FAO Report: Global fisheries and aquaculture production reaches a new record high, untapped potential remains in Africa

7 June 2024, Accra/Rome/San José – World fisheries and aquaculture production has hit a new high, with aquaculture production of aquatic animals surpassing capture fisheries for the first time, according to a new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released today. 

The 2024 edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) said global fisheries and aquaculture production in 2022 surged to 223.2 million tonnes, a 4.4 percent increase from the year 2020. Production comprised 185.4 million tonnes of aquatic animals and 37.8 million tonnes of algae.

Africa accounted for 13.1 million tonnes of fisheries and aquaculture production, 6 percent of the world total.

“FAO welcomes the significant achievements thus far, but further transformative and adaptive actions are needed to strengthen the efficiency, inclusiveness, resilience, and sustainability of aquatic food systems and consolidate their role in addressing food insecurity, poverty alleviation, and sustainable governance,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu. “That’s why FAO advocates Blue Transformation, to meet the overall requirements of better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind.”

Global aquaculture produces record amount but untapped potential remains in Africa

In 2022, for the first time in history, aquaculture surpassed capture fisheries as the main producer of aquatic animals. Global aquaculture production reached an unprecedented 130.9 million tonnes, of which 94.4 million tonnes are aquatic animals, 51 percent of total aquatic animal production. 

Africa produced 2.5 million tonnes of aquatic animals and algae, around 1.9 percent of world total aquaculture production. The region is far behind Asia (91.4 percent), Latin America and the Caribbean (3.3 percent), and Europe (2.7 percent) in its share of the world production. However, the aquaculture sector in Africa has grown by 455 percent since 2000, the highest growth rate in the world, demonstrating growing interest in this industry.

Aquaculture growth indicates its capacity to further contribute to meeting the rising global demand for aquatic foods, but future expansion and intensification must prioritise sustainability and benefit regions and communities most in need. 

At present, a small number of countries dominate global aquaculture. Ten of them – China, Indonesia, India, Viet Nam, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Norway, Egypt, and Chile – produced over 89.8 percent of the total. In Africa, Egypt accounts for 62 percent of regional aquaculture production, with Nigeria a distant second with around 10 percent.  Many low-income countries in Africa are not using their full potential. Targeted policies, technology transfer, capacity building and responsible investment are crucial to boost sustainable aquaculture where it is most needed, especially in Africa.

Consumption of aquatic foods rises again but the region lags behind world's average

Record production of aquatic foods underlines the sector’s potential in tackling food insecurity and malnutrition. Global apparent consumption of aquatic animal foods reached 162.5 million tonnes in 2021. This figure has increased at nearly twice the rate of the world population since 1961, with global per capita annual consumption rising from 9.1 kg in 1961 to 20.7 kg in 2022. 

In Africa, apparent food consumption of aquatic animals was 13.1 million tonnes, reflecting a per capita consumption of 9.4 kg. While there is wide variability across countries, and despite high consumption of aquatic foods in several countries, the regional average is the lowest in the world. 

Even with low per capita consumption, aquatic animal foods supplied significant percentages of nutrients and 18% of animal proteins in Africa, a figure above the world average that demonstrates the key role of aquatic foods in food security and nutrition in the region.

Supporting further consumption from sustainable sources is crucial to foster healthy diets and improve nutrition worldwide. Aquatic animal foods provide high-quality proteins – 15 percent of animal proteins and 6 percent of total proteins worldwide – and key nutrients including omega-3 fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins. In 2021, they contributed at least 20 percent of the per capita protein supply from all animal sources to 3.2 billion people. 

Most world capture fisheries production comes from sustainable stocks

Global capture fisheries production has remained stable since the late 1980s. In 2022, the sector produced 92.3 million tonnes, comprising 11.3 million tonnes from inland fisheries and 81 million tonnes from marine fisheries. Despite the growth in aquaculture, capture fisheries remain an essential source of aquatic animal production.  

Africa accounted for 10.6 million tonnes of captured aquatic animals, almost 12 percent of world total. Inland fisheries, comprising 3.3 million tonnes in 2022, are particularly important for Africa. The continent produces almost 30 % of the global production of inland fisheries, showing the critical importance of inland species to food security, nutrition and jobs in the continent.

At a global level, the proportion of marine stocks fished within biologically sustainable levels  decreased to 62.3 percent in 2021, 2.3 percent lower than in 2019. When weighted by production level, an estimated 76.9 percent of the 2021 landings from stocks monitored by FAO were from biologically sustainable stocks. This underscores the role that effective fisheries management can play in facilitating stock recovery and increased catches, highlighting the urgent need to replicate successful policies to reverse the current declining trend.

FAO projects rise in production and consumption

SOFIA also contains FAO’s outlook for fisheries and aquaculture, which projects increases in world production and apparent consumption for the period up to 2032.

Aquatic animal production is expected to increase by 10 percent by 2032 to reach 205 million tonnes. Aquaculture expansion and capture fisheries recovery will account for this rise. 

SOFIA projects that apparent consumption will increase by 12 percent to supply on average 21.3 kg per capita in 2032. Rising incomes and urbanisation, improvements in post-harvest practices and distribution and dietary trends are expected to drive most of this increase. 

However, per capita apparent consumption in Africa is projected to decrease, as production may not keep up with population growth. This is especially alarming for sub-Saharan Africa where many countries are dependent on aquatic foods to meet their nutritional needs, particularly proteins and essential micronutrients.

The report also presents a scenario showing the potential implications of population dynamics for aquatic animal food supply up to 2050. Due to the rising global population, to maintain through to 2050 apparent consumption of aquatic animal foods at the 2022 estimated level of 20.7 kg per capita would require an increase in the total aquatic animal food supply of 36 million tonnes, a rise of 22 percent. In Africa, a 74 percent increase in the aquatic animal food supply would be required by 2050 to maintain current per capita consumption. To reach the current global average of per capita consumption, Africa’s aquatic animal food supply would have to grow by a staggering 285 percent by 2050. This highlights the need to accelerate Blue Transformation priority actions in a world where aquatic foods play a more significant role in ending hunger, malnutrition and poverty.

Falling employment but vital livelihoods for millions

In addition to nutrition and food security, fisheries and aquaculture are an important source of livelihoods. According to the latest data, an estimated 61.8 million people were employed in the primary sector of fisheries and aquaculture in 2022, down from 62.8 million in 2020. 

In Africa, an estimated 6.1 million people were employed in the primary sector, thus 10 percent of the world total.

Sex-disaggregated data indicated that women made up 24 percent of the overall global workforce in the primary sector but 62 percent in the processing subsector. Gender inequality issues remain, including differences in wages, insufficient recognition of women’s contribution to the sector, and gender-based violence. 

SOFIA is an FAO flagship report that analyses the status and health of global fishery stocks as well as trends in fisheries and aquaculture at a global and regional level. The 2024 edition spotlights the concrete advances of Blue Transformation in action, showcasing the role of FAO, in collaboration with Members and partners, in driving change towards sustainable aquaculture expansion and intensification, effectively managed fisheries, and value chains that prioritize efficiency, safety and equity.