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Seafood plays an important role in sustainably feeding the world and is one of the most traded food products globally. However sustainability improvements are often focused on its production (e.g., aquaculture, fishing) rather than trade. Here, we quantify the magnitude and extent of global 'redundant two-way' seafood trade-the exchange of the same quantity of the same taxonomic species between two countries-to examine its prevalence and potential implications across the seafood supply chain. We focused on wild-caught seafood trade and found that redundant two-way trade has increased by 43%, between 2000 and 2015, making up 3.2% (7.7 Mt) of global seafood trade during that period. Although most countries were involved in redundant two-way seafood trade (111 of 212 analyzed), the majority occurred between five trade partners: Canada and the United States (15%), Germany and the Netherlands (11.8%); Denmark and Sweden (10.6%); Germany and Denmark (7.1%); and France and Norway (7%). Nearly 50% of redundant trade is made up of just four species including Atlantic herring, Atlantic cod, Skipjack tuna and Atlantic mackerel. While deficiencies in global seafood trade data mask seasonal and product heterogeneity, redundant trade could have implications for meeting conservation and sustainable development goals. Future research should build upon these findings to explore specific environmental, economic, and social implications associated with redundant two-way trade to benefit producers and consumers within the seafood supply chain., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Kuempel et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Blue foods, sourced in aquatic environments, are important for the economies, livelihoods, nutritional security and cultures of people in many nations. They are often nutrient rich 1 , generate lower emissions and impacts on land and water than many terrestrial meats 2 , and contribute to the health 3 , wellbeing and livelihoods of many rural communities 4 . The Blue Food Assessment recently evaluated nutritional, environmental, economic and justice dimensions of blue foods globally. Here we integrate these findings and translate them into four policy objectives to help realize the contributions that blue foods can make to national food systems around the world: ensuring supplies of critical nutrients, providing healthy alternatives to terrestrial meat, reducing dietary environmental footprints and safeguarding blue food contributions to nutrition, just economies and livelihoods under a changing climate. To account for how context-specific environmental, socio-economic and cultural aspects affect this contribution, we assess the relevance of each policy objective for individual countries, and examine associated co-benefits and trade-offs at national and international scales. We find that in many African and South American nations, facilitating consumption of culturally relevant blue food, especially among nutritionally vulnerable population segments, could address vitamin B 12 and omega-3 deficiencies. Meanwhile, in many global North nations, cardiovascular disease rates and large greenhouse gas footprints from ruminant meat intake could be lowered through moderate consumption of seafood with low environmental impact. The analytical framework we provide also identifies countries with high future risk, for whom climate adaptation of blue food systems will be particularly important. Overall the framework helps decision makers to assess the blue food policy objectives most relevant to their geographies, and to compare and contrast the benefits and trade-offs associated with pursuing these objectives., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

For the Syilx Okanagan Nation, food sovereignty is foundational to ensuring their cultural food security and health. Salmon being a central Syilx food, the Nation has worked relentlessly since the 1990s to reintroduce Okanagan sockeye salmon into their traditional territory. This study describes the reach of this initiative and assesses its impact on Syilx households' income-related and cultural food security status. In total, 265 households participated in the study. Overall, 48.6% of participants ate Okanagan sockeye salmon during the year prior to the survey. Most participants (89.1%) reported that during the prior year their household accessed salmon from a community member or through trade (53.7%), community program (49.8%), a feast or ceremony (35.8%), or household harvest (27.2%). The number of ways that households accessed salmon was associated with a greater frequency of salmon consumption ( p < 0.0001). Income-related (46.5%) and cultural (63.1%) food insecurity were prevalent. Households' access to salmon was significantly associated with cultural food security and the perceived importance of cultural food security. This study suggests Indigenous food sovereignty initiatives can increase traditional food access and consumption, thereby enhancing cultural food security. They should be supported by governments, organizations and corporations. Novelty: Indigenous food sovereignty initiatives can increase traditional food access and consumption, thereby enhancing cultural food security. Indigenous-led wild habitat restoration interventions can help reconcile past social and environmental injustices. This study was conducted on the unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan People.

