9 July 2012: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has released the 2012 edition of its flagship publication, “The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture.” The report underscores fisheries’ and aquaculture’s contribution to global food security and economic growth, but warns that they are threatened by poor governance, weak fisheries management regimes, conflicts over the use of natural resources, and the persistent use of poor fishery and aquaculture practices.

Noting that promotion of sustainable fishing and fish farming can provide incentives for wider ecosystem stewardship, the report calls for the “greening” of fisheries and aquaculture. It urges the adoption of an ecosystem approach to fisheries and aquaculture with fair and responsible tenure systems, to turn resource users into resource stewards.

The report includes sections on: mainstreaming gender in fisheries and aquaculture; improved preparedness for and effective response to disasters in fisheries and aquaculture; managing recreational fisheries and their development; barriers to achieving low-impact, fuel-efficient fishing; putting into practice the ecosystem approach to fisheries and aquaculture; effects of fisheries management policies on fishing safety; climate change and food safety; marine protected areas (MPAs) as a tool for the ecosystem approach to fisheries; global guidelines on ecolabelling and certification in capture fisheries and aquaculture; the role of capture fisheries in a global sustainable food production system; and capture fisheries as targets of efforts to reduce resource use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. [FAO Press Release] [UN Press Release] [Publication: The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2012]