The evolution of nutrition-sensitivity in FAOfisheries frameworks:

looking back and looking forwardSimon Funge-Smith, Senior Fishery Officer, FAO

Where did it start? League of Nations

1919 League of Nations established - forerunner ofthe UN

Concerns over global food security

1936 Mixed Committee on the problem of nutrition,second session, June 4th, 1936

• Physiological basis of nutrition• Nutrition in various countries

• Statistics of food production, consumptionand prices• Recognized value of fish in nutrition• Did not recognize fish as key food group item to

track in global statistics

FAO established following WWII

FAO established to tackle threat of post war global food insecurity

Indo-Pacific Fishery Council established• In “ recognition of the importance of fish to food

security (in Asia)”

Start of FAO global fishery dataset• FAO Statistics focus on national and global

production

• Increasing production = more food for everyone

• Fish’s role in the national food security accountconsidered of minor importance (except for PacificSIDS)

1945

1948

1950

1965 FAO establishes its Committee on Fisheries• Addressed international transboundary fisheries

• Resource assessment, intensification of production

Global food/fuel crisis; cod stock collapse

Fishery intensification = fish as a nationaleconomic asset

• Efficient harvesting, maximizing catch of targetspecies

• Not nutritional value and access

Artisanal fisheries (already recognised in Asia)• Tendency to overlook social & food security value of

small-scale fisheries

• Seen as subsistence, non-commercial

• Little contribution to GDP = low monitoring priority

FAO and Fish

1970

Change in thinking about food security andnutrition

World Food Conference - effort to understand globalfood insecurity

• Focus on global accounts of agricultural food production• Food security = a country having enough affordable food

nationally• Emphasis on dietary energy availability• Fish = recognized as high quality food, but valued more as

a commodity

1981 • Food security reintroduces the issue of access• Hunger and famine is not addressed by more food, but

improved distribution, social and economic rights• Sen, Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlements and

Deprivation

• Focus on balanced nutrition• Sufficient calories sufficient healthy diet

1974

More holistic way of looking at foodsecurity and production systems

FAO Fisheries research begins cataloguing impacts• Management concepts for small-scale fisheries:

economic and social aspects

• Recognizes failure of single-stock models in complexfisheries

FAO/WHO International Conference on Nutrition• Attempt to link health and nutrition

Fishery management paradigm starts to shift• Efficient harvesting of a target stock

use system

• Need to consider impacts on non-target species,habitats, fishery segments, other interactions

sustainable

1982

1992

Development of global norms

UN Conference on Environment and Development• Putting environment first• Ecosystem approaches emerge

FAO/WHO “International Conference on Nutrition”, Rome• Defines food security = access to safe and nutritious food• Encouraged research in role of micronutrients in …fish

FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries• Highlighted relationship between fisheries and food security

Kyoto Declaration on the Sustainable Contribution ofFisheries to Food Security

• Emphasized importance of fisheries as a global food source• Principles of sustainable development of fishery resources

related to maintaining food security & nutrition• “Enhance public awareness of the nutritional and health

values of fish and fishery products”

1992

1995

Ecosystem approach to fisheries, small-scale fisheries (SSF), & nutrition

FAO members endorse “ecosystem approach”• “take into account the dependence of artisanal and small-

scale fishing communities on fishing for their life, livelihoods and food security”

• Doesn’t mention nutrition

“Increasing the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security”

• notes nutritional qualities of fish and particular role of fish innutritional aspects of food security

• underlines importance of SSF for the world fish supply as half of all fish caught for human consumption comes from SSF

“Human dimension of ecosystem approach to fisheries”• “link biological resources data with that of poverty and

nutrition”

2003

2005

2008

Growing number of valuation studies

2004 WorldFish studies recognize globalimportance of tropical inlandfisheries

2009 “Sunken Billions” economic value of lost rent from marine overfishing

2010 Other marine fisheries valuations• Driven by broader issue of

sustainability and environment• Less emphasis on SSF• Little or no focus on nutrition aspect

Rio+20 “The Future We Want”

2012 Recognized need to address healthyecosystems – link to nutrition

“..stress the crucial role of healthy marineecosystems, sustainable fisheries andsustainable aquaculture for food securityand nutrition and in providing for thelivelihoods of millions of people.”

….but where are inland fisheries?!

• We don’t see it in national aggregatedaccounts

• Some of the poorest countries inthe world are themost dependent upon inland fish

They are here….inland fisheries feed a huge number of rural people

Per capita freshwater fish availability>2kg/capita/year

Low Income Food Deficit Countries (dark blue)Landlocked countries (medium blue)

Recognition of small-scale fisheries andtheir importance to food security andnutrition

FAO/WorldFish/WB Hidden HarvestsDemonstrates importance of small-scale fisheries

FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty EradicationExplicit recognition of the food security andnutrition aspects of fisheries“increase awareness of the nutritional benefits ofeating fish”

2012

2015

Downscaling - moving beyond nationalaccounts

Large sub-national/demographic variation in fishin nutrition

• Aggregated national accounts provide weak basis for policy

Tools used to track human health, diets andwealth tend to be blind to fish

• Over-focus on terrestrial food production(agriculture) and farmed protein sources (livestock)

~2005 onwards FAO promotes routine inclusionof fish in global Agricultural Census

Starting to question role of fish in nutrition

• Adding human well-being into the management offisheries requires a deeper understanding of valueand purpose of fish production systems:• What is the role of a particular sub-sector?

• Who gets the fish?

• Where is the economic benefit going?

• Does this reach across the country, or become focused within dependent communities?

• Is there hidden fish consumption we don’t know about?

• Greater recognition of SSF and their role in nutrition and food security amongst coastal and rural poor populations

Looking forward

Powerful research tools becomingaccessible..• More nuanced questions can be informed by merging and

integrating different datasets• Fisheries data can give landings and species• Household consumption surveys indicate importance of fish in

diets

• Household economic and consumption surveys provide geographic and wealth disaggregated information on food in the home• may or may not include fish

• GIS mapping , remote sensing• populations, water, aquaculture and other spatial data sets

• Case studies and research provides sub-samples onspecific groups

Where next?

Improve and normalize message of fish’s role indiets, livelihoods etc.

Develop evidence base to reinforce role and valuefish in international/national (agricultural) development

• Update of Hidden Harvest• Using global databases on fish/ food consumption,• Nutrient contribution from fish in relation to other

animal-source foods

Session on Fish and Nutrition IUNS-ICN , Tokyo,2021

Develop a fish element “Nutrition-sensitive fish agri-food systems” for toolkit on “Nutrition-sensitiveAgriculture”