Numerous studies have focused on the need to expand production of 'blue foods', defined as aquatic foods captured or cultivated in marine and freshwater systems, to meet rising population- and income-driven demand. Here we analyze the roles of economic, demographic, and geographic factors and preferences in shaping blue food demand, using secondary data from FAO and The World Bank, parameters from published models, and case studies at national to sub-national scales. Our results show a weak cross-sectional relationship between per capita income and consumption globally when using an aggregate fish metric. Disaggregation by fish species group reveals distinct geographic patterns; for example, high consumption of freshwater fish in China and pelagic fish in Ghana and Peru where these fish are widely available, affordable, and traditionally eaten. We project a near doubling of global fish demand by mid-century assuming continued growth in aquaculture production and constant real prices for fish. Our study concludes that nutritional and environmental consequences of rising demand will depend on substitution among fish groups and other animal source foods in national diets., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Fish and other aquatic foods (blue foods) present an opportunity for more sustainable diets 1,2 . Yet comprehensive comparison has been limited due to sparse inclusion of blue foods in environmental impact studies 3,4 relative to the vast diversity of production 5 . Here we provide standardized estimates of greenhouse gas, nitrogen, phosphorus, freshwater and land stressors for species groups covering nearly three quarters of global production. We find that across all blue foods, farmed bivalves and seaweeds generate the lowest stressors. Capture fisheries predominantly generate greenhouse gas emissions, with small pelagic fishes generating lower emissions than all fed aquaculture, but flatfish and crustaceans generating the highest. Among farmed finfish and crustaceans, silver and bighead carps have the lowest greenhouse gas, nitrogen and phosphorus emissions, but highest water use, while farmed salmon and trout use the least land and water. Finally, we model intervention scenarios and find improving feed conversion ratios reduces stressors across all fed groups, increasing fish yield reduces land and water use by up to half, and optimizing gears reduces capture fishery emissions by more than half for some groups. Collectively, our analysis identifies high-performing blue foods, highlights opportunities to improve environmental performance, advances data-poor environmental assessments, and informs sustainable diets., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

While there is substantial literature about the socio-cultural characteristics and values associated with recreational and commercial fisheries in the U.S., studies directed at those who 'fish for food'-those who depend on consuming their catch to various degrees-are relatively sparse. Using qualitative data collected through 80 semi-structured interviews with fishers in the summer and fall of 2018 in Carteret County, North Carolina, this study aims to better understand the group of recreational fishers who consume their catch by describing social and cultural dimensions and values associated with fishing for food, examining the role of infrastructure in facilitating access to benefits associated with this activity, and considering how knowledge of existing licensing regulations surrounding subsistence license waivers affect this fishing community. Interviews conducted at free public fishing structures in the region revealed that fishers derive a variety of values and benefits from fishing at these sites, including access to recreation, nutrition, a social community, and mental health benefits, which were found to be negatively impacted by Hurricane Florence in September 2018. We also found an informal economy of sharing catch on- and off-site that extends the reach and benefits facilitated by public infrastructure to people beyond those using it directly. Overall, we call for conceptualizations of 'fishing for food' that include aspects that go beyond traditional definitions of 'subsistence' or 'recreational' fishing such as food security, access, and less obvious social and cultural motivations behind the activity. These findings are a compelling rationalization for the creation and maintenance of formal and informal fishing places locally and, by extension, in other coastal areas, given the array of benefits provided by access to these types of locations., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Global food demand is rising, and serious questions remain about whether supply can increase sustainably 1 . Land-based expansion is possible but may exacerbate climate change and biodiversity loss, and compromise the delivery of other ecosystem services 2-6 . As food from the sea represents only 17% of the current production of edible meat, we ask how much food we can expect the ocean to sustainably produce by 2050. Here we examine the main food-producing sectors in the ocean-wild fisheries, finfish mariculture and bivalve mariculture-to estimate 'sustainable supply curves' that account for ecological, economic, regulatory and technological constraints. We overlay these supply curves with demand scenarios to estimate future seafood production. We find that under our estimated demand shifts and supply scenarios (which account for policy reform and technology improvements), edible food from the sea could increase by 21-44 million tonnes by 2050, a 36-74% increase compared to current yields. This represents 12-25% of the estimated increase in all meat needed to feed 9.8 billion people by 2050. Increases in all three sectors are likely, but are most pronounced for mariculture. Whether these production potentials are realized sustainably will depend on factors such as policy reforms, technological innovation and the extent of future shifts in demand.

