July 8, 2020 — The global seafood industry will experience lasting impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, including reduced demand and pricing.
That is the conclusion of the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture report produced every two years by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the only report that tracks global fisheries and food trends.
This year it included a special focus on the pandemic which has toppled seafood markets and supply chains around the world. The report forecasts that global seafood production will be down 1.7 percent (6.6 billion pounds) and the trade value of seafood will decrease by nearly $6 billion.
Of that, wild capture fisheries are projected to decrease by 2 percent (nearly 4.2 billion pounds), while aquaculture production is expected to decrease by 1.4 percent (2.6 million pounds).