African fisheries support millions of jobs and provide essential food to millions more. But some of the continent’s waters are among the most overfished globally, according to a major new report from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.
The FAO launched the latest edition of the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture as government officials and marine experts from around the world gathered in Mombasa, Kenya for the 11th Our Ocean Conference – the first time this meeting has taken place in Africa.
The report notes that aquatic food already provides 19% of people’s animal protein on the continent and one in ten livelihoods, with small-scale fishers central. But wild fisheries are under pressure from overfishing and warming waters, while aquaculture production remains relatively small and population growth threatens to undo the gains of increasing production.
Dialogue Earth spoke with Manuel Barange, assistant director-general of the FAO and director of its Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, about Africa’s sometimes troubled fisheries, the challenges nations face in adapting to a warming ocean, and why “blue economy” strategies must look beyond the bottom line.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Dialogue Earth: What lessons should African leaders take from your latest report?
Manuel Barange: There is a positive and a less positive one.
The positive lesson is that aquatic foods are growing in their contribution to food security and nutrition, including in Africa. It is a very successful sector around the world, but when it comes to aquaculture, only 2.5% of global production is on the continent. So there is a great opportunity [for growth].
On capture fisheries [harvesting of wild stocks], the message is more forceful. We are still seeing a significant degree of overfishing in many countries around Africa. If you do not turn the tide and make fisheries sustainable, they will slowly contribute less and less to food security, nutrition and livelihoods.
How sustainable is fishing at the moment?
Around the world, there are many good examples. In the area around Canada and Alaska, 90% of stocks are sustainably exploited. In New Zealand, it is also 90%. Those areas have been improving over time.
But in Africa, in some areas, more than half of fish stocks are overfished. Turning that tide is difficult because the reasons for overfishing can be complex. It may be because there are too many people in the coastal zone with access to the resource without any control. It may be because a government is selling fishing opportunities to foreign fleets to operate in its waters.
But the solutions are there: improving data collection systems, strengthening fisheries management, controlling access to fishing grounds, monitoring fishing activity more effectively and tackling illegal fishing.
This is not rocket science. We know how to fix it.
What does future climate change hold for African fishers?
The tropics are already the warmest part of the ocean. When you warm them further, the fish that prefer those temperatures move further south in the southern hemisphere and further north in the northern hemisphere, away from that heat.
That changes the way we fish, the way we process fish and the way we offload fish. It has many implications. It is difficult to speak about specific countries, but in general, the tropics will suffer the most. That is very problematic for Africa because it is also an area that requires more food.
How should governments respond?
The mitigation measures are certainly outside the sector. Fisheries and aquaculture contribute very little to global emissions.
But we have adaptations, and these are important. Countries need to find adaptations that work for them. There are many types: institutional adaptations, livelihood adaptations and management adaptations.
What is missing from the global agenda at meetings like this one?
On the aquaculture side, there is still a failure to recognise how much the industry is developing, mostly through the private sector, which is doing amazing work on how to grow fish better. Those ideas and solutions are not often present in these conferences. We need to make sure they are brought into these spaces.
These conferences should not bring only problems. They should also bring solutions. That is a gap overall.
Many African governments are pushing to develop their “blue economies”. Can new economic benefits be gained from the ocean without creating new risks?
What is the ‘blue economy’?
The World Bank defines the blue economy as sustainable use of the ocean “for economic growth, improved livelihoods and job creation, while preserving the health of ocean ecosystems”.
A blue economy strategy involves many sectors: energy, tourism, fisheries and others. The issue is how to make sure you understand the trade-offs.
Fisheries and aquaculture are very small parts of the blue economy from a financial or economic point of view. They cannot compete with tourism, for example. But in terms of livelihood support, they are very important.
The message I would give to ministers of the blue economy is: “Do not use economics as the only indicator for developing your industry. Understand the trade-offs in the decisions you make.”
Ghana recently launched a marine protected area and countries are trying to protect 30% of their waters. What do you make of such initiatives?
Marine protected areas are a tool to conserve resources in a particular area. They can have very positive consequences for the species that live there. But they can also sometimes lead to unexpected consequences.
For example, a fishery that operated in an area that is now protected may simply move to another area that is less protected. Then you are only displacing the problem rather than solving it.
That is why we always say “use marine protected areas when you need to”. If there is a particular reef or area that needs protection, then an MPA can be useful. But you need to look at the issue more holistically.
