In a world of a burgeoning population, producing enough food poses increased and new challenges and in this regard the fishing industry plays a vital role as it makes a significant contribution to food production.

According to Food Agricultural Organisation(FAO) the worldwide fishing industry employs around 200 million people, generating $80 billion a year. But a hefty chunk of the industry’s revenues come from subsidies, which are currently estimated at around $34 billion a year.

Those most responsible for subsidising the fishing industry are Japan (spending $5.3 billion a year), the European Union ($3.3 billion) and China ($3.1 billion), according to activist group Oceana. The increase in illegal fishing hasn’t helped matters either, representing a fifth of all catches worldwide, a figure that came out of a recent meeting between the World Bank and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) earlier this year. The business for pirate ships “flying flags of convenience from landlocked nations has boomed”, says the New Scientist.

And it’s not surprising why. As much as 64 percent of the world’s oceans have no national jurisdiction. That means anyone can fish there, as they are deemed to be international waters. They are known as the “high seas” and they cover 50 percent of the Earth’s surface.

In 2004, the most recent year statistics are available, the industry caught a record 106 million tonnes of fish.

FAO also says that, taking into consideration population growth, we will need an additional 37 million tonnes of fish a year to feed us all by 2030.

It says the only way to do this is through controlled fish farms. The “free-for-all” approach must be curtailed.

One of those new challenges faced by the fishing industry is the impact of climate change.

In a world increasingly beset by global climate change, experts say that ocean-based food systems, which already support nearly a billion people, will become even more important as a renewable human food source. This is especially true since droughts (with accompanying famines) are expected to become more common in the future. Even a 1.0 degree C. (1.8 degrees F.) temperature difference can make all the difference between abundant harvests and drought in many of the world’s most important agricultural regions. Seafoods may have to make up much of these food losses.

However, the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also found, based on observations since 1961, that the average temperature of the global ocean has already increased significantly at depths of at least 3,000 meters. The ocean has been absorbing more than 80% of the heat added to the climate system, causing the volume of oceans to expand – a fact that all by itself is already causing significant sea level rises.

The oceans also absorb about 50% of all the additional atmospheric carbon, turning them gradually more acidic. Ocean acidification, combined with warmer ocean temperatures, is already altering the delicate ecological balance that supports major coral reefs, causing accelerating coral bleaching and the depletion of habitat for many coral-dependent species.

According to IPCC projections, here are some of the likely or highly likely other impacts of global warming the world will have to face over the next several decades.

Here in Guyana, the fishing industry has grown steadily and has moved being only a commodity-type industry to one of value-added as well through the establishment of several food processing enterprises mainly through private sector driven initiatives, with the government acting as a facilitator. And today the fishing forms a significant part of the national economy providing thousands of jobs and earning millions in valuable foreign exchange through exports mainly to North America and Europe. Some 10,000 Guyanese families earn their livelihood through fishing.

In this regard the government through the Fisheries Department is providing exemptions on fuel for trawlers and fish processing plants release more than $2B per annum considering that more than seven million gallons of fuel are needed. All equipment, materials and implements utilised in the sector get full duty exemption concessions.

In addition, the cost of all licences is significantly lower than in competing countries and can be as much as 800-1000% for artisanal vessels and up to 3,000% for trawlers, it stated.

The government also contributes more than $13M per annum for capacity-building and technical services provided to the sector through the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM).

The Agriculture Ministry has also set up a $5M anti-piracy fund to provide start-up resources to fishermen affected by high seas piracy.

A communications network valued $15M has also been established to complement the services provided to fishermen in Region Six.

It is therefore quite evident that the government is fully cognisant of the crucial role of this industry and is placing the according emphasis needed for its expansion and growth.

Aquaculture has now become the newest feature to the local fishing industry and the potential for its expansion are encouraging, as there have been several successful ventures which have been piloted by private entrepreneurs.

So the future of the local fishing industry seems to be a bright one, and appears set to take an even bigger stake in the national economy.