The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda makes achieving food security and ending malnutrition a global priority. Within this framework, the importance of fisheries in local and global food systems and its contribution to nutrition and health, particularly for the poor are overlooked and undervalued. This paper reviews current fish production and consumption from capture fisheries and aquaculture, highlights opportunities for enhancing healthy diets and outlines key multi-sectoral policy solutions. Mirroring the call for a diversification of agricultural research and investment beyond a few staple grains, it is anticipated that productivity gains for a few farmed aquatic species will not suffice. Capture fisheries and aquaculture have a complementary role to play in increasing fish availability and access, and must be promoted in ways that support measurable nutrition and health gains. This paper argues that the lack of a nutrition-sensitive policy focus on capture fisheries and aquaculture represents an untapped opportunity that must be realised for ensuring sustainable healthy diets for all.
Fisheries 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.
Josh Korman, James A. Crossman, Jason G McLellan
et al.
Documenting the effects of hatchery practices on vital rates and abundance of hatchery-origin fish in the wild is important for adaptive management of aquaculture programs aiming to improve the status of wild populations. Here, we synthesize outcomes from a long-running (2001–2021) conservation aquaculture program for White Sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus in the Canada (CDN)–USA transboundary reach of the upper Columbia River. A Bayesian multistate Cormack–Jolly–Seber model was used to estimate abundance, survival, movement, and harvest rates for 14 year-classes of hatchery-origin White Sturgeon. The model was fitted to 20 years of mark–recapture data from more than 140,000 PIT-tagged juveniles released from hatcheries in CDN and the United States between 2001 and 2014. There was substantive variation in survival and movement rates among year-classes, which in CDN was driven in part by increased competition from hatchery-origin fish. Survival rates of age-1 fish in CDN declined by fourfold over 7 years during a period when biomass of hatchery fish increased from 0 to 20 kg/ha. Movement rates out of CDN over this period increased by a similar amount. Releasing fish at 30 cm compared to 20 cm led to a fivefold increase in the survival rate to age 5. Age-1 survival rates for fish released in spring or summer were 6- and 27-fold higher compared to survival rates of fish released in fall or winter in CDN and the USA, respectively. Maternal family effects on survival rates were generally weak. Harvest fisheries in the USA reduced the abundance of over-represented year-classes by 44–92% between 2017 and 2021, but the extent of depletions was uncertain due to the limited number of PIT tag recoveries. In 2021, abundance of hatchery-origin fish was 60% higher in CDN (8,900) than in the USA (5,700) due to a combination of (1) higher stocking rates in CDN in the early years of the program and (2) removal of fish in the USA from recreational and tribal fisheries. Evaluating the success of sturgeon conservation aquaculture programs requires decades of effort, and adaptive management is challenged by the much shorter time frames that decision makers are used to working with. Our study showed that conservation aquaculture for White Sturgeon in the transboundary reach has achieved some of its original goals in the first two decades of implementation by reducing the risk of extirpation and maintaining genetic diversity of the wild population. High stocking rates during the early years of the program resulted in lower survival of hatchery-origin fish in CDN, higher rates of movement of hatchery-origin fish from CDN to the USA, and lower somatic growth rates of hatchery- and wild-origin fish in both countries. These effects will likely persist for decades owing to the long lifespan of White Sturgeon. Natural spawning of hatchery-origin fish has yet to be documented but will likely begin about three decades after the start of the program. It will take at least four decades from the start of the program to determine whether hatchery-origin fish are increasing natural recruitment to the wild population. Our study underscores the importance of using a rigorous long-term adaptive management framework to evaluate recovery actions and potentially modify them over time.
Abstract Aquaculture has expanded rapidly over the past half century and has surpassed capture fisheries as a source of seafood globally. However, most of the aquaculture production growth has occurred in developing countries. Despite early leadership in the global aquaculture industry, most developed countries have played only a minor role in the Blue Revolution. This paper examines the potential for developed nations to increase aquaculture production using recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) based production. The United States is used as a case study to highlight potential benefits associated with RAS-based production for developed country producers. The paper examines potential marketing and production benefits associated with RAS-based production in developed countries and evaluates the potential for RAS to avoid some regulatory and social opposition obstacles that have hindered other forms of aquaculture in developed countries.
