Fish farmers inspect their stock in Ayeyarwady Division.

AN official from the Department of Fisheries participated in a conference on the role of aquaculture in sustainable development, which was held in Rome on November 19 as part of the 34th Session of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation Conference.

“This was the first time a fisheries authority from Myanmar was able to attend the FAO conference,” said the participant, department deputy director general U Khin Ko Lay.

The conference was attended by delegations from 65 countries, including Myanmar, 23 of which were headed by officials at the ministerial level.

“Fisheries authorities gathered to discuss the contribution of aquaculture to sustainable development. In the future, aquaculture will not only be important for the development of the fish farming but will also contribute to the growth of the nation,” U Khin Ko Lay said.

According to the FAO, an additional 37 million tonnes of fish a year will be needed to maintain current levels of fish consumption by 2030, when the global population is expected to have grown by two billion over the current figure.

That means that 85 million tonnes of fish a year will have to be produced using aquaculture to maintain current per capita consumption levels. Today, some 45 percent of all fish consumed by humans – a total of 48 millions tonnes a year – is raised on farms.

FAO officials said at the conference that traditional capture fisheries have reached maximum production levels, so fish farming was the only way to fill the gap, and it could only do so if aquaculture was promoted and managed in a responsible fashion.

“Each delegation, including Myanmar, presented the policies and plans for the development of aquaculture in their own countries,” U Khin Ko Lay said. “We talked about the importance of the sector and the vital importance of developing sustainable aquaculture with minimal negative social and environmental impacts.”

“The meeting also highlighted the need for a concerted effort to promote aquaculture development in Africa as a part of an overall regional development program,” he said.

He said delegates recognised the importance of regional and institutional cooperation for transferring technology, sharing experiences, improving production and dealing with trans-boundary issues.

“Several possibilities for the development of aquaculture came out of the meeting,” he said.

FAO director general Mr Jacques Diouf told the meeting that the development of aquaculture sector should be placed near the top of the global development agenda.

He also cautioned that good policy decisions regarding the use of natural resources like water, land, seeds and feed, as well as sound environmental management, would be necessary to sustain and enhance the growth of aquaculture.

An FAO paper presented at the meeting noted that aquaculture helps reduce hunger and malnutrition by providing food rich in protein, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, and also significantly improves food security by creating jobs and raising incomes.

The paper noted that in Asia alone fish farming directly employs about 12 million people.

According to the FAO, for the past 35 years fish farming has been the world’s fastest growing food production sector, sustaining an annual growth rate of 8.8pc since 1970.

In comparison livestock production, also considered a growth sector, increased at a rate of just 2.8pc a year in the same period.