What we do

Blue Food Futures is an endorsed program under the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. It aims to deepen our understanding of blue foods in food systems transformation, integrate research insights into policies, and foster a global network of blue food researchers. The Board of Directors is made up of the Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions, Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University, Environmental Defense Fund, Government of Iceland (as the chair of the Aquatic Blue Food Coalition), WorldFish, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, University of British Columbia, and Xiamen University. The work of the Program is guided by a Science Committee and Policy Committee.

The Blue Food Futures Program community of practice encourages knowledge exchange among a global network of blue food actors. The Program supports several scientific working groups as well as a fellowship program for early career ocean professionals. Please contact us if you have questions or would like to get involved.

The Program builds on the progress of previous research generated by the Blue Food Assessment, which filled important knowledge gaps related to the role of blue foods in global food systems. Blue Food Assessment scientists continue to contribute to the work of the Blue Food Futures Program.

The Blue Food Assessment brought together more than 100 leading researchers from more than 25 institutions around the world. Stanford University’s Center for Ocean Solutions and Center on Food Security and the Environment and the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University were lead science partners and EAT was the lead impact partner. ​​The Blue Food Assessment was funded by grants from six philanthropies: the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, MAVA Foundation, Oak Foundation, Stordalen Foundation, The Builders Initiative, and the Walton Family Foundation. In total, the Assessment published eight papers in various Springer-Nature journals and produced policy materials that synthesize Assessment research and provide specific findings and recommendations for various blue food actors throughout the sector.

The Program expands on knowledge-to-action initiatives set in motion by the Aquatic Blue Food Coalition, a multi-stakeholder group mobilizing support for better integration of blue foods in national and international policy fora. Members of the Aquatic Blue Food Coalition are involved with the Blue Food Futures Program as part of the Board of Directors and Policy Committee.

Blue foods, also known as aquatic foods, are foods that are captured or cultivated from the ocean, rivers, lakes, ponds, raceways, and tanks. Blue foods can be derived from aquatic animals, plants, or algae. They support hundreds of millions of livelihoods and are a critical source of nutrition for several billion people around the world.

Food system policies and analyses have often considered blue food as a homogenous “fish” category, overlooking the vast diversity of animals, plants, and algae that are produced or harvested for food. By moving beyond “fish” as one category, decision-makers can better evaluate the opportunities and trade-offs of different types of blue food species and production systems. This can include considering the environmental impacts of different production systems as well as nutritional diversity across more than 2,500 species or species groups of blue foods.

Blue foods provide much more than protein. Many blue food species are rich in nutrients such as zinc, iron, vitamin A, vitamin B12, and omega-3s. Eating more blue food can help prevent non-communicable diseases and nutrient deficiencies, especially in regions and populations where there are high burdens of malnutrition. Blue food systems also support the livelihoods of 800 million people worldwide and are a cornerstone of many rural and national economies, from large-scale fisheries and aquaculture producers to small-scale fishers.

Blue foods offer a rich array of possibilities for creating food systems that are healthy, diversified, empowering, and environmentally sustainable. Properly managed or designed, many wild-caught or farmed blue foods can be produced with lower greenhouse gas emissions and fewer impacts on the environment than terrestrial animal-source foods.

Numerous pollutants can find their way into the foods we eat. Blue foods are no exception, and can contain pollutants like PCBs, pesticides, and heavy metals. Health risk is determined by several factors, including the life cycle of a species, its position in the food chain, and its geographic distribution. For example, seafood can accumulate toxins that naturally occur in phytoplankton; antibiotics used in aquaculture can reside in produced seafood and can develop resistance; and coastal fisheries and aquaculture may be at risk from various chemicals and human pathogens when exposed to urban wastewater. Consuming blue foods requires a careful evaluation of the benefits versus the risks: Health, diet, preference, culture, access, and affordability all play a role. Measures to identify and address contamination in blue foods are crucial.

Blue food production can also have significant negative impacts if poorly managed. Some capture fisheries suffer from overfishing and high levels of bycatch, for example, while some aquaculture operations destroy habitat, cause significant pollution, and use large quantities of wild fish for feed. With the right management, however, blue foods can be caught with reduced impacts on biodiversity or grown more sustainably than various terrestrial animal proteins, thus producing lower greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution and using fewer land and water resources.