According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Review of Fisheries 2015, the decline of wild fisheries is causing the aquaculture industry to rise. This is not necessarily a good thing as it means that wild stock of fish cannot be maintained. Overfishing, growing global population, and pollution are destroying the oceans' capacity to repair itself, Undercurrent News reported.
The OECD's white paper says that the main obstacle for humanity is restoring the very stock of fish in the oceans. Since it will take decades to restore what had been lost, aquaculture is the solution to the accommodation of the growing global food demand.
Though there just are 31 countries included in the review, their total production numbers cover, to a large degree, the entire world's needs. Fish is also one of the most traded products in the world. About 37% of all fish produced will cross a border at one point or another, World Fishing and Aquaculture reported.
What is important to note is that aquaculture is mostly centered in Asia. China, India, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, which are non-OECD countries, make up 80% of the global production. In contrast, OECD countries Norway, Chile, Japan, Korea, and the US only account for 6%, Matangi Tonga reported. In fact, since 1988, aquaculture had fallen by 39% in OECD countries.
The need to develop aquaculture even in OECD countries can no longer be ignored. The fact that wild fisheries cannot sustain global needs requires drastic and quick action from governments all over the world. Roger Martini, senior fisheries analyst at the OECD said, "The new Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union puts great emphasis on sustainability, and the United States has demonstrated that a strong, science-based approach can bring results."
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