According to a 1995 report, fish accounted for only just over 5 per cent of the average individual's intake of protein. But 640 million people in 39 countries relied on fish to provide more than 10 per cent of their total protein intake. For nearly 1 billion people, fish provided more than a third of their animal protein.
Consumption of fish caught in the wild was expected to fall worldwide by 25-50 per cent by 2050 from 10.2 kg per person a year in 1993. Catches, and consumption, in poorer countries were expected to decline even more steeply.
According to a 1995 report, per capita fish consumption in Tanzania could fall by 70 per cent by 2050 unless the country can increase imports or domestic catches. This would force Tanzanians to replace fish protein with less nutritious plant proteins, or to reduce overall protein intake.
2. As population pressures on fish stocks grow, fish prices will continue to climb, further reducing consumption among the poor. It is virtually impossible to increase fish-farming enough to maintain current rates of fish consumption in the face of forecast population growth.
3. Rising international demand has led developing countries to sell increasing proportions of their catch for foreign exchange.