1. Second Assembly of the Arctic Circle,
31 October – 2 November 2014 Reykjavik, Iceland
THE ARCTIC OCEAN – FISHERIES
Presentation by Árni M. Mathiesen
Assistant Director-General
Fisheries and Aquaculture Department
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
2. Hunger
• 805 million people estimated to be suffering from chronic hunger in 2012–14,
down 100 million in the last decade.
• The vast majority, 791 million, live in developing countries.
1014.5
929.9 946.2
World
Developing regions
840.5
805.3
994.1
908.7 930.8
824.9
790.7
1,100
1,050
1,000
950
900
850
800
750
700
1990-92 2000-02 2005-07 2009-11 2012-14
Number of undernourished (millions) and prevalence (%) of undernourishment
1990–92 2000–02 2005–07 2008–10 2012–14*
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
WORLD 1 014.5 18.7 929.9 14.9 946.2 14.3 840.5 12.1 805.3 11.3
3. Millions of children suffering nutrition deficiency
Vitamin A deficiency
Causing blindness
250 million preschool children affected
Iron deficiency
Anaemia contributes to 20% of all maternal deaths.
40% of preschool children anaemic in developing
countries.
Iodine deficiency
Impairing cognitive development in children
54 countries still iodine-deficient
Source: WHO
805 million hungry people
Source: WHO
Trend
Billions of obesity or overweight people
Worldwide obesity has nearly doubled since 1980.
Adults (aged 20 or older)
More than 1.4 billion (35% of total) overweight in
2008
Over 200 million men and nearly 300 million
women (11 % of total) obese in 2008.
Children (under the age of 5)
More than 40 million children overweight or obese
in 2012.
Source: WHO
Food security and nutrition status
Hunger hand-in-hand with poverty
4. Contribution of fish to human nutrition
Fish provides high quality animal protein Fish especially important to countries with low animal protein intake
19.4
22.9
6.5
10.3
11.6
7.6
24.1
16.7
World
LIFDCs
Latin America &…
0 10 20 30
Northern America
Oceania
Europe
Africa
Asia
%
Fish as a percentage of total animal protein intake
Protein
Vitamin A
DHA
EPA
Vitamin B12
Zinc
Iron
Vitamin D
Calcium
Selenium
Iodine
Fish, a source of nutrients Daily need (RDI) for children:
DHA+EPA (Ω-3);
seafood main source
150 (250) μg
Vitamin A;
250 million preschool children
deficient
150 (250) mg
Iron;
1.6 billion people deficient
8.9 mg
(at 10% bioavailability)
Iodine;
seafood natural source, 2 billion
people deficient
120 μg
Zinc;
800 000 child deaths per year
5.6 mg
(at moderate bioavailability)
6. FAO’s strategic goals
ERADICATE HUNGER, FOOD
insecurity and MALNUTRITION
ELIMINATE RURAL POVERTY
THROUGH SOCIO-ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT
AND UTILIZATION OF NATURAL
SOURCES
7. The Blue Growth Initiative
To promote the sustainable use and conservation of the
Aim aquatic renewable resources
Four Main Components
• Fisheries
• Aquaculture
• Livelihoods
and food
systems
• Eco-system
Services
Global
•Implementation
of International
Instruments and
EAF
•Combat IUU
fishing
•Reduction of
Over-capacity,
restoring fish
stocks, habitats
and aquatic
biodiversity
•GAAP
•International
advocacy and
coop
Regional
•Regional
Initiative on Blue
Growth (FAO
RAP)
• Regional
Fisheries Bodies
• Other FAO
Regional
Initiatives
Country level
•Development and
implementation of
national policies and
strategies for blue
growth
•BGI-RAP, regional
•BGI-RNE, regional,
sub-regional
•BGI- RAF, national,
sub-regional
10. Potential Impacts of Climate Change
on Fisheries in the Arctic
Major fisheries (cod, haddock, saithe, redfish, Greenland halibut, and capelin stocks
in Barents Sea and Norwegian Sea) may change its abundance and distribution (e.g.
