Production from fish farms will grow by as much as 4.14 percent annually through 2022 – faster than a forecast made earlier this year – and offering a chance of better nutrition for millions of people, especially in Africa and Asia, said a report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. “The primary reason for increased optimism is that there is ample room for catching up with more productive technologies, especially in Asia, where many fish farmers are small and unable to foot the hefty capital outlays the industry requires to expand output without running into resource constraints,” said Audun Lem of FAO and a lead author of the report said in a statement.
This year, farmed fish surpassed captured fish in terms of direct human consumption, says FAO. Global consumption of fish is estimated at 19.1 kg per person in 2012, compared to 9.9 kg in 1970.