Abstract Land-based recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) are used routinely for rearing juvenile Atlantic salmon in freshwater (to seawater-tolerant smolts). These systems potentially also offer a promising alternative to sea pen farming of Atlantic salmon in the drive to satisfy increasing global market demands and reduce pressures on marine fisheries and ecosystems. Several technological challenges need to be overcome and key knowledge gaps addressed to realize the potential of seawater RAS for post-smolt grow-out. Firstly, seawater RAS requires cost-effective technological solutions for maintaining the quality of recirculating seawater and treating and disposing of high-salinity wastewater. Technology within RAS also needs to cater for the different physiological requirements of distinct life stages of Atlantic salmon (from eggs to table-ready fish), to maximize fish welfare and growth, and to ensure high product quality. In this review we draw attention to interacting physical, chemical and biological components of RAS, which need to be managed systemically when optimizing and maintaining freshwater and seawater aquaculture systems. We then briefly review published local- to global-scale sustainability indicators, quantified through life-cycle analysis (LCA), to facilitate comparisons between lanf-based RAS and sea-based closed containment aquaculture systems. Existing ‘cradle to gate’ LCAs focus on production efficiency, energy consumption and carbon accounting, and call into question the sustainability of geographically extensive production of Atlantic salmon using RAS, for example in hot, dry climates. These LCAs, however, often do not account for major benefits of RAS, including reduced food miles (to market), the removal of direct environmental threats to farmed salmon (including from sea lice) and reciprocal risks to marine ecosystems from sea pen farming. We conclude that judgements on the efficiency and sustainability of RAS, compared to other farming methods, for upscaling Atlantic salmon production to meet rising global demands need to be assessed more holistically, adopting systems-wide approaches.
Aquaculture generates less greenhouse gas emissions compared to other agriculture practices due to its limited land‐use changes, improved feed conversion rates, and reduced methane emissions from animals' digestive systems. The aquaculture carbon emissions come from various production stages, including feed production, farm operations, processing, transportation, and so forth. This review illustrates the theories, calculation methods, and practical applications of the carbon footprint in fisheries and aquaculture, as well as the challenges and strategies for emission reduction. The factors influencing the carbon footprint of fishing and manufacturing aquaculture are also discussed. Further research should focus on refining carbon footprint assessment techniques, promoting green technologies and sustainable aquaculture practices. Managing aquaculture's carbon footprint though is crucial for mitigating environmental impacts and supporting sustainable development.
Women’s empowerment and gender equality are key goals for development and human rights. However, a significant gap still exists in achieving these twin goals. Formulating appropriate strategies for women’s empowerment requires first understanding context-specific patterns and sources of disempowerment. We use data collected using a questionnaire survey from 1653 households in Rangpur and Rajshahi districts in Bangladesh. Guided by an analytic tool that measures women’s empowerment, inclusion and agency (the project level Women’s Empowerment in Fisheries and aquaculture Index (pro-WEFI)), and using seven empowerment indicators, we provide findings on the status of women’s empowerment, participation, and engagement in aquaculture in Bangladesh. Results show that women were highly involved in making household decisions, mainly jointly with their husbands. However, data suggest a substantial gap in women’s access to financial services, in participation in aquaculture activities, and in access to and control over productive capital and remuneration for aquaculture labor. Finally, despite some women achieving adequacy on some indicators, most women in fish farming households in Bangladesh lack adequacy on many of the selected indicators.
Kelvin E. Vulla, F. Mmanda, Baraka P. Nyangoko
et al.
