The Humboldt Current runs northwards along Chile’s coast, bringing cold, nutrient-rich water from Antarctica and the ocean depths to the surface and creating a bountiful ‘blue food’ ecosystem.
But climate change is making this current less reliable, putting at risk a phenomenon that accounts for up to 15% of the world’s wild-caught fisheries production, including anchovies, hake and sardines.
Further north, in Canada, climate change and biodiversity loss are also altering oceans and freshwater resources.
These changes pose a serious risk to aquatic ecosystems, with significant social, cultural and economic implications for fisheries and marine resource industries, as well as coastal and Indigenous communities who rely on them for food and incomes. The impact of warming oceans and marine heatwaves, for example, changes environmental and biological processes that are contributing to salmon population declines in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
As representatives of these two major aquatic-food-producing countries, we recognise the threat climate change poses to one of our primary industries.
There is a huge urgency to adapt to these realities. This is why our two countries, Canada and Chile, are leading a global dialogue on the ocean and climate change. These talks were mandated at the COP25 climate summit in Madrid in 2019, and the most recent annual meeting in June discussed ways in which the conservation, protection and restoration of blue ecosystems can address both the causes and consequences of climate change.
COP29 in Baku, which began last week, is another important opportunity to discuss how countries can prioritise blue foods as a powerful and vital force in achieving global climate and development goals.
We believe more financial and technological support is needed in aid of this. Climate information services that give fishers more notice of extreme conditions, and processing equipment that can preserve and prolong the fruits of production, are just two examples of solutions that urgently need scaling up.
Blue foods for a green future
Blue, or aquatic, foods are the most traded food commodity in the world and are essential to sustainably feeding a growing global population. Animals and plants, wild-caught or farmed from oceans, rivers and lakes, are a primary source of protein and micronutrients, especially for many developing countries and vulnerable communities that do not have access to alternative food sources.
Such foods also offer more opportunities to reduce emissions from food systems and mitigate climate change. Aquatic animals generally have a lower carbon footprint than terrestrial animal source foods, with some species, including bivalves and seaweed, having minimal or neutral greenhouse gas emissions. Dietary shifts to incorporate more blue foods, along with greater efficiencies in how wild fish are caught, can further improve the environmental performance of the sector.
Blue foods can contribute to lower greenhouse gas emissions in food systems if we consume more low-carbon types, reduce loss and waste, improve aquaculture feeds, adapt fisheries to deal with climate change impacts, and protect blue ecosystems that can sequester carbon, such as mangroves.
Oceans, a key source of blue foods, cover 71% of the planet’s surface and have absorbed about 90% of the heat generated by rising greenhouse gas emissions to date. They are also the world’s largest carbon sink, capturing about 30% of our carbon emissions. But absorbing heat and storing carbon also changes the ocean, bringing about temperature increases, acidification and deoxygenation, which can have devastating impacts on marine life.
Climate strategies, referred to as Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs, are the blueprints each country produces which they use to set emissions reductions targets, attract investment, kickstart innovation and align policies with the goals of the Paris Agreement. As set out in a recent Ocean Dialogue report, COP29 is a moment to commit to “technology needs assessments”, which will identify adaptation methods for ocean climate action that inform the next round of NDCs, due in 2025. It is also a chance to include blue foods in the new targets being discussed for the Paris Agreement’s Global Goal on Adaptation.
Last month, guidelines aimed at supporting governments to include aquatic foods in their climate strategies were released by the Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions and partners. These are a valuable addition to the transition towards sustainable food systems, offering policy options for different production systems and supply chains. And they are needed: in the same report, analysis of 2020 NDCs found that over 80 countries did not mention blue foods at all, while 37 countries mentioned the sector only in passing.
Making progress
In our two countries, action is already under way to help blue foods support climate action.
Chile, Peru and Ecuador have developed a joint oceanographic monitoring and early warning system for fisheries operating within the Humboldt Current. It includes a mobile app that provides fishers with real-time predictions of species availability, enabling them to adapt their practices in response to climate variability and empowering them to negotiate more effectively with buyers.
Chile is also implementing transparent fisheries policies that aim to minimise the risks of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and ensure the sustainable use of resources and blue foods. These policies involved wide participation from stakeholders including small-scale fishers.
Meanwhile, Canada is advancing measures to support climate-resilient fisheries, including the implementation of an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management. This framework explicitly considers the impact on fish stocks of variables such as changing ocean ecosystems, climate change and loss of biodiversity.
Canada also launched the Aquatic Ecosystems Restoration Fund in June 2022, which provides CAD 75 million (USD 53.7 million) over five years to help protect and restore coastal and marine areas.
These are just a few practical examples of how blue foods can be both leveraged and protected within climate strategies. But as the realities of climate change continue to threaten global food security and livelihoods, more action is needed to ensure support for blue foods through good governance and climate mitigation. Let us not miss the boat.
