Review of the Status, Trends and Issues in Global Fisheries and Aquaculture, with Recommendations for USAID Investments

Executive Summary Fisheries and aquaculture products are globally important sources of much needed, high quality, aquatic animal proteins, and invaluable providers of employment, cash income, and foreign exchange. Fisheries products are the world’s most widely traded foods, with commerce dominated by the developing countries. Fisheries products are the primary protein sources for some 950 million people worldwide, and are an important part of the diet of many more. In comparison to other sectors of the world food economy, however, the fisheries and aquaculture sectors are poorly planned, inadequately funded, and neglected by all levels of government. This neglect occurs in a paradoxical situation: fishing is the largest extractive use of wildlife in the world; and aquaculture is the most rapidly growing sector of the global agricultural economy.