Wider appropriate application of genetic improvement in aquaculture will significantly boost a future sustainable food supply. This is according to a Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) report, which highlights how such techniques – particularly selecive breeding – will aid in boosting food production to meet a projected increase in demand for fish and fish products with relatively little extra feed, land, water and other inputs.

According to FAO, a growing human population is expected to drive an increase in fish consumption of approximately 1.2 percent per annum over the next decade. Production of fish and fish products is estimated to reach over 200 million tons by 2030. 

The FAO has previously spotlighted how the world is off-track to meet most of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets linked to hunger, food security and nutrition. Overfishing and uneven implementation of international instruments for sustainable fisheries were highlighted areas of concern in the report. It noted that one-third of the world’s marine fish stocks are overfished today, compared to only 10 percent in 1974. 

The latest works, The State of the Worlds Aquatic Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, is the “first-ever global report of its kind.” It is based on information provided by 92 countries, together representing 96 percent of global aquaculture production and over 80 percent of capture fisheries production.

Aquaculture is lagging far behind terrestrial agriculture – both crops and livestock – in terms of the characterization, domestication and improvement of its genetic resources for food production. The report concludes that there is opportunity to significantly enhance sustainable aquaculture production through the strategic management and development of some of the more than 550 species currently used in aquaculture. 

According to the report, wild fish is still mostly farmed, with 45 percent of cultured species being little different from their wild counterparts. The report also notes that just over half of the reporting countries consider that genetic improvement is having a significant impact on their aquaculture production, in contrast with the extensive use of improved breeds and varieties in livestock and crop production. The report stresses the potential for sustainable production gains through the genetic improvement of farmed aquatic resources.

“I strongly welcome this report which is the fruit of a multi-year, country-driven process of data collection and analysis,” said FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu. “It highlights the pressures that a growing demand for fish and fish products will place on farmed species, their wild relatives, and the habitats they depend on, as well as the opportunities for sustainable growth. This is why it is crucial that we safeguard, manage and further develop the planet’s aquatic genetic resources, allowing organisms to grow, to adapt to natural and human-induced impacts such as climate change, to resist diseases and parasites, and to continue to evolve to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and our continued fight for a Zero Hunger world.”

The potential of aquaculture
Numerous technologies are available to improve aquatic genetic resources with FAO recommending a focus on well-designed, long-term selecive breeding programs, which can increase productivity of aquatic species by 10 percent per generation. 

The report notes that all farmed species still have wild relatives in nature but many of these wild species are under threat and are in need of targeted and prioritized conservation. The report calls on countries to develop policies and actions to address this need.

According to the report, the most depleted wild relatives of cultured species are Russian sturgeon, huchen, beluga sturgeon, Atlantic salmon and brown trout.  

The report also notes the potential impacts of escapes including of non-native species, from aquaculture farms, on biodiversity and ecosystems, and calls for the responsible exchange and use of native and non-native aquatic genetic resources.

Policy and cross-sectoral approach
Food and nutrition security depend on a diverse and healthy food basket, of which aquatic food is an important component. Therefore, aquatic genetic resources should be included in broader food security and nutrition policies.

These policies must consider long-term development strategies for aquaculture, including the transboundary management of aquatic genetic resources, access and benefit-sharing, genetic improvement and conservation, and must involve many sectors and disciplines to be effective.

The report also highlights the need for greater awareness-raising and capacity-building to develop and sustain genetic characterization and improvement, especially in developing countries, including training of geneticists to support selective breeding programs.

At the request of FAOs Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, a voluntary and collaborative policy response is already under development to address the gaps and needs identified in the report. FAO member countries will review and negotiate this response prior to its adoption as a Global Plan of Action for the conservation, sustainable use and development of aquatic genetic resources for food and agriculture.