Wild fish consumption can balance nutrient retention in farmed fish.

Wild fish used as aquafeeds could be redirected towards human consumption to support sustainable marine resource use. Here we use mass-balance fish-in/fish-out ratio approaches to assess nutrient retention in salmon farming and identify scenarios that provide more nutrient-rich food to people. Using data on Norway's salmon farms, our study revealed that six of nine dietary nutrients had higher yields in wild fish used for feeds, such as anchovies and mackerel, than in farmed salmon production. Reallocating one-third of food-grade wild feed fish towards direct human consumption would increase seafood production, while also retaining by-products for use as aquafeeds, thus maximizing nutrient utilization of marine resources.

Less than half of the European dietary recommendations for fish consumption are satisfied by national seafood supplies.

PURPOSE: To review the seafood dietary recommendations of European countries and compare them to national seafood supplies. METHODS: Current seafood dietary recommendations were collated from national health authorities across Europe. Food balance sheets were downloaded from the FAO, and appropriate conversion factors were applied to each seafood commodity. Average net per capita seafood supplies from 2007 to 2017 were derived from data on imports and production for food from both capture fisheries and aquaculture, accounting for exports. RESULTS: Both national dietary recommendations and seafood supplies varied considerably throughout Europe. At a national level, on a per capita basis, only 13 out of the 31 of European dietary recommendations for fish consumption were satisfied by national seafood supplies. Most of the countries with coastal access, as well as those with traditional fish-eating cultures, such as France and countries in Northern Europe, had adequate seafood supplies to meet their recommendations. The landlocked countries of Central and Eastern Europe did not have enough seafood supplies to satisfy their recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings emphasise the need to not only consider consumer health outcomes when developing and advocating dietary recommendations, but also the sustainability of food production systems. As many foods are not necessarily locally sourced but traded as part of global production and distribution systems, it is important to consider greater consistency between national dietary recommendations to facilitate more sustainable marine food systems.