Role of inland fishery and aquaculture for food and nutrition security in Nepal

Tek Bahadur Gurung

doi:10.1186/s40066-016-0063-7

Abstract

Fish as a food is generally acceptable to all regardless of region, religion, race, gender and age across Nepal. The aquaculture and open-water capture fishery contributes about 2 % of agricultural gross domestic production; this share of fisheries sector is tiny but promising having a fastest 8–9 % annual growth rate. Nevertheless, the contribution of fisheries sector is big from nutritional security perspective to poor and marginalized communities and thus cannot be ignored. Generally, the role and importance of the inland water fisheries had been rarely elaborated with perspectives to food and nutritional security in Himalayan landlocked country. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to elucidate the role and potential of inland fisheries for food and nutrition security in Nepal. Information was collected from secondary sources to estimate per capita fish consumption. The per capita consumption was calculated dividing the total fish production by population of specific year, which showed that per capita fish consumption has increased from 125 g in 1975 to 2060 g in year 2013, at least nine times below compared with average global consumption. The value of per capita fish consumption would increase, if native shellfish (gastropod, crab, shrimp, and turtle), frogs and aquatic plants such as foxnut (Euryale ferox) and water chest nut (Trapa sp) which are consumed by ethnic communities are added. In the fish production among the five development regions of the country, Central Development Region was at the top, while Far-Western Development Region was at the bottom. However, on altitudinal basis southern plains contribute highest production, while least is in mountain areas although potentiality of cold-water aquaculture seems high. These imply that support services and innovation should be extended in the Western Development Region and mountainous regions in addition to the plains for improving fisheries-based food and nutrition security.

Highlights

Nepal’s total fish production from captured and aquaculture together is estimated to be about 64,900 metric tons in year 2013/2014 with the share of 33.17 % to capture fisheries [40]
Recent health benefit reports on ω-3 or ω-3 fatty acids or n-3 fatty acids (N-3) fatty acids found in fish food have probably been one of the major triggers of increasing fish demand
Nepal has approximately 17 % of flat land located in southern end commonly known as “tarai,” while toward the north 83 % is occupied by hills and mountains (Fig. 1)

Summary

Introduction

Nepal’s total fish production from captured and aquaculture together is estimated to be about 64,900 metric tons in year 2013/2014 with the share of 33.17 % to capture fisheries [40]. Aquaculture is the farming and husbandry of fish and aquatic organisms [6] where, with some intervention, increase in yield is expected with some form of ownership [8]; contrarily, the fish stocks in capture fisheries remain as a common property until harvested [5]. Recent health benefit reports on ω-3 or N-3 fatty acids found in fish food have probably been one of the major triggers of increasing fish demand. Fish is a rich source of animal protein, amino acids, folic acids, ω-3, vitamins and micronutrients useful for health benefit to all age group [27, 37, 46, 50], especially for brain development, memory, mental and cardiac health [45, 48], working against Alzheimer disease and dementia [33, 36]. The ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid reduces free fatty acids, plasma triglyceride, cholesterol concentrations and platelet aggregation leading to decreasing blood pressure, blood clotting and atherosclerosis [37, 48]

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