AQUATIC/BLUE FOODS Aquatic, or blue foods – fish, shellfish, seaweed and other plants and animals captured or cultivated in freshwater and marine ecosystems – play a central role in food and nutrition security for billions of people. They are the cornerstone of the livelihoods, economies and cultures of many coastal, rural and riparian communities. To realise these benefits requires system-level change. Governments will need to embed sustainable and equitable aquatic/blue food production in food system strategies, governance, planning and resource allocation top to bottom. Here are the steps to take: 1. Protect and develop the potential of aquatic/blue foods to help end malnutrition In keeping with the Right to Food and leaving no one behind, manage aquatic/blue foods as sources of essential nutrients that can help end malnutrition. To that end, food policy should research, recognize and harness the nutritional diversity of aquatic/blue foods; include sustainably sourced and farmed aquatic/blue foods in national food-based dietary guidelines, school feeding and social safety net programs; reduce loss of nutrients from waste, environmental change and management failures; and ensure equitable distribution of aquatic/blue food production and consumption. 2. Support the central role of small-scale actors in ocean and inland fisheries and aquaculture Expand investment in small-scale actors, and support the access arrangements and tenure claims of traditional fishing and farming communities, to support sustainable development and diversification of the sector and to ensure equitable economic opportunity and nutrition for all. Women make up approximately half of the fishing and aquaculture workforce; governments need to ensure small-scale actors – including women and vulnerable groups – are included in aquatic/blue food decision-making. 3. Bring aquatic/blue foods into the heart of food systems decision-making Integrate aquatic/blue foods into holistic food policy-making to govern the entire food value chain from producers to consumers. Protect inland and ocean food production and build resilience by limiting external threats. Healthy ecosystems underpin the vitality of aquatic/blue foods and must be conserved by controlling harmful practices and regulating competing uses. Inclusively establish a global network of effective and representative protection and conservation areas for climate, food security, livelihood and biodiversity benefits. 8 eco AUTUMN 2021
ECO ECO Autumn 2021: Page 8
