Saving Seafood

Fish nutrition database to help combat malnutrition across the globe

June 18, 2021 — A treasure trove of vital nutritional data about fish species is being made freely available and accessible globally—plugging a knowledge gap that will bolster efforts to tackle malnutrition across the world.

Despite  being an essential component in the diet of more than 3 billion people around the world, and an essential source of micronutrients for over a billion people in low-income countries, many of these populations lose their very nutritious fish through exports and foreign fishing and, in turn, import lower-quality fish and , creating a net loss of essential nutrients.

In fact, up to 70% of fish caught in the fishing zones along the coasts of African nations such as Namibia and Mauritania are exported or monopolized by wealthier foreign nations.

This is in part due to a traditional view of fish perceived primarily as a source of protein, with less consideration given to the micronutrient composition of different fish species—a perception rooted in a lack of available nutritional knowledge. For example, very small species can often be very nutritious—but because they are not protected for their local food security potential, they are exported and processed into products such as fishmeal animal feeds.

Read the full story at PHYS.org

World Food Prize granted for research on nutritional importance of seafood

May 13, 2021 — Dr. Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted, the global lead for nutrition and public health at WorldFish, has been named the 2021 World Food Prize Laureate for her research into developing nutrition-sensitive approaches to aquatic food systems, including fisheries and aquaculture, and integrated food production from land and water.

Sometimes referred to as “the Nobel Prize for food and agriculture,” Thilsted’s research has been praised by the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) and represents the first time a woman of Asian heritage has been awarded the prize. Her research delved into the nutritional composition of small native fish species that are typically consumed in Bangladesh and Cambodia.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Study: Seafood’s response to COVID-19 can pave the way for future resilience

March 8, 2021 — The impacts of COVID-19 on the globalized seafood sector may offer crucial lessons for making the industry more resilient and capable of minimizing economic threats to food and nutrition security, seafood-based livelihoods, and local economies caused by global pandemics.

Published in Global Food Security, “Emerging COVID-19 impacts, responses, and lessons for building resilience in the seafood system” acknowledges the seafood sector is highly globalized, and that fish and other aquatic foods are among the world’s most-traded commodities, with an estimated value of more than USD 162 billion (EUR 134.7 billion) in 2018.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Aquaculture’s Role in Nutrition in the COVID-19 Era

July 14, 2020 — Aquaculture, the relatively young but fast-growing industry of farming of fish and other marine life, now produces around half of all seafood consumed by humans.

A new paper from American University published today examines the economics of an aquaculture industry of the future that is simultaneously environmentally sustainable and nutritious for the nearly 1 billion people worldwide who depend on it for health and livelihoods.

Of the scenarios the paper discusses, included are two approaches that illustrate what aquaculture might look like if nations refocus inward for food and nutrition security in the COVID-19 era.

“Seafood is essential to meeting global food and nutrition security goals,” said Jessica Gephart, the paper’s primary author and an assistant professor of environmental science at American University. “Under what circumstances, and with what policies, can we maximize aquaculture for its nutrition benefits and sustainability for all who rely on seafood?”

This is a challenging question to answer, especially in the COVID-19 era. As the pandemic is still unfolding, the full scope of long-term damage to food systems is unknown, the paper notes. Yet, the aquaculture industry is suffering major setbacks, as some exports are being halted, workers are being laid off, demand has dramatically decreased, production units are incurring large losses and some countries are reconsidering their reliance on foreign seafood. The authors note that such setbacks “can be particularly long-lasting for a budding sector, with many young farms that potentially lack the capital to weather the storm and the political clout to secure sufficient recovery aid.”

The demand for seafood is expected to increase significantly by 2050, the paper notes, if historical trends in income and population growth, urbanization, and diets are maintained. This has prompted researchers to contemplate the future role of aquaculture in meeting demand and supporting nutrition needs. “Nutrition sensitivity” refers to the multiple benefits derived from diverse foods, including improving nutrition, valuing the social significance of food, and supporting livelihoods.

Read the full story at Environment Coastal & Offshore

Fisheries policies urged to prioritise nutrition goal

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.

Read the full story at Sci Dev Net