Aquatic food security: insights into challenges and solutions from an analysis of interactions between fisheries, aquaculture, food safety, human health, fish and human welfare, economy and environment AbstractFisheries and aquaculture production, imports, exports and equitability of distribution determine the supply of aquatic food to people. Aquatic food security is achieved when a food supply is sufficient, safe, sustainable, shockproof and sound: sufficient, to meet needs and preferences of people; safe, to provide nutritional benefit while posing minimal health risks; sustainable, to provide food now and for future generations; shock-proof, to provide resilience to shocks in production systems and supply chains; and sound, to meet legal and ethical standards for welfare of animals, people and environment. Here, we present an integrated assessment of these elements of the aquatic food system in the United Kingdom, a system linked to dynamic global networks of producers, processors and markets. Our assessment addresses sufficiency of supply from aquaculture, fisheries and trade; safety of supply given biological, chemical and radiation hazards; social, economic and environmental sustainability of production systems and supply chains; system resilience to social, economic and environmental shocks; welfare of fish, people and environment; and the authenticity of food. Conventionally, these aspects of the food system are not assessed collectively, so information supporting our assessment is widely dispersed. Our assessment reveals trade-offs and challenges in the food system that are easily overlooked in sectoral analyses of fisheries, aquaculture, health, medicine, human and fish welfare, safety and environment. We highlight potential benefits of an integrated, systematic and ongoing process to assess security of the aquatic food system and to predict impacts of social, economic and environmental change on food supply and demand.Keywords Ethics, food safety, food security, food system, health, sustainability F I S H and F I S H E R I E S , 2016, 17, 893-938Received 16 Nov 2015 Accepted 21 Jan 2016 Introduction 894The aquatic food system 898Wild-capture fisheries 898Aquaculture production 899Critical elements of food security 900 Sufficient food supply 901Sufficiency of UK supply: production and consumption 901Global production and consumption 903Safe food supply 904 Biological hazards 904Pathogens of human concern 904Marine biotoxins 906 Chemical hazards 906 Contaminants and veterinary residues 906Radiation hazards 908 Sustainable food supply 908Wild-capture fisheries 909Aquaculture production 914Relative impacts of fishing and aquaculture 915Processing 915 Drivers of sustainability 916Shockproof food supply 917Risks to wild-capture production 917Risks to aquaculture production 919Risks to supply chains 920 Sound food supply 921Social welfare and ethics 922Environmental welfare and ethics 924Animal welfare and ethics 925 Food authenticity 926Conclusions 927Acknowledgements 931References 931 IntroductionFood f...

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This study compares the fishing activity and landings of the trawl and creel fisheries for Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus (L.)) off the Portuguese coast, and evaluates the financial viability of two vessels typical of each fleet. Crustacean trawlers are part of an industrial fleet that, besides Nephrops, targets deep water shrimps. Creels are used by a multi-gear, multi-target artisanal fleet, fishing only in areas unavailable to trawlers and, when catching Nephrops, set specifically to target this species. Trawlers have in recent years contributed with 85% of the landings in weight, but only 74% in value (2005–2009 average). Despite smaller landings, the Nephrops creel fishery provides individuals of larger size and in better condition, thereby obtaining higher unit prices. Economic viability was also higher for the creel vessel, with trawling being only viable if major costs (such as labor and fuel) are covered by the revenue from other target species (e.g., the rose shrimp). At present, Nephrops populations on the South and SW coast are subject to intense fishing and to a recovery plan. The possibility of reallocation of some of the fishing effort directed at Nephrops from trawlers to creels is discussed in terms of the conservation of the resource and economic return.

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Seamounts are common topographic features in the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge (MAR) including the Azores. However, the knowledge on the ecology of seamounts in this region remains scarce despite needs for assessment and management of seamount resources such as the developing fisheries for deep‐water crabs. We described here for the first time the biological characteristics of an unexploited virgin deep‐water red crab Chaceon affinis population on seamount areas of the MAR to test the hypothesis that its general life history characteristics are similar in different ecosystem types (coastal areas and seamounts) across Macaronesia. We used a randomly stratified design to prospect a layer between 600 and 900 m depth around the summit of two isolated seamounts off the Azores. Results were consistent with the literature information in relation to the patterns of depth distribution, size and sex structure, and reproductive aspects. On the other hand, seamounts showed higher abundances when compared to previously studied coastal areas. Abundance may be also different between seamount areas as a function of the suitable bottom type available and presence of hydrothermal vents. We recommend that the essential habitat of the species should be better mapped identifying vulnerable areas before the development of any fishery.