Fish production has been practiced since ancient Egypt and China. It has become a fast-growing agricultural sector that provides animal protein for most people globally. While China is the leading country in the world, Egypt and Nigeria stand on the top in Africa. The overall fishery production potential of Ethiopian water bodies is estimated to be 94,500 tons per year, while the actual production is 38,370 tons. Despite more water bodies and more fish diversity in the region, fish production and marketing is very low. This review is undertaken to assess the main factors affecting fish production and the marketing chain in Gambella region. Despite the known water and fish potential of the region, fish production is very low. Major factors contributing to a reduction in fish production in the region include inefficient fishing gears, poor transportation access, poor postharvest handling, low price at the landing site, and improper market place. Drying is the predominant postharvest technique and fishing methods are of a subsistence basis. All the fishing activities take place in the natural environment, and aquaculture is not yet established. Enough modern and efficient gears need to be made available. Other modern postharvest handling techniques need to be introduced to ensure a longer shelf life of fish after harvest. Infrastructures need to be constructed to access all water bodies in the region. Because the region has such water resource potential and incredible fish species diversity, the aquaculture needs to be established and popularized. Traceability needs to be adopted in the region to prevent food-borne diseases. Based on this paper, the government and other stakeholders could develop policy considering the issue of the fishery status of the region., Competing Interests: The author declares that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Gatriay Tut Deng.)

Alongside government driven management initiatives to achieve sustainable fisheries management, there remains a role for market-based mechanisms to improve fisheries outcomes. Market-based mechanisms are intended to create positive economic incentives that improve the status and management of fisheries. Research to understand consumer demand for certified fish is central but needs to be mirrored by supply side understanding including why fisheries decide to gain or retain certification and the impact of certification on them and other stakeholders involved. We apply semi-structured interviews in seven different Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified fisheries that operate in (or from) Western Australia with the aim of better understanding fisheries sector participation in certification schemes (the supply side) and the impacts and unintended benefits and costs of certification. We find that any positive economic impacts of certification were only realised in a limited number of MSC fisheries in Western Australia, which may be explained by the fact that only a small proportion of Western Australian state-managed fisheries are sold with the MSC label and ex-vessel or consumer market price premiums are therefore mostly not obtained. Positive impacts of certification in these Western Australian fisheries are more of a social and institutional nature, for example, greater social acceptability and increased efficiency in the governance process respectively. However, opinion is divided on whether the combined non-monetary and monetary benefits outweigh the costs., Competing Interests: We hereby also provide a Competing Interests Statement indicating that this research that was carried out by the CSIRO (Hobart) received funding from the Marine stewardship Council (MSC) (London). The funding was received to undertake the interviews with the relevant stakeholders in Western Australia and to analyse the results and prepare a report. The first author (Ingrid van Putten) is an employee of CSIRO and she was the Principal Investigator on this project. The first author led the writing of the manuscript and the co-authors from the MSC contributed to the manuscript equally as the other co-authors. There are no patents or any products that arise from this research. We acknowledge that the affiliation of some of the co-authors with the MSC and the fact that funding was received from the MSC to carry out this research does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) sets a standard by which sustainable fisheries can be assessed and eco-certified. It is one of the oldest and most well-known fisheries certifications, and an estimated 15% of global fish catch is MSC-certified. While the MSC is increasingly recognized by decision-makers as an indicator for fishery success, it is also criticized for weak standards and overly-lenient third-party certifiers. This gap between the standard's reputation and its actual implementation could be a result of how the MSC markets and promotes its brand. Here we classify MSC-certified fisheries by gear type (i.e. active vs. passive) as well as by length of the vessels involved (i.e. large scale vs. small scale; with the division between the two occurring at 12 m in overall length). We compared the MSC-certified fisheries (until 31 December 2017) to 399 photographs the MSC used in promotional materials since 2009. Results show that fisheries involving small-scale vessels and passive gears were disproportionately represented in promotional materials: 64% of promotional photographs were of passive gears, although only 40% of MSC-certified fisheries and 17% of the overall catch were caught by passive gears from 2009-2017. Similarly, 49% of the photographs featured small-scale vessels, although just 20% of MSC-certified fisheries and 7% of the overall MSC-certified catch used small-scale vessels from 2009 to 2017. The MSC disproportionately features photographs of small-scale fisheries although the catch it certifies is overwhelmingly from industrial fisheries., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The call for environmentally sustainable seafood consumption is growing. Seafood-related behavior is often an outcome of assessing attributes of the product (e.g., taste, freshness, source). To shift consumer (i.e., tourists and residents) preferences toward environmentally sustainable products, many coastal communities of the United States (U.S.) promote production (i.e., Wild-caught, Environmentally sustainable) and source (i.e., Harvested locally, Safe from pollutants) attributes of local seafood. Even if consumers believe these production and source attributes are important, they may lack confidence in their ability to distinguish them when purchasing seafood. Expansion of sustainable coastal mariculture is recommended for food security and enhancing economic resilience of local commercial fisheries, but this newer production attribute (i.e., Farmed in marine waters) adds more complexity to consumer decision-making. Research examining the difference between importance and confidence for seafood attributes is limited. This study surveyed tourists and residents in South Carolina and Florida (U.S.) coastal communities where varying levels of tourism and commercial seafood harvest, including marine farming of shellfish, were occurring. The research measured these consumers' level of importance and confidence for production and source attributes when purchasing seafood in the coastal community. Residents rated importance and confidence higher than tourists for some attributes, but there was no difference between states for tourist or resident subgroups. Both tourists and residents rated confidence lower than importance for all attributes. An Importance-Confidence Analysis (ICA), adapted from Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA), identified attributes needing enhanced marketing and consumer education. The ICA indicated that Environmentally sustainable and Safe from pollutants were high priorities for improving confidence. The low priority rating for Farmed in marine waters was deemed misleading because improved outreach for this attribute could reduce barriers to acceptance and improve recognition., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The white leg Litopenaeus vannamei shrimp is of importance to the eastern Pacific fisheries and aquaculture industry but suffer from diseases such as the recently emerged early mortality syndrome. Many bacterial pathogens have been identified but the L. vannamei microbiota is still poorly known. Using a next-generation sequencing (NGS) approach, this work evaluated the impact of the inclusion in the diet of mannan oligosaccharide, (MOS, 0.5% w/w), over the L. vannamei microbiota and production behavior of L. vannamei under intensive cultivation in Ecuador. The MOS supplementation lasted for 60 days, after which the shrimp in the ponds were harvested, and the production data were collected. MOS improved productivity outcomes by increasing shrimp survival by 30%. NGS revealed quantitative differences in the shrimp microbiota between MOS and control conditions. In the treatment with inclusion of dietary MOS, the predominant phylum was Actinobacteria (28%); while the control group was dominated by the phylum Proteobacteria (30%). MOS has also been linked to an increased prevalence of Lactococcus- and Verrucomicrobiaceae-like bacteria. Furthermore, under the treatment of MOS, the prevalence of potential opportunistic pathogens, like Vibrio, Aeromonas, Bergeyella and Shewanella, was negligible. This may be attributable to MOS blocking the adhesion of pathogens to the surfaces of the host tissues. Together, these findings point to the fact that the performance (survival) improvements of the dietary MOS may be linked to the impact on the microbiota, since bacterial lines with pathogenic potential towards shrimps were excluded in the gut.

