134 Fish as feed inputs for aquaculture – Practices, sustainability and implications
between 1998 and 2003, from
475 to 5 500 tonnes (Hecht,
2006).
Similar to the situation in
Asia, most of the fish produced
in Africa and the Near East are
non-carnivorous species. Only
12 percent of production in 2004
was attributed to carnivorous
species (Figure 4). The
implications of this on fishmeal
use are discussed in greater detail
later in this report.2.2 Future outlook
Food insecurity remains a serious
problem in the developing
world, particularly in Africa.
There have been many attempts to promote aquaculture as a means to address poverty
and food security in Africa, although with limited success. There is no reason to dwell
on the reasons why the sector has not performed as expected, as these have been dealt
with previously (FAO, 1975, 2000; ICLARM and GTZ, 1991; Hecht, 2000; Moehl,
Halwart and Brummett, 2005). In looking forward, there have been numerous calls
(FAO, 2000; Hecht, 2000, 2006) for a paradigm shift in thinking to strongly promote
the commercialization of aquaculture in Africa (Halwart et al. 2008; Moehl, 2008). The
recent expansion of the aquaculture sector in Africa (Hecht, 2006) and the Near East
(Poynton, 2006) is likely to continue. While the value of small-scale or subsistence
aquaculture in Africa is recognized as making significant contributions to improved
nutrition at the family level (Miller, 2009), it is highly unlikely that this sector will
make a noticeable contribution to food security and poverty alleviation at the national
level in Africa (Hecht, 2006). However, as commercial enterprises expand and as the
industry grows, it will most certainly, as elsewhere in the world, contribute towards
improving food security and employment. Some 86 700 people are employed in the
aquaculture sector in the Near East, of which the majority (60 000) are employed in
Egypt (Poynton, 2006), while in ten sub-Saharan African countries for which data are
available, the sector employs around 200 000 people (Hecht, 2006). Clearly, the sector
as a whole already makes some contribution to employment and will continue to do
so in the future and particularly so when governments in sub-Saharan Africa begin to
promote and support commercial aquaculture more strongly (Hecht, 2006).
The potential of aquaculture in Africa was once described as a sleeping giant
(New, 1991), and it has been predicted that the developing world is where the bulk of
aquaculture production will come from in the future (New, 1991; Hecht, 2000). The
growth of the industry in Africa and the Near East over the last ten years is testimony
to this potential (see also Aguilar-Manjarrez and Nath, 1998).On the basis of several assumptions, Hecht (2006) made some projections on
the growth of the sector in sub-Saharan Africa and suggested that by 2013 total fish
production would be somewhere between 200 000 and 380 000 tonnes per annum
(Figure 5). The outlook in North Africa differs from that of sub-Saharan Africa and the
Near East, largely due to the impact that Egypt has in the region. Aquaculture in Egypt
has already doubled approximately seven times in the last decade, and Egypt is currently
ranked the twelfth largest aquaculture-producing country in the world (El-Sayed, 2007).
Although there are no projections for North Africa or the Near East, El-Sayed (2007) in
his review of Egypt and Poynton (2006) in her regional review of North Africa and the
Near East both predicted continued and sustained growth of aquaculture in the region.FIGURE 4
Aquaculture production (fish, crustaceans and molluscs)
in Africa and the Near East by natural feeding guildsThe “combination” group includes omnivores and fishes that are both detritivorous
and herbivorous or detritivorous and planktivorous.
Source: FAO (2006a) and feeding guilds superimposed by authors01002003004005006007008001995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004Thousand tonnesYearMiscellaneous Herbivores
Planktonivores Detritivores
Combination Carnivores