FISHERIES TODAY

Fish is an essential food

All over the world, fish plays a vital role in feeding millions of people. In 1994, the average per capita availability of fish was only 13.6 kg per person per year. In some populations, the average consumption is already much higher. In countries of the Southern hemisphere, the consumption is 9 kg per person per year, a third of the developed countries' level of 27 kg per person per year.

Nonetheless, in most Asian and African countries, fish is a major food item, representing, respectively, 29 per cent and 25 per cent of the supply of animal protein in local diets. In certain landlocked African countries endowed with lakes, such as Chad, Uganda and Zaire, fish accounts for 30–40 per cent of the protein intake. Of the 40 countries scattered across the globe where fish is the principal source of protein, 39 are in the South.

As food, fish is particularly healthy and nutritious. Quite apart from its calorific value, it is a source of easily digestible, high-quality protein. Rich in amino acids, fish also contains calcium, phosphorus, iron, and vitamins A and D. It can enhance the diet of poor populations, where cereals and root vegetables or tubers comprise the staple food. As a supplement, fish thus helps prevent diseases associated with nutritional imbalances. Moreover, fish is relatively inexpensive. In Africa and Asia, fish often costs less than meat. At the fish auction in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, for instance, prices range from 130 CFA francs per kilogram for sardines to 250 CF A francs for threadfin, while prices for meat range from 250 to 1000 CFA francs (see Conserver et transformer le poisson, CTA-GRET, 1993).

Unfortunately, in the poorest countries, domestic consumption of marine produce is often hampered by the bias towards exports of fish products from South to North, as well as by the demographic growth.

Consumption levels are unequal

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that, in 1994, the global average fish consumption was 13.6 kg per person per year. But behind this figure lies a wide variation. Developed countries consume much more than so-called Third World countries – 27 kg per person per year, compared with 9 kg per person per year. The disparity is even starker if regional averages are compared. Japan, as a major fish consuming country, has a per capita fish consumption of over 70 kg per person per year, while in Iceland the per capita availability of fish is 90 kg per annum. By contrast, per capita fish consumption in Eastern Europe is very low: below 10 kg. In the South consumption figures are close to average. Consumption in South-east Asia and Latin America, at 9 kg per person per year, is only marginally higher than in sub-Saharan Africa, estimated at 7 kg per person per year.

Closer scrutiny at the national level reveals other disparities. The consumption figures for South Korea (52 kg per person per year), the Congo (35 kg per person per year) or the Philippines (34 kg per person per year) are all way above the average for the South. In the same way Iceland is way above average for countries in the North. At the other end of the scale, a resident of Guinea Bissau consumes only 3 kg per year, and in Germany or the Netherlands consumption is only 14 kg per person per year. Following the collapse of the former Soviet Union, per capita fish consumption in the Russian federation has slumped from 29 kg in 1989 to 9 kg in 1993. An important reason for this is the reduction in distant water activities.

Consumption of fish varies with a multitude of factors, such as the scale of production, price, branding and life-styles, among others. Nevertheless, the global demand for fish and marine products continues to grow steadily. This inevitably results in increased fishing effort.

The productivity of oceans varies

While the size of the oceans may give the impression of unlimited resource wealth, more than 90 per cent of the marine fish catch actually comes from only 10 per cent of the oceans – the continental shelf areas (9.9 per cent) and the upwelling zones (0.1 per cent) which tend to occur at the edge of the continental shelf.

As the marine biological cycle requires four elements – light, carbon dioxide, oxygen and nutrient salts – and since these occur in greater abundance over the continental shelf, most of the world's fishing takes place in these areas. Thus, countries which have the widest expanse of continental shelf enjoy a considerable advantage.

By contrast, the fishery productivity of the open oceans has been compared to that of deserts. This is a...