Food security challenged by declining efficiencies of artisanal fishing fleets: A global country-level analysis

HIARA study protocol: impacts of artificial coral reef development on fisheries, human livelihoods and health in southwestern Madagascar

The Health Impacts of Artificial Reef Advancement (HIARA; in the Malagasy language, "together") study cohort was set up in December 2022 to assess the economic and nutritional importance of seafood for the coastal Malagasy population living along the Bay of Ranobe in southwestern Madagascar. Over the course of the research, which will continue until at least 2026, the primary question we seek to answer is whether the creation of artificial coral reefs can rehabilitate fish biomass, increase fish catch, and positively influence fisher livelihoods, community nutrition, and mental health. Through prospective, longitudinal monitoring of the ecological and social systems of Bay of Ranobe, we aim to understand the influence of seasonal and long-term shifts in marine ecological resources and their benefits to human livelihoods and health. Fourteen communities (12 coastal and two inland) were enrolled into the study including 450 households across both the coastal (n = 360 households) and inland (n = 90 households) ecosystems. In the ecological component, we quantify the extent and health of coral reef ecosystems and collect data on the diversity and abundance of fisheries resources. In the social component, we collect data on the diets, resource acquisition strategies, fisheries and agricultural practices, and other social, demographic and economic indicators, repeated every 3 months. At these visits, clinical measures are collected including anthropometric measures, blood pressure, and mental health diagnostic screening. By analyzing changes in fish catch and consumption arising from varying distances to artificial reef construction and associated impacts on fish biomass, our cohort study could provide valuable insights into the public health impacts of artificial coral reef construction on local populations. Specifically, we aim to assess the impact of changes in fish catch (caused by artificial reefs) on various health outcomes, such as stunting, underweight, wasting, nutrient intake, hypertension, anxiety, and depression.

Global Food Security and Sustainability Issues: The Road to 2030 from Nutrition and Sustainable Healthy Diets to Food Systems Change

The accomplishment of food/nutrition security for all across sustainable food systems (SFS) is tied to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SFS is connected to all SDGs via the traditional framework of social inclusion, economic development, environmental safety, inclusivity, and the development of sustainable food systems. We suggest that, for the world to achieve sustainable development, a shift to SFS is necessary to guarantee food/nutrition security for all, while operating within planetary boundaries to protect ecosystems and adapt to and mitigate climate change. Therefore, there is a requirement for original approaches that implement systemic and more participatory methods to engage with a wider range of food system stakeholders. However, the lack of skills and tools regarding novel methodologies for food system transformation is a key obstacle to the deployment of such approaches in practice. In the first part of this review, a summary of some challenges that occur in the governance of food system transformation is given. Through a case study of plant-based proteins and their biological and chemical modification as diets shift towards alternative proteins, we demonstrate that resource-efficient food systems and food waste, through system transformation, are useful in understanding both (i) how food system transformation has ensued and (ii) how the required transformation is prohibited. Finally, we discuss the implications of food system transformation in terms of nutrition and sustainable healthy diets, which are needed to achieve changes in food safety systems in the future. The linkage of food and the environment is evident, focusing on nutrition and sustainable healthy diets. This cannot be accomplished without system change and research towards new foods and, more specifically, new proteins such as plant-based ones and their biological and chemical modification.

A database of mapped global fishing activity 1950-2017

A new database on historical country-level fishing fleet capacity and effort is described, derived from a range of publicly available sources that were harmonized, converted to fishing effort, and mapped to 30-min spatial cells. The resulting data is comparable with widely used but more temporally-limited satellite-sourced Automatic Identification System (AIS) datasets for large vessels, while also documenting important smaller fleets and artisanal segments. It ranges from 1950 to 2017, and includes information on number of vessels, engine power, gross tonnage, and nominal effort, categorized by vessel length, gear type and targeted functional groups. The data can be aggregated to Large Marine Ecosystem, region and/or fishing country scales and provides a temporally and spatially explicit source for fishing effort and fleet capacity for studies aimed at understanding the implications of long-term changes in fishing activity in the global ocean.

How technical change has boosted fish aggregation device productivity in the Indian Ocean tuna fishery

Excess harvesting power can threaten the long-term sustainability of fisheries. Indicators of excess harvesting capacity must include input-output-based estimates of economic production efficiency. The increasing use of drifting Fish-Aggregating-Devices (DFADs) has boosted fishing productivity in high-seas tuna fisheries, perhaps beyond the biological capacity of the stocks, and is an object of global debate. We carried out a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) of relative changes in production efficiencies of the French purse-seine fleet targeting tropical tuna in the western Indian Ocean using two fishing strategies: (1) on floating objects (FOB) and (2) free swimming schools (FSC) using tuna catch and effort data spanning 1992-2019. We show that FOB fishing evolved dramatically through time with an estimated change of 3.6%yr-1 (8.0%yr-1 2007-2019), in contrast to 2.1%yr-1 for FSC. While the efficiency level in combining and using inputs has barely changed for FOB fishing, it means that all the growth in productivity comes from technical change for this strategy. The dynamics is different for the FSC with a mixture of innovation and higher efficiency. Immediate plans to improve input-based management in this region are needed to prevent further risks of overfishing to yellowfin (Thunnus albacares) and skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis) tunas.

