By combining the nutrient data and a food systems model they show that a sharp increase in aquatic food production by 2030 could prevent undernutrition in 166 million people. The nutritional diversity of aquatic foods is explored in a paper by Christopher Golden and colleagues. They compile data on the nutrient content of 3,753 aquatic animal food taxa and show that seven categories of aquatic food, including pelagic fish, shellfish and salmonid, are more nutritious than beef, lamb, goat, chicken or pork when averaging across the seven nutrients assessed (omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins A and B12, calcium, iodine, iron and zinc). This diversity is often given short shrift in food system policies, which tend to group aquatic foods under the banner of ‘seafood’ or ‘fish’. The following articles break down the nutritional value and environmental impacts of aquatic foods by taxa, paving the way to more informed assessments of the contributions that aquatic foods can make to food systems. Blue foods comprise thousands of species of aquatic animals, plants and algae.

Blue meal