Nutrient supply from marine small-scale fisheries

Abstract

Over 2 billion people are unable to access safe, nutritious and sufficient food year-round. While global fisheries are considered key in providing essential nutrients to hundreds of millions of people around the globe, the specific contribution of small-scale fisheries to the nutrient supply given other available food supplies is unknown. Here, we combined multiple global databases to quantify the importance of marine small-scale fisheries to national-level nutrient supply of coastal populations. We found that, on average across assessed nutrients (iron, zinc, calcium, DHA + EPA and vitamins A and B₁₂), small-scale fisheries contributed about 32% of overall global seafood nutrient supply, 17% of the nutrient supply from animal-sourced foods and 10% of nutrient supply from all foods. These global averages, however, underrepresent some key roles of ocean-based foods. Combining nutrient supply estimates with global estimates of inadequate nutrient intake, we found that about half of coastal countries that have a mean inadequate intake of at least 50% across assessed nutrients (iron, zinc, calcium, DHA + EPA and vitamins A and B₁₂) rely on small scale fisheries for at least 15% of mean nutrient supply, and many rely on small scale fisheries for more than 30% of mean nutrient supply. Catch from small-scale fisheries is particularly important for the supply of vitamin B₁₂, calcium and DHA + EPA, representing up to 100% of supply in selected countries. Our study demonstrates the significance of small-scale fisheries for nutritionally vulnerable coastal populations, emphasizing how effective fisheries management can contribute to public health.

Figure 1

Conceptual diagram of the analysis components and integrated data sources.

Figure 2

Contribution of small-scale fisheries (SSF) to nutrient supply relative to (A) total nutrient supply from all seafood producing sectors (additionally including industrial and recreational fisheries, and mariculture), where each point represents a country; (B) average nutrient supply from all seafood producing sectors; and (C) average nutrient supply from all animal-sourced foods (fish, beef, veal, dairy, pork, poultry and sheep). Nutrient supply in (B, C) are represented as the mean supply across iron, calcium, zinc, DHA + EPA, and vitamins A and B₁₂. Countries smaller than 25,000 km² are illustrated as points.

Figure 3

Contribution of small-scale fisheries’ (SSF) nutrient supply relative to the overall nutrient supply from all foods (e.g., grains, fruits, dairy, other animal foods). Countries smaller than 25,000 km² are illustrated as points.

Figure 4

Importance of small-scale fisheries to global nutrition, where (A) mean contribution of small-scale fisheries (SSF) to overall nutrient supply across nutrients that are abundant in aquatic species and are important for human health (iron, calcium, zinc, protein, DHA + EPA and vitamins A and B₁₂) relative to mean prevalence of inadequate micronutrient intake across all assessed nutrients (% of population—Golden et al. 2021); and (B) highlights countries that have high prevalence of inadequate micronutrient intake (vulnerable) and that rely on SSF for the supply of key nutrients (reliant). Countries considered nutritionally vulnerable are those within the 70th and 100th percentile of prevalence of inadequate micronutrient intake. Countries below the 70th percentile are considered less vulnerable to nutritional deficiencies. Countries reliant on SSF are those within the 70th and 100th percentile of overall dietary nutrient supply by small-scale fisheries. Gray areas are those without available data. Three-letter abbreviations represent selected alpha-3 ISO country codes.