Fish: Good for you, good for the world

A new paper published in the peer-reviewed Food Policy journal says fish is a vital part of a healthy diet but also an important component of achieving food security and ending malnutrition globally.

            The paper ‘Sustaining healthy diets: The role of capture fisheries and aquaculture for improving nutrition in the post-2015 era’ recommends that the nutritional importance of fish needs to be taken into account in the development of national policies, especially in resource-poor

populations.

            Improving fisheries and aquaculture with the adoption of nutrition-sensitive policies are critical in ending malnutrition and achieving food security.

The paper noted that the importance of fish for feeding the world’s growing population and providing a “healthy life for all” is, however, often overlooked.

            Fisheries and aquaculture must be seen as core components of the agriculture sector, as well as an entry point for multi-sectoral interventions aimed at improving nutrition and health outcomes,” said Shakuntala Thilsted, programme leader, WorldFish,.

            A greater focus on nutrition-sensitive policies in aquaculture and fisheries as opposed to policies that focus on productivity will contribute to greater health gains, especially in developing countries, the paper noted. Fisheries policies, the paper highlighted, are increasingly articulated around building exports, meaning that less fish is available in poorer local communities.

— Liza Mayer