Advances in technology, particularly in fish genetics, breeding, nursery and grow-out operations for aquaculture, and gear and fishing methods for capture fisheries continue to reveal potential for further growth of the sector and at the same time increasing pressure on fisheries resources and associated habitats. In aquaculture, higher prices and expanding markets are expected to results in expanded research and innovation that will raise the economic profile of fisheries even further. However, many of the current trends in aquaculture and capture fisheries focus on relatively high-value species, resource-intensive production technologies, and expensive operations, which do not directly benefit the poorer farmers and fishers. The majority of the poor fisherfolk have very limited access to technologies, land and water resources, and capital and, hence, rarely benefit much from improved technologies and increased production. There is a greater need for appropriate fisheries policy support and improved technologies to target the resource-poor fishers and fish farmers, and thus increase and sustain their production, income, and consumption.

Previous ADB support to The World Fish Center focused on technology development in relation to resource assessment and biological productivity in fisheries and aquaculture¹. The projects have significant components on the socioeconomic aspects of aquaculture and fisheries management. However, more focused, specific, and comprehensive analyses of production, farming systems, fish technologies, and markets are crucial to guide policies and ensure benefits for the resource-poor fishers and fish farmers. A more concerted and targeted effort by DMC governments and development agencies is needed to develop viable strategies and options for increasing and sustaining fish production to reduce poverty among these marginalized fish farmers and fishers.

As fisheries and aquaculture production increasingly become market driven, there will be a tighter linkage between production and consumer demand, and increased control of the vertical supply system by corporate entities through industry-style marketing techniques. Strategies and options must be found to enable poor producers to find a defensible niche when participating and competing in the network of fisheries and aquaculture production, marketing, and trade. Research has so far neglected the assessment and prioritization of major aquaculture species, and fish farming and fishing technologies that are best suited to small-scale and poor fishers and fish farmers in the DMCs. Existing information and data collection on fisheries production and consumption are fragmented and often inadequate in most DMCs for a comprehensive analysis of the portion of the fisheries sector regarded as residual. For instance, statistics on catch, supply, market prices and trade currently concentrate almost exclusively on commercially important fish and fish products. Subsistence production, consumption, and local sale remain undocumented. Information on the supply and management of land, water resources, feed, and other inputs are critical in assessing the long-term prospects of aquaculture production, especially where resource allocation decisions implicitly or explicitly exclude the poor.