28 April 2014: The Government of the Netherlands and the Rockefeller Foundation have announced their support for a partnership between the WorldFish Center and the Earth Observatory of Singapore. The two organizations will collaborate with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) to produce a roadmap for the “Future of Fish.”

WorldFish will develop a framework to define quantitative goals for a sustainable fish food system that meets global needs for fish in 2030 and beyond. It will also assess possible fish food systems.

Stephen Hall, Director General, World Fish, explained, “getting to our preferred Blue Growth future by 2030, which we have called ‘Eden’, requires a clearer picture of what our needs are and what levers we can pull to help us get there. That’s going to include reducing waste, improving wild catches by managing fisheries better and increasing aquaculture production in sustainable and equitable ways that limit environmental impacts and deliver benefits for the world’s poorest.”

Sharon Dijksma, Minister for Agriculture, the Netherlands, said, “The global community needs to come up urgently with smarter solutions for healthy oceans, now threatened by overfishing, climate change and pollution. This smart initiative is one step in the right direction for millions of people who are depending on fish for food and income.”

The organizations announced the project at the Global Oceans Action Summit for Food Security and Blue Growth, which took place from 22-25 April in The Hague, the Netherlands. WorldFish is a CGIAR member. [WorldFish Press Release] [Rockefeller Foundation Press Release] [IISD RS story on Global Oceans Action Summit]