2015年经济学人 鱼类的价格 不同种类有不同情况

The price of fish

Different scales

Fish are getting more expensive, but they do not all move at the same speed

IT IS a good time to be a fisherman. The global fish-price index of the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation¹ (FAO) hit a record high in May.

Changing consumer diets, particularly in China, explain much of the sustained upward movement.

High oil prices, which increase the cost of fishing and transportation, also add to the price of putting fish on the table.

Not all fish are created equal, however. There are two types of fish production: “capture” (or wild) and “aquaculture” (or farmed).

And they seem to be on different trajectories².

Fish such as tuna, the majority of which is caught wild, saw much bigger price increases than salmon³, which are easier to farm.

Overall, the FAO's price index for wild fish nearly doubled between 1990 and 2012, whereas the one for farmed fish rose by only a fifth.

What explains this big difference?

The amount of wild fish captured globally has barely changed in the past two decades.

The ceiling, of about 90m tonnes a year, seems to have been reached at the end of the 1980s.

Overfishing is one reason, as is the limited room for productivity growth, particularly if consumers want high quality.

Patrice Guillotreau of the University of Nantes tells the story of a fleet in France that decided⁴ to trawl, rather than line-catch, its tuna.

It brought more back to shore, but the fish were damaged. It could not be sold as high-value fillets and was only good for canning.

The old ways of catching⁵ fish are still best if you want the highest profits, says Mr Guillotreau.

In contrast, the farmed-fish industry continues to make productivity improvements.

Fish farms have found crafty⁶ ways to use lower quantities of fishmeal as feed.

In the early days of aquaculture, it could take up to ten pounds of wild fish to produce one pound of salmon.

Now the number is down to five. That may still be an inefficient⁷ use of protein, but the ratio is set to improve further.

Fish farms have also become more energy-efficient, meaning that they are less affected⁸ by higher energy prices.

And they have learned how to handle diseases better, reducing the quantity of fish that ends up being unsellable.

As a result of all these improvements, the global production of farmed fish, measured in tonnes, now exceeds the production of beef.

Output is likely to continue growing: the FAO estimates that by 2020 it will reach six times its 1990 level.

This growth will further shake up the markets for fish. The farmed kind is expected to dominate the market for medium-value produce.

Suppliers of wild fish, for their part, must slither into niche⁹ markets.

At the low-value end wild sardine¹⁰ is a crucial input¹¹ for farmed fish and is in abundant supply.

More than a third of the total marine¹² catch in 2010 was used for the production of fishmeal and fish oil.

But more money may be made serving the captains of industry rather than industry itself.

Sapmer, a French fishing company, recently discontinued its canned-tuna production,

instead concentrating on catching tuna for sushi and sashimi for the top end of the market.

Frank Asche of the University of Stavanger, who helped to devise the FAO fish-price index,

sees parallels with the divergence¹³ between farmed meat and wild game.

As the supply of wild fish declines relative to farmed fish, it will become a luxury commodity, he explains.

“In 20 years' time people will think of wild fish like we now think of venison.”

1 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

2 trajectories   

n.弹道( trajectory的名词复数 )；轨道；轨线；常角轨道

参考例句：

• To answer this question, we need to plot trajectories of principal stresses. 为了回答这个问题，我们尚须画出主应力迹线图。 来自辞典例句
• In the space program the theory is used to determine spaceship trajectories. 在空间计划中，这个理论用于确定飞船的轨道。 来自辞典例句

3 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

6 crafty   

adj.狡猾的，诡诈的

参考例句：

• He admired the old man for his crafty plan.他敬佩老者的神机妙算。
• He was an accomplished politician and a crafty autocrat.他是个有造诣的政治家，也是个狡黠的独裁者。

7 inefficient   

adj.效率低的，无效的

参考例句：

• The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
• Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。

8 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

9 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

10 sardine   

n.[C]沙丁鱼

参考例句：

• Every bus arrives and leaves packed as fully as a sardine tin.每辆开来和开走的公共汽车都塞得像沙丁鱼罐头一样拥挤。
• As we chatted,a brightly painted sardine boat dropped anchor.我们正在聊着，只见一条颜色鲜艳的捕捞沙丁鱼的船抛了锚。

11 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

12 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

13 divergence   

n.分歧，岔开

参考例句：

• There is no sure cure for this transatlantic divergence.没有什么灵丹妙药可以消除大西洋两岸的分歧。
• In short,it was an age full of conflicts and divergence of values.总之，这一时期是矛盾与价值观分歧的时期。