Skip to main content
Knowledge4Policy
Knowledge for policy

Supporting policy with scientific evidence

We mobilise people and resources to create, curate, make sense of and use knowledge to inform policymaking across Europe.

  • Publication | 2022

Integrating Blue Foods into Food system policy and practice

Global Food and Nutrition Security

Blue foods – fish, shellfish, algae and plants cultivated and captured in freshwater and marine environments – are highly diverse, are rich in protein, essential micronutrients and fatty acids, and can offer sustainable alternatives to many terrestrial animal-source foods. Two-thirds of blue foods destined for human consumption are produced by small-scale fisheries and aquaculture. Thoughtful investments and policies that foster a thriving, regenerative blue food sector could help solve some of the most pressing challenges facing the world today. This brief recommends that the G20: (i) Manage blue foods as an integral part of food systems; (ii) Identify and reform policies and practices that impede transformation; (iii) Protect and harness diversity for nutrition, accessibility and environmental sustainability; (iv) Recognize and support the central role of small-scale actors; and (v) Commit to human rights in policy and practice. It provides on-the-ground examples from blue food systems in Indonesia to highlight best practices and success stories.