Dataset of biological community structure in Deepor Beel using eDNA approach-A RAMSAR wetland of Assam, India.

Deepor Beel, located in the state of Assam in India, is a Wetland of International Importance with a Wildlife Sanctuary and is the only RAMSAR site in the state. Though of invaluable ecological significance, the wetland is facing anthropogenic stressors, leading to rapid degradation of ecological health. In December 2022, surface water was collected from six stations of Deepor Beel to elucidate biological communities using the eDNA approach.

Integrated aquatic and terrestrial food production enhances micronutrient and economic productivity for nutrition-sensitive food systems.

Integrated aquaculture-agriculture (IAA) is a form of crop diversification where aquatic and terrestrial foods are grown together on a single parcel of land. We compare economic and nutrient productivity per hectare for 12 distinct IAA combinations, identified from a representative survey of 721 farms in southern Bangladesh. Just under half of households integrate agriculture into their aquaculture production.

Dietary inadequacy in Tanzania is linked to the rising cost of nutritious foods and consumption of food-away-from-home.

This study contributes to the growing literature on dietary quality and accessibility in the Global South. We analyze the nutrition implications of changing dietary patterns between 2008 and 2019 in one of Africa's largest and fastest growing economies, Tanzania, and compare patterns at national and sub-national scales. We find that: (1) Rising incomes have not been associated with marked increases in the diversity of food consumed at home; (2) Consumption of food away from home has increased dramatically; (3) Most food consumed in Tanzanian homes is purchased instead of self-produced; (4) There have not been clear improvements in the adequacy of micronutrient consumption obtained from food eaten at home; (5) The most affordable sources of key micronutrients, including nutrient dense foods such as dried fish, have become more expensive.

Spatial analysis of aquatic food access can inform nutrition-sensitive policy.

Aquatic foods are critical for food and nutrition security in Malawi, but it is unclear which populations benefit from different aquatic foods and what factors shape food access. Spatial analysis of food flows across value chains from Lake Malawi to domestic consumers shows that usipa (Engraulicypris sardella) reaches more consumers than chambo (Oreochromis karongae) across all Malawi districts, particularly rural populations. Higher number of markets, nutrient content, and overall supply coupled with lower retail prices and volumes make usipa more accessible to consumers than chambo.

Small fish consumption in rural Myanmar.

Assessments of fish consumption are based primarily on data from household surveys that do not capture information on the intra-household distribution of the size or species of fish consumed. Such studies can yield partial or misleading information about the adequacy of aquatic food consumption. We address this gap by focusing on individual-level fish consumption within the household, using data from a survey conducted in a rural part of the Ayeyarwady Region in Myanmar-an area with high levels of fish consumption.

Factors Influencing Consumption Behaviour towards Aquatic Food among Asian Consumers: A Systematic Scoping Review.

Asia accounts for over 70% of total global aquatic food consumption, but aquatic food consumption behaviours and attitudes among Asian consumers are poorly documented and understood. This paper synthesises literature on factors influencing aquatic food consumption behaviour in Asia and the potential to support transitions toward more sustainable food consumption patterns. We identified 113 studies for inclusion in a scoping review, and identified five clusters of publications: (1) product attributes, availability, and accessibility (24% of publications); (2) willingness to pay for aquatic foods (25%); (3) psychosocial factors (e.

COVID-19's impacts on incomes and food consumption in urban and rural areas are surprisingly similar: Evidence from five African countries.

African governments imposed mobility restrictions to suppress the spread of COVID-19. Many observers feared these measures would dramatically decrease incomes and increase food insecurity and anticipated that urban households would be much more impacted than rural ones. We use rural and urban survey data from 4000 households across five African countries to assess the pandemic's effect on incomes and food consumption.

Presence of microplastics in two common dried marine fish species from Bangladesh.

We examined microplastics (MP) in two commercially important dried fish, Bombay duck (Harpadon nehereus) and ribbon fish (Trichiurus lepturus), collected from two sites on the Bay of Bengal (Cox's Bazar and Kuakata). The number of MP found in dried Bombay duck and ribbon fish from Kuakata was significantly higher (41.33 g and 46.

COVID-19 impacts and adaptations in Asia and Africa's aquatic food value chains.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a shock affecting all areas of the global food system. We tracked the impacts of COVID-19 and associated policy responses on the availability and price of aquatic foods and production inputs during 2020, using a high frequency longitudinal survey of 768 respondents in Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Myanmar, Nigeria. We found the following: (1) Aquatic food value chains were severely disrupted but most effects on the availability and accessibility of aquatic foods and production inputs were short-lived.

Blue food demand across geographic and temporal scales.

Numerous studies have focused on the need to expand production of 'blue foods', defined as aquatic foods captured or cultivated in marine and freshwater systems, to meet rising population- and income-driven demand. Here we analyze the roles of economic, demographic, and geographic factors and preferences in shaping blue food demand, using secondary data from FAO and The World Bank, parameters from published models, and case studies at national to sub-national scales. Our results show a weak cross-sectional relationship between per capita income and consumption globally when using an aggregate fish metric.

Harnessing the diversity of small-scale actors is key to the future of aquatic food systems.

Small-scale fisheries and aquaculture (SSFA) provide livelihoods for over 100 million people and sustenance for ~1 billion people, particularly in the Global South. Aquatic foods are distributed through diverse supply chains, with the potential to be highly adaptable to stresses and shocks, but face a growing range of threats and adaptive challenges. Contemporary governance assumes homogeneity in SSFA despite the diverse nature of this sector.

Farming fish in the sea will not nourish the world.

Recent literature on marine fish farming brands it as potentially compatible with sustainable resource use, conservation, and human nutrition goals, and aligns with the emerging policy discourse of 'blue growth'. We advance a two-pronged critique. First, contemporary narratives tend to overstate marine finfish aquaculture's potential to deliver food security and environmental sustainability.

Resilience through risk management: cooperative insurance in small-holder aquaculture systems.

Aquaculture is a booming industry. It currently supplies almost half of all fish and shellfish eaten today, and it continues to grow faster than any other food production sector. But it is immature relative to terrestrial crop and livestock sectors, and as a consequence it lags behind in terms of the use of aquaculture specific financial risk management tools.

Measuring the potential for sustainable intensification of aquaculture in Bangladesh using life cycle assessment.

Food production is a major driver of global environmental change and the overshoot of planetary sustainability boundaries. Greater affluence in developing nations and human population growth are also increasing demand for all foods, and for animal proteins in particular. Consequently, a growing body of literature calls for the sustainable intensification of food production, broadly defined as "producing more using less".

Higher fish but lower micronutrient intakes: Temporal changes in fish consumption from capture fisheries and aquaculture in Bangladesh.

Malnutrition is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century, with one in three people in the world malnourished, combined with poor diets being the leading cause of the global burden of disease. Fish is an under-recognised and undervalued source of micronutrients, which could play a more significant role in addressing this global challenge. With rising pressures on capture fisheries, demand is increasingly being met from aquaculture.

Passing the panda standard: a TAD off the mark?

Tilapia, a tropical freshwater fish native to Africa, is an increasingly important global food commodity. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), a major environmental nongovernmental organization, has established stakeholder dialogues to formulate farm certification standards that promote "responsible" culture practices. As a preface to its "tilapia aquaculture dialogue," the WWF for Nature commissioned a review of potential certification issues, later published as a peer-reviewed article.