94
R.S.V. Pullin
islanders was 34 to 37 kg per caput, compared to the world average of 16.5 kg per
caput, and provided 50% of their recommended protein intake. The value of total
fi sh exports annually from Paci fi c island nations and territories has increased from
US$48 million in 1999 to US$101 million in 2007 (Gillett 2009 ) .
Fish as food provide humans with comparatively little dietary energy: a per caput
average of 20–30 kcal/day, and up to 180 kcal/day where there is a lack of alternative food items (FAO 2009b ) . The main role of fi sh in food security is to provide the
following: high quality animal protein containing all essential amino acids, especially those such as lysine that are low in other protein sources; lipids, especially the
omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids required for brain development and function
and energy- and vitamin-rich oils; and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals;
especially calcium, iodine, iron, phosphorus, zinc, and Vitamins A, B1, B2 and D).
Small indigenous fi sh species supply vitamins and minerals to poor consumers in
Bangladesh; for example, 43–90% of Vitamin A and 31–36% of calcium recommended
dietary allowances for children of 4–6 years (Thilsted et al. 1997 ). Subsistence
inland and coastal fi shing provides huge, though largely undocumented, contributions
to the protein, lipid and micronutrient security of poor persons; for example, rice
farmers (e.g., Halwart and Bartley 2005 ) . Fish are particularly important providers
of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). DHA de fi ciency in humans has very serious implications for mental health and stable societies (e.g., Crawford et al. 2008 ; and
other publications from the Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition;
www.londonmet.ac.uk ).
Kurien ( 2004 ) recognized the complex relationships between fi sh trade, as
imports and exports, and food security and endorsed the four entitlements, recognized by Sen ( 1981 ) , that provide direct or indirect food security to an individual: production-based, growing one’s own food; trade-based, selling or
bartering other possessions for food; labor-based, selling labor for food; and
transfer-based, receiving transfers or gifts of food. Kurien ( 2004 ) found that
although the entry of a fi sh species into international trade was correlated with
depletion of that species, there was little evidence that exporting fi sh results in
food fi sh insecurity in the country of origin. For 11 widely differing countries,
the impact of fi sh trade on domestic food security was as follows: positive and
large, 1 (Nambia); positive and signi fi cant, 5 (Chile, Fiji, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka,
Thailand); positive and small, 2 (Brazil, Sénégal); negative and small, 2 (Kenya,
Philippines); negative and large, 1 (Ghana). In addition, many Low Income Food
De fi cit Countries earn from fi sh exports very signi fi cant foreign exchange, which
is used for many purposes, including the fi nancing of food, especially grains, and
fuel imports.
Contributions of fi sh to the food security of poor persons have been enhanced
greatly by imports of cheap and durable products such as canned fi sh and by coastal
states exporting from seasonal gluts of wild caught fi sh to their land-locked neighbors (e.g., Hara 2001 ) , though this brings with it a dependency on foreign fi sh stocks
that might decline and can undercut progress towards more self suf fi ciency through
development of sustainable aquaculture (present author’s observations in Southern
and West Africa).
R.S.V. Pullin
islanders was 34 to 37 kg per caput, compared to the world average of 16.5 kg per
caput, and provided 50% of their recommended protein intake. The value of total
fi sh exports annually from Paci fi c island nations and territories has increased from
US$48 million in 1999 to US$101 million in 2007 (Gillett 2009 ) .
Fish as food provide humans with comparatively little dietary energy: a per caput
average of 20–30 kcal/day, and up to 180 kcal/day where there is a lack of alternative food items (FAO 2009b ) . The main role of fi sh in food security is to provide the
following: high quality animal protein containing all essential amino acids, especially those such as lysine that are low in other protein sources; lipids, especially the
omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids required for brain development and function
and energy- and vitamin-rich oils; and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals;
especially calcium, iodine, iron, phosphorus, zinc, and Vitamins A, B1, B2 and D).
Small indigenous fi sh species supply vitamins and minerals to poor consumers in
Bangladesh; for example, 43–90% of Vitamin A and 31–36% of calcium recommended
dietary allowances for children of 4–6 years (Thilsted et al. 1997 ). Subsistence
inland and coastal fi shing provides huge, though largely undocumented, contributions
to the protein, lipid and micronutrient security of poor persons; for example, rice
farmers (e.g., Halwart and Bartley 2005 ) . Fish are particularly important providers
of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). DHA de fi ciency in humans has very serious implications for mental health and stable societies (e.g., Crawford et al. 2008 ; and
other publications from the Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition;
www.londonmet.ac.uk ).
Kurien ( 2004 ) recognized the complex relationships between fi sh trade, as
imports and exports, and food security and endorsed the four entitlements, recognized by Sen ( 1981 ) , that provide direct or indirect food security to an individual: production-based, growing one’s own food; trade-based, selling or
bartering other possessions for food; labor-based, selling labor for food; and
transfer-based, receiving transfers or gifts of food. Kurien ( 2004 ) found that
although the entry of a fi sh species into international trade was correlated with
depletion of that species, there was little evidence that exporting fi sh results in
food fi sh insecurity in the country of origin. For 11 widely differing countries,
the impact of fi sh trade on domestic food security was as follows: positive and
large, 1 (Nambia); positive and signi fi cant, 5 (Chile, Fiji, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka,
Thailand); positive and small, 2 (Brazil, Sénégal); negative and small, 2 (Kenya,
Philippines); negative and large, 1 (Ghana). In addition, many Low Income Food
De fi cit Countries earn from fi sh exports very signi fi cant foreign exchange, which
is used for many purposes, including the fi nancing of food, especially grains, and
fuel imports.
Contributions of fi sh to the food security of poor persons have been enhanced
greatly by imports of cheap and durable products such as canned fi sh and by coastal
states exporting from seasonal gluts of wild caught fi sh to their land-locked neighbors (e.g., Hara 2001 ) , though this brings with it a dependency on foreign fi sh stocks
that might decline and can undercut progress towards more self suf fi ciency through
development of sustainable aquaculture (present author’s observations in Southern
and West Africa).