The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations will on June 8 produce the Flagship State of the World’s Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) report, which provides authoritative data on trends in output, trade and biological sustainability.
Fisheries and aquaculture are the source of critical nutrients for billions of people and provide livelihoods for hundreds of millions. The sector accounts for annual global turnover that is close to half a trillion U.S. dollars
Every two years FAO produces the report. SOFIA 2020 will be released at 13:00 CET on 8 June with an online webinar presentation accompanying digital and print versions of the report.
FAO Director-General QU Dongyu, who wrote the foreword to the report, will deliver opening remarks at the event.
The report offers figures for per capita consumption of fish, for the growing aquaculture industry and for marine capture trends, all organized by region, nation and species. The new edition has improved details on inland capture fisheries, an important source of food and livelihoods in many countries.
This year’s report also assesses the sustainability of current fishing practices, measuring the biological sustainability with which most species are being fished, which constitutes essential knowledge for fisheries management. The evidence shows that effective fisheries management produces desired results, underscoring the need to improve governance where it is weak.
The report is accompanied by an annex publication of the effects of COVID-19 on the world’s fisheries sector, which has been harder hit than most by the pandemic due to lockdowns, logistics and the widespread closure of restaurants and tourism venues.
It also includes an analysis of “Sustainability in Action” initiatives. These are geared to promoting sustainable use of natural resources, food and nutrition security, equitable conditions for small-scale fisheries, while optimizing the use of genetic resources and forging national and international rules and guidelines to bolster the sustainability of fisheries.
Partners from civil society and other sectors will speak at the presentation, as will the following FAO officers and Ministers from Member States: Opening remarks by FAO Director-General QU Dongyu, Presentation of report by Manuel Barange, Director of FAO’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Department. Kristjan Thor Juliusson, Minister for Fisheries of Iceland Fahd Saleem Kafayen Rafoon, Minister for Fish Wealth of the Republic of Yemen Sidi Mouctar Dicko, Chairperson of the 34th Committee on Fisheries (COFI). Closing remarks will be done by FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo
