Posted June 1996
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Aquatic animal organisms, chiefly finfish, mollusks and crustaceans, represent an important food source on our planet. They serve to complement the food and feed supply made available largely by land-based agriculture. They enrich the diet with animal protein and essential fatty acids. The fisheries sector provides employment and income for people. A measure of international consensus on control over capture of the biological species in water is of relatively recent origin and there is as yet no widely accepted global strategy for safeguarding these resources, although some guidelines were given by the 1984 World Conference on Fisheries Management and Development. Fishery and fishing continue to be viewed as acquiring property by the act of capture.
The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982) has sought to ensure the right of coastal developing countries to share to a larger extent than in the past in the exploitation of marine resources. The Convention also stipulates responsibilities of coastal states, including measures to protect and preserve the marine environment, to conserve the living resources, and to prevent over-exploitation. The Convention should strengthen interest in the conservation of biological diversity and in the sustainable exploitation of the resources in the waters, and thus stimulate needed institutional change and greater application of science and technology.
Fishery resources are harvested chiefly by capture and the catch is reported as landings (discards remain unreported). During the period 1950-1988, annual world landings from marine waters (six-seventh) and inland waters (one-seventh) rose from below 22 million to above 98 million metric tons. Aquaculture, both freshwater and marine, is estimated to have contributed more than 11 million additional tons in 1988. Aquatic plant organisms underpin the food chain and some are also harvested (almost 3 million tons of seaweed in 1986).
Expansion of international trade in fishery products has paralleled the growth in world production. The quantity traded has grown from 4.5 million tons in 1960 to nearly 14 million tons in 1986. In 1987, developing countries accounted for almost 45 percent of total exports compared with about 30 percent ten years earlier, increasing their foreign exchange earnings from the fisheries trade from US$1.8 billion to US$5 billion. One factor which contributed to this increase was the adoption of the Law of the Sea, establishing national jurisdiction for up to 200 miles from the seacoast. Catches taken by long-range fleets have declined from 12 percent of the total catch in 1978 to 8.7 percent in 1986. The reasons for this decline are many and interactive, and are likely to include replacement of non-local fleets by national ones.
The world annual demand for fish as food could well exceed 80 million tons by the year 2000. Demand for other uses, mainly as feed resources, has been steady at between 20 and 25 million tons a year. However, worldwide, most fishery resources of commercial value are already heavily or over exploited, with serious ecological repercussions for fish populations, and economic, social and nutritional consequences for fishing communities and consumers of fishery products alike. Modern technology in developed countries has done much to enable fish to be harvested with a relatively small fleet of well-equipped vessels to the limits of their sustainable yields and often beyond those limits. Further research on the level of exploitation which a fish resource can support and on methods for its assessment and management on a continuing basis are urgently needed for rational harvesting.
In developing countries much still remains to be done to improve management institutions and fisheries infrastructures, and there is need for better boats, better equipment, better targeting of the catch. Better facilities are required for all post-harvest activities: landing, handling, storage, packaging, marketing and distribution. The present state of fishing and postharvest technology limits the keeping quality and indeed the range of fishery products that can be placed on the market.
A 100 million ton limit for total catch from conventional marine resources was estimated by FAO in 1970 and has not been revised upward. Recorded catches from inland (freshwater and diadromous) fisheries have been static at 5-6 million tons. In future, expansion of supply, especially of specific fishery products, will have to come increasingly through fish farming. Less conventional resources (krill, mesopelagic and oceanic cephalopods) are also available for exploitation but will require solution of processing and marketing problems as well as assessment of sustainability of exploitation.
Pollution by potentially harmful substances, including pesticides, may lead to such substances entering food chains leading up to man. It may also affect the survival of juvenile finfish and shrimp in coastal nursery areas. Contamination of fish and fishery products with heavy metals such as mercury, or with pathogenic micro-organisms, may render the catch unfit for human consumption or even as animal feed. Various forms of degradation result from eutrophication of freshwater bodies, from destruction of nurseries because of land reclamation or by trawling, from deforestation of mangrove fish habitats, and from modification of freshwater drainage.
