Climate change is biggest disruptor in aquaculture: FAO

Micro, small and medium players in the sector are finding it difficult to get a place at the table, Manuel Barange, Director of the Fisheries & Aquaculture Division of the FAO, said

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has offered its technical expertise and knowledge to deal with the impact of climate change on the country’s aquaculture and the fishing community engaged with it.

Talking to The Hindu here on Wednesday (November 20, 2024), Manuel Barange, Director of the Fisheries & Aquaculture Division of the FAO with the climate changing, the ocean will produce less and the composition of the fish catches will also change. Urging policy measures to help micro, small and medium players in the “blue economy,” Prof. Barange said India has to adapt to the situation by taking measures such as changing fishing gears we use and market new varieties of fish so that the consumers have access to other breeds of fish than they are accustomed to. “Management is the best conservation,” he said. Prof. Barange is in Delhi to participate in the Fisheries Day function organised by the Union Government on Thursday.

Prof. Barang said the FAO looks at the blue economy from the point of view of nutrition and food security. “The most important element is that while the ocean occupies 70% of the planet, it only generates between five and 10% of the calories that we eat. This imbalance cannot continue. We cannot have land, which only occupies, 30% of the of the planet producing 95% of the food,” he said adding that there are many constraints to further growth of fisheries sector and reducing over-fishing and over capacity, reducing loss and waste are important.

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“Aquaculture has a great potential and it is the fastest growing food production system in the world for many decades. In India, it is growing faster than the global average. So there is a greater potential and to realise that potential we need to make sure that we have some systems in place. We need to make sure that it grows sustainably, it grows equitably. FAO will be supporting countries in developing their industry in an organic and natural way, benefiting from the opportunities for food production, but also providing livelihood opportunities,” he said.

He added that climate change is the “biggest disruptor” of everything that you do. “So what is very important is to adapt. Adaptation is crucial. You might actually need to change the fish that you catch. The fishing industry and the management systems need to adapt. FAO supports countries as to how to do these adaptations. But there’s a mindset that needs to change and that mindset is to understand that things will not necessarily stay the same. With climate changes, potentially the ocean will produce less. The composition of the catches will change. But this is what we have to adapt to and what FAO does is work with the country to change the gears that you use, fish different species, market new fish so that the consumer is not looking at the fish of yesterday and looks at the fish of today. There are solutions in the long term. And that’s what we need to work on,” he said.

When asked about specific measures FAO plans to help India’s “blue economy,” he said the FAO helps countries to have a proper legal framework that gives the security to private investors. “The second step that we always take is to work with the government to provide incentives for the private sector to arrive in the form of subsidies or tax benefits,” he said adding that political signals must also be provided that the aquaculture industry is “preferred” in the country.

“FAO provides technical support across the board on the best seed that you can use or the best feed that you can use. We also do projects to attract the youth to the sector. It’s a tough profession. But aquaculture has an attractiveness for the youth. We bring the employment angle to this industry as one of the top priorities,” he added.

On the focus on inland cultivation of prawns or export-oriented fishing of tuna, he said it is up to the country to develop its area of aquaculture. “It could be to provide more food to the people, it could be to to balance the trade and get more income or it could be for creating livelihoods. All three are perfectly valid, and it is nothing wrong with developing a prawn sector that is particularly focused on export,” he said.

Prof. Barang said India is a significant net exporter of aquatic foods and there are other countries that suffer trade deficit in terms of volume of fish. “So they need to develop the industry to provide more fish. So there’s nothing wrong with India balancing those three factors in different regions and for different reasons,” he said. He, however, added that combining different species in Indian inland fishing farms and having fish species with different genetic strains in the some pond will help farmers.

Micro, small, and medium players in the sector are finding it difficult to get a place at the table, he said and added that “illuminating the hidden harvest” is important for them. “40% of the global marine fisheries production comes from small scale fisheries. They have to be part of the decision making process, because they’re providing almost 50% of the fish. So they need a place on the table,” he said adding that the smaller players employ 500 million people around the world. “For FAO, there’s a much larger recognition of those small scale fisheries as they have very few alternatives in terms of fish production and in terms of livelihoods. Big producers don’t have that problem, they can move from one sector to the other. FAO always support small scale producers more than the big producers. Big producers don’t need FAO help,” he said.

When asked about the concerns of small and medium players on fishing methods using purse seine nets and trawlers, he said some of them have more impact than others on the environment. “Purse seine is one of the least damaging gears. Bottom trawling is certainly more damaging. What is important is to regulate,” he said adding that management is the best conservation. “Because, if you manage, you can determine what needs to use and where so that you minimise that impact,” he said.

Published - November 20, 2024 10:28 pm IST