An unprecedented review of the aquatic foods sector has uncovered how fisheries and aquaculture can play a greater role in delivering healthy diets and more sustainable, equitable and resilient food systems around the world.

Five peer-reviewed papers in the journal Nature highlight the opportunities to leverage the vast diversity of aquatic, or “blue,” foods in the coming decades to address malnutrition, lower the environmental footprint of the food system, and provide livelihoods.

The research projects that global demand for blue foods will roughly double by 2050, and will be met primarily through increased aquaculture production rather than by capture fisheries.

Investing in innovation and improving fisheries management could increase consumption even more and have profound effects on malnutrition. For instance, a “high-growth” modeling scenario showed that increasing supply by 15.5 million tons (8 percent), causing a drop in prices, would reduce cases of nutrient deficiencies by 166 million, especially among low-income populations.

The full list of research papers produced as part of the Blue Food Assessment is available at: https://bluefood.earth/science.