Untapped potential for sustainability: innovation in the Asian aquaculture industry – a WorldFish perspective

Malcolm Beveridge, Michael Phillips, Wayne Rogers and Steve Hall

source: FAO

overview

•  WorldFish, sustainability and innovation

•  global analysis of environmental sustain-ability of aquaculture

•  the role of innovation in improving sustainability

–  technological – breeds and feeds

–  business – social and economic

where WorldFish is coming from

•  reduce poverty and hunger by improving fisheries & aquaculture

•  develop and promote aquaculture value chains that

–  produce food that meets poor consumer needs

–  help reduce vulnerability of poor producers and others involved in aquaculture value chains

–  achieves this without harming the environment and those who depend on it

aquaculture and the environment

global aquaculture production

data from FAO SOFIA (2012)

BLUE FRONTIERS - background

•  analyse global aquaculture production across major species/ production systems

–  75 species/system combinations

–  accounted for 82% production

•  compare biophysical resource demands of each system and their cumulative impacts

•  compare the results with those from other animal food production systems

•  examine consequences of likely future trends

BLUE FRONTIERS – impacts, system

BLUE FRONTIERS – impacts, species

BLUE FRONTIERS – impacts, location

•  tremendous scope to improve environmental performance by learning from the best in Asia

3-fold difference

improving environmental performance - farming better fish

what’s a better fish?

A b b a s s a s tr a i n C o m m e r c i a l s tr a i n

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•  meets the needs of society: affordable; nutritious; safe, environmentally friendly

•  meets the needs of farmers: faster growing, better survival, food conversion (costs); more resistant to diseases; more docile (handling; grading)

family based fish selection programs in Asia

Species

Number of programs

Mean number of families

Mean number of traits selected for

Common carp 8 76 2

Rohu carp 1 60-70 2

Silver barb 1 - 1

Tilapia – O. niloticus 20 229 3.6

Tilapia – O. aureus 2 90 2

Tilapia – red* 4 125 4

Tilapia – O. shiranus 1 51 1

source: Ingrid Olesen, Nofima; based on data modified from Gjedrem et al. (2012), after Rye et al. (2010)

* largely O. niloticus

improved strains and food production

•  <10% of global aquaculture production is of genetically improved strains

modified from Gjedrem (2012)

33%

innovative feeding technologies

feeds

•  how to produce greater quantities of affordable, nutritious farmed fish without increasing demands for fishmeal and fish oil?

•  increasing demands on oilseed meals and oils and pulses for human food

—  better utilization of existing scarce feedstuffs

—  breed better fish

—  improved FCRs

—  improved ability to elongate EFAs

source:  h%p://www.clextral.com  

Consortium for Research Excellence in Agriculture Diversification

Digital  Agriculture  

Nutri.onal  Security  

High  Value  Crops  

Enhancing community nutrition and health by diversifying range of crops and products

Using ICT to bridge the Rural-Urban divide via access to digital technologies across the value chain.

Moving `up the value chain’ through diversification of novel products.

CropBase  Web-­‐based  pla>orm  for  under-­‐u.lized  

crops  

Iden.fying  alterna.ve  sources  of  starch  

StarchPlus  

FishPlus  Developing    

opportuni.es  at  the  interface  of  

fish  –plant  research  

 

producing  fish  that  poor  consumers  want    and  reducing  environmental  costs  

what fish farmers want to produce …

.. and what poor consumers can afford to eat

courtesy:  Hong  Meen  Chee,  WorldFish  courtesy:  Hong  Meen  Chee,  WorldFish  

size matters

source: Tlusty et al. (2011)

key messages

business as usual will create unacceptable environmental impacts

Aquaculture impacts

Eutrophication

Freshwater use

Land use

Ecotoxicity

Biodiversity

Climate change

Energy use

source: Rockstrom et al. 2009

Our planetary boundaries

.. but by using better technologies

•  develop and use better breeds, while managing risks

•  develop productive feeds that address aquatic animal nutritional needs while producing nutritious aquatic foods

•  use systems and good management practices

…  and  building  economically  sustainable  businesses  that  meet  poor  consumers’  needs •  there  is  an  emerging  business  case  for  investment  in  small  

aquaculture  enterprises  that  can  generate  social,  economic  and  environmental  outcomes  

$215  

$356  $419  

$684  

$73  

$202   $206  

$435  

110  133   119  

183  

 -­‐        

 100    

 200    

 300    

 400    

 500    

 600    

 700    

 800    

2007   2008   2009   2010  

revenue  p.a.  per  farmer  

net  profit  p.a.per  farmer  

kg  produced  p.a.  per  farmer  

Produc.on,  revenues  and  profits  on  fish  farms  in  Aceh  

•  there  is  also  unmet  demand  for  farmed  aquaSc  products  that  meet  the  needs  of  poor  consumers  and  use  resources  be%er  

thanks Ingrid Olesen, Nabil Ahmed Ibrahim and Md Yehia Abou Azid

thank you

… aquaculture can fulfill its potential to help reduce poverty and hunger without costing the earth …

Malcolm Beveridge - M.Beveridge@cgiar.org - www.world!shcenter.org