The role of aquatic animals in global food and nutrition security is increasingly recognised. The global demand for fish is increasing, leading to a need to significantly increase its supply. Securing future fish supplies through sustainable production is a challenge as major resources such as fresh water and land are becoming limited worldwide. Aquaculture and capture fisheries face various threats from both human-mediated and natural environmental change, including climate change. Aquaculture systems and practices are vulnerable to such changes. Moreover, aquatic animal diseases are currently considered one of the most important constraints to sustainable global fish production. The need to increase global production, combined with climate change, may increase losses due to diseases. This paper examines key vulnerabilities, their impacts and management to achieve increased and sustainable global fish production. The authors focus on the need to apply international standards, and to develop biosecurity and capacity in aquatic animal health to improve global fish health. Research needed to underpin the development of improved detection and control of fish diseases is also discussed.

Fish and seafood consumption in Australia has been growing, yet the implications of this trend across the food system, from both a health and sustainability perspective have not been fully explored. This paper aims to map out the fish and seafood food system in Australia, linking production and consumption, to articulate challenges and opportunities for enhancing the sector's contribution to future healthy and sustainable diets. We conducted a secondary analysis of publicly available datasets on fish and seafood production and consumption, triangulated and supplemented with peer-reviewed and grey literature on environmental, economic and social sustainability issues throughout the food system. A key challenge for health is the high proportion of fish and seafood consumed as discretionary food, particularly among children. Key challenges for sustainability include the narrow focus on environmental sustainability (with little consideration of the other domains), and the focus on production with little consideration for sustainability throughout post-harvest handling, processing, retail, distribution and consumption. Key opportunities for health and sustainability include the innovative use of processing and packaging technology to maximise nutritional quality; creation of markets and supply chains for a greater diversity of underutilised fish and seafood species and processing by-products; and reductions in waste and loss throughout the entire supply chain.

