This presentation was presented by Meryl Williams, based on the full written report: HLPE, 2014. Sustainable fisheries and aquaculture for food security and nutrition. A report by the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition of the Committee on World Food Security, Rome 2014.(http://www.fao.org/cfs/cfs-hlpe/reports/en/). This report addresses a frequently overlooked but extremely important part of world food and nutrition security: the role and importance of fish in seeking food and nutrition security for all. Fisheries and aquaculture have often been arbitrarily separated from other parts of the food and agricultural systems in food security studies, debates and policy-making. The report presents a synthesis of existing evidence regarding the complex pathways between fisheries and aquaculture and food and nutrition security, including the environmental, economic and social dimensions, as well as issues related to governance. It provides insights on what needs to be done to achieve sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in order to strengthen their positive impact on food and nutrition security. The ambition of this compact yet comprehensive report is to help the international community to share and understand the wide spectrum of issues that make fisheries and aquaculture such an important part of efforts to assure food security for all.

1. HLPE Report
Sustainable fisheries and aquaculture for food security and nutrition
http://www.fao.org/cfs/cfs- hlpe/reports/en/(Report #7)

2. L to R: Gro-IngunnHemre(Norway), Vijay Gupta Modadugu(India) , Moenieba Isaacs (South Africa) , Christophe Béné(France, Team Leader), Meryl Williams (Australia), NingshengYang (China) and Vincent Gitz(France, HLPE Secretary)

4. To help the internationalcommunity share and understand the wide spectrum of issues that make fisheries and aquaculture such an important part of efforts to assure food security for all
Collage from Indonesia, N. Java. Suzy Anna

5. Fish and Food Security and Nutrition (1.00)
Food

Quantity

Quality

Trends in supply and demand
Cash
Consumption
•
Self consumption (artisanal)
•
Purchases
Women marketing fish, India.
Photo: ICAR

6. Fish and Food Security and Nutrition (1.01)
Food

Quantity

Quality

Trends in supply and demand
Cash
Consumption
•
Self consumption (artisanal)
•
Purchases
Women marketing fish, India.
Photo: ICAR

7. Fish and Food Security and Nutrition (1.02)
Food

Quantity –including waste

Quality –nutrition, health

Trends in supply and demand
Cash –the workers
Consumption
•
Self consumption (artisanal)
•
Purchases –consumers, prices
Women marketing fish, India.
Photo: ICAR

8. Fish content

Animal protein

3.0 billion people : 20 %

4.3 billion people : 15 %

e.g. Gambia : 62%; Indonesia 54%
Fish and Food Security and Nutrition
Fish production / supply

Multiplied by 8 (1950-2010)

20 mill tonnes → 160 mill tonnes

India 800 k → 8,200 tonnes (by 11)

2010: half fisheries; half aquaculture
Fish consumption

Multiplied by 3 (1950-2010)

Currently18.3 kg per capita / year

India 6 kg per capita, more for the non- vegetarians, coastal states; 25 kg Goa, Kerala, 52 kg Lakshadweep
LIFDCs

9. Fish and Food Security and Nutrition
Fish content

Lipids (unique composition)

LC-PUFA (fatty acids)

beneficial effects for adult health and child development

Micro-nutrients

vitamins D and B, A, minerals (calcium, phosphorus, iodine, zinc, iron and selenium)

contribution to address multiple micronutrient deficienciesin developing countries

10. 
Critical source of livelihood

150 million people depending on fish - related activities (fishing, fish-farming processing, trading) –14 m in India

Majority living in developing and emergent countries.

Between 660 and 820 million people (workers and their families) as a source of income and support
Fish and people

The importance of women

Fish processing, fish trading

About half of the labour

Unrecorded, undervalued, and invisible in national statistics

11. Ecological sustainability fisheries and aquaculture
The ‘World Fisheries Crisis’

Recognition of the severity of the situation at the global level

Still missing tools and methods to estimate impacts of global drivers on food security at local level

Mainly ecological/economic, not framed so far in terms of FSN

Current situation of the world fisheries only partially due to overfishing

Stock recovery important but access to and distribution of the harvest even more.

