The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has called for an urgentcoordinated action to restore the health of the world’s oceans andsecure the long-term well-being and food security of a growing globalpopulation.

That was a key message of an international summit onoceans’ role for global food security that took place in The Hague, theNetherlands from April 22-25.

The Global Oceans Action Summitfor Food Security and Blue Growth aimed to bring global attention andincreased investment into addressing the three key threats to oceanhealth and food security: overfishing, habitat destruction andpollution.

Healthy oceans have a central role to play in solvingone of the biggest problems of the 21st century – how to feed 9 billionpeople by 2050, an FAO representative said at the event.

Onaverage, 17 percent of global animal protein intake comes from fisheriesand aquaculture, and demand for fish protein is expected to double inthe next 20 years, yet some 28 percent of global stocks are alreadyoverfished, according to FAO.

The four-day event drew over 500 delegates, including ministers, CEOs and leaders from civil society.

Itfocused on some of the underlying causes that had led to theoverfishing, increased marine pollution and loss of critical habitat aswell as potential solutions. Delegates also dealt with blue growth,emphasising conservation and sustainable management of aquatic resourcesand equitable benefits to the coastal communities that rely on them.

Hostedby the Government of the Netherlands, the Summit was co-organised bythe World Bank, FAO and the governments of Grenada, Indonesia,Mauritius, Norway and the United States of America.-VNA