Aquatic foods critical for global food security and nutrition security
20 October 2021, Des Moines, Iowa - During the 2021 International Borlaug Dialogue, FAO North America and the Alliance to End Hunger hosted a virtual side event highlighting the role of aquaculture and fisheries in promoting global food security and nutrition. The session featured Dr. Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted, the 2021 World Food Prize Laureate and Global Lead for Nutrition and Public Health at World Fish.
Eric Mitchel, Executive Director of the Alliance to End Hunger, opened the session welcoming participants, thanking the speakers, and highlighting the collaboration between the Alliance to End Hunger and FAO for the 6th annual Borlaug Dialogue. The sentiment was echoed by Jocelyn Brown Hall, Director of the FAO Liaison Office for North America, who served as the moderator for the event.
“Over 3 billion people consume some degree of aquatic foods. We also know that within these groups, many vulnerable and poor people in middle and low-income countries consume too little and not frequently enough to have the full benefits of aquatic foods,” said Dr. Thilsted in her keynote address. “Aquatic food systems play a large role with respect to livelihoods providing an income for over 800 million people.”
Aquatic foods, consisting of animals, plants, and microorganisms that are farmed or harvested from water provide minerals, fatty acids, and enhance the bioavailability of micronutrients, making them helpful for childhood cognitive behavior and adult nutrition. As a result, she noted that the UN Food Systems Summit recognized aquatic foods as a priority area that cuts across five of its action areas. The UN Nutrition Discussion Paper on Aquatic Foods for Healthy Diets, co-authored by FAO and World Fish, provides concrete examples of how aquatic foods can contribute to social, environmental, and economic aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals.
After the keynote address, a panel discussion followed with experts from FAO, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the Wolastoqey First Nation.
“The term aquatic foods actually refers to 2,400 different species of fish, molluscs and crustaceans that we catch, and over 600 species that we culture,” said Manuel Barange, Director of Fisheries and Aquaculture Department at FAO. “A huge biodiversity that offers exceptional long-term food opportunities and renewable solutions if managed properly, many of them having a much lower environmental impact than land-based food systems.”
However, Barange explained that there are key challenges affecting the sector. FAO is working to address sustainability in fisheries through capacity-building and agreements such as the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) to Deter, Prevent, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing, which has 100 signatories to date. FAO is also working to improve aquaculture biosecurity to reduce the burden of disease and improve health at the farm and national levels. He added that 2022 is the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture, which recognizes small-scale producers as drivers of change. Lastly, he noted the huge impacts that ocean pollution and climate change are having on aquatic life - as fishing gear contributes about 10 percent of the plastic in the sea. Barange concluded by highlighting a new initiative called Blue Transformation that aims to increase per capita fish consumption by 25 percent in 2050, building on sustainable expansion of aquaculture, transformative fisheries management, and innovative upgrading of fisheries value chains.
“We look to seafood as a mechanism to get to a future with healthy people, with a healthy environment, and a healthy economy,” said Paul Doremus, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations and Lead for Seafood Production and Aquaculture at NOAA. He noted the importance of including fisheries and aquaculture as part of the discussions on food, agriculture, and nutrition. He explained that the core mission of his Division is to steward the nation’s ocean resources by working with commercial, recreational, and tribal fisheries, and improve the health of stocks in federal waters.
Renee Sauve, Senior Advisor on International Oceans Policy for the federal department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the current representative of the North American Region to the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) underlined the issue of sustainability facing the fisheries sector. “We will not be able to meet our most fundamental needs, such as securing food, if we do not ensure that the systems that produce food are sustainable,” said Sauve. She added that Canada has made financial commitments to support the Pacific Island Initiative to help coastal states adapt to the effects of climate change, and is developing a blue economy strategy to harness its ocean growth potential by building back better.
Hodayah Finman, Deputy Director of the Office of International Affairs at EPA, highlighted issues upstream affecting ocean health. “By 2025, the ocean will contain 1 ton of plastic for every 3 tons of fish,” said Finamn. “Only 5 percent of plastics at present are effectively recycled.” Through its Trash Free WatersProgram, EPA is providing technical and financial support for a number of projects designed to prevent trash from entering waterways.
Ken Paul, Lead Researcher and Negotiator of Fisheries for the Wolastoqey First Nation, noted that his community has a tendency to focus on shellfish aquaculture, as opposed to finfish aquaculture since they are filter feeders and do an environmental service. He noted the environmental toll aquaculture can have when pesticides are introduced into ponds. He added that aquaculture operations on land are seven times more energy-intensive. “In First Nations communities, we want to balance the economics we need with environmental ethics,” said Paul, underling the integral role that fisheries and aquaculture play in overall ecosystem functions.
The session spotlighted the tremendous opportunity for aquatic foods to ensure a food and nutrition secure world. It also showcased challenges facing the sector, and the importance of sustainable management of fisheries and aquaculture to ensure their long-term viability. As Dr. Thilsted stated, "Holistic food, land, and water systems transformation is only possible with the inclusion of aquatic foods as superfoods."
Useful Resources
Speaker bios https://bit.ly/1020SpeakerBios
Twitter thread https://twitter.com/FAONorthAmerica/status/1450541508784951296