Several studies have shown that the performance of a supply chain is heavily influenced by the pattern of relationships among firms. This paper analyzes the structure of relationships (network topology) that leads to the highest agility of a food supply chain when sudden demand changes occur. To do this, a simulation model that represents a supply chain and specific rules to allocate orders is built. The supply chain in the model follows the specific characteristics of trade in the primary sector. The model is fitted to the conditions of a real seafood supply chain in Mexico. Agility is measured through the effect on the order fulfillment of a sudden demand shock and the recovery time of this rate to previous values. The simulation results show that the most suitable structure depends on how product is distributed among suppliers. If product is evenly shared, supply chains with homogeneous topologies are more agile than supply chains with heterogeneous topologies, but the result is the opposite if product is unevenly shared among suppliers. Other previous recommendations, such as having multiple suppliers and horizontal links, are confirmed by the simulations. These findings contribute to the general debate on which is the optimal topology for an agile supply chain., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist

Increasing fishing effort has caused declines in shark populations worldwide. Understanding biological and ecological characteristics of sharks is essential to effectively implement management measures, but to fully understand drivers of fishing pressure social factors must be considered through multidisciplinary and integrated approaches. The present study aimed to use fisher and trader knowledge to describe the shark catch and product supply chain in Northeastern Brazil, and evaluate perceptions regarding the regional conservation status of shark species. Non-systematic observations and structured individual interviews were conducted with experienced fishers and traders. The demand and economic value of shark fins has reportedly decreased over the last 10 years while the shark meat trade has increased slightly, including a small increase in the average price per kilogram of meat. Several threatened shark species were reportedly often captured off shore and traded at local markets. This reported and observed harvest breaches current Brazilian environmental laws. Fishing communities are aware of population declines of several shark species, but rarely take action to avoid capture of sharks. The continuing capture of sharks is mainly due to a lack of knowledge of environmental laws, lack of enforcement by responsible authorities, and difficulties encountered by fishers in finding alternative income streams. National and regional conservation measures are immediately required to reduce overfishing on shark populations in Northeastern Brazil. Social and economic improvements for poor fishing communities must also be implemented to achieve sustainable fisheries.

Understanding how an adequate food security may be determined, how nutritional intakes evolve over time and are influenced by global dynamics are few of the questions scholars are trying to answer. In addition, a great interest is devoted to the changes in consumers' preferences and expectations as well as to the analysis of food innovations and their impact on the global market. We review the recent and emerging trends in food supply chains of selected sectors (fruits and vegetables, meat, and seafood), and deepen on emerging trends in the food industry. By presenting the evidence provided by the literature and emphasizing the unresolved research questions, we offer a critical view of future directions that should be followed by research agenda., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Marine aquaculture presents an opportunity for increasing seafood production in the face of growing demand for marine protein and limited scope for expanding wild fishery harvests. However, the global capacity for increased aquaculture production from the ocean and the relative productivity potential across countries are unknown. Here, we map the biological production potential for marine aquaculture across the globe using an innovative approach that draws from physiology, allometry and growth theory. Even after applying substantial constraints based on existing ocean uses and limitations, we find vast areas in nearly every coastal country that are suitable for aquaculture. The development potential far exceeds the space required to meet foreseeable seafood demand; indeed, the current total landings of all wild-capture fisheries could be produced using less than 0.015% of the global ocean area. This analysis demonstrates that suitable space is unlikely to limit marine aquaculture development and highlights the role that other factors, such as economics and governance, play in shaping growth trajectories. We suggest that the vast amount of space suitable for marine aquaculture presents an opportunity for countries to develop aquaculture in a way that aligns with their economic, environmental and social objectives.

