Farmed Fish Surpasses Beef Production

Jun 13, 2013

Farmed Fish Surpasses Beef Production

More People Expected to Eat Farmed Fish than Wild in 2013

Farmed fish production exceeds world beef production, according to new report issued by the Earth Policy Institute in Washington, DC.

The aquaculture industry grew to a record 66 million tons, compared to beef production at 63 million tons. It is projected that 2013 will be the first year that people will eat more farmed fish than caught in the wild.

Since the late 1980s, beef production has slowed, while wild fish catches have remained stagnant. The findings suggest that getting more food from the wild may have already reached its limits, noting that much of the world’s oceans are already fished to their limits. Other issues are relating to logistics, boats are having to use more fuel to travel to deeper waters to capture fish and are often coming back with smaller catches.

The growing middle class in certain pockets of the world has meant that raising sources of protein like beef and fish in feedlots or fish farms has become a reality. While there is a role for other types of agriculture to help feed the world, certain types of operations are requiring more inputs. Looking at efficiency, cattle consume on average 7 pounds of grain to produce a pound of beef, while fish take less than two pounds of feed to produce a pound of protein. While pork and poultry are the most commonly consumed protein worldwide, aquiculture production is growing the fastest.

Aquiculture outperforming beef production marks a historical shift in global food production.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.