What do we know about the future of aquatic foods in global agrifood systems?

Chan, Chin Yee; Tran, Nhuong; Hoong, Yan; Sulser, Timothy B.; and Aung, Yee Mon. 2025. What do we know about the future of aquatic foods in global agrifood systems? In What do we know about the future of food systems? eds. Keith Wiebe and Elisabetta Gotor. Part Three: What Do We Know About the Future of Selected Food Commodities? Chapter 29, Pp. 172-176. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175523

Demand for aquatic foods has increased rapidly due to population growth, rising incomes, and enhanced appreciation for the health benefits of fish. The rapid growth of aquaculture in the past two decades has been the key contributor to meeting the increasing demand for aquatic foods.

Aquatic foods are nutrient-rich, generate low emissions and impacts on land and water, and contribute to the human health, well-being, and livelihoods of rural communities.

The latest fish foresight studies provide multifaceted insights into future scenarios of technological progress, climate change, population growth, diet transformation, urbanization, investments, and policy shifts in the fish sector and the potential for fish to provide nutrition-sensitive interventions to combat food insecurity and malnutrition at the global, regional, and national level.

Further foresight studies are needed to inform policymaking and develop a deeper understanding of the role aquatic foods can play in addressing the nutritional, social, and environmental food systems challenges while navigating the trade-offs of pursuing these different goals.