A July study found that even though the Indian Ocean covers 20 percent of the world’s ocean surface and contains large quantities of healthy seafood, many Asian and African coastal communities bordering the ocean still struggle with malnutrition.
Researchers from the University of Western Australia, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the University of British Columbia recently studied the micronutrient concentrations, catch rates, and market value of common fisheries in the Indian Ocean, finding its bountiful resources have high nutritional potential but that local communities are not benefiting from that potential.
“Right now, it’s quite challenging for many Indian Ocean Rim [IOR] countries to focus on meeting local nutritional needs instead of maximizing exports, mostly because their economies and many of their commercial fisheries are often structured around international markets through government subsidies and trade policies,” University of Western Australia doctoral student Vania Andreoli, who was an author on the study, said. “However, with rising food insecurity, awareness of domestic nutrition gaps with associated human health risks, and climate change impacts on fisheries, there’s an urgent need to rethink these priorities.”
Two types of vessels fish in the Indian Ocean: vessels from IOR countries and vessels from distant-water fishing (DWF) countries.
Vessels from IOR nations tend to catch reef species and perch-like fish that are richer in calcium, omega-3 fatty acids, and iron, according to the study.
Although the species IOR nations catch have high nutritional profiles, countries like Bangladesh still face severe micronutrient deficiencies, even as its seafood catch could provide 80 percent of the daily requirement for omega-3 fatty acids and 90 percent of vitamin B12 recommendations. Elsewhere, Somalians suffer from some of the worst nutrition indicators in the world due to foreign exploitation of fisheries and the impacts of piracy hurting the nation’s ability to pass nutritional benefits on to locals. Madagascar also struggles with widespread zinc and B12 deficiencies, even though its seafood catch contains the highest zinc concentrations among IOR countries.
One reason for this disconnect is that these species often have higher climate vulnerability than other fish, and reports are warning that the Indian Ocean is heading toward a near-permanent marine heatwave.
Another challenge arises from the fact that while DWF fleets capture only 2 percent of the region’s total micronutrient supply, DWF fishing can disrupt the marine ecosystem as a whole by targeting species that are more vulnerable to overfishing and slower to recover, which in turn can indirectly affect IOR nutrient-rich stocks. The species targeted by DWF fleets also often contain the highest levels of nutrients like selenium and vitamin A, which are almost entirely missing from local markets, according to the study.
Large-scale DWF exports can also reduce the seafood available locally or drive up prices, limiting potentially lucrative business opportunities and access for coastal communities that rely on affordable fish for key nutrients.
“Several DWF nations – such as China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and some European countries – operate in the region. These fleets catch fish from the exclusive economic zones of IOR nations and the high seas, and in doing so, they also capture the potential economic benefits that could have supported local populations,” Andreoli said. “While the catches are taken far from the home waters of these fleets, the economic value – through sales, processing, and trade – often flows back to those home countries rather than to the coastