1 Contributions of fisheries and aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region

Since the last APFIC publication on "Status and potential of fisheries and aquaculture in Asia and the Pacific" in 2004, capture fisheries have seen a small increase in terms of production while aquaculture has continued to grow at a rapid rate. Both capture fisheries and aquaculture sectors continue to be of fundamental importance to the Asia-Pacific region in terms of food security, revenue generation and employment. In many of the countries, catching or farming aquatic resources forms a vital part of rural people's livelihoods. Fisheries and aquaculture also have a deep cultural significance and are more than just a source of income or food supply; traditional fishery products such as fish sauce and fish-based condiments have always been important ingredients of people's daily diet which are not easily substituted. All sizes and types of fish are utilised in a wide variety of ways and there is very little discard or wastage. The role that fish play in both the food security and nutritional security of many rural and coastal populations has often been underestimated in the past. It is also now recognised that fisheries and aquaculture are an important contributor to the national economies for some APFIC member countries, especially in the Asian region. Fish products are also the most heavily traded natural food commodity in the world and trade issues involving fish are becoming increasingly important.

1.1 Contribution to national economies

Although not recognised as a major contributor to GDP in many countries, fisheries and aquaculture production is an important contributor to some national economies across the Asia-Pacific region.

Estimates of the capture production value¹ indicate that the contribution of capture fisheries to GDP accounts for more than one percent in many States in the region (Table 1). The fisheries sector plays a critical role in the national economies of Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The economic contribution of fisheries production tends to be less in Southeast and South Asian States, yet there are still eight of these States to which fisheries contribute more than one percent of GDP. It is also worth noting that these figures for fisheries value are probably underestimated and do not adequately value the artisanal part of the sector. Overall, it is clear that more policy attention should be paid to this important production sector.

Aquaculture also makes an important contribution to GDP in the Asian region and it is increasing. In Asian States, the production accounts for over one percent of GDP in six States. Statistics related to export income from aquaculture products are not generally available and this affects the estimation of the contribution to foreign currency earnings through exports of aquaculture products.

Table 1
Contribution of capture fisheries and aquaculture to GDP (2004)

It is clear that the State listings above also closely match those States which export considerable amounts of aquaculture products (particularly shrimp). China PR is an exception in this case since the majority of aquaculture products it produces are consumed domestically, although there is an increasing trend towards export focussed products.

It should be noted that besides making a considerable contribution to the national economies in terms of earnings from export of products from fisheries and aquaculture, these figures often mask the real importance to the national economy in terms of poverty alleviation and nutritional benefits.

Employment, income and trade

Very little information on employment in fisheries and aquaculture exists in the Asia-Pacific region and only a few States report the number of fishers and fish farmers. Despite this, there are clear indications that fisheries and aquaculture play a substantial role in providing vital income generation opportunities to the people. For example, China, the country with the highest number of fishers and fish farmers, had an estimated 12.2 million engaged in fisheries and aquaculture production in 2004, accounting for about 30 percent of the world's total. In India, 7.9 million of male and 2.7 million of female workers were directly engaged in fishing and fish farming. In the Philippines the fisheries sector provides direct and indirect employment to over one million people, or about 12 percent of the agriculture, fishery and forestry sector workforce³and in Viet Nam more than 1 million people are employed in the aquaculture industry.⁴

FAO (2004)⁵ estimated that Asia accounted for 87 percent of the total global number of persons engaged in fisheries and aquaculture production (total 38 million). [new figures will be published in FAO (in press)⁶] . These figures typically represent full time fishers and those for whom fishing is a highly significant activity as well as full time aquaculture farmers. The figures for people involved in fisheries seasonally or as a supplemental part of a more diverse livelihood are difficult to estimate and are often not recorded. Figures, therefore, represent lower thresholds.

However, although the number of people employed in fisheries and particularly in aquaculture has increased in several countries in the region, the number in developed countries such as Japan has declined (a decline of over 50 percent between 1970 and 2004).

In addition to those people involved directly in the primary production sector, it should be noted that there are a number of people who are engaged in the supporting industries of fisheries and aquaculture such as boat building, ice making, feed manufacturing, processing, marketing and distribution of fisheries and aquaculture products. As demand outstrips supply, the price of fish is increasing worldwide and fish is becoming a "cash crop". In many cases, the more marketable fish are being sold to provide income that is used to purchase other more affordable food items. Fisheries and aquaculture therefore both act to secure nutritious food for rural and coastal populations and to alleviate poverty. This is discussed in detail in section 1.2.

Fish products are highly traded commodities in the Asia-Pacific region bringing valuable foreign exchange earnings to exporting States. In fact, fish products are the most highly traded natural commodity globally and trade is increasing. Total world trade reached a record value of US$71.5 billion (export value) in 2004. This was a 23 percent increase relative to 2000.

The five top global markets for fish are Japan, USA, and the EU counties of Spain, France and Italy. In terms of exports, two APFIC countries are in the top five (Table 2).

China PR has been the top exporter in the region since 1999, exports reaching US$6.8 billion in 2004. Thailand is the second largest exporter, followed by Viet Nam exporting US$4.1 billion and US$2.4 billion tonnes respectively in 2004 (Table 3). Within the region Japan is main market and is followed by China PR, Korea RO and China, Hong Kong SAR. China and Thailand top the exporters list.

Exports totalled US$22.2 billion, while imports totalled US$26.0 billion within the top ten States in region. Many of the countries, especially China, now import large quantities of fish meal to fuel its aquaculture growth.

Many developing countries have now become net exporters of fish, rather than net importers, a trend most evident in the Southeast Asia region. fig. 1 shows the difference between the imports and exports for the top trading countries in the region. The quantity of imported fisheries products in China PR exceeded that of exported products in 2004; however, China PR achieved a remarkable trade surplus of US$3.6 billion from fisheries products, which is an increase of US$1.2 billion from 2002, indicative of the strong value adding that occurred in the process.

Trade for fish is particularly important in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) where land-based resources are very limited - the contribution of fisheries products can be as high was as high as 80 percent of total exported commodities of the State. Other countries with a trade surplus of this size are the big net exporters such as Indonesia, Thailand and Viet Nam.

1.2 Contribution to poverty alleviation and food security

Importance of the fisheries sector in poverty alleviation

Although rapid economic growth in the region, especially in India and China, has lifted a large number of people out of poverty, almost 690 million people still live on less than US$1 a day in Asia-Pacific. Almost all analyses on poverty alleviation conclude that economic growth by itself will not be sufficient to alleviate poverty and reduce food insecurity unless targeted pro-poor interventions are also applied. FAO⁷ has just published another in its series of Technical Guidelines to support the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries that outlines how the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security can be increased. It advocates a vision in which small-scale fisheries potential to contribute to sustainable development is fully realised. It recommends greater emphasis on legislation and policy to support the poor and advocates (i) better management that includes managing small-scale fisheries; (ii) making markets work for the poor; (iii) financing poverty alleviation; and (iv) appropriate information, research and communication.

Importance of fish in human nutrition

The fact that fish is of high nutritional value is well known. Less well-known is the significant contribution that it makes to the diet of many fish-consuming communities in both the developed and developing world.

Fish provides high quality protein and a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A and D, phosphorus, magnesium, selenium, and iodine, especially in marine fish. Fish is also a valuable source of essential fatty acids and its protein is easily digestible.

Even in small quantities, fish can have a significant positive impact on improving the quality of dietary protein intake by complementing the essential amino acids that are often present in low quantities in the rice-and-vegetable diets typical of many developing States. In particular, fish is a rich source of lysine which is an essential amino acid that is often deficient in rice diets with little animal protein.

Recent research shows that fish is much more than just an alternative source of animal protein. Fish oils in fatty fish are the richest source of a type of fat that is vital for brain development in unborn babies and infants. This makes all fish and especially fatty fish, such as tuna, mackerel and sardine, particularly good components of the diet of pregnant and lactating women. It is therefore apparent that fish makes a valuable contribution to the nutritional quality of the diets of the populations of many developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Table 2
Top five trading States in 2004 (World)

Table 3
Top ten seafood trading States in 2004 (APFIC region)

Figure 1
Net exporters (red bars) and net importers (green bars) in the APFIC region. Values are millions of US$

¹ The data to quantify the value of capture production is not readily available for many States. As indicative figures, unit value of 0.8 US$ per kg was applied for this estimation of capture production value.

² GDP values in 2003 calculated from the ESCAP official statistics except Taiwan POC.

³ Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources of the Philippines
http://www.bfar.da.gov.ph/programs/gma_fisprogrm/fish_ sector.htm

⁴ MOFI 2006.

⁵ FAO SOFIA FAO Rome 2004.

⁶FAO SOFIA FAO Rome (in press).

⁷ FAO, 2005. Increasing the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security. FAO Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries 10.