Catalog

	Table of Contents
p. 15 of 20 BACK | NEXT I. Introduction II. The Context: Fisheries in the Asian and Pacific Region III. The Bank's Experience in the Fisheries Sector IV. The Issues: Challenges and Opportunities A. Economic Issues B. Environmental Issues C. Policy and Institutional Issues D. The Outlook V. The Recommended Strategy for the Bank

Policy on Fisheries : IV. The Issues: Challenges and Opportunities

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D. The Outlook

The demand²⁵ for fish in Asia is predicted to continue to increase to about 69 million t by 2010, thus reaching 60 percent of total global food fish demand, compared with about 53 percent in 1990. The projected increase in demand will be brought about by population growth; improvements in living standards, especially in the rapidly growing economies; and the development of better and more varied products for markets. Different subregions will continue to show different patterns of demand. The following fish demand scenario is predicted in 2010: 9.7 million t for South Asia, primarily resulting from the population growing to 1.6 billion, although per capita consumption will remain low; 28 million t for PRC for a population of 1.4 billion; 9.0 million t for Japan, which will maintain its top world ranking in terms of per capita fish consumption; and 23 million t for East Asia, because of population growth and economic expansion.

Projections²⁶ of world fish production have been mainly restricted to food fish for human consumption, which is presently about 70 percent of world production or 71 million t in 1993. Projections of world fish production in 2010 range from a low of 73 million t to a high of 108 million t. The lower projection assumes little success in halting overfishing, limited fisheries development, poor success rates in integrating aquaculture and agriculture, and continuing environmental degradation; the higher projection assumes satisfactory progress in the cited areas of constraint. The optimistic projection will be surpassed if the proportion of food fish from total production improves from its current level of 70 percent. This will be attained if economic and technical factors are recognized as key determinants of whether human food needs can be met better from fish that are presently of low value, such as small pelagics used for fish meal and oil, and bycatch that is discarded. The increasing demand for animal feed with high fish-protein content and widespread ecosystem overfishing unfortunately support the lower projection.

Asia is a major importer and exporter of fish products, so that the balance between supply and demand on a global scale will be critical to whether it can meet its own rising needs. The answer will be positive only if strong action is taken to attain good progress in better fisheries resource management, better protection of the environment, and responsible development of aquaculture. A lack of such action could lead to large fish shortages in the Region.

Most countries have firm plans to develop their aquaculture sector, although the issues related to sustainability are not well addressed in DMC policies. Plans for capture fisheries management very often are not as clearly articulated, even though marine and inland fisheries still provide the majority of production in most countries. Capture fisheries production must be protected at a sustainable level if future demand is to be met. Experience has shown that the management of natural resources such as fisheries is a complex, long-term commitment, requiring good information, political will, and clearly defined roles and accountabilities for those involved inside and outside the sector. The integrity of the supporting ecosystems must also be maintained for capture fisheries as well as aquaculture.

The lack of substantive progress towards sound fisheries management in many countries is leading to many conflicts between countries and between different classes of fishers within countries.

Most seriously, present management approaches are not precautionary. At best, they react to existing problems rather than anticipating and preventing further problems from arising. This lack of precaution, coupled with rapid rates of economic development and technical capacity and steadily increasing populations, could lead to many potential crises in fisheries resources management over the coming decade. Fortunately, some solutions are beginning to work for rehabilitating fisheries resources in several parts of the world.

The open access nature of most fisheries resources and the difficulties of the DMCs, particularly the smaller ones, in adequately managing their fisheries resources call for concerted international collaboration and closer linkages between initiatives of DMCs and the international agencies. FAO has been making commendable efforts in highlighting the state of world fisheries and aquaculture, and in enhancing awareness of issues to be addressed through its various committees and commissions. The FAO Ministerial Conference on Fisheries (see page 32) provided a comprehensive agenda for the DMCs and funding sources. It urged governments and international organizations to take prompt action to

1. reduce fishing to sustainable levels in areas and from stocks currently heavily exploited or overfished;

2. adopt policies, apply measures, and develop techniques to reduce bycatches, fish discards, and postharvest losses;

3. review the capacity of fishing fleets in relation to sustainable yields of fishery resources and, where necessary, reduce these fleets;

4. strengthen and support regional, subregional, and national fisheries organizations and arrangements for implementing conservation and management measures;

5. keep under review the effectiveness of conservation and management measures for ensuring the long-term sustainability of fisheries and aquatic ecosystems;

6. continue and, when possible, increase technical, financial, and other assistance to developing countries, in particular to the least developed countries, to support their efforts in fisheries conservation and management, and in aquaculture development;

7. encourage states to develop ecologically sound aquaculture as an important contributor to overall food security;

8. strengthen fisheries research and increase cooperation among research institutions;

9. increase consultation on fisheries with the private sector and NGOs;

10. effectively implement the relevant rules of international law on fisheries and related matters reflected in the UNCLOS provisions;

11. bring to a successful conclusion the UN Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks;²⁷

12. complete the International Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries with a view to submitting the final text to the October 1995 FAO Conference;²⁸ and

13. consider ratifying the Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas.²⁹

Similar recommendations for resource management were endorsed by an international conference on sustainable contribution of fisheries to food security, hosted by the Government of Japan with technical assistance from FAO, and attended by 95 countries, including most of the Bank's DMCs, which met in Kyoto from 4 to 9 December 1995. The Kyoto Declaration emphasized the need for international cooperation and called, inter alia, for scientific research aiming at (i) optimum use of unexploited or underexploited resources; (ii) identification of new harvestable aquatic resources; (iii) reduction of discard mortality; and (iv) development and use of selective, environmentally safe, and cost-effective fishing gear and techniques.

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