The proper management of fishery resources requires a multidisciplinary approach calling on a wide range of scientific and technical knowledge. More research is needed into the biological characteristics of fishery resources, into the economic, social and cultural characteristics of the users of fishery technologies and resources and into the structure and organization of institutions and the legal tools required for implementing effective management regimes. Proper management will include measures such as licensing, catch quotas, closed areas and seasons, standards for fishing gear and nets, etc. Good management seeks to control the fishing activity, but political aspects may enter to complicate the scene. For example, the introduction of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea has brought into the spotlight issues relating to fish stocks which move from one "exclusive economic zone" to another.
Another major problem concerns the separation and disposition of landed by-catch. A high proportion of this (global estimates put it at between 5-16 million tons) may consist of edible species. In many situations, landed by-catch is used as feed, for example for growing higher value species by aquaculture, but it is frequently discarded for lack of suitable technology and marketing arrangements which would make separation worthwhile. An effective way to reduce losses from this source would be to avoid taking non-targeted species in the catch at sea.
Many of the small pelagic species in developing countries could become sources for direct human consumption if suitable facilities and additional knowledge were available. Lack of control of oxidation and microbial contamination prevent the use of these species more widely as food or food ingredients. They are currently used largely as raw material for fishmeal and fish oil production.
It is likely that demand will become increasingly stratified. The preferred species of finfish, crustaceans and molluscs are high-value items and therefore often exported to developed countries. The range of processed products for local use and for export will come increasingly from previously underutilized resources. These will also serve to manufacture products from isolated fish protein, often involving the use of technological processes which upgrade lower-cost raw material to give products which simulate high-cost articles. New science-based technologies will be needed.
In some cases, national debt and shortage of foreign exchange tend to move resources into priority areas other than fishery development. In other cases, a compelling need for foreign exchange may lead to development of export-oriented fisheries and to overfishing. However, even in these cases, trade barriers, both tariff and non-tariff such as labeling and quality standards, limit the earning capacity of nations through exports. Domestically, support for development of fishing boats, gear and equipment, and of facilities for landing, distribution and markets is often inadequate. Knowledge and skill of people working in management and operations need to be improved for many reasons, including containment of costs to promote increased local consumption. In short, in many countries the contribution of the fisheries sector to development could be vastly increased if constraints of an economic as well as a social nature were removed and the sector accorded high priority for a claim on public resources for development.
Science and technology have already been widely used in the location and assessment of resources. Special large research vessels carrying sophisticated apparatus and equipment are used to assess of fish stocks in deep water. These vessels cannot operate in inshore waters (less than 20m deep). Methods successful on the high seas cannot be used directly in the shallow waters because of upwelling, turbidity or reflection, stronger effect of insolation, etc. Yet inshore waters with their good supply of nutrients are preferred habitats for many species. Here is a gap in knowledge awaiting urgent attention by researchers to adapt or create workable methods of stock assessment.
Satellite and other remote sensing data are now used to locate areas of chlorophyll presence and surface temperature differences to determine phytoplankton abundance and regions of upwelling or hydrological fronts where fish are likely to be. The real-time recording of water temperature and estimates by satellite of level of primary production assist in locating concentrations of tuna. Satellite imagery is also used to update maps and charts of coral reefs, atolls, oceanic islands and coastal areas, but the information obtained by remote sensing must be checked at sea level. Research is needed to transform this data into information related to stocks, information that can be made available to and used by fisheries in developing countries.