Inland aquaculture operations are practised all over the world, contributing about 62.6% of all farmed aquatic animals. This venture is increasing worldwide and outpacing the global market demand for fish and fishery products driven by competition with other animals, over‐population and over‐exploitation of wild capture fisheries. These operations expand globally, associated with the degradation of the culture environment due to poor aquaculture management practices and algal blooms due to nutrient influxes as well as high demand of quality fish feeds of affordable price. To overcome these challenges, sustainable, healthy and environmentally friendly alternatives including probiotics application must be adopted to achieve better production, profitability and productivity as well as a resilient culture environment. In this review, information on potential applications of probiotics in aquaculture (inland aquaculture) focused on sources, safety, approved probiotics for aquaculture, characteristics of probiotics, mode of applications and its potential use on pathogenic microbes control, fish haematological parameters, growth performance and stress responses, water quality parameter, anti‐nutritional factors and feed digestibility, limitation of using probiotics in aquaculture and lastly future perspectives on the probiotics application in aquaculture industry were reviewed and compiled for future sustainable aquaculture production and productivity and environmentally friendly. The review has also highlighted all probiotics application and their approved authority for use in farmed freshwater fish (Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus, Catfish Clarias gariepinus, rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and common carp Cyprinus carpio) and their cultured environment worldwide. Therefore, the review has comprised all information on the potential benefits application of probiotics in an inland aquaculture for public documentation and also identifies gaps in the aquaculture industry that require further research and assessment.
The fisheries and aquaculture sectors are growing rapidly, reflecting their importance in meeting the ever-increasing human population’s demands for animal protein. Production progress in this sector, however, is challenging as a result of increased deaths from epidemics caused by bacterial infectious diseases in aquaculturally important species. In order to minimize the impact of such diseases, quick and reliable diagnosis of pathogens, timely intervention, and control of the disease are essential to ensure the health of aquaculture and fisheries stocks. Thus, high-throughput proteomics-based matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been used as a rapid, accurate, and species-specific tool for the identification of bacterial fish pathogens and antibiotic resistance. The aim of this article is to review and evaluate the results of nearly three hundred papers published from 2010 to 2023 on the application of MALDI-TOF MS in aquaculture, showing that this method has been increasingly used over the years for the species-level identification and antibiotic resistance of fifty different gram-positive and negative bacterial aquatic pathogens encountered in wild or cultured fish, shellfish, invertebrates, and crustaceans. In addition, the history and general principles of the MALDI-TOF MS method are also mentioned in the article so that fish disease researchers interested in the use of this technology can see all aspects of the topic.
Cholesterol is an important component of fresh biological baits and essential precursor to synthesize steroid hormones for crustacean. However, the cholesterol demand in Pacific white shrimp broodstock and its roles on ovary development and reproductive capacity are unknown. In the present study, female Pacific white shrimp broodstock (initial weight 51.3 ± 0.5 g) were fed with three diets contained 0.5 %, 1 % or 1.5 % cholesterol for 45 days. The results found that dietary cholesterol levels did not affect survival rate, weight gain, egg-laying number, vitellogenin content and vitellogenin receptor gene expression in the hepatopancreas. However, the hepatosomatic index, gonadosomatic index, egg diameter, vitellogenin level in the ovary and fertilized egg, C22:6n-3 (DHA) level in the fertilized egg, total protein, triglyceride and cholesterol contents were all increased in the 1.0 % and 1.5 % cholesterol groups than those in the 0.5 % cholesterol group. Moreover, compared with the 0.5 % and 1.0 % cholesterol groups, the 1.5 % cholesterol group had significantly higher gonad maturation number, mating rate, estradiol level in the hemolymph, steroid hormones synthesis related genes (HMGCR, StAR, 17βHSD and 1vMFBP) expression in the ovary and hepatopancreas. In conclusion, dietary 1.5 % cholesterol could promote ovary development and reproductive capacity in female Litopenaeus vannamei broodstock by improving nutrients accumulation and steroid hormones synthesis pathway. Our results provide guidance for design of artificial compound feed and healthy development of shrimp broodstock farm.
AbstractAdditional cover: The cover image is based on the Short Communication Discovery of mineralizations in the caudal vertebrae of perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) — a potential new tool for environmental impact assessment by O. Magnus Karlsson et al., https://doi.org/10.1002/aff2.183.