Feed & Additive Magazine Issue 3 April 2021

SPECIAL STORY 62 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE April 2021 aquaculture fishermen, the amount of fish supplied through fishing was realized as 96 million tons. 156 million tons of production in 2018 was used for direct human consumption (20.5 kg per person per year), while the remaining 22 million tons were used in fish meal and fish oil production. Aquacul- ture, which makes up 46 percent of the total fish production, provided 52 percent of the fish con- sumed by humans. On a regional basis, Asia accounted for 34 percent of global fish production, while America accounted for 14 percent, Europe 10 percent, Africa 7 percent, and Oceania 1 percent. China, the largest fish pro- ducer in the Asian region and in the world, account- ed for 35 percent of global fish production in 2018. GLOBAL FISH FEED PRODUCTION According to the Alltech 2021 Global Feed Survey, global fish feed production, which was 48 million tons in 2019, reached 49.4 million tons in 2020 with a growth of 3 percent. This corresponds to 4.1 per- cent of the global compound feed production which was 1.187,7 million tons. In 2020, the Asia-Pacific region ranks first in fish feed production with 36.5 million tons. Although China is the largest producer in Asia-Pacific, the main growth in the region in 2020 originated from Vietnam, Bangladesh, and the Philippines, and the region's feed production increased by approximately 1 million tons compared to the previous year. In 2020, the Asia-Pacific region is followed by Lat- in America with 4.9 million tons, Europe with 4.1 million tons, North America with 1.7 million tons, and Africa with 1.4 million tons in fish feed produc- tion. On a regional basis, Latin America provided the highest growth. The region increased its produc- tion by around 8 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), approximately 32 percent of the world's natural fish stocks are over- exploited and stocks are rapidly depleted. Fish farms are considered a solution to this problem caused by overfishing. In other words, the continuity of the species, which are in danger of extinction due to many reasons, from improper fishing to climatic changes, is ensured by fish farms.