Experts discuss food security from oceans

Experts discuss food security from oceans
Stanford scientists say food from the oceans should play an important role in feeding a growing global human population, along with much more protein from plants. Credit: Pexels.com

The world will have an additional 2 billion people to feed over the next 30 years—and doing that without decimating the planet's resources will require exploring as many options as possible. Yet, a significant option—seafood—is often overlooked in global food security planning and discussions about future diets.


Why focus on oceans as a solution to global food security?

Leape: Food production takes up around 40 percent of the planet's land surface, and livestock represents almost 80 percent of that agricultural land—livestock is the world's largest user of natural resources. Thinking about it another way, of all the mammals on Earth, 96 percent are livestock and humans—only 4 percent are wild. As the global population grows from 7 to 10 billion people, and growing prosperity increases appetites for protein, it will be vitally important that we become less reliant on cattle, pigs, sheep and chickens to produce the protein we consume. Food from the oceans, along with much more protein from plants, will be a key part of the solution.



Naylor: When is farmed in a sustainable way—not feeding aquafarms with wild-caught fish—it can reduce pressure on wild fisheries while also adding to fish supplies. Sustainable aquaculture practices can also prevent diseases and parasites that might spread to wild fish populations and can harm local habitats if fish are treated with medicines or pesticides. Sustainable fisheries management by small-scale fishing communities also provides a win-win outcome by raising incomes over the long run and protecting fish populations from over-fishing.

Leape: Harvest of wild fish rose sharply in the last several decades, driving many fisheries into decline and even collapse. We've since learned that if we exclude some areas for fishing—creating parks, or marine protected areas—we can restore the health of reefs, seagrass beds and other vital marine ecosystems and at the same time restore the productivity of fish stocks. Protected reserves allow fish to grow big and to produce many more offspring, and thus offer an actual win-win for the ocean and for fishers.


Naylor: Most people focus on the role of fish in meeting protein requirements for a growing in the future. But many types of fish also contribute significantly to micronutrient demands. The most important problem related to insecurity today is nutrition insecurity. Most of the world's population—with the exception of communities in protracted conflict—has access to adequate calories. Yet 2 to 3 billion people around the world suffer from micronutrient deficiencies that compromise physical and cognitive development. The kinds of fish that are typically used in animal feeds, like anchovies and sardines, also provide omega-3 fatty acids and essential vitamins (D, A and B) and minerals (calcium, iodine, zinc, iron and selenium) to consumers.



Leape: Over the last couple of decades we have also seen the rise of the sustainable seafood movement—scores of consumers, fishers, processors, retailers and chefs who have committed to producing and selling seafood from well-managed fisheries. Large companies like Walmart and McDonald's have helped take this movement mainstream. Today, in some of the world's most important seafood sectors, such as whitefish and wild salmon, most fisheries are now certified as sustainable. As new technological capabilities come online, it will increasingly be possible to trace each fish back to the boat that caught it, and the day it was caught.

What can individual people do to improve ocean health?

Leape: One of the most important things you can do every day is be careful about the seafood you buy. Look for seafood that carries the blue logo of the Marine Stewardship Council or that is rated highly by Seafood Watch or another guide. If isn't labeled, ask the waiter or the clerk at the fish counter where it came from. You'll be able to make better choices, and you'll be sending a strong signal to the restaurant or the store that they should pay attention too.



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Citation: Experts discuss food security from oceans (2019, August 21) retrieved 1 August 2021 from https://phys.org/news/2019-08-experts-discuss-food-oceans.html

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