12. International fish trade and food security

Inconsistent results -lack of tangible evidence

Fish trade does generate revenues… but

No systematic positive (or negative) impacts in terms of food security

Unclear how certification and ecolabellingschemes benefit the poor

Emerging discussion about the importance of domestic and regional trades for FSN

Would benefit small-scale producers and processors (women) but also consumers

Need to redirect part of the resources and policy attention

13. 
SSF often better equipped than larger-scale

Yet, research and policy attention directed to larger-scale operations

Larger scale operations can also contribute to FSN

commercialization of cheap, easily stored and transported (e.g. canned) nutritious pelagic fish
Small and larger scale operators and the implications for FSN

Some essential (yet often ignored) facts…

90% of the fisheries (and aquaculture) workers are private small-scaleoperators

50% of the fish for home use comes from SSF

SSF more effective than larger-scale fisheries in term of kg fish landed / $ invested

14. Aquaculture contribution to FSN

Issues / concerns

Fishmeal

Environmental sustainability

Competitions for resources (water, land)

Improved breeds for farming

Aquaculture as a way to fill the gap

Availability: critical role to balance the demand/supply

Access: prices effect (pushing down the overall fish price)

Aquaculture as an efficient system

Protein conversion efficiency

1kg beef <= 61 kg grain

1kg pork <= 38 kg

1kg fish <= 13.5 kg

Lower carbon footprint per kilogram of output

15. Ecological sustainability fisheries and aquaculture
The Environmental unsustainabilityof aquaculture?

Conversion of mangrove / paddy rice

Disease, environmental pollution, salinizationof land/ground water

Social impact

Old story, bad memories ?
Fishmeal

Used to be a major controversy

Essentially small pelagic fish species

Carnivorous and omnivorous farmed fish and crustacean species –exported to Europe/US

Decreased from 23% fish catch in the early 1990s to 11% in 2012

16. Governance and management reforms in fisheries

Voluntary guidelines on small scale fisheries and other recent guidelines

International governance initiatives

Lack of representation of the small-scale operators from developing countries

Governance reforms

Key to determine access to resources and distribution of benefits

Too little attention to who are the winners/losers

Human rights instruments effective tools to ensure that states fulfil their obligations, including those pertaining to the right to food

17. Recommendations

Better appreciation and integration of fish in nutrition programmes

In national food security and nutrition policies.

Capacities of countries to negotiate better fishing agreements to protect FNS of local populations

Redirect harmful subsidies towards public good investments that support food security and nutrition

Need to improve M&E of fish contribution to global FSN

Better understandthe possible impact of global drivers (climate change) on the FSN of most vulnerable zones

Develop assessment tools and governance concepts to capture and support the contribution of fish to FSN

18. Recommendations

Opportunity and Challenges of aquaculture

Research and develop initiatives aiming at enhancing sustainability and productivity

Reduce further the use of fish meal and fish oil as feed in aquaculture and livestock production

South-South collaboration

Small-scale fishing operations

Recognize and support the central contribution of small-scale fisheries to FSN

Support self-organized, local professional organizations and cooperatives to foster SSF operators’ integration into markets

Needs for adequate planning, legislation and recognition and allocation of rights

19. Recommendations

Trade and markets

Ensure that FSN are better taken into account in international, regional and local fish trade.

Develop, promote and support domestic and regional fish trade

IncludeFSN criteria into certification standard schemes

Social Protection and labourrights

Ratify the ILO No. 188 Work in Fishing Convention

Improve national level regulations for workers in processing factories and markets, migrant and local crew on fishing vessels

20. Recommendations

Gender equity

Policies and interventions that do not create negative impacts on women and encourage gender equality

Enshrine gender equity in all fisheries rights systems, including licensing and access rights

Governance

Formally protect the rights and tenure for food- insecure people, fishing communities and indigenous and tribal peoples

Ensure participation of fishing communities and fish workers in decisions that impact their right to food

Reform of international fisheries and ocean governance to improve their transparency and representativeness

21. The Fish and Food Security and Nutrition Challenge for India

Governments

Can you change the priorities of your fisheries policies so that peopleas well as corporationsbenefit from the “Blue Revolution”?

Researchers

Can you adapt your research methods and methodologiesto address the new food security and nutrition agenda?

Advocates

How best to use the new Small Scale Fisheries Guidelines as the platform for food security and nutrition?
Deep Sea Artisanal Fishermen’s Association. Solar energy operated tri cycle for the transportation of fish to distant fish markets: a project waiting.