Sustainable development
Fisheries and aquaculture
The seafood trade is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing international industries. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the world total demand for fish and fishery products is projected to expand by almost 50 million tonnes, from 133 million tonnes in 1999/2001 to 183 million tonnes by 2015.
The consequences of a high capture production and an increasing aquaculture production are numerous:
- overfishing
- mangrove destruction caused by the need for new pond areas for the expanding shrimp industry
- coral reef destruction caused by bottom trawling for fish, molluscs and crustaceans
- negative genetic impact from escapees
- waste problems including effluents from aquaculture farms
- use of antibiotics and antifouling agents in open aquaculture farms, with leakage to nature and possible development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria in close proximity to open aquaculture installations, and
- the risk of genetic transfer of resistance to bacteria of human or veterinary medical interest
To ensure the sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture, an ISO technical committee, ISO/TC 234, Fisheries and aquaculture, was launched in 2007 to develop standards focusing on terminology, technical specifications for equipment and for their operation, characterization of aquaculture sites and maintenance of appropriate physical, chemical and biological conditions, environmental monitoring, data reporting, traceability and waste disposal.