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FAO Liaison Office with the Russian Federation

FAO: One in 12 people in the world depend on fisheries

Photo: ©FAO/Vladimir Mikheev

23/09/2022
On 21 September, Oleg Kobiakov, Director of the FAO Moscow Office, representing the Organization at the V International Fishery Forum in St. Petersburg, spoke at its opening and at the plenary session “Smart Fishing: Research, Catching, Processing”.  Welcoming the participants on behalf of the Director-General of the Organization, Dr QU Dongyu, Oleg Kobiakov noted that FAO is participating in the Forum for the fifth time in a row. He emphasized the significant role played by Russia in the global fishing industry, as well as the particular importance of cooperation between FAO and the Russian Federation in this area of human economic activities.  Further, the Director of the FAO Moscow Office Oleg Kobiakov presented the FAO flagship publication “The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022” (SOFIA). “This year’s report is dedicated to the issues of the “Blue” transformation. Here are FAO forecasts on the dynamics of growth in consumption of fish products per capita. If we ensure the fulfillment of the 3 objectives of the “Blue” transformation strategy – the sustainable use of the resources of the world’s oceans, the development of aquaculture and the improvement of food systems – then by 2050 we will be able to increase at a faster pace the global consumption of fish products per capita to 25 kg from the current 20 kg.”  Moreover, “the content in diets of micronutrients contained in fish, of healthy protein and of other nutritious products will certainly be higher,” he added.  The Director of the FAO Moscow Office cited FAO statistics and forecasts: “The global fishing industry has been developing steadily and has for the most part overcome the challenges and recession associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of 2020, hydrobionts catches and production in the industry amounted to 214 million tonnes; it should be mentioned that aquaculture has been steadily increasing its growth rate, while capture fisheries production has been declining. Their indicators are expected to converge in 2023-2024, and then aquaculture will surpass capture fisheries. It is worth paying attention to the fact that the proportion of algae in the total production of the industry is also growing.”  Oleg Kobiakov presented figures on the use and apparent consumption of fish products. “This year, global consumption has exceeded 20 kg per person, which practically matches WHO recommendations. Russia is in a rather favourable situation here. However, the world’s fisheries are by no means exhausted and this proportion is expected to increase in the future. It is clear that in developed countries, especially in countries with unique fish resources, such as Russia, the level of consumption should be much higher,” he concluded.  The Head of the FAO Moscow Office also spoke about the development of aquaculture in different countries and on different continents. “If over the past decades the most dynamic growth has been in Asia, then Asia, having reached a high share in global production – first of all, such countries as China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Thailand – is slowing down its growth, although the volume of production remains very significant. Pay attention to the statistics for Africa, where the increase over 20 years has amounted to almost 500 percent. Of course, Russia, which has recently embarked on the path of widespread industrial development of aquaculture, has something to catch up with,” he concluded.  The speaker also touched upon the role of the fishing industry in the global economy, in providing employment and income for the population. “In total, about 600 million people in the world, or every 12th inhabitant of the planet, depends on the fisheries sector, both the primary sector, where only 10 percent of population is employed, and the subsequent sectors of processing, distribution and consumption. For the population, this sector is not only a source of food, but also a source of income.”  “As for trade in the sphere of fisheries and processing of fish products, 225 states and territories are engaged in these activities. It is clear to sector professionals that fish resources continue to be heavily exploited, often exceeding maximum allowable catch levels. At the same time, FAO experts note a number of positive trends in their report: the proportion of sustainably exploited fish stocks has been growing, the proportion of unsustainable caught has been decreasing, in particular, due to tough, intensive and effective measures taken by all countries of the world to counter IUU fishing,” the speaker said and then turned to the dynamics related to the growth of fisheries and aquaculture.  “The trend of the last few years is the excess of the growth rate and the total volume of aquaculture production as compared to industrial fisheries. This is what we need to adapt to, and Russia in particular. As we can see, effective measures are being taken to stimulate the development of this industry, which will have tangible positive consequences for the development of rural, regional and individual regions’ economy, and, of course, the improvement of people’s well-being.”  In conclusion, Oleg Kobiakov reminded the audience that, at FAO’s suggestion, the present year has been proclaimed “International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture”.  Ilya Shestakov, Head of the Federal Agency for fisheries, general session moderator, noted that nowadays fish products represent a quite valuable and expensive protein. Speaking to the Director of the FAO Moscow Office, he asked how today the Organization evaluates the access to fish products in the global market, and what the overall market volume of these products can be, taking into account the growing volume of aquaculture production.  Oleg Kobiakov, answering the question, emphasized that the dynamics of the market is multidirectional in different categories of countries. “FAO has the GLOBEFISH programme, which monitors the dynamics of the world market for certain categories of fish products. In general, the forecast for the global market is optimistic, demand and supply are growing, which makes it possible for countries that now occupy a prominent place in this market to continue to increase the income of their population and increase their share.”  The Director of the FAO Moscow Office also stressed that there is high competition for aquaculture products. “Russia is making serious investments in order to continue to gain a foothold in this market, to advance in the interests of its population and for the sake of the food security of the entire planet.”  * * *  During the first day of the Forum, Oleg Kobiakov had short meetings with Ilya Shestakov, Head of the Federal Agency for Fisheries, and his deputy Vasily Sokolov, VNIRO Scientific Director Mikhail Glubokovsky, as well as the Director of Agricultural Policy Department of Eurasian Economic Commission Armen Harutyunyan.  * * *  FAO presentation “The State of the World Fisheries and Aquacultures – 2022” in Russian  * * *  The statements of all speakers at the panel discussion can be found in the recording.