贸易数字专家:鱼的未来

Trade Numerologist: the future of fish

到2030年,水产养殖预计将占到鱼类总产量的62%,高于目前的40%。过去的30年里,世界对鱼类的需求以及金枪鱼、鲑鱼、鳕鱼和其他海鲜产品的包装和运输能力蓬勃发展,预计整个产业将继续扩大。这不仅给生产商和航运公司提供了机会,同时也引发过度捕捞的问题并给环境退化带来了风险。根据联合国的数据,全球鱼类贸易目前处于历史最高水平。

The world's appetite for fish, as well as its capacity to efficiently package and ship tuna, salmon, cod and other seafood favorites, has boomed prodigiously over the past 30 years, and is expected to keep expanding, offering opportunity to producers and shipping lines, and inflating the risks posed by overfishing and environmental degradation. Global fish trade is currently at an all-time high, amounting to over 50 million tons a year, worth over $150 billion, up from 15 million tons in 1991, according to the United Nations. Around 45% of the global fish caught are now traded internationally, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. Fish, a highmargin product that is relatively easy to transport compared to other fresh nourishments, is now the most valuable globally traded food in the world. By comparison, global wheat trade is worth around $50 billion a year. Trade and fishery officials are also hoping to preserve wild stocks by writing stricter rules into trade treaties. The Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, for example, includes provisions to preserve fish stocks, including limits on certain types of subsidies, and conservation efforts for sharks, turtles and other marine species. Fish producers expect that the main barriers to expansion of global fish trade will not be tariffs, but sustainability and environmental standards that some countries used to keep out imports.