The ocean represents a fundamental source of micronutrients and protein for a growing world population. Seafood is a highly traded and sought after commodity on international markets, and is critically dependent on healthy marine ecosystems. A global trend of wild stocks being overfished and in decline, as well as multiple sustainability challenges associated with a rapid growth of aquaculture, represent key concerns in relation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Existing efforts aimed to improve the sustainability of seafood production have generated important progress, primarily at the local and national levels, but have yet to effectively address the global challenges associated with the ocean. This study highlights the importance of transnational corporations in enabling transformative change, and thereby contributes to advancing the limited understanding of large-scale private actors within the sustainability science literature. We describe how we engaged with large seafood producers to coproduce a global science-business initiative for ocean stewardship. We suggest that this initiative is improving the prospects for transformative change by providing novel links between science and business, between wild-capture fisheries and aquaculture, and across geographical space. We argue that scientists can play an important role in facilitating change by connecting knowledge to action among global actors, while recognizing risks associated with such engagement. The methods developed through this case study contribute to identifying key competences in sustainability science and hold promises for other sectors as well., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ocean and coastal ecosystems provide critical fisheries, coastal protection, and cultural benefits to communities worldwide, but these services are diminishing due to local and global threats. In response, place-based strategies involve communities and resource users in management have proliferated. Here, we present a transferable community-based approach to assess the social and ecological factors affecting resource sustainability and food security in a small-scale, coral reef fishery. Our results show that this small-scale fishery provides large-scale benefits to communities, including 7,353 ± 1547 kg yr(-1) (mean ± SE) of seafood per year, equating to >30,000 meals with an economic value of $78,432. The vast majority of the catch is used for subsistence, contributing to community food security: 58% is kept, 33.5% is given away, and 8.5% is sold. Our spatial analysis assesses the geographic distribution of community beneficiaries from the fishery (the "food shed" for the fishery), and we document that 20% of seafood procured from the fishery is used for sociocultural events that are important for social cohesion. This approach provides a method for assessing social, economic, and cultural values provided by small-scale food systems, as well as important contributions to food security, with significant implications for conservation and management. This interdisciplinary effort aims to demonstrate a transferable participatory research approach useful for resource-dependent communities as they cope with socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental change.

The growing human population must be fed, but historic land-based systems struggle to meet expanding demand. Marine production supports some of the world's poorest people but increasingly provides for the needs of the affluent, either directly by fishing or via fodder-based feeds for marine and terrestrial farming. Here we show the expanding footprint of humans to utilize global ocean productivity to feed themselves. Our results illustrate how incrementally each year, marine foods are sourced farther from where they are consumed and moreover, require an increasing proportion of the ocean's primary productivity that underpins all marine life. Though mariculture supports increased consumption of seafood, it continues to require feeds based on fully exploited wild stocks. Here we examine the ocean's ability to meet our future demands to 2100 and find that even with mariculture supplementing near-static wild catches our growing needs are unlikely to be met without significant changes.

Aquaculture is the fastest-growing segment of food production and is expected to supply a growing portion of animal protein for consumption by humans. Because industrial aquaculture developed only recently compared to industrial agriculture, its development occurred within the context of a growing environmental awareness and acknowledgment of environmental issues associated with industrial farming. As such, parasites and diseases have become central criticisms of commercial aquaculture. This focus on parasites and diseases, however, has created a nexus of opportunities for research that has facilitated considerable scientific advances in the fields of parasitology and aquaculture. This paper reviews Myxobolus cerebralis , Lepeophtheirus salmonis , white spot syndrome virus, and assorted flatworms as select marquee aquaculture pathogens, summarizes the status of the diseases caused by each and their impacts on aquaculture, and highlights some of the significant contributions these pathogens have made to the science of parasitology and aquaculture.

A theoretical basis is required for comparing key features and critical elements in wild fisheries and aquaculture supply chains under a changing climate. Here we develop a new quantitative metric that is analogous to indices used to analyse food-webs and identify key species. The Supply Chain Index (SCI) identifies critical elements as those elements with large throughput rates, as well as greater connectivity. The sum of the scores for a supply chain provides a single metric that roughly captures both the resilience and connectedness of a supply chain. Standardised scores can facilitate cross-comparisons both under current conditions as well as under a changing climate. Identification of key elements along the supply chain may assist in informing adaptation strategies to reduce anticipated future risks posed by climate change. The SCI also provides information on the relative stability of different supply chains based on whether there is a fairly even spread in the individual scores of the top few key elements, compared with a more critical dependence on a few key individual supply chain elements. We use as a case study the Australian southern rock lobster Jasus edwardsii fishery, which is challenged by a number of climate change drivers such as impacts on recruitment and growth due to changes in large-scale and local oceanographic features. The SCI identifies airports, processors and Chinese consumers as the key elements in the lobster supply chain that merit attention to enhance stability and potentially enable growth. We also apply the index to an additional four real-world Australian commercial fishery and two aquaculture industry supply chains to highlight the utility of a systematic method for describing supply chains. Overall, our simple methodological approach to empirically-based supply chain research provides an objective method for comparing the resilience of supply chains and highlighting components that may be critical.

