Aquaculture as future bread-and-butter of humanity

While industrial fishing has reached its limit, a kind of "The limits to growth", global aquaculture is consistently and steadily increasing production capacity, Oleg Kobiakov, Director of the FAO Liaison Office with the Russian Federation, told the plenary session of the conference "Prospects and Current Solutions in Aquaculture".  Alexander Nevredinov, Head of the Eurasian Aquaculture Alliance, under whose auspices this forum was held on 11 April in Moscow, acted as moderator. 

About 600 million people are employed in the fishing industry worldwide, Oleg Kobiakov said, but only a tenth of them are directly involved in fishing and production, while others are dealing with processing, logistics and distribution. For 200 million workers, fishing is not only a source of food, but also a source of income. 

The current consumption of fish and fish products worldwide amounts to 157 million tonnes, i.e., on average, slightly less than 20 kg per inhabitant of the Earth per year. This is less than the 25 kg recommended by WHO, and consumption is very uneven, ranging from 100 kg in coastal and island countries to 2-3 kg in areas located far from seas and bodies of water. With an average consumption of 22 kg of fish products in 2022, Russia seems to "fit in" with these figures, but even they are very modest compared to the statistics from other developed countries. 

Russia is taking measures to stimulate the development of aquaculture in this sector of the fishing industry, and some progress has been achieved, Oleg Kobiakov emphasized. In 2014, St. Petersburg hosted the regular session of the FAO Committee on Aquaculture. "Why did they choose this city? A parallel could be drawn with the FIFA World Cup in countries where football is underdeveloped to draw attention to this type of sport and give it a boost." This event supported the upward trend of Russian aquaculture "and since then, the industry has been growing rapidly in Russia." 

However, it is striking how significantly the share of aquaculture in Europe and Asia differs (16% and 68%), a gap of more than fourfold.

"FAO's practice follows the concept of creating a more sustainable and equitable fishing industry to make a crucial contribution to feeding the world's population. The concept is based on three main points: sustainable expansion and intensification of aquaculture; effective fisheries management; and modernization of the aquaculture food chain," the Director of the FAO Moscow Office said concluding his speech. 

Alexander Nevredinov spoke in detail about the purpose and practical activities of the Association of Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Enterprises (Associations) and the Eurasian Aquaculture Alliance consortium.  

"Over the past three years, according to the Eurasian Economic Commission, fish production in Kyrgyzstan has increased by 1.5 times, in Kazakhstan by 3.6 times, and in Russia by 1.4 times," the speaker said. "Over 600 000 tonnes of fish and fish products worth about USD 2 billion are imported annually to meet the needs of the population in the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), but Russian fish exports face a problem known as "low economic efficiency". As for the domestic market, we have to take into account that while the price of frozen white fish rose at a rate comparable to inflation in 2022, the price of red fish increased by around 25%. In total, experts estimate the shortage of fish and seafood for a healthy diet at 3 million tonnes in the EAEU countries". 

"According to the EAEU Aquaculture Development Concept we have developed, by 2030 aquaculture production in our five countries is expected to grow to 4.3 million tonnes," Alexander Nevredinov stressed. "With the assistance of FAO, we organized the International Academy of Fisheries and Aquaculture of Eurasia and Africa on the basis of the Eurasian Aquaculture Alliance and held the first cycle of practical workshops of the School of Aquafarmers. 

The main task of the EAEU Aquaculture Development Programme is to provide the EAEU population with affordable, fresh aquaculture products, and to create conditions for the integrated development of aquaculture," Alexander Nevredinov detailed.  

The programme envisages (1) Subsidies for breeding aquaculture species in 2016-2030. (2) Implementation of veterinary-and-sanitary and therapeutic-and-preventive measures in aquaculture. (3) Investments for the modernization of existing aquaculture production facilities and the construction of new ones. (5) Fisheries reclamation in complex water bodies and their following exploitation. (6) Creation of a modern sales and logistics system based on IT technologies and its own distribution network of shops.

"In Russia, pond fish farms produce half of all commercial fish grown in the country," Nikolay Belkovsky, head of NPK Salmo.ru, said. "At the same time, the achieved level of fish productivity is still far from tapping its potential in full; the prospects for growth are great.

The expert analyzed in detail the ways to prevent fish kill and increase fish productivity in ponds by increasing oxygen production.  

Igor Dolzhenko, director of Innovative Insurance Solutions Ltd, also attended and addressed the audience during the first plenary session.

Background information

Aquaculture has been around for thousands of years. This industry has developed gradually, relying on traditional knowledge and thanks to the inquisitiveness of farmers, the activities they carry out to meet their needs, their positive experiences, their mistakes and joint activities. It has grown over many centuries and integrated into the natural, social, economic and cultural environment. 

Aquaculture has undergone significant changes in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, influenced by scientific and technological advances. The sector is growing at an unprecedented pace and currently supplies more than half of the world's fish for consumption. 

The development of aquaculture also has adverse consequences on the environment at the local, regional and global levels. These include social conflicts between land and water users (especially water) and damage to important ecosystem services.  

In addition, recent aquaculture activities have raised concerns and controversial reactions from the public; especially in relation to ill-advised choice of sites for aquaculture; habitat destruction (e.g. mangroves); use of harmful chemicals and veterinary drugs; impact of escaped aquaculture on natural populations; inefficient or unsustainable production of fishmeal and fish oil.