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World Fishery Trade RichesFish Industry Up 460% to $71 Billion in 2004 from $15 Bln in 1980
Wealthier countries profit at the expense of developing nations in the global fish game that spans freshwater, deep sea and saltwater fishing.
With some 38% of fish production bought and sold internationally, world fishery trade riches provide key food commodities to both developed and developing countries. The leading commodity shrimp generated 16.5% of the total value for internationally traded fish products in 2004. Other popular exported fish commodities include bottom-feeding groundfish (10.2%) like hake, cod, haddock and Alaskan pollock as well as tuna (8.7). Fuelled by the booming salmon farms in Norway and Chile, salmon represents 8.5% of the global fishery trade. Fish oil generates under 1% of global fishery exports while fishmeal accounts for about 3%. Rich Nations Control Seafood FinancesDeveloping countries supply about 77% of the raw fish eventually processed and then eaten around the world. In value terms, wealthy developed nations led by Japan, America and the European Union buy over 80% of all imported fish-based products. Citing pressure from rich-country demand for certain freshwater and deep sea fishing products, world fishery trade experts worry that developing countries will over-harvest fish commodities that garner the highest profits. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, Peruvian anchoveta are the most-caught species with a global catch of about 10.7 million tonnes in 2004. Other highly harvested fish include Alaska pollock, blue whiting, skipjack tuna and Atlantic herring. Tariffs and Control ChallengesDeveloped countries have a long history of imposing much higher duties on frozen or processed fish than on raw fish. These tariffs discourage developing countries from making the investments required to build their own frozen fish or food processing industries. Restricted to exporting raw fish products less profitable on international trade markets than either frozen or processed fish, developing nations often have to buy back value-added processed products including smoked fish and frozen seafood. Ironically, these purchases are typically from wealthier nations to which they delivered raw fish exports in the first place. Unprocessed seafood importers demand that developing country exporters meet increasingly stringent standards for both product safety and quality. Developing countries are hard-pressed to find the financial resources and technical expertise needed to implement adequate safety and quality controls. Ironically, the quality control gap again provides another opportunity for richer, more technologically advanced trading partners to sell their products and services to the poorer fishing nations. Global Fishery ManagementStill, the outlook for developing countries in the global fish trade is bright. Developing nations have increased their net earnings (exports minus imports) from $3.4 billion in 1980 to over $20 billion in 2004. That’s the highest gain for any food commodity export including coffee and tea. Greater raw seafood exports have increased employment, raised incomes and improved government services in fishing nations. The FAO’s Sub-Committee on Fish Trade was established to help both developed and developing countries make the international fishery supplies more sustainable. One proposed management control is the use of "eco-labels" that track fish through the global trade network from when they are caught to when they are eaten. The world’s biggest retailer Wal-Mart plans to sell only eco-labelled fish products by 2011. ReferencesThis article presents independent calculations and insights based on key statistics from the May 2006 Fact Sheet on the International Fish Trade and world fisheries from the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (fao.org).
The copyright of the article World Fishery Trade Riches in International Tariffs is owned by Daniel Workman. Permission to republish World Fishery Trade Riches in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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