Some 50 countries have analyzed the global labour weaknesses and virtues in the FAO Fisheries Committee held in Agadir (Morocco). Experts have also noted an increase in catches and a decline in fishery product trade in 2015.
The FAO Fisheries Committee has identified the need to improve working conditions in fishing and aquaculture sectors. Experts have recognized that the sector “is undergoing a lack of clear standards or international models” in order to progress in this area, according to the findings of the discussion groups.
However, the countries have stressed the fact that there is a greater involvement of FAO and the International Labour Organization (ILO) for creating a system of “incentives” to those nations encouraging “good practice” in their fishing sector.
FAO committee has also discussed the rules on food quality and safety, the Code of Conduct of this organization for responsible fishing and aquaculture impact on trade or consumption.
One of the most complex discussions of the meeting was related to catch documentation schemes to combat illegal fishing. As to this issue, experts have recognized the importance of certifications to combat illegal fishing activities, but they have requested that these requirements must not generate “unnecessary bureaucratic or financial barriers” to some countries, specially to those that are developing ones.
On the occasion of the meeting in Agadir, FAO has released estimates on the world trade in fish products, which reached EUR 118,533 million (USD 130,000 million) in 2015. This figure represents a 10 per cent drop compared to the value reached last year.
The decline was due to the “weakening of sales in emerging countries,” a drop in prices and the strengthening of the dollar against currencies of the major exporters, such as the European Union (EU), Norway and China, according to reports from FAO. However, the volume of fish and seafood total exports is stable or showing slight increases, as the document states.
In terms of consumption, FAO sets the average global consumption in 2015 at 20.1 kilos per person, compared to 20 kilos in 2014.
In Spain, every citizen consumes 25.4 kilos annual fish or seafood at home, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
In 2015, according to FAO, the world fish product production totalled 168.6 million tonnes (+2.6 per cent), of which 90.6 million comes from fishing and 78 million is accounted to aquaculture.
China is the largest producer in the world of fishery products, but in 2015 exports fell by 17 per cent, as well as its imports (-3 per cent) due to the appreciation of the dollar and the fall in domestic demand for higher valued species.
Norway ranks second in fisheries export and Vietnam is the third, according to FAO.
The EU is the largest fish and seafood importing market, but in 2015 its purchases abroad fell by 12 per cent.
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