New Report: 14.8% of Aquatic Foods Lost or Wasted

Aquatic foods are integral to global food and nutrition security, yet the challenges of loss and waste within their value chains are significant. A newly released report sheds light on this pressing issue, indicating that in 2021 alone, approximately 23.8 million tonnes of aquatic foods were lost or wasted, amounting to 14.8% of global production.

The report, titled “Investigating Global Aquatic Food Loss and Waste,” is a collaborative effort between the World Economic Forum’s Ocean Action Agenda, the World Resources Institute, and MarFishEco, with support from the UK Government’s Blue Planet Fund. This study provides updated estimates and in-depth analysis across the entire aquatic food value chain.

Highlighted in the report are the urgent need for interventions across various stakeholders and the identification of hotspots of loss and waste concerning region, species group, and product type. Specifically, it points to processing on land and production of wild-capture fisheries (discards) as the primary contributors to aquatic food loss and waste in 2021, with Asia and Europe facing significant challenges, particularly in demersal fishes and frozen products.

The findings underscore the crucial role of policy-makers, industry players, and civil society in addressing this global challenge. The report outlines actionable strategies for mitigating aquatic food loss and waste, emphasizing the importance of technological innovation and multi-stakeholder collaboration.

“Reducing aquatic food loss and waste is paramount for enhancing long-term food system resilience,” states the report. It calls for collective action from stakeholders, urging targeted interventions to combat this pressing global issue.

Download the complete report here.