Effect of trade on global aquatic food consumption patterns
Abstract Globalization of fishery products is playing a significant role in shaping the harvesting and use of aquatic foods, but a vigorous debate has focused on whether the trade is a driver of the inequitable distribution of aquatic foods. Here, we develop species-level mass balance and trophic le...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2024-02-01
|
| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45556-w |
| _version_ | 1797273913727647744 |
|---|---|
| author | Kangshun Zhao Steven D. Gaines Jorge García Molinos Min Zhang Jun Xu |
| author_facet | Kangshun Zhao Steven D. Gaines Jorge García Molinos Min Zhang Jun Xu |
| author_sort | Kangshun Zhao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Globalization of fishery products is playing a significant role in shaping the harvesting and use of aquatic foods, but a vigorous debate has focused on whether the trade is a driver of the inequitable distribution of aquatic foods. Here, we develop species-level mass balance and trophic level identification datasets for 174 countries and territories to analyze global aquatic food consumption patterns, trade characteristics, and impacts from 1976 to 2019. We find that per capita consumption of aquatic foods has increased significantly at the global scale, but the human aquatic food trophic level (HATL), i.e., the average trophic level of aquatic food items in the human diet, is declining (from 3.42 to 3.18) because of the considerable increase in low-trophic level aquaculture species output relative to that of capture fisheries since 1976. Moreover, our study finds that trade has contributed to increasing the availability and trophic level of aquatic foods in >60% of the world’s countries. Trade has also reduced geographic differences in the HATL among countries over recent decades. We suggest that there are important opportunities to widen the current focus on productivity gains and economic outputs to a more equitable global distribution of aquatic foods. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:51:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d3cffffade5843d1afb9b58c48c38b26 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:51:59Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-d3cffffade5843d1afb9b58c48c38b262024-03-05T19:41:48ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232024-02-0115111010.1038/s41467-024-45556-wEffect of trade on global aquatic food consumption patternsKangshun Zhao0Steven D. Gaines1Jorge García Molinos2Min Zhang3Jun Xu4Key Laboratory of Breeding Biotechnology and Sustainable Aquaculture, Key Laboratory of Lake and Watershed Science for Water Security, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBren School of Environmental Science & Management, University of CaliforniaArctic Research Center, Hokkaido UniversityHubei Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Pond Aquaculture, Engineering Research Center of Green Development for Conventional Aquatic Biological Industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityKey Laboratory of Breeding Biotechnology and Sustainable Aquaculture, Key Laboratory of Lake and Watershed Science for Water Security, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of SciencesAbstract Globalization of fishery products is playing a significant role in shaping the harvesting and use of aquatic foods, but a vigorous debate has focused on whether the trade is a driver of the inequitable distribution of aquatic foods. Here, we develop species-level mass balance and trophic level identification datasets for 174 countries and territories to analyze global aquatic food consumption patterns, trade characteristics, and impacts from 1976 to 2019. We find that per capita consumption of aquatic foods has increased significantly at the global scale, but the human aquatic food trophic level (HATL), i.e., the average trophic level of aquatic food items in the human diet, is declining (from 3.42 to 3.18) because of the considerable increase in low-trophic level aquaculture species output relative to that of capture fisheries since 1976. Moreover, our study finds that trade has contributed to increasing the availability and trophic level of aquatic foods in >60% of the world’s countries. Trade has also reduced geographic differences in the HATL among countries over recent decades. We suggest that there are important opportunities to widen the current focus on productivity gains and economic outputs to a more equitable global distribution of aquatic foods.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45556-w |
| spellingShingle | Kangshun Zhao Steven D. Gaines Jorge García Molinos Min Zhang Jun Xu Effect of trade on global aquatic food consumption patterns Nature Communications |
| title | Effect of trade on global aquatic food consumption patterns |
| title_full | Effect of trade on global aquatic food consumption patterns |
| title_fullStr | Effect of trade on global aquatic food consumption patterns |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of trade on global aquatic food consumption patterns |
| title_short | Effect of trade on global aquatic food consumption patterns |
| title_sort | effect of trade on global aquatic food consumption patterns |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45556-w |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kangshunzhao effectoftradeonglobalaquaticfoodconsumptionpatterns AT stevendgaines effectoftradeonglobalaquaticfoodconsumptionpatterns AT jorgegarciamolinos effectoftradeonglobalaquaticfoodconsumptionpatterns AT minzhang effectoftradeonglobalaquaticfoodconsumptionpatterns AT junxu effectoftradeonglobalaquaticfoodconsumptionpatterns |