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Excessive exploitation of fisheries resources worldwide, as well as pollution caused by microplastics at sea, are among the greatest challenges for the future of the sector, according to a report released Monday in Rome by The Organization (FAO)
"By 2030, combined catch and aquaculture production will reach 201 million tonnes", according to FAO estimates in the 2018 report on "The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture."
This production represents an increase of 18% from the current level of 171 million tonnes.
This growth, which has increased fish consumption in all continents to reach 20.4 kg per capita in 2016, compared to just under 10 kg per capita in the 1960s, requires measures keys to be sustainable.
"It is necessary to reduce the percentage of fish stocks ca" FAO warned against the need to reduce losses and waste, to fight against illegal fishing and against pollution of the environment ", said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva
.
According to the study, the amount of fish caught in the natural environment has stagnated since the 1990s and has remained largely stable since then.
The world feeds to a large extent on aquaculture production, a sector that developed rapidly during the 1980s and 1990s.
According to the most recent figures of the Specialized entity of the United Nations, aquaculture production reached in 2016 80 million tonnes, or 53% of However, 33.1% of the fishery is at "biologically unsustainable" levels, which the experts of the FAO
"Significant" changes "are expected in the places or countries where they are fished, especially in the tropics, due to a number of factors.
"Catches are likely to decline in many tropical fisheries-dependent areas and increase in northern temperate zones," FAO says, analyzing "disturbing" effects of climate change and pollution
]. attention to problems such as leftover fishing gear and pollution caused by microplastics in aquatic ecosystems. "
" Preventive measures that reduce marine litter and microplastics should be given priority. Efforts should be made to update recycling and phase-out plans for single-use plastics. FAO
The fisheries and aquaculture sector employs 59.6 million people worldwide, 14% of whom are women, while the main producer and exporter of fish is China
The largest consumers are the European Union (EU), the United States and Japan.
* AFP
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