More people than ever before depend on fisheries and aquaculture for food and as a source of income, but harmful practices threaten the sector’s sustainability, says a new FAO report published today. According to the latest edition of “The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture“, global fisheries and aquaculture production totaled 158 million metric tonnes in 2012, around 10 million tonnes more than in 2010. Aquaculture provided a record 66.6 million metric tonnes of fish. Fish now accounts for almost 17 percent of the global population’s intake of protein - in some coastal and island countries it can top 70 percent. “The health of our planet as well as our own health and future food security all hinge on how we treat the blue world,” FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said. Per capita fish consumption has soared from 10 kg in the 1960s to more than 19 kg in 2012. FAO estimates that 10–12 percent of the world’s population depend on fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihoods. Some 90 percent of fishers are small scale and it is estimated that, overall, 15 percent are women.