fisheries production increased on average by as much as six percent per year tripling from 18 million metric tons in 1950 to 56 million metric tons in 1969. During the 1970s and 1980s, the average rate of increase declined to two percent per year, falling to almost zero in the 1990s. This leveling off of the total catch follows the general trend of most of the world’s fishing areas, which have apparently reached their maximum potential for capture fisheries production, with the majority of stocks being fully exploited. It is therefore very unlikely that substantial increases in total catch will be obtained. In contrast, growth in aquaculture production has shown the opposite tendency. Starting from an insignificant total production, inland and marine aquaculture production grew by about five percent per year between 1950 and 1969 and by about eight percent per year during the 1970s and 1980s, and it has increased further to 10 percent per year since 1990” (FAO, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, 2000).
The lower the output from the capture fisheries sector, the greater the opportunity for growth in the aquaculture industry. Since the 1980s, aquaculture has steadily increased its contribution to world fisheries production and maintained its position as one of the fastest-growing food production activities in the world (World Aquaculture, New, Michael B., “Aquaculture and the Fisheries - balancing the scales.” [June 1997]).
The aquaculture industry could supply up to 35 MMT of fish food products by the year 2010 (World Aquaculture, New, Michael B., “Aquaculture and the Fisheries - balancing the scales.” [June 1997]). There are, however, two potential constraints, which hinder the future growth of aquaculture, (i) environmental degradation and (ii), the availability of land and water. The first constraint typically arises from external sources, although environmental degradation is sometimes the result of mismanagement. The second constraint stems from competition with other land and water uses, particularly in agriculture, and from urban encroachment into coastal zones. The unavailability of suitable sites for aquaculture projects may eventually limit industry growth (FAO Circular No. 886, Revision 1, “Review of the State of World Aquaculture,” [Rome 1997]).
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