FAO addresses FLW in fisheries at II Global Fishery Forum in St. Petersburg

Food loss and waste (FLW) arises in the majority if not in all value chains. Losses and waste in fish chains – data, causes and trends and the establishment of a global repository of information on FLW in the fisheries sector was one of the key topics discussed at a round table during the II Global Fishery Forum & Seafood Expo 2018.

FAO’s representative team at the three-day forum included Audun Lem, Deputy Director of FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy and Resources Division, Matthew Camilleri, Senior Fishery Officer at the Fishing Operations and Technology branch, Ali Cemal Gücü, 1st Vice-Chairperson of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Fisheries of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), Robert van Otterdijk, FAO Agro-Industry Officer, John Theodorou, Shellfish Biologist with GFCM, Ansen R. Ward, FAO Specialist on Post-Harvest Losses and Fishery Supply Chain, Products, Sales, and Marketing Sector, and three specialists of the Moscow-based Liaison Office with the Russian Federation.

FAO is committed to the reduction of losses and waste in the context of at least three of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), identified in the UN 2030 Agenda. Tackling FLW will help achieve Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture; Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns; and Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.

A considerable part of the world population will be living in overpopulated megalopolises by 2050. These cities, often remote from the World Ocean, will find it hard to satisfy the need for production of water bioresources (aquatic resources) due to extensive increase in demand.

Robert van Otterdijk pointed out several reasons why the reduction of FLW should be at the top of the global agenda. “FLW is a major contributor to climate change. It accounts for around 8% of total global GHG emissions arising from land, livestock and energy inputs needed in food systems as well as from waste disposal”, FAO expert noted.

Due to planet’s population growth and rising buying capacity, by 2050 the world would need to have 60% more food available. Remarkably, “to increase food availability, food loss and waste reduction, in principle, is far more efficient than increasing food production”, Otterdijk explained.

FLW are caused by multiple factors stemming from technical, technological and/or infrastructure deficiencies and weaknesses in knowledge and skills. Altogether, it accounts for 65 percent of the causes undermining the availability of food. Yet, the “remaining 35 percent of the causes of losses are shortcomings not commonly considered. These are linked to social and cultural dimensions of vulnerability, responsible governance, and regulations and their enforcement”, Ansen R. Ward said.

One of the solutions to tackle the issue of FLW in fish value chains would be to make good use of a loss reduction document/repository, the FAO expert underlined. The repository would “provide guidance to policy makers, development practitioners, non-governmental organizations and value chain actors to facilitate the development of solutions to food loss scenarios on the ground at the targeted points of the supply chain, as well as at policy level.”