Identifying Policy Best-Practices to Support the Contribution of Aquatic Foods to Food and Nutrition Security

Abstract

The relationship between aquatic foods and food nutrition and security is increasingly recognised in policy and practice, yet many governance instruments do not acknowledge or support this important connection. The most effective policy approaches to support the link between these sectors, or ‘best practices’ are currently unknown. We reviewed relevant governance instruments from multiple countries to identify how these instruments linked fisheries, aquaculture and food security and nutrition, including the policy framing and evidence of political commitment. Of the documents connecting the sectors (65%), the majority did so in the context of developing the fisheries/aquaculture sector to increase aquatic food availability and/or access (51%), followed by developing the fisheries/aquaculture sector as a livelihoods approach to indirectly improve food security (33%), for example, through income generation. Sectoral links established in the context of nutrition-sensitive approaches to fisheries and aquaculture were less common (5%). Almost one third (29%) of instruments supported the connection between aquatic foods and food security and nutrition across three or more different contexts relevant to food security or food systems, while 12% indicated a very high level of commitment. We recommend some key attributes for future policy development to help build coherence between sectors and to help frame coherent food system-based policies.

Perspectives on aquaculture's contribution to theSustainable Development Goalsfor improved human and planetary health

“…Rebalancing this would imply that there are mechanisms in place so that the revenues from exports fall back on the people and communities where production is generated in the first place, that is, through taxes (Soto et al, 2021). Aquaculture can impact negatively on capture fisheries potential to deliver on many of the SDGs (Clavelle et al, 2019; Farmery, Allison, et al, 2021; Farmery, White, et al, 2021; Naylor et al, 2000) as a result of impacts on aquatic habitats and competition for fishery resources. However, again, the overall benefits from aquaculture need to be evaluated. In addition, fisheries and aquaculture interact through market competition indicating the need for integrated planning and management of the two sectors for understanding different SDG outcomes. Nutritional trade‐offs can arise where increased consumption of farmed fish replaces more nutritious wild fish (Belton et al, 2014; Bogard et al, 2017) and also where nutrient profiles of fish are altered in response to different feed ingredients selected based on economic or environmental considerations.…”

“…Meeting the 2030 global agenda for sustainable development will be challenging and will require partnership, innovation, and holistic and harmonized approaches and strategies at multiple scales. Aquaculture can be well‐positioned to be part of the solutions but progress toward its contribution to achieving the SDGs is dependent on good governance at all levels (local, national, regional and international) of decision‐making (Farmery, Allison, et al, 2021; Farmery et al, 2020; Farmery, White, et al, 2021; Hambrey, 2017; Stead, 2019). While aquaculture brings opportunities to contribute to most of the SDGs, there are many factors influencing what the outcomes for SDGs will be from different types of aquaculture systems in different situations.…”

“…Important for policy development and implementation is that an overemphasis on aquaculture production growth, rather than equitable distribution of benefits (Brugere et al, 2021), may reduce its positive contribution to the SDGs, especially to food security, nutrition, sustainable production and consumption, and human well‐being. Thus, production/export orientation of some forms of aquaculture may risk limiting overall potential positive contributions to the SDGs, for example, if competing with food resources and benefits from production are not being shared (Belton et al, 2020; Farmery, Allison, et al, 2021; Farmery, White, et al, 2021).…”

Analysis of Leading Sectors in Improving the Economy East Java Province in 2016-2020

“…The economic growth rate indicates the success of a region's economic development (Tortorella et al, 2019;Rajput & Singh, 2019). The implementation of decentralization gives local governments the authority to take care of their internal affairs based on the Local Government Law Number 32 of 2004 (Farmery et al, 2021). Based on the table above, it can be seen that the contribution of the economic sector to the GRDP of East Java from 2016-2019 has increased while in 2020 there has been a decline in several economic sectors (Litvinenko, 2020).…”

Fishing for health: Do the world’s national policies for fisheries and aquaculture align with those for nutrition?

“…Hicks et al, (2019) estimate that utilizing just 20% of coastal finfish catch in 22 countries could alleviate micronutrient deficiencies for all children under 5 years old in those countries. Despite this potential, policy mechanisms to improve alignment between fisheries, nutrition and PHN sectors are often weak, or missing (Farmery et al, 2021).…”