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Assessments and Projections from Outlook for Fish to 2020: Meeting Global Demand
- Production of fish for food in the European Union (EU) in 2020 is projected to be 13 percent higher than it was in 1997, increasing from 5.9 to 6.7 million metric tons.
- In 2020, wild fisheries will account for nearly 71 percent of fish production in the EU, down from 79 percent in 1997. Aquaculture production in 2020 will increase by 61 percent over 1997 levels.
- High-value finfish will account for a projected 63 percent of wild fisheries production and 38 percent of aquaculture production in the EU in 2020.
- Food fish consumption in the EU will hold virtually constant over the next twenty years, at 8.8 million metric tons. Per capita consumption will hold at 23.7 kilograms per person per year.
- Increased production and near-constant consumption rates will result in declining net imports for food fish in the EU in the next twenty years, from 3.3 million metric tons in 1997 to 2.4 million in 2020.
- High-value finfish will account for 64 percent of fish consumed in the EU in 2020.
Other facts about the European Union:
- The infant mortality rate in the European Monetary Union is 4.2 per 1000 births, compared to 105.4 in sub-Saharan Africa. (World Bank, World Development Indicators, 2003)
- Spanish fish consumption is more than twice the European average at 31.3 kg per capita and is one of the highest in the world. (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service, AgExporter, "Spain's Fish Market a Catch for U.S. Exporters," November 2002)
- Only 2.3 percent of the European Monetary Union's gross domestic product comes from agriculture. (World Bank, World Development Indicators, 2003)
1The European Union consists of 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
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