As the world’s population continues to grow, finding sustainable ways to ensure food security is more important than ever.
According to estimates, by 2050 food production will need to double current rates in order to support this expected population increase. As of now, about 10% of the world’s population experiences hunger, and some 2 billion suffer from malnutrition.
One significant solution to this problem may be found in world fisheries, which support the world food supply chain with an essential protein source. In fact, according to one 2017 study, 3 billion people depend on fish as their primary form of protein. The fishing industry is also expected to produce approximately 201 million tons of fish by 2030.
The Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, connected by the Bosporus that runs through Istanbul, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles that flows to the Aegean, are incredibly important for the global fishing industry.
As of 2014, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea represent almost 20% of world fish exports, with Europe and Asia being its two largest trading partners. Asian markets are massive in terms of fish intake, consuming two-thirds of the world’s fish products.
Furthermore, the Mediterranean fishing industry alone employs more than 350,000 people, most of whom are artisanal fishers. While these two seas are vital centers for the global seafood supply chain, they are also two of the most overfished areas in the world.
Recent statistics released by the World Bank shows that global losses due to overfishing amount to around USD 50 billion per year. Fishing in the Mediterranean-Black Sea region remains unsustainable with over 60% of their fishing stocks overfished.
In response, Mediterranean countries in 2017 met in Malta to start the MedFish4Ever Initiative, a multilateral strategy devoted to creating a governance network centered around sustainability in the fishing industry.
Meanwhile, in the Black Sea, government representatives coordinating with the European Commission have signed the multilateral Bucharest Declaration and Sofia Declaration in 2016 and 2018 respectively in order to develop more sustainable fishing and to fight illegal fishing.
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