The role of the fishery industry in the shift towards sustainable food security: a critical study of blue food

Blue foods have traditionally been undervalued in their contribution to global food systems. Yet they are incredible sources of locally produced nutrition for millions of people. In late 2022, there was a call for global action on food system transformation in the United Nations Food Systems Summit. The Blue Food Assessment, a scientific assessment of blue foods and their potential to contribute to sustainable and just food systems, reveals gaps where innovation could meaningfully bolster the blue food ecosystem. This article aims to examine the dynamic impact of the fishery sector on long-term food security in 27 European Union (EU27) countries while considering the contribution of agricultural output, energy production, economic development, and governance between 1990 and 2022. The findings showed a substantial positive link between fishery production and sustainable food security at a 5% statistical level, except the fifth quantile, using the new method of moment quantile regression (MMQR) with fixed effects. From the first to the ninth quantiles, fishery output considerably improves sustainable food security, with a more substantial benefit at the highest (≈ 0.021) and a lower impact at the lowest quantile (≈ 0.010). The findings also show that the EU13 developing countries see a more significant positive impact, at a 5% statistical level, on sustainable food security from fishery output than the EU14 developed nations. On the other hand, the findings also show that the EU14 developed countries see a more significant positive impact, at a 1% statistical level, from the agricultural output on sustainable food security than the EU13 underdeveloped nations. The results show a strong positive correlation between agricultural production and long-term food security at the median and most recent quantiles (≈ 0.362). In the EU27 area, sustainable food security rose across median and recent quantiles, supporting the growth hypothesis for nations that produce fisheries. In the EU27, the impact of governance was positive and statistically significant at 5% for both older and more recent quantiles. The findings also show that the EU14 nations have a more substantial beneficial effect of governance, at a 1% statistical level, on sustainable food security than the EU13 countries. With the help of effective fishery sector production, policymakers may raise the degree of food security in the EU14 and EU13 nations and ensure long-term food security.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Contents of Four Species of Smoked Fish from Different Sites in Senegal

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are compounds resulting from any incomplete combustion process. These are pollutants that have proven toxicity due to their carcinogenic nature and can contaminate food during traditional smoking methods. Their highly toxic effect on human health requires monitoring of their levels in food products and the development of appropriate analytical methods for their determination. Thus, this study was conducted to assess the level of PAHs contamination of four (4) species of smoked fish (Arius heudelotii, Sardinella aurita, Ethmalosa fimbriata, and Sardinella maderensis) which were sampled in seventeen (17) localities in Senegal. The compounds targeted in this study were benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P), benzo(a)anthracene (B(a)A), benzo(b)fluoranthene (B(b)F), and chrysene (Chr). The QuEChERS method was used for the extraction of PAHs, and their contents were quantified by gas chromatography (GC) coupled with mass spectroscopy (MS). The validation method was performed in accordance with the French standard NF V03-110 (2010). Satisfactory linearity (R² > 0.999), LOD (0.05-0.09 μg/kg), LOQ (0.19-0.24 μg/kg), and precision (1.33-3.13%) of the four PAHs were obtained. The results of analysis in the 17 localities showed that all samples are contaminated by the four (4) PAHs with great variability of the contents between the different species and their origin. The B(a)P and ∑4PAHS contents in the samples ranged from 1.7 to 33 µg/kg and from 4.8 to 1082.3 µg/kg, respectively. Twelve (12) samples showed high levels of B(a)P, ranging from 2.2 to 33 µg/kg, thus exceeding the maximum authorized level (2 µg/kg). Fourteen (14) samples showed an overall ∑4PAHS content varying from 14.8 to 1082.3 µg/kg, which is above the maximum authorized limit (12 µg/kg). The principal component analysis showed that sardinella (Sardinella aurita and Sardinella maderensis) have very low levels of B(a)P, B(b)F, B(a)A, and Chr contents. However, high ∑4PAHS contents characterize smoked fish of the Kong species (Arius heudelotii), from Cap Skiring, Diogne, Boudody, and Diaobé, and of the Cobo species (Ethmalosa fimbriata) from Djiffer. Thus, based on the authorized limits for PAHs in smoked fish, it appears that smoked fish of the sardinella species are less carcinogenic for human consumption.