Participants at the Global Fishery Forum held recently in St. Petersburg, Russia on 14-15 September , 2017 ©FAO

At the Global Fishery Forum held recently in St.Petersburg, Russia, food loss and waste in Russia’s fisheries and aquaculture sectors were discussed by experts. During a forum organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) entitled “Fight waste and losses in fisheries and aquaculture: practice and approaches”, participants highlighted the need for greater awareness raising of the scale and acuteness of the loss and waste problem affecting the fisheries and aquaculture sector in Russia. As a first step, they called for deeper engagement with Russian policy-makers, industry executives, the media and the public at large. They also recommended that the Russian Government develop a comprehensive strategy on the reduction and elimination of loss and waste in fisheries and aquaculture -- in line with the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development.

A key recommendation of the forum was the need to assign direct responsibility for curbing FLW in fisheries and aquaculture to a state agency. The participants further encouraged, on preliminary terms, the convening of an international forum in 2018 explicitly devoted to FLW for the sector.

“Fish are lost along the whole value chain – in fisheries, post catch, processing, distribution, and consumption. This is a threat for sustainable development of fishery and aquaculture, and it could jeopardise the future of global food and nutrition security,” said Eugenia Serova, Director of FAO’s Liaison Office for Russia during her opening remarks.

FAO, in 2012, estimated that the losses and waste for in the whole fisheries sector amounted to 35 percent of global landings with 9-15% of these losses linked to fish discarded at sea. These high levels of losses result in consumers forfeiting high-quality protein and micronutrients. Fisheries strategists across the world are engaged in optimising the use of rest-raw materials, commonly known as “by-products”, to increase direct human consumption of fishery products.

FAO is committed to reducing FLW in fisheries and aquaculture and provides training on fisheries processing for small-scale fisherfolk and processors. The FAO-Thiaroye processing technique which involves smoking and drying fish, has been promoted by FAO and partners in West and Central Africa, resulting in reduced losses and increased processing efficiency and sanitation.