Marine fisheries and aquaculture

Fisheries products are an important source of food for a large proportion of the world's population and account for around 6% of the total protein supply (FAO, 2012; Figures 6.1 and 6.2). Fish (in this chapter the term fish is used inclusively to represent fish, shellfish and other aquatic animals used as foodstuffs) are significantly more important in the diet of people in Low Income Food Deficit Countries (FAO, 2012; Beveridge et al., 2013) but are also important in coastal areas where the majority of the world's population currently resides (Small and Nicholls, 2003; UN, 2010). As over half of the world's population is located within 200 km of the coastline, demand for food from marine systems is only likely to increase with increased urbanisation and an expected human population size exceeding 9 billion by 2050 (FAO, 2009). The question is how an increased food supply might be delivered, its scale, and in particular how it might be done in a sustainable manner cognisant of the need for the protection of biodiversity and healthy functioning ecosystems (Rice and Garcia, 2011; Frid and Paramor, 2012)?