Fish, shellfish, algae and other so-called “blue foods” stand out as one of the most internationally traded food commodities, playing a crucial role in human nutrition, supporting livelihoods, and generating revenue. A new study in Nature Communications, led by Jessica Gephart and co-authored by Kelvin Gorospe, Resonance’s Senior Technical Associate in Fisheries, announced the release of a database named ARTIS (Aquatic Resource Trade in Species), offering an innovative and free resource for anyone interested in understanding how the global blue food economy relates to environmental and socio-economic outcomes. In the international development context, it is important that we strive for a deeper understanding of blue food trade dynamics and domestic consumption patterns to inform strategic decision-making and project design.
Unlike other food systems, blue foods are incredibly diverse, comprising 2,400 species, each with their own unique nutritional benefits, environmental footprints, and climate change risks. A major gap in our understanding of the global blue food economy stems from a mismatch in data (Figure 1). Trade data is reported in terms of commodities (e.g., canned salmon or salmon fillet), while fisheries data is reported in terms of species or species groups (e.g., Salmo salar or Oncorhynchus spp.). Connecting these two data sources allowed researchers to estimate several unknowns: how much of each country’s wild and farmed species and what mix of species are converted into different commodities, how much of each country’s imported commodities are processed into other commodities for re-export, and how much is consumed domestically. The result is a global database of species-level trade and consumption patterns for all farmed and wild aquatic foods from marine and inland waters containing more than 35 million bilateral trade records for 193 countries from 1996 to 2020.
Figure 1: How the ARTIS database transforms mismatches in fisheries and trade data into a database that improves supply chain transparency and allows for deeper exploration of environmental and socio-economic outcomes
By making the database free and open access, the authors also hope that this resource will enable researchers to answer big questions about the global blue food economy. For example, the study highlights that the world’s least developed countries are net exporters of aquatic foods across all production methods, with net exports more than tripling between 1996 and 2018. Exports have the potential to benefit the least developed countries by generating revenue from high-value species, which can then be used to buy other foods, thereby enhancing local food security. But what is the tradeoff between generating income from fisheries exports versus the loss of local food and nutrition that could otherwise be consumed directly? Similarly, what is the effect of global economic and trade dynamics on local marine biodiversity? Understanding tradeoffs such as these is essential to enabling more holistic policymaking.
The study also highlighted that increasing volumes of fishery products are moving through intermediate countries, either in transit or as imports which are processed and then re-exported. This is just one example of how the globalized blue food economy is increasingly distancing consumers from the social and ecological impacts of their purchasing decisions while simultaneously making traceability efforts more difficult. Fish meal used in aquaculture is one example of how fishery products are processed and then re-exported through intermediate countries. This creates a global reliance on fish meal from wild capture sources and creates a complex interdependency between wild fisheries and farmed fish production.
International development programs that focus only on wild fisheries or only on aquaculture are inadvertently ignoring interdependencies that have implications for program outcomes and impact and missing opportunities to make progress towards development goals. For example, sustainable aquaculture can be an effective strategy to reduce pressure on wild fish populations and marine biodiversity while also increasing economic and food security outcomes. A systems-level approach that considers interactions between wild capture and aquaculture sectors is crucial to realizing more resilient, inclusive blue food systems.
Other high-level highlights from the study: