Fisheries and aquaculture production must be sustainably maintained

2 June 2020, Rome - Fisheries and aquaculture have an enormous role in meeting the world’s food security needs, which makes assuring their sustainable development essential, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu highlighted today at a High-Level Meeting on Sustainable Ocean Business and the 2030 Agenda.

“We all have a responsibility to ensure that production is sustainably maintained,” the Director-General said at the virtual event, held ahead of the United Nations Oceans Conference that was due to start today in Portugal but has been indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Director-General joined Deputy UN Secretary General Amina Mohammed (pictured), Prime Minister Solberg of Norway, and Peter Thomson, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, and numerous UN Principals, government ministers, senior executives from the private sector, as well as representatives from academia and civil society at the event. The high-level meeting discussed several topics ranging from microplastic pollution in the ocean to the need for public-private partnerships to shoulder investments for blue growth.

The Director-General emphasized positive aspects of recent fisheries trends.

“Marine fish stocks that are subject to intensive management measures are rebuilding,” he said, alluding to findings that will be presented on 8 June when FAO launches the State of the World’s Fisheries and Aquaculture report. “Sustainability targets are being met. We should be optimistic!”

However, where fisheries management is poor, ecological sustainability of fisheries is in decline, he noted. “Good management is the best conservation for natural and marine resources,” he added.

Qu also pointed to aquaculture, which has been the world’s fastest growing food production sector for the last 50 years. While most aquaculture activities are in Asia, there is strong growth potential in many areas, notably in Africa, he said. “It is a great opportunity to reduce hunger and malnutrition.”

Innovation, public-private cooperation, proper policy frameworks, and support for investment are needed to guide the fisheries sector, the Director-General said, noting that FAO’s Hand-in-Hand Initiative is set up to provide a framework for cooperation among all key players.