Fish Consumption Reaches All-Time High, Says U.N. Study

The quaint image of a "Gone Fishin" sign hung from a door handle could very soon be replaced by a "Fish Gone" sign unless more sustainable fishing practices are adopted worldwide. Fish consumption has reached a concerning all-time high, and fish stocks need to be urgently rebuilt, according to a new report from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

A record-setting 37 pounds of fish per person on average is now consumed each year, providing more than three billion people with 15 percent of their average animal protein supply. The sharp increase over the past several decades has left roughly 32 percent of world fish stocks currently overexploited, depleted, or struggling to recover. And the global appetite for our aquatic friends is only growing larger.

The spike in fish consumption has been largely attributed to the rapidly growing practice of fish farming (aka aquaculture), which the report predicts will soon overtake traditional wild fisheries. Fish farms have been praised as the solution to the increasing demand for seafood, but the FAO warns that the current rate of increase is far from sustainable. Aquaculture is already headed towards troubling constraints in terms of available space and water, environmental impacts, and supply of feed. In particular, the method of feeding wild-caught fish to carnivorous farmed fish like tuna and salmon has been widely criticized as inefficient, and scientists, environmental groups, and even celebrity chefs insist that those smaller, wild species would be better used for human consumption.

While there are sustainable-minded fish farms being developed to reduce many of these impacts, the skyrocketing growth of the aquaculture industry clearly needs to be tempered with closer monitoring and sustainable standards to protect resources and wild fisheries. We also clearly need to develop more sustainable policies for wild fisheries. The FAO report explores proposals for countries to enforce tighter trade controls to block illegally caught fish and keep a global record of fishing vessels.  But ultimately, we as consumers also need to demand more sustainable seafood choices. Where can you start?  Sign our petition telling the U.K. government to commit to serving 100 percent sustainable seafood.

Photo credit: Jan Tik via Flickr