Food for All: Designing Sustainable and Secure Future Seafood Systems

A. K. Farmery, K. Karen Alexander, K. Anderson, J. L. Blanchard, C. Carter, K. Evans, M. Fischer, A. Fleming, S. Frusher, E. A. Fulton, B. Haas, C. K. MacLeod, L. Murray, K. L. Nash, G. Pecl, Y. Rousseau, R. Trebilco, I. E. van Putten, S. Mauli, L. Dutra, G. D., J. Kaltavara, R. Watson, B. Nowak, (2021). Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries,

food and nutrition security, equity, mariculture, wild capture fisheries, blue food, food system, seafood,

10.1007/s11160-021-09663-x, http://www.ecomarres.com/downloads/Farmery_Food.pdf

Food from the sea can make a larger contribution to healthy and sustainable diets, and to addressing hunger and malnutrition, through improvements in production, distribution and equitable access to wild harvesting and mariculture resources and products. The supply and consumption of seafood is influenced by `drivers’

including ecosystem change and ocean regulation, the influence of corporations and evolving consumer demand, as well as the growing focus on the importance of seafood for meeting nutritional needs. These changes need to be examined in a holistic way to develop an informed understanding of the needs, potential impacts and solutions that align seafood production and consumption with relevant 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper uses an evidence-based narrative approach to examine how the anticipated global trends for seafood might be experienced by people in different social, geographical and economic situations over the next ten years. Key drivers influencing seafood within the global food system are identified and used to construct a future scenario based on our current trajectory (Business-as-usual 2030). Descriptive pathways and actions are then presented for a more sustainable future scenario that strives towards achieving the SDGs as far as technically possible (More sustainable 2030). Prioritising actions that not only sustainably produce more seafood, but consider aspects of access and utilisation for all, particularly those who are foodand nutrition insecure, is an essential part of designing sustainable and secure future seafood systems.