Aquaculture can be expanded efficiently and sustainably with expansion, integration with fisheries, and new technologies and policies

The IPCC Sixth Synthesis Report (AR6) released in March 2023 (Lee et al., 2023) documents that during the last decade (2010–2019), GHG emissions continued to increase “from unsustainable energy use, land use and land-use change, lifestyles and patterns of consumption and production across regions, causing many weather and climate extremes…and led to widespread adverse impacts on food and water security, human health and on economies and society, related losses and damages to nature and people”. Over 90% of human food production comes from terrestrial agriculture, which accounts for an estimated one third of all GHG emissions (Gilbert, 2012). Expansion of terrestrial agriculture, to provide the projected need for foods to 2050, has serious resource and environmental constraints. If relied upon to the exclusion of aquaculture's options, further unacceptable destruction of the Earth's remaining natural ecosystems and reserves from deforestation, conversions of grasslands, expansion of water irrigation systems, etc. will occur (Costa-Pierce, 2016).

There are many proven options known for decades to integrate aquaculture efficiently and sustainably into terrestrial food systems. Expansion of these into Africa is a priority of the CGIAR systems and its WorldFish center (worldfishcenter.org). With the expansion of aquaculture technologies and global economies, land (e.g., recirculating aquaculture systems, RAS) and ocean-based aquaculture food systems developments will need to be integrated with emerging renewable energy systems at all scales (Buck & Langan, 2017; Scroggins et al., 2022; Vo et al., 2021). In addition, as tourism is estimated to account for upwards of 30% of the global economy, development of aquaculture tourism will not only assist in the economic viability of farming livelihoods but in the education of communities in areas of the world where aquaculture is new.

Fisheries and aquaculture interact in many ways, for example with fishers shifting from fishing to aquaculture, and also operate in the same markets with similar products. Thus, the effective integration of planning and management of the two sectors is vital to their future development and sustainability. Klinger et al. (2013) recognized that ocean food systems (OFS) of fisheries and aquaculture cannot be separated but are increasingly “hybrid seafood systems” whose products enter a common marketplace. Capture fisheries and aquaculture are researched, planned, and managed throughout the world as if they are independent entities ignoring their complex and evolving interdependencies. Such divisions and binary management approaches do not fit the current realities, opportunities, and innovations in hybrid OFS, and do not integrate knowledge across professions. Integration of knowledge across professions is needed to make better decisions on ocean food interventions that would incorporate data on rural economic development, producers and their mixed ocean/land-based livelihoods, seasonal employment patterns, tourism, marketing, trade, and consumer behaviors. In the coming decade a greater diversity of hybrid OFS will likely evolve with accelerated climate and social changes, and their system complexities, intimate interactions in global-to-local marketplaces, and contributions to advancing mixed, rural livelihoods will need more attention. Integration of knowledge across professions will be needed to make better decisions on the appropriate development of aquaculture as an aquatic food intervention. Assessments will need to incorporate data on rural economic development, producers and their mixed aquatic/ocean/land-based livelihoods, seasonal employment patterns, tourism, marketing, trade, and consumer behaviors (Costa-Pierce, 2023).

Lastly, the expansion of aquaculture requires technologies, investments, and policies that will not only benefit industries and communities but also mitigate impacts or even restore adjacent natural ecosystems. The Ecosystem Approach to Aquaculture (EAA) laid an important foundation for this work in the last decade (FAO, 2010), but progress has been slow (Brugere et al., 2019). New guidelines, policies, and applied science being led by global nongovernmental organizations such as the Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, and their partners in “restoration, regenerative, conservation, and ecological” aquaculture offers new sustainable expansion pathways to aquaculture in the coming decades (Alleway et al., 2018, 2023; Jones et al., 2022; TNC, 2021; World Economic Forum, 2023). At the same time, governments now increasingly recognize and support new examples of international cooperation and partnerships for new models of sustainable aquaculture development. An example is the new Center for Ecological Aquaculture at Shanghai Ocean University in P.R. China, which was established as a result of, and commitment to, the GCA +20 process, pays particular attention to the ecological dimension of aquaculture development, and will facilitate implementation and upscaling of agro-ecological and nutrition-sensitive approaches through integrated agriculture–aquaculture (Dabbadie et al., 2019). FAO Members “encouraged FAO to work in partnership with such initiatives to promote sustainable aquaculture, emphasizing the importance of the Ecosystem Approach to Aquaculture, and requesting technical assistance for its implementation” (FAO, 2022d). FAO is incorporating the concept specifically into their global Guidelines on Sustainable Aquaculture currently under review.