Mending nets after a morning’s fishing in Andhra Pradesh, India.
© FAO/Harsha Vadlamani

Transforming aquatic food systems

Anchoring fish and aquatic food systems in policies and action

The ocean houses up to 80 percent of all life. It is also the world’s largest carbon sink and a crucial resource in fisheries and aquaculture, contributing to food and nutrition security, maintaining wildlife and providing jobs. Rivers and lakes too play a significant role in global food security. Aquatic food, from both marine and inland waters, provides vital food sources for 3 billion people.

Climate change is affecting the accessibility, availability and trade of aquatic food products. It is exacerbating existing threats such as pollution, overfishing and habitat degradation, making the fight for sustainable aquatic food more difficult. It is making the ocean and freshwater systems warmer; expanding low oxygen zones; acidifying the ocean; and causing extreme weather events to become more intense and frequent.

FAO adaptation toolbox

A variety of solutions have been compiled into FAO's adaptation toolbox, focused on changing the way fisheries are managed.

For example, farming extractive species such as bivalves and macroalgae offers further potential to remove waste and improve water quality. Such solutions must be deployed urgently and at scale if they are to be effective. FAO has been implementing projects to support countries in the adaptation of the fisheries and aquaculture sector in the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia and Pacific Small Island Developing States.

Blue Transformation

Blue Transformation outlines a vision to expand aquatic food systems and increase their contribution to nutritious and affordable healthy diets for the most vulnerable, while fostering equitable growth, especially for those communities that depend on fisheries and aquaculture.

Under this policy, FAO, its Members and partners are working towards three main objectives:

Sustainable aquaculture intensification and expansion. Aquaculture must expand sustainably to feed a growing population, and secure income and employment opportunities. The aim is to increase global aquaculture production by up to 40 percent by 2030.
Effective management of all fisheries. FAO is focused on helping its Members achieve effective fisheries management systems that restore resources and ecosystems to a healthy and productive state.
Upgraded food chains through innovative practices or technologies. These will reduce loss and waste, enhance traceability and transparency, facilitate trade, and improve access to markets.

Algae in Panama

The Guna are Indigenous Peoples who have been fishing in the Caribbean Sea off Panama for centuries. Generations have relied on marine and coastal resources for their livelihoods. But climate change and overfishing are leading to a decrease in fish stocks, making it harder for fishers to make a living. Women in the Guna community clean and process the fish, yet most of their income these days is derived from tourism and the sale of handicrafts. In recent years, decreasing tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic has added to the stress of declining fish stocks, pushing many families, especially women-led households, below the poverty line.

FAO, in partnership with the Aquatic Resources Authority of Panama (ARAP), has opened up new opportunities for the Guna people by sharing knowledge related to the production and processing of algae. The FAO–ARAP pilot worked with a largely female group of 25, training them to transform the algae into commercial soaps and creams. As well as empowering Guna women, the project has provided the community with an alternative source of income.

Required citation:
FAO. 2023. Agrifood solutions to climate change – FAO's work to tackle the climate crisis. Rome https://doi.org/10.4060/cc8055en

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