Arctic cod larval survival may increase ).
Some sub-Arctic species are expanding northwards into the Arctic (known northward-movement:
snow crab in the Bering and Chukchi seas, several crab and mollusk
species in the Chukchi Sea, blue mussel in Svalbard, sand eel in the North Sea, etc).
Some Arctic-adapted species are losing habitat along the southern edges of their
ranges (Pacific walrus in Bering Sea).
Warming ocean temperatures, migrating fish stocks and shifting sea ice conditions
from a changing climate may potentially favor the development of new commercial
fisheries.
11. Fisheries governance and management
The global policy and legislative framework for the conservation and management of living
marine resources is laid down principally in UNCLOS, the UN Fish Stocks Agreement, and the
FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and related instruments. UNGA, FAO-COFI.
States have sovereign responsibility with in EEZs.
RFMOs play a key role in fostering cooperation among States to ensure the long-term
sustainability of fisheries, through the adoption and implementation of regionally-agreed
management and conservation measures, based on the best scientific evidence.
Two long-established RFMOs in the northern hemisphere are NEAFC and NAFO, which enjoy
a strong cooperative relationship, including in the joint management of the pelagic redfish –
Sebastes mentella.
NEAFC also has a special agreement with ICES, an intergovernmental scientific organization,
which provides scientific information and advice, on the basis of which NEAFC adopts fisheries
management measures.
13. NEAFC’s Convention Area extends into the Arctic Ocean and includes
significantly sizeable Regulatory Areas (orange) within the Arctic Circle.
14. When new areas in the Arctic become “harvestable”, fishing activities will fall under the general
regulatory regime established by NEAFC’s Scheme of Control and Enforcement (SCE), applicable
to Contracting Parties, non-Contracting Parties (NCP) and Cooperative NCP vessels. The SCE
includes MCS requirements and procedures for vessels targeting Regulated Resources and non-
Regulated resources (including Port State Control and IUU listing).
If harvesting in a new area will involve bottom fishing activities, it will be considered a “new
bottom fishing area” as defined by NEAFC’s Recommendation 19:2014. In practice, “new bottom
fishing areas” are “closed areas” with very strict conditions for access: initially for “exploratory
bottom fisheries” and later (if so decided) to become “existing bottom fishing areas”
As the distribution of certain fish stocks gradually moves further north due to climate change, the
fisheries governance and management in the Arctic Ocean is becoming increasingly important and
sensitive; a significant portion of international waters in the Arctic Ocean is not currently covered
by a specific fisheries regulatory framework.
15. Considerations for sustainable
fisheries development in the Arctic
A holistic cross-sectoral approach:
-safeguarding the environment
-ensuring sustainable fisheries management/development to be adopted in face of uncertain
changes due to climate change and acceleration of economic development in the Arctic region.
-research.
Adaptive actions at the local, regional or global level to provide Arctic communities with a broad
suite of tools to help them respond to the change.
The need for an agreement(s) on responsible fisheries development in the Arctic, in particular,
preventing unregulated fishing in the unregulated part of the Central Arctic Ocean.
Notas del editor
The latest FAO estimates indicate that global hunger reduction continues: about 805 million people are estimated to be chronically undernourished in 2012–14, down more than 100 million over the last decade, and 209 million lower than in 1990–92. In the same period, the prevalence of undernourishment has fallen from 18.7 to 11.3 percent globally and from 23.4 to 13.5 percent for the developing countries.
The aim of the Blue Growth Initiative BGI is to promote the sustainable use and conservation of aquatic renewable resources, in an economically, socially and environmentally responsible manner. It is a cross-cutting initiative which would provide global, regional and national impact to increase food security, improve nutrition, reduce poverty of coastal and riparian communities and support sustainable management of aquatic resources.
