Bringing the Consumer Voice to International Discussions on Nutrition, Food Security and Sustainable Aquatic Foods
The Seafood Consumers Association Ltd (SCA) is pleased to announce its membership of the Aquatic Blue Food Coalition (ABFC), an international alliance working to unlock the potential of aquatic foods to improve human nutrition, strengthen food security, support climate resilience and protect biodiversity.
The membership represents another important step in SCA's growing international engagement and its commitment to ensuring that seafood consumers have a meaningful voice in decisions affecting the future of aquatic food systems.
SCA Advisory Council member Joly Ghanawi represented the Association at a recent Coalition meeting, where she introduced SCA, outlined its objectives and highlighted opportunities for collaboration.
Joly reported that the presentation was warmly received and SCA was welcomed into the Coalition.
Discussions included recent and forthcoming international meetings, regional engagement activities, including a Caribbean hub meeting, and emerging scientific research into the nutritional benefits of aquatic foods.
SCA looks forward to participating regularly in Coalition activities and exploring opportunities for collaborative projects.
What Is the Aquatic Blue Food Coalition?
The Aquatic Blue Food Coalition emerged from the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit and was formally launched at the 2022 UN Ocean Conference.
It brings together more than 40 organisations representing governments, research institutions, civil society, industry and international organisations.
Its Secretariat is jointly managed by the Environmental Defense Fund and the Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions, with strategic leadership from the Government of Iceland.
The Coalition works to ensure that aquatic foods receive appropriate recognition in international and national policies addressing food security, nutrition, environmental sustainability and climate resilience.
Its objectives include raising the profile of aquatic foods in policy discussions, mobilising investment and technical support, and facilitating collaboration and knowledge exchange between organisations working across aquatic food systems.
The Coalition's work contributes to several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 14 — Life Below Water — while recognising the important connections between healthy aquatic ecosystems, human nutrition and sustainable food production. aquaticbluefood.org
Why Aquatic Foods Matter
The term aquatic blue foods encompasses much more than conventional seafood.
It includes fish, shellfish, crustaceans, aquatic plants and algae harvested or cultivated in marine and freshwater environments.
These foods contribute to dietary diversity, provide essential nutrients, support livelihoods and offer opportunities to strengthen food systems.
Yet aquatic foods have historically received insufficient attention in many national and international discussions about nutrition and food security.
For SCA, this raises an important question:
How can governments develop effective food and nutrition policies without fully recognising the contribution of aquatic foods to human health?
This question is particularly relevant to Australia, where seafood consumption, nutritional education, affordability, accurate product identification and equitable access deserve greater policy attention.
Aquatic foods should not be treated merely as commercial commodities.
They are an important part of our food system, our nutritional wellbeing and our relationship with the natural environment.
New Research Highlights the Nutritional Importance of Aquatic Invertebrates
One particularly interesting discussion during the recent Coalition meeting concerned new scientific research examining the nutritional contribution of aquatic invertebrates.
Published in Nature on 2 September 2026, the paper, The Nutritional Value of Invertebrate Aquatic Foods, examines the importance of aquatic animals such as prawns, crabs, molluscs and other invertebrates in supplying essential nutrients.
The researchers assessed global production and nutritional information and developed models to estimate the nutrient composition of more than 50,000 aquatic invertebrate species.
Their findings were striking.
Current aquatic invertebrate production was estimated to supply the equivalent annual requirements of:
- More than 5 billion people for vitamin B12 and selenium.
- More than 1 billion people for iodine, zinc, copper and omega-3 fatty acids.
- More than 100 million people for several other essential nutrients, including iron, magnesium and certain B vitamins.
These figures describe the nutritional potential of global production, not the number of people actually receiving adequate amounts of these nutrients. Access, affordability, dietary practices and sustainability remain critical considerations. LTNR
The findings reinforce an important message: the nutritional value of aquatic foods extends well beyond familiar finfish species.