The present study was designed to know the landing and distribution pathways of fish and types and nature of stakeholders involved in fish distribution chain in Bangladesh. A total of 237 fish landing centers and 5440 markets were detected. The number of landing center and market were highest in Chittagong and Dhaka division respectively. Stakeholders in fish distribution, viz., arotdars, paikers and retailers were found to be 6219, 39506 and 122922, respectively. A 84.71% of the landing centers were found to be operated year round while 15.29% were seasonal. The major fish production zones and major gateways of the country where inland capture and culture and marine capture fish landed were identified. In any locality 62.83% of the landed fish were transported within 100 km area and 5.73% of fish were transported beyond 500 km. The quantity of fish harvested from river, beel, Kaptai lake floodplain, pond, baor, coastal area/sea and shrimp/prawn farm were 5.25, 4.41, 0.13, 35.03, 38.22, 0.23, 10.93 and 5.80%, respectively. The common constraints identified were lack of adequate infrastructure facilities in the landing center and market, unhygienic environment, influence of middlemen, money lending at high rate etc. For the betterment of fish landing and distribution, appropriate authority should pay proper attention so that both quality and fair price are ensured.

Increasing demand for eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) containing fish oils is putting pressure on fish species and numbers. Fisheries provide fish for human consumption, supplement production and fish feeds and are currently supplying fish at a maximum historical rate, suggesting mass-scale fishing is no longer sustainable. However, the health properties of EPA and DHA long-chain (LC) omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) demonstrate the necessity for these oils in our diets. EPA and DHA from fish oils show favourable effects in inflammatory bowel disease, some cancers and cardiovascular complications. The high prevalence of these diseases worldwide indicates the requirement for alternative sources of LC-PUFA. Strategies have included plant-based fish diets, although this may compromise the health benefits associated with fish oils. Alternatively, stearidonic acid, the product of α-linolenic acid desaturation, may act as an EPA-enhancing fatty acid. Additionally, algae oils may be a promising omega-3 PUFA source for the future. Algae are beneficial for multiple industries, offering a source of biodiesel and livestock feeds. However, further research is required to develop efficient and sustainable LC-PUFA production from algae. This paper summarises the recent research for developing prospective substitutes for omega-3 PUFA and the current limitations that are faced.

Background: Health recommendations advocating increased fish consumption need to be placed in the context of the potential collapse of global marine capture fisheries., Methods: Literature overview., Results: In economically developed countries, official healthy eating advice is to eat more fish, particularly that rich in omega-3 oils. In many less economically developed countries, fish is a key human health asset, contributing >20% of animal protein intake for 2.6 billion people. Marine ecologists predict on current trends that fish stocks are set to collapse in 40 years, and propose increased restrictions on fishing, including no-take zones, in order to restore marine ecosystem health. Production of fishmeal for aquaculture and other non-food uses (22 MT in 2003) appears to be unsustainable. Differences in fish consumption probably contribute to within-country and international health inequalities. Such inequalities are likely to increase if fish stocks continue to decline, while increasing demand for fish will accelerate declines in fish stocks and the health of marine ecosystems., Conclusions: Urgent national and international action is necessary to address the tensions arising from increasing human demand for fish and seafood, and rapidly declining marine ecosystem health.

Marine fish is one of the most important sources of animal protein for human use, especially in developing countries with coastlines. Marine fishery is also an important industry in many countries. Fifty years ago, many people believed that the ocean was so vast and so resilient that there was no way the marine environment could be changed, nor could marine fishery resources be depleted. Half a century later, we all agree that the depletion of fishery resources is happening mainly due to anthropogenic factors such as overfishing, habitat destruction, pollution, invasive species introduction, and climate change. Since overfishing can cause chain reactions that decrease marine biodiversity drastically, there will be no seafood left after 40 years if we take no action. The most effective ways to reverse this downward trend and restore fishery resources are to promote fishery conservation, establish marine-protected areas, adopt ecosystem-based management, and implement a "precautionary principle." Additionally, enhancing public awareness of marine conservation, which includes eco-labeling, fishery ban or enclosure, slow fishing, and MPA (marine protected areas) enforcement is important and effective. In this paper, we use Taiwan as an example to discuss the problems facing marine biodiversity and sustainable fisheries.

Many deep-sea fishes store large amounts of wax esters in their body for buoyancy control. Some of them are frequently caught as by-catch of tuna and other fishes. The most noteworthy ones include escolar and oilfish. The accumulation of the indigestible wax esters in the rectum through consumption of these fish engenders discharges or leakage per rectum as orange or brownish green oil, but without noticeable loss of water. This physiological response is called keriorrhea, which is variously described as "oily diarrhea," "oily orange diarrhea," or "orange oily leakage" by the mass media and bloggers on the internet. Outbreaks of keriorrhea have been repeatedly reported across continents. Additional symptoms including nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea were complained by the victims. They are probably due to anxiety or panic when suffering from keriorrhea. Escolar and oilfish are banned from import and sale in Italy, Japan, and South Korea. Rapid detection of the two fishes is imperative to ensure proper labeling and safeguarding of the public before and after any keriorrhea outbreak.