Within the SPF and for the implementation of PWB 14-15, the Blue Growth Initiative is now a Major Area of Work anchored in SO2 where it clusters relevant P/S and underpinning activities, but reaches out to related P/S in other SOs and activities in the other technical units, which impact on the health and performance of the aquatic eco-systems and dependent communities.
At the regional level, it aligns its support with the RAP regional initiative on aquaculture and contributes to other regional initiatives such as water scarcity in RNE and Rice Initiative in RAP.
At the national level, several countries have adopted national strategies for blue growth and are seeking FAO technical support in implementing these strategies. Work has been recently initiated in Indonesia, and about to be initiated for Gabon, Algeria and Senegal.
Finally, at the global level, the BGI aligns with major organizations (such as UNEP, OECD, World Bank and the EU) and their initiatives launched to promote the concept. These organizations have welcomed a collaboration with FAO on the Blue Growth/Blue Economy. As Global Initiative, it is conducive to resource mobilization (e.g. GEF 6) and advocacy in major events discussing major issues related to Oceans.
It encompasses 4 components:
1- Capture Fisheries: The aim is to provide policy, technical and capacity-building support to Governments, regional fisheries bodies (RFBs) and industry to ensure that adequate institutional, scientific and legal framework is in place for introducing, supporting and enforcing fisheries management and good practices to combat IUU, reduce overcapacity, restore stocks and minimize the impact of fishing on the environment.
2- Global Aquaculture Advancement Partnership (GAAP): The aim here is to support an increase in global aquaculture production to meet increased demand for fish as the world population grows. GAAP will contribute to this aim by providing technical and capacity building support to Governments and farmers to develop national strategies for aquaculture development, disseminate and adopt better management and governance policies and best practices that increase productivity and reduce environmental and disease risk to stimulate investment.
3- Livelihoods and food systems: Under this component, FAO would assist members and industry organizations to develop policies for value addition and trade promotion integrating economic performance, food security, sustainability and social protection. With the transition to more sustainable fisheries management, it will promote public/private partnerships that support investment in infrastructure, technology and practices to increase fisheries value addition and quality. Livelihoods?
4- Ecosystem Services: Under this component, FAO will contribute expertise to conduct and disseminate national and regional studies on carbon binding possibilities in sea grass beds, mangroves as defense for coastal erosion and storm and wave damage, fish-crop (rice etc.) systems, seaweed cultivation as well as other possibilities. The information will be used to assist communities to create income and livelihoods in coastal communities, reduce poverty, strengthen and improve social conditions.
Notes:
Climate will impact fish migration, breeding, spawning and feeding patterns.
Fish redistribution: fish populations are shifting away from tropical latitudes, and there will be high local extinction rates in the tropics and semi-enclosed seas
Fish seize: large fish will have a smaller maximum body size due to reduced oxygen capacity of seawater
More “Dead zones”: areas depleted of oxygen will become more common due to stratification from warming water
Effects on all marine animals – from microscopic phytoplankton to large predatory fish like marlins – could seriously disrupt food webs.
Rapidly eroding reef habitats threaten collapse for some coastal fisheries and fish nurseries. More than half the world’s coral reefs are at medium- or high-risk.
Harmful algal blooms could cause mass die-offs of wild and farmed fish
Potential negative implications for aquaculture:
Inability to catch sufficient feed-fish
Lower catches impacting fishmeal and fish oil produc0on
Acidic water affecting shellfish growth
Increasing flood risks to fish and shrimp ponds
Coastal species at increased risk of extinction
Algal blooms causing possible mass die-offs in farmed fish
Positive effects of climate change for aquaculture and fishing include:
Faster growth rates;
Faster food conversion efficiency;
Longer growing seasons;
Range expansion;
New fishing areas available from decreases in ice cover
Economics and governance issues for fisheries
Shifting fish stocks in international waters may present issues for governments attempting to reach fishing agreements.
Global fisheries’ losses are estimated at $17-41 billion by 2050
Fish yield is project to increased by 30-70% in high latitudes but to fall by 40-60% in the tropics and Antarctica