Figure 2 Vision of a More sustainable 2030 including key pathways for change and their characteristics (see Table S3 and Figure S1 for more details)
Pathway 1 - Improve seafood availability, access and utilisation
Seafood production and consumption in 2030 has increased as a result of adaptive and flexible fisheries management, increased mariculture production and the global shift towards healthy and sustainable diets. In contrast to the Food for some scenario (Business-as-usual 2030), the increased consumption of seafood, and contribution to addressing nutritional needs, is measurable at both national and local levels (Taylor et al. 2019), particularly in those areas most dependent on seafood resources. The importance of maintaining wild capture fisheries as a food resource has been widely recognised (Allison 2011). A broad range of seafood produced through wild capture and mariculture is widely available and affordable as a result of improvements and innovations in production and management as well as prioritisation of access and utilisation along supply chains (Butcher et al. 2020; FAO 2020b; Swanepoel et al. 2020; Swedbio and ACIAR 2020; Thilsted et al. 2016) (Box 1). These improvements have been driven by a shift in policy focus toward nutrition security as well as in response to major supply disruptions, such as the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic (FAO 2020a; Farrell et al. 2020). Productivity has increased where this was intended, however, in other systems there has been a focus on support for local activities which enhance direct and fair distribution based on the existing level of production, rather than focusing on producing more fish. In these systems, social and cultural values of local food have been prioritised over production efficiencies through private and public sector efforts (Johnson et al. 2018).
Supply chain technology and innovation has also reduced and redirected waste and improved seafood quality. Innovative processing methods resulting in new secondary products have seen fish products reach destinations where they previously could not (Gokoglu 2019). Companies and governments have worked together to ensure fish remains affordable (Belton et al. 2020) and there is increased data availability to ensure that processed seafood products are nutritious and free from contaminants (Moxness Reksten et al. 2020). Seafood is a ubiquitous ingredient in malnutrition programs and school feeding programs and fishery and food policies are now well integrated. Food from the sea continues to contribute to poverty eradication and provide meaningful work for millions of small-scale fishers and farmers (FAO 2015).