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FAO Predicts Huge Increase in Fish Farming
The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization has predicted a huge increase in the scale of fish farming throughout the world. It also predicts that world consumption of fish per person will increase to 19 or 20kg by the year 2030, which would raise the total use of fish as human food to 160 million tonnes. This means that the proportion of fish which is at present reduced to fishmeal and oil will fall from the current level of 30 million tonnes.
The FAO figures show that the annual sustainable yield of fish caught at sea will reach no more than 100 million tonnes, so it takes the view that much of the increase in consumption of fish as predicted will have to come from the farmed fish sector. This in turn is expected to lead to more concentration on trying to produce previously wild species as farmed fish, such as cod, halibut, char, tuna and turbot. Some experiments have been tried in regard to a few of these species. The detailed FAO report predicts that the development of cod farming will take place faster than that which happened when Atlantic salmon was concentrated on for aquacultural development.
Dealing with the environment problems for developing fish farming, the FAO maintains that its research indicates that there will be considerable improvement of environmental technology to reduce pollution, with a change in the locations in which some farms have been placed, so that they are moved away from the coast and positioned inland. However, offshore locations will still be used and there is even a suggestion that there could be installations submerged beneath the surface, though there is not a lot of detail given as to how this could be done. The affect of higher fish consumption by humans could mean that there would be a shortage in fish feed supplies, according to the FAO. This would place pressure on the supplies of fish oil and there could be pressure to find replacements for this and for fish feed shortfalls. (Source: Globefish) |