Fish farming, now well known as aquaculture, has been well recognized since the ancient era. The first written document on fish culture was published in China in 475 BC, and the first koi pond was constructed at the Japanese Imperial Palace grounds during 71-130 AD. In recent years, aquaculture has progressively played an important role in the provision of: animal protein and gourmet cuisines, job opportunities, and foreign currency for developing countries. Asian countries produce around 91 percent of the world's total aquaculture production. Among the top ten aquaculture-producing countries, nine are from Asia. The current global population consist of more than 6.5 billion individuals; over one billion of which face hunger problem. In the highly populated Asia-Pacific region with moderately high-productivity, 642 million people are still facing hunger. Being a proficient and potential source of animal protein, aquaculture will play an increasing and important role in solving the world food problem in the future. This paper discusses both the opportunities and constraints in the aquaculture industry, specifically in the Asia-Pacific region, and its possible role in solving the current global food crisis. Strategies including promotion and adoption of traceability and HACCP systems for food safety, and marketing management for aquaculture products are also suggested. It is hoped that traditional administration of aquaculture management for survival, profit, as well as food safety will successfully match sustainability management to meet the urgent global need for food.

This study aimed to characterize constraints on consumption of fish perceived by consumers in Norway. A random sample of Norwegian women aged 45-69 years answered a self-administered mail questionnaire in 1996 about eating habits, perceived barriers to fish consumption, socioeconomic status, and questions related to health. Altogether, 9407 women answered the questionnaire (response rate: 52.5%). Data were analyzed by means of logistic regression. Limited supply of fish products that satisfy children's wishes reduce at-home fish consumption. People with health problems and those who wish to lose weight are dissatisfied with the range of products offered in the marketplace. Satisfaction with quality and availability of wild lean codfish, especially in inland regions, is lower than for aqua-cultured fat salmon. Neither income nor education or health factors were significantly associated with consumption levels among those who would like to eat more fish. Higher education and income were associated with increased dissatisfaction about fish consumption, but also with reduced perception of most barriers. It is concluded that improvements in the supply of high-quality fresh and processed fish products that satisfy (a) children's wishes, (b) health-oriented family members, and (c) convenience-oriented consumers, will significantly increase at-home consumption of fish.

Analysis of over 27,000 fish bones from strata at Daisy Cave dated between about 11,500 and 8500 cal B.P. suggests that early Channel Islanders fished relatively intensively in a variety of habitats using a number of distinct technologies, including boats and the earliest evidence for hook-and-line fishing on the Pacific Coast of the Americas. The abundance of fish remains and fishing-related artifacts supports dietary reconstructions that suggest fish provided more than 50 percent of the edible meat represented in faunal samples from the early Holocene site strata. The abundance and economic importance of fish at Daisy Cave, unprecedented among early sites along the Pacific Coast of North America, suggest that early maritime capabilities on the Channel Islands were both more advanced and more variable than previously believed. When combined with a survey of fish remains from several other early Pacific Coast sites, these data suggest that early New World peoples effectively used watercraft, captured a diverse array of fish, and exploited a variety of marine habitats and resources.

Aims: To compare the New Zealand food supply and trends from 1961 to 1995 with other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, with an emphasis on foods linked with coronary heart disease (CHD)., Method: Food and Agricultural Organization per capita food supply statistics for 24 OECD countries were converted to nutritional supply values and adjusted for edible portion., Results: In 1995, New Zealand had the highest supply per capita of butter and meat fats among OECD countries, ranking its food supply highest for thrombogenicity and third for atherogenicity. Seafood and alcohol supply were average and vitamin E supply was high compared with other OECD countries. Beneficial trends have occurred with increases in fruit consumption, vegetable consumption and fibre intake between 1961 and 1995. While total fat intake has not changed appreciably, the fatty acid profile has shifted and is now less likely to promote CHD., Conclusions: The New Zealand diet's tendency to promote CHD has decreased, particularly since 1985. The diet's fatty acid profile, however, remains highly atherogenic and thrombogenic, predisposing to CHD, and the fat content of the food supply remains high, predisposing to obesity. Continued efforts are needed to improve the diet of New Zealanders and to maintain food supply data collection for long term monitoring of these changes.