World Aquaculture 2020 – A brief overviewThis document provides a synthesis of six regional aquaculture reviews: Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Near East and North Africa, North America and sub-Saharan Africa. Global aquaculture production, including aquatic plants, in 2018 was 114.5 million tonnes, with an estimated value of USD 263 billion. The Asia-Pacific region continued to be the major producer. Globally, aquaculture provides over 50 percent of fish for human consumption. In 2018, aquaculturists were reported to farm about 622 species or species items including 387 finfishes, 111 molluscs, 64 crustaceans, seven frogs and reptiles, ten miscellaneous aquatic invertebrates and 43 aquatic plants. From 2000-2018, aquaculture production in freshwater, brackish water and marine water increased at a compound annual growth rate of 5.7 percent, 7.7 percent and 5.2 percent respectively while total aquaculture production grew at an annual growth rate of 5.6 percent. Global food supply and per capita consumption of fish and fish products continued to increase faster than human population growth. Aquaculture is striving to innovate in order to increase production and sustainability. Progress in biosecurity and fish health management, feed formulation and utilization, and genetic resource management are showing good, but uneven progress. The aquaculture sector faces challenges including competition for land and water resources, as well as external factors such as climate change, conflict, economic uncertainties and most recently the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic and other stresses such as droughts and tsunamis, revealed that the aquaculture industry has not engaged sufficiently in disaster preparedness. International and national mechanisms are being put in place to increase the sustainability, good governance and social license of the sector to address these challenges. The diversity of the sector, the opportunities for good jobs and commitments by governments to good governance will help the sector meet these challenges. |
Common terms and phrases
Aguilar-Manjarrez America FAO annual growth rate approach to aquaculture Aquaculture Circular aquaculture development aquaculture FAO aquaculture industry aquaculture sector Aquaculture Statistics aquaponics aquatic animals aquatic food Asia Asia-Pacific Atlantic salmon available at DOI Bartley Bighead carp biodiversity Blue Growth Initiative Brackish-water capita capture fisheries catfish climate change coastal Common carp contribution Diadromous economic environment environmental Europe FAO European Union FAO Fisheries feed fish and fish fish consumption fish farming fish products Fisheries and Aquaculture fishmeal Food and Agriculture food security food system Freshwater fishes Funge-Smith genetic improvement global aquaculture Halwart impacts including aquatic plants increased Latin America Marine markets million tonnes million tonnes/year NENA NENA region Nile tilapia North America nutrition policies producing countries Rainbow trout region FAO regional reviews reported Rome small-scale social species items status and trends sub-Saharan Africa sustainable aquaculture technologies tonnes trade trends in aquaculture Whiteleg shrimp