Thus, the per capita fish catch has fallen from a high of 19.4 kilograms in 1988 to 17.6 kilograms in 1993, and is expected to continue to decline even with the expansion in aquaculture and mariculture . T his situation has had devastating effects on the 200 million people worldwide who depend on the fishing industry for their livelihood. As demand grows and supplies dwindle, seafood prices will continue to increase, and the pressure to continue over-harvesting will also grow. T he reality is that amidst the food surpluses of some nations there are also nations suffering food shortages, and the same situation often applies within developing nations, with urban residents having access to greater quantities and varieties of foodstuffs than rural residents. O ne issue that influences the incidence of undernourishment and malnourishment is how a population eats according to the food pyramid .
Protein is an essential component of our diets.
North American woman, eating meat, milk, poultry, eggs, and fish needs about 47 grams of protein per day, whereas her counterpart in Asia, eating rice, beans, and other non-meat sources needs about 65 grams of protein per day. The Asian woman needs more grams of protein because the quality of protein in non-meat foods is less than the protein quality in meat. This difference is part of the challenge of balancing increases in meat production against the need to assure a sufficient supply of high quality grains and legumes for direct consumption.