Fish Matters: Importance of Aquatic Foods in Human Nutrition and Global Food Supply

In a world where nearly 30% of humanity is suffering from malnutrition and over 70% of the planet is covered with water, aquatic foods represent an essential component of the global food basket to improve the nutrition, health, and well being of all peoples. It is not by chance that Japan, the country with one of the world's highest reported life expectancies and lowest incidences of obesity and deaths from heart related illnesses, is also one of the world's top consumers of captured and farmed aquatic animal food products and aquatic plants. According to the FAO, in 2009, total captured and farmed aquatic animal food products accounted for 16.6% of the global population's intake of animal protein, providing more than three billion people with almost 20% of their average per capita intake of animal protein, and 4.3 billion people with at least 15% of such protein. This article reviews the nutritional composition of different farmed and captured aquatic food products and compares these with conventional terrestrial meat products. In addition to the superior nutritional profile and benefits of aquatic animal food products, small-sized marine pelagic fish play an important role in the nutrition of the poor as an affordable and much needed source of high quality animal protein and essential amino acids, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and trace elements. As one of the best aquatic animal foods from a nutritional perspective, the direct consumption of small pelagic fish should be encouraged and promoted, as apposed to the continued targeted use of these species for reduction into fishmeal and fish oil for use in animal feeds.