June 1, 2016 — The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that fish consumption per person globally has more than doubled over the past five decades. But scientists say governments should now focus more on the nutritional quality of fisheries.
The development of fisheries that are nutrition-sensitive would improve nutritional outcomes instead of only production and trade values, says a study in the May issue of the journal Food Policy. Fisheries refer to harvesting of aquatic animals from wild populations and aquaculture.
By adopting a nutrition-sensitive approach, the study argues that fisheries present many untapped opportunities to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to provide accessible and nutritious foods for all.
Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted, lead author of the study, says that while past policies targeted hunger and have successfully increased food production, “in areas where people have more than enough staple food, they remain malnourished”.
“We want to develop food production systems, in this case fisheries, that improve nutrition and health of the populations,” stresses Thilsted, a senior nutrition advisor with the international research organisation WorldFish.