Global fish prices have leapt to all-time highs as China’s growing appetite for high-end species – from tuna to oysters – runs up against lower catches.

全球海鲜价格纷纷飙升至历史最高位。从金枪鱼到牡蛎，中国对高档海鲜的需求扶摇直上，而捕获量不增反降。

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s global fish price index, an industry benchmark that tracks the cost of wild and farmed seafood, hit a record high in May, up 15 per cent from a year ago and above the peak set in mid 2011.

联合国粮农组织(FAO)的全球鱼价指数——追踪野生和养殖海鲜价格的行业基准——在5月份达到创纪录高位，比一年前高出15%，且高于2011年年中达到的峰值。

“In the coming months, supply constraints for several important species are likely to keep world fish prices on the rise,” the Rome-based FAO has warned.

“在未来几个月里，数个重要物种的供应制约因素，很可能使世界鱼类价格保持涨势，”总部位于罗马的联合国粮农组织警告称。

Changes in the Chinese diet have already boosted demand for grains and livestock feed and the index suggests that the same phenomenon is now under way in the seafood industry, where the total value of fish trade is expected to reach $130bn this year.

中国人饮食习惯的变化，已然推高了对谷物和牲畜饲料的需求，而现在全球鱼价指数似乎表明，同样的现象正在水产行业出现——今年该行业的销售总额预计将达1300亿美元。

China is the world’s largest producer of farmed tilapia – the mainly freshwater white fish – but it is increasing its imports of other types such as salmon and shellfish.

中国是全球最大的养殖罗非鱼（主要生长于淡水的白鱼）生产国，但中国正在增加其他水产品（如三文鱼和贝类）的进口。

Oyster and mussel consumption is growing at 20 per cent a year in the country, according to the FAO, making China a leading market for more expensive shellfish and tightening supply elsewhere.

根据联合国粮农组织的数据，中国的牡蛎和贻贝消费量每年增长20%，这使得中国成为较昂贵贝类海鲜的领先市场之一，也使得其他地方的供应趋紧。

Oyster prices, which have more than doubled over the past three years, are expected to rise further in 2013, as supplies from France remain low owing to a virus that has destroyed the country’s young stock.

牡蛎价格在过去3年里已经上涨一倍多，预计在2013年还将进一步上涨。法国的牡蛎产量继续偏低，原因是一种病毒摧毁了该国的牡蛎幼苗。

Urbanisation and the advent of supermarkets are contributing to higher fish consumption in emerging markets generally, the FAO has found.

联合国粮农组织研究发现，城市化和超市普及正普遍推高新兴市场的鱼类消费。

Audun Lem, a fish expert at the FAO, said: “The product development, including ready meals and clean fillets, really facilitates fish consumption.”

联合国粮农组织渔业专家Audun Lem表示：“相关产品的开发，包括即食餐和干净鱼片，真的为鱼类消费带来了便利。”

Rising Asian demand has coincided with low supplies for several key species owing to disease and high feeding costs in the aquaculture industry.

亚洲需求增长之际，由于水产养殖业遭遇瘟疫和饲料成本高企，数个关键物种的供应量偏低。

The cost of tuna – one of the most heavily traded fish species – has risen 12 per cent in the past year, to reach a record high, on strong demand from makers of sashimi and sushi, as well as from the canned tuna industry. This has coincided with smaller catches.

金枪鱼（交易最活跃的鱼类物种之一）价格在过去一年里上涨12%，达到创纪录高位，原因是来自生鱼片和寿司生产商以及罐装金枪鱼行业的需求强劲，而捕获量却有所减少。

Shrimp, another heavily traded species, has risen in price by 22 per cent over the same period as supplies have been hit by disease in southeast Asia, as well as by a fall in wild harvests. Salmon prices, meanwhile, have surged 27 per cent – but remain well below their record highs.

另一种交易活跃的海鲜——虾——的价格同期上涨22%，原因是供应受到东南亚瘟疫以及野生虾捕捞量下降的打击。与此同时，三文鱼价格飙升27%，尽管仍远低于其历史高位。