Enhancing the marine environment may be one way of maintaining and perhaps increasing ocean fish stocks while controlling fishing efforts on traditional fishing grounds. This can be done by constructing artificial reefs and restoring fish habitats, re-planting mangroves, raising and releasing seed fish and controlling pollution. Research in these areas is particularly challenging. For example, improvement of coastal environments calls for a better understanding than is now available of the dynamics of near-shore currents. To replenish fish stocks effectively through release of seed fish (expensive to produce) precise data are needed on size and age at which release should take place to ensure proper dispersion and minimum predation. Further research is also needed to determine the optimum designs and materials for underwater constructions to attract and increase fish populations and to evaluate their economic efficiency.
In fishing technology steps have been taken to improve or replace traditional boat design and sail-assisted craft. Synthetic materials have improved fishing gear and fishing boat hulls. Fish-finding sonar, if available, can be used to map fish schools and estimate their size. Side-scan sonar can outline bottom profiles and conditions to avoid disrupting shellfish beds, but it is expensive. By-catch exclusion devices can improve gear selectivity, especially in shrimp trawls.
An important set of technological innovations in industrial fishing has been the introduction of synthetic fibre nets, improved hydraulics for net hauling, and sea-going processing and freezing facilities. Together with both shipboard and remote sensing systems these innovations have resulted in dramatic increases in fish catch, have expanded the versatility and operational range of fishing craft and have enabled the world's fleets to diversify to previously inaccessible stocks.
Many technological changes have come about to comply with international conventions and standards with regard both to harvesting and postharvest technology. With the creation of "exclusive economic zones" coastal countries are adapting the technology to local needs and capacity. Science-based technologies for processing and preservation of fishery products are applied increasingly in developing countries. There are well-known materials and techniques for smoking which result in good quality products and economize on firewood. Other technologies under development are salting at lower levels of salt than are currently used, and faster fermentation of traditional fish sauces. Preservation by heat or radiation sterilization is capital-intensive but is coming into use in some developing countries. New flexible containers for "canning" promise to reduce costs of preservation by heat treatment.
However, most of these processing improvements cannot be effectively introduced without on-site research and development supported by adequate training programmes and extension services. These are also clearly needed to meet quality standards for local consumption and for export. Failure to meet the statutory standards required by importing countries has resulted in large economic losses.
Guidance for FAO's work in the fisheries sector comes from its Committee on Fisheries. This Committee maintains the Organization's special role as an independent forum for intergovernmental discussions and for arriving at harmonized recommendations. In fisheries research, the Advisory Committee of Experts on Marine Resources Research and the Standing Committee on Resources Research and Development of the Indo-Pacific Fisheries Commission advise FAO on stock assessment by the use of acoustic, remote sensing and more cost-effective statistical methods, on the management of multispecies fisheries and mangrove ecosystems, and on many other topics including aquaculture.
Fisheries development is stimulated and coordinated through the following nine FAO regional fishery bodies, which also advise FAO on work related to their mandates:
The last three bodies in the above list cover inland fisheries. For instance, EIFAC has a cooperative lakes programme which has coordinated international research into the comparability of different methods for sampling fish stocks.
FAO's advice on fisheries resources identification and management makes use increasingly of the newly developed Geographic Information System. This tool is now also used in regional planning. It has been adapted to help in preparing maps pinpointing those areas likely to be suitable particularly for inland and coastal fisheries or for specific kinds of aquaculture. It will be developed further to help in managing coastal and high seas fisheries and to forecast effects of climate change on fisheries resources, often under fisheries policies and plans prepared based on the advice of multidisciplinary missions fielded by FAO.
FAO has also pioneered the application of generalized ecological models to lake and reservoir fisheries. These tools have become important in planning for fisheries development in inland waters of the tropics of all continents. The synthesis of information on large rivers, available to FAO, has laid a theoretical basis for understanding the functioning of such systems and has helped to promote worldwide collaboration in river fisheries research.
