The amount of fish, shellfish and algae caught in the wild and farmed in aquaculture hit a record 214 million tonnes in 2020, the Food and Agriculture Organization said on Wednesday. Driven by a sustained surge in aquaculture, the new record is good news for a world facing price hikes and food shortages due to the war in Ukraine, disrupted supply chains, and inflation. "The growth of fisheries and aquaculture is vital in our efforts to end global hunger and malnutrition," said FAO director Qu Dongyu. But overfished oceans, climate change and pollution – if left unaddressed – could threaten that potential, the UN agency warned in its 2022 state of the world fisheries report. "Aquaculture growth has often occurred at the expense of the environment," it said. "Sustainable aquaculture development remains critical to supply the growing demand for aquatic food." Production of aquatic animals in 2020 – totalling 178 million tonnes – was evenly divided between fisheries and aquaculture. The remaining 36 million tonnes was algae production. Yields of fish, shrimp and other shellfish destined for human consumption is more than 60 per cent higher than during the 1990s, far outpacing...