Shellfish and other aquatic invertebrates can make substantial contributions to healthy and diverse diets.
The research also highlights the importance of protecting aquatic ecosystems and ensuring that nutritious foods are accessible to the communities that need them.
Read the research: The Nutritional Value of Invertebrate Aquatic Foods — Nature, September 2026.
Iodine: An Essential Nutrient Deserving Greater Attention
Iodine was another important nutritional topic raised during the Coalition discussions.
Iodine is essential for normal thyroid function and the production of thyroid hormones, which play critical roles in growth, metabolism and neurological development.
Adequate iodine intake is particularly important during pregnancy and early childhood, when thyroid hormones contribute to healthy brain development.
Fish and shellfish can provide dietary iodine, although concentrations vary considerably between species and products.
This is an area where SCA believes improved nutritional education and clearer information about aquatic foods could benefit consumers.
Importantly, the health discussion should extend beyond individual nutrients.
Seafood provides combinations of nutrients that contribute to healthy dietary patterns, and its nutritional benefits deserve consideration alongside food safety, sustainability and accessibility.
For Australia, this is especially relevant to continuing discussions about maternal nutrition, healthy ageing, food security and dietary guidance.
Bringing the Consumer Voice to the Table
SCA's participation in the Coalition introduces a perspective that can sometimes be overlooked in discussions about aquatic food production.
The consumer.
Much international attention understandably focuses on fisheries management, aquaculture development, environmental protection, investment and trade.
These are essential considerations.
However, the ultimate success of aquatic food systems also depends on whether consumers can access products that are safe, nutritious, affordable, accurately described and responsibly produced.
SCA believes that successful aquatic food policies must connect the entire system:
Healthy aquatic ecosystems → Sustainable production → Responsible supply chains → Nutritious and affordable aquatic foods → Informed consumers.
This means paying attention to issues such as accurate seafood identification, transparent labelling, traceability, food fraud prevention, nutritional information and consumer confidence.
It also means ensuring that environmental sustainability and human nutrition are considered together rather than as competing objectives.
SCA's independence from seafood producers allows it to contribute a distinct consumer perspective while working constructively with researchers, governments, seafood professionals and other stakeholders.
From International Collaboration to Practical Action
SCA sees its membership of the Coalition as an opportunity for practical cooperation.
Our Association is already working across several areas relevant to the Coalition's objectives, including seafood consumer education, food security, aquatic food nutrition, seafood integrity and the development of I-CADMUS.
I-CADMUS is SCA's developing international seafood fraud information and training initiative, designed to improve understanding of seafood deception, strengthen professional knowledge and support consumer trust.
There are potential connections between this work and the Coalition's broader interests in responsible aquatic food systems.
SCA is particularly interested in opportunities involving consumer education, nutritional research, transparent seafood supply chains, improved access to aquatic foods and the translation of scientific knowledge into practical information.
The Association also believes that international collaboration can help strengthen the contribution of aquatic foods to Australia's future food-security strategies.
Through regular participation in Coalition meetings and projects, SCA hopes to contribute its experience while learning from organisations working across different regions and aquatic food systems.
Looking Ahead: Healthy Waters, Healthy Foods, Healthy People
The Aquatic Blue Food Coalition reflects a growing international recognition that aquatic foods must play a more prominent role in discussions about the future of food.
For SCA, the challenge is to ensure that this recognition translates into practical benefits for consumers.
That means better information, stronger consumer protection, sustainable production, improved nutritional understanding and fair access to aquatic foods.
It also means recognising that healthy aquatic ecosystems and healthy human populations are fundamentally connected.
Protecting our waters, producing aquatic foods responsibly and helping consumers make informed choices are not separate ambitions. They are essential parts of the same food system.
SCA welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Aquatic Blue Food Coalition and looks forward to developing productive relationships with fellow members.
Because the future of aquatic foods must be shaped not only by those who produce them, but also by the people who depend on them.
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