Trade and foreign fishing mediate global marine nutrient supply

Nash, Kirsty L. and MacNeil, M. Aaron and Blanchard, Julia L. and Cohen, Philippa J. and Farmery, Anna K. and Graham, N. A. J. and Thorne-Lyman, Andrew L. and Watson, Reg A. and Hicks, Christina C. (2022) Trade and foreign fishing mediate global marine nutrient supply. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 119 (22). ISSN 0027-8424

Abstract

Significance The world produces enough food to nourish the global population, but inequitable distribution of food means many people remain at risk for undernutrition. Attainment of Sustainable Development Goal 2 relies on greater attention to distribution processes that match food qualities with dietary deficiencies. We explore this in the context of fisheries. Foreign fishing and international trade divert nutrients caught in marine fisheries from nutrient-insecure toward nutrient-secure nations. Where nutrient-insecure countries do benefit from foreign fishing and trade, there tends to be high vulnerability to future changes in nutrient flows arising from changes to foreign fishing and trade. This research highlights the need for greater transparency around distribution of fish and for nutrition security to be considered more centrally in development of trade agreements.