Other support activities related to fisheries resources include the location and extent of stocks, the study of their resilience under exploitation and the effect of pollution. The biology of individual species has also been studied. These activities often call for analyzing different methods used in fishery forecasting and for making periodic estimates on a regional basis of the state of fish stocks in inland and marine waters. For better assessment and exploitation of fish stocks in deeper water in exclusive economic zones, FAO in cooperation with the Government of Norway has carried out a series of acoustic and oceanographic surveys and experimental fishing trials using the fisheries research vessel "Dr Fridtjof Nansen".
Research on better fishing technologies promoted by FAO has led to the introduction of appropriate new types of vessels, fishing gear and energy-saving means of boat propulsion. FAO collaborates with research institutions and industry in investigations on the strength of materials for hull construction, on vibration and underwater sound and on use of light for attracting fish.The FAO-implemented project for development of small-scale fisheries in the Bay of Bengal illustrates this collaboration. Over more than a decade, this project has brought to bear technical advances which increase production, such as beach landing craft and improved fishing gear, supporting their use with social advances such as credit schemes (particularly for women), and with non-formal education or training.
The ongoing programme of research into the microbiology of wild and cultured shrimp illustrates FAO's activities to improve aquatic resources, processing technology and marketing. Many developing countries earn substantial foreign exchange from shrimp exports. Poor sanitary quality of the product may lead to rejection by importing countries and poor general quality to a reduction in the price paid. The FAO programme seeks to encourage processing using good practices which result in safe and high-quality products.
Some 35 African countries participate in an FAO programme of applied research on fish utilization, mainly at artisanal levels. Work has been done on locally constructed smoking ovens that are more fuel efficient and on insulated storage containers that retard the melting of ice.
Past FAO field projects focusing on resources surveys had strong institution-building elements often credited with leading to the establishment and growth of the developing world's major fisheries research institutions. Thus surveys in South and Central America, in the Mediterranean and in West Africa led to a series of relatively small projects which subsequently grew into institutions able to support the scientific development of national fisheries activities.
Setting up and supporting networks for collaborative research is an important FAO activity as part of needed strengthening of fisheries research institutions. Collaboration provides an opportunity for researchers to meet and for young scientists and technologists to present their work for publication. The evolution of NACA, the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia and the Pacific, is a good illustration of FAO-supported institution building for research and development.
The long-term aim of the fisheries training programme is to guide developing countries towards self-reliance in the management and development of their marine and inland fisheries and of the related industries. Since 1980 FAO has organized more than 500 courses, workshops and seminars attended by over 16 000 participants. About one in eight of the participants trained was a woman. Training of women was concentrated on on-shore activities. A recent FAO publication which offers guidelines on promoting greater participation of "Women in fishing communities" in development projects should lead to the training of more women in developing countries.
FAO also uses training to extend new knowledge in fisheries development planning; fisheries modeling and management techniques; fisheries economics and socio-economics; and many other technical areas.
Special emphasis is given to the availability of information, to libraries and especially to scientists located far away from libraries. Fisheries publications cover a very wide range. Among those with strong science and technology components are specialized computer software for species identification, manuals and papers on stock assessment, on mapping and remote sensing, on constraints to and predicting growth of aquaculture, and on maintenance of fresh fish quality.
An Aquatic Science and Fisheries Information System (ASFIS) has been created with the cooperation of other international and technical agencies to serve as a global clearing house and to enhance the exchange of fisheries information. One component is the "Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts", accessible by computer and available on compact laser disk, published 11 times a year in cooperation with Unesco, the UN and a network of national centre. More than 300 000 abstracts have now been published. The "Yearbook of Fishery Statistics" is a highly regarded reference document. Contents tables of relevant journals are also disseminated.
FAO's system of International Fish Market indicators, GLOBEFISH, deals specifically with market research for fish and fishery products and highlights recent developments and the short-term outlook for key fishery commodities. One output is the European Fish Price Report. Through a network of regional fish marketing information and technical advisory services in developing countries, FAO gives up-to-date information on market and price trends on internationally traded fishery commodities.
 
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