Title: Population growth threatens nutritional status of up to one billion people. Press release.

POPLINE Document Number: 108720

Corporate Author(s):

Population Action International

Source citation:

Washington, D.C., Population Action International, 1995. 4 p.

Abstract:

The global fish catch peaked in 1989 at 89 million metric tons and has remained near 85 million tons ever since. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), however, estimates that 60 million tons is the maximum sustainable harvest of wild fish which can be captured for human consumption. Globally, protein from fish comprises slightly more than 5% of the average person's protein intake from animal and vegetable sources. For at least 640 million people in 39 countries, fish consumption accounts for an average of more than 10% of their total protein intake, while at least 950 million people rely upon fish for more than one-third of their animal protein. The FAO estimates that almost 70% of the world's conventional fish species such as cod, hake, and haddock are already fished up or beyond sustainable limits. Demand for fish, however, increases as the population grows. Population growth has already reduced the average human consumption of fish to 13 kg per capita in 1993 from a peak of 13.5 kg in 1989. The UN projects world population to reach between 7.9 billion and 11.9 billion people by the middle of the next century. On the one hand, burgeoning global population will demand larger quantities of fish for consumption. On the other hand, the larger number of people on the planet will generate more waste and pollution to contaminate the coastal waters upon which fish depend. The supply of fish will therefore be increasingly threatened in the face of higher demand. Aquaculture, fish farming in either marine or inland waters, cannot long compensate for the declining availability of fish caught in the wild. In addition to working to stabilize population growth, governments are urged to reduce bycatch, the throwing away of unwanted fish, by encouraging methods which discriminate between target and non-target species; improve storage and distribution technologies to reduce post-catch losses; eliminate subsidies which support overcapacity in the fishing industry; and protect coastal and other fishery habitats by controlling development and pollution. It is nonetheless clear that in the next century, many species of fish will become luxuries which only the well-to-do can afford.

Keywords:

Global
Population Growth
Nutrition
Population Pressure
Food Supply
Population Dynamics
Demographic Factors
Population
Health
Carrying Capacity
Natural Resources
Environment