This article is sponsored by Marine Stewardship Council.
"What’s for lunch?" A question many of us have undoubtedly asked ourselves as we sit behind our laptops, attend meetings, pull together presentations or try to find time to sit down with our families for a quick meal. As a consumer, this simple question includes so many considerations that are often overwhelming — what is available? How much time do I have? How much money do I want to spend? For many of us who regularly question our consumption decisions, there is also an added layer of concern about the broader implications of our food choices. Such as where our food comes from, how it was raised or harvested, is it sustainable, is it ethically sourced and how is it impacting our planet? As someone whose entire career has been dedicated to ocean science and sustainability, these are normal everyday questions for me — especially in the last decade as the world is increasingly challenged with climate change, supply chain disruptions, increasing prices, environmental degradation and a growing global population with a rising demand for nutritious and diverse food resources.
Our last global wild source of food
As we tackle these issues, I challenge you to keep the ocean front of mind. Ocean resources will continue to play a pivotal role in helping us to meet the challenge of feeding the future. No matter where you live or what you do for a living, the ocean is an essential part of our everyday lives.
The ocean covers more than 70 percent of the planet’s surface, regulates the climate and supplies the oxygen we need to survive. But it is also a resource worth conserving for its biodiversity, environmental and economic value alone. It is also a vast source of nutrient-dense food. We tend to think of seafood as one thing, but the reality is that we rely on hundreds of marine species globally for food. At a time where we have seen biodiversity shrinking on a global scale, we must remember that a wide range of species protects nature, ecosystems, cultural identity, food security, helps fight climate change and disease and safeguards livelihoods and businesses.
Fish and shellfish species make up the last global wild food commodity that we all share and are a critical source of food and employment for billions of people. In fact, many countries' economic futures rely heavily on their regional fisheries and ocean resources.
Highly nutritious, low carbon protein
The science of seafood nutrition is clear: Eating seafood two to three times per week reduces the risk of death from any health-related cause by 17 percent. Omega-3s found in seafood helps people live longer, healthier lives. For us to be able to meet the nutritional needs of our global population and maintain seafood as a diverse, viable food source in the future, fisheries and marine ecosystems need to be sustainably managed and constantly future gazing for necessary improvements with adaptability and resiliency in mind. For example, research shows that wild caught seafood can be a great low carbon protein when compared with other animal and plant-based proteins. Data also shows that if global fisheries were managed sustainably, an additional 16 million tons of fish — and 1.3 million tons of edible protein —could be harvested every year. Global food production does not need to be a tradeoff between feeding people and protecting ecosystems and biodiversity. Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified fisheries around the world already showcase that it is possible to have effective and consistently improving fisheries management that takes wider ecosystem impacts into account.
Balancing biodiversity and sustainable management
In order to meet the needs of the future, we need to find solutions that consider sustainable use of marine resources and protection of critical indicators of ecosystem health, such as biodiversity. In December, global leaders and policy makers will gather in Montreal at the UN Biodiversity Conference to discuss a global roadmap for the conservation, protection, restoration and sustainable management of biodiversity and ecosystems. Ocean biodiversity and sustainable use of ocean resources, including fishing, must be a part of these discussions.
Seafood plays a critical role in global food security, nutrition, livelihoods and global economies. Ensuring that seafood production is sustainable and is accounting for wider ecosystem health is therefore crucial for our future. Policy makers at the UN Biodiversity Conference and other global meetings must keep this in mind for a healthy, thriving planet, and a food-secure global population.
Feeding the future
Stewardship today will help us put systems in place to feed our future, continue to provide a variety of nutrient dense food sources and maintain biodiversity in our world’s ocean ecosystems.
The next time you ask yourself what’s for lunch, think about how what you’re eating contributes to sustainable food systems and a healthy, biodiverse planet. And while you’re at it, vote with your fork and add some sustainable seafood to your meals. Every time you do you’re supporting well managed fisheries working to protect livelihoods and ocean resources for our future. Every choice we make matters.
