The world is experiencing a serious shortage of food. Hundreds
of millions of people in the third world live below the level
of starvation, and the figure is increasing. While in 1984, 500
million people did not get enough food (lived below the starvation
level), in 1996 this figure has risen to 800 million - an increase
of 60%(10). The problem is not solely a problem of equitable distribution
of resources.
The State of the World report states that the decline is particularly
noticeable in two areas crucial for the global food production:
grain and fish. In both these areas, the limit for the production
ability of the biosphere seems to have been reached. Counted per
capita, the amount of grain and fish has decreased from year to
year. Lester R. Brown points to the fact that the biological production
systems, the very foundation of the world economy, are about to
be overloaded. Overexpoloitation of the world's fishery resources
cannot be solved by building more ships when overcapacity is already
a problem.
"In country after country we now see signs that environmental
pressure as well as technical/economic activities create increasing
ecological as well as social problems. These are GROWTH RELATED
problems which can not simply be solved by more growth. The global
overfishing can not be solved by building more ships. Overcapacity
is already a problem."
Looking at grain first: The situation is that fewer and fewer
countries are self-sufficient in grain and grain products. Today
only 15 countries are net exporters of grain, while around 100
countries are dependent on imports. Unlike the global human population,
the total grain production has not increased since 1990, when
the figure was 1,780 million tonnes. Today this figure has declined
to 1,680 million tonnes.
When it comes to fish the situation is approximately parallel.
Total world fish production reached about 100 million tonnes in
1989. This total level, which includes fish taken in inland waters,
marine areas as well as aquaculture, has been maintained since
then, and actually increased to 109 million tonnes in 1994. The
marine catch (excluding aquaculture production) reached 84 million
tonnes in 1989. The following year it started to decline, and
by 1993 catches had decreased by 4% in spite of an increase of
the fishing fleet, both in number of vessels as well as in the
form of modern technology. Catches increased again in 1994, largely
due to much greater catches of Peruvian anchoveta.
One can initially consider three ways of increasing the total
production of fish:
By shifting to a more ecologically-oriented management, based
on an improved understanding of the diversity and the coexistence
of the various species, one will be better equipped to calculate
how large harvest of the various species can be taken with a better
accuracy. Today we see to an overwhelming degree that stock by
stock is being overexploited, resulting in less and less catch
and finally leading to collapse and socio-economic and cultural
upheavals. That leads us to the situation we have today, where
the catch in 13 of the 15 most important fishing areas is in decline
despite increased fishing effort.
It is with the harvesting of the global marine resources as with
the use of natural resources in general; prioritizing ecological
principles over shortsighted economic thinking also gives long
term economic gains.