FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Circulars Aquaculture is recognized as having the potential to boost growth and jobs in coastal and inland areas in Europe. Policies such as the Blue Growth strategy, the reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and the Baltic Sea Region Strategy highlight aquaculture as a key component in achieving economic growth. However, challenges remain, including the lack of a coherent national aquaculture policy.

This review reports on aquaculture development trends and challenges during 2000–2018 in the European Region covering 51 countries including European Union member states. Aquaculture production in the European Region is composed of marine molluscs and diadromous, marine and freshwater fish. It reached 3.4 million tonnes in 2018, while having a value of USD 16.6 billion. Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout combine to give nearly two million tonnes, with molluscs providing 0.7 million tonnes; marine fish species supplied 0.4 million tonnes and freshwater fish 0.3 million tonnes. In Europe, the strongest aquaculture growth has been seen in non-European Union states (e.g. Norway, Turkey, Russian Federation) while several European Union states have diminished production (e.g. France, Netherlands, Italy). The growth in value (5.8 percent) is higher than production (0.9 percent), which is now dominated by salmonids (nearly 60 percent), primarily Atlantic salmon. Mediterranean marine fish farming is mainly for gilthead seabream and European seabass. European cyprinid production in freshwater has increased slightly, where the Russian Federation, Czechia and Poland are the biggest producers. Mussels are the principal shellfish reared, led by Spain, followed by oysters in France and clams in Italy. While publicly quoted companies have led salmon development in Northern Europe, elsewhere aquaculture is done, with few exceptions, by SMEs and micro-enterprises. Mechanisms for financial support exist for aquaculture development throughout Europe but these have notnbeen matched by anticipated results. When unpredictable and time-consuming licensing procedures are combined with extreme competition for space and strict environmental regulations, both growth and investments are discouraged. Technology development focus has been given to structures appropriate for marine off-shore or ‘open ocean’ operation. The use of recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) for large operations has also developed, both for hatcheries and for farms. Treatment for diseases and parasites remains problematic. Use of the same vaccines, veterinary treatments and disinfectants is not standardised, restricting the best health and welfare practices. Access to appropriate and efficient ingredients for formulated feeds remains a key issue for European fish farming, directly influencing productivity and profitability. The European Union is the world’s largest single market for seafood and the most important destination for European aquaculture production. With preferences declared for wild products vs. farmed, the habits of the European consumer have been studied, indicating evolving influences on purchase decisions. These include the use of additives, food miles, climate change, acceptance of manufacturing practices, cost and access as well as health benefits.

The Near East and North Africa (NENA) region covers 18 countries and territories: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Western Sahara and Yemen with a total land area of 9.8 million km2. The region is mostly arid or semi-arid but has extensive coastlines and includes a wide range of different economies from high income, hydrocarbon-rich countries to low-income states, some of which have been severely impacted by conflict in recent years. NENA aquaculture production was worth USD 2.3 billion in 2018, two-thirds of which came from Egypt and around one-quarter from Saudi Arabia. Production has grown rapidly since the 1980s, more than doubling over ten years and increasing by 50 percent over the five years preceding 2018 to reach 1.7 million tonnes. Egyptian fish farms accounted for 92 percent of production and Saudi Arabia for 4.2 percent while other significant producers included Iraq (25 737 tonnes), Tunisia (21 826 tonnes), Algeria (5 100 tonnes), the United Arab Emirates (3 350 tonnes) and the Syrian Arab Republic (2 350 tonnes). Although current aquaculture production levels are low, all these countries have high ambitions with further developing the sector, often for improved food self-sufficiency.

FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Circulars All Near East and North Africa countries have sea borders, whereas fresh water resources are scarce. Yet, aquaculture production in the region has doubled over the past decade, with an average annual growth rate of 9.7 percent, and the role of aquaculture in total fish production is steadily increasing. It should be noted that the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Islamic Republic of Iran contributed 74 and 21 percent respectively to total aquaculture output.

The present regional review and synthesis for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) provides an overview of major issues and trends in the aquaculture sector between 2004 and 2014 with emphasis on outstanding issues over the last five years. The regional review reflects development in 41 countries in SSA for which production was reported to FAO in 2014. The production volume and value data have been derived from the latest FAO global aquaculture dataset 1950-2014 (FishStat).

The Asia-Pacific region is remarkably diverse and wide ranging, geographically, in its flora and fauna, culturally, institutionally and economically. The region includes the two most populous countries in the world, China and India, a greater part of the Asian continent, the Australian continent, and many small islands, mostly in the Pacific Ocean, which are some of the smallest island nations in the world. Fisheries and aquaculture are socio-economically important sectors to most nations in the Asia-Pacific region and most nations in the region have high rates of fish consumption, mostly sourced from aquaculture although the small island nations depend to a greater extent on capture fisheries. This review entails analyses of the aquaculture sector in Asia-Pacific including the status and trends, progress made in achieving sustainable development, salient challenges, issues and anticipated future development. Status and trends are based on data extracted from the FAO Fishery and Aquaculture Statistics (FAO, 2020a; FAO, 2020b), unless stated otherwise, and are mostly for the period from 2008 to 2018 and occasionally for the period from 1990 to 2018 for relevant historical comparison and longer-term contextual analyses.

FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Circulars Whereas aquaculture in Latin America and the Caribbean is progressing at rates above world averages, growth is slowing due to governance, planning and environmental issues, among others. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges facing aquaculture in the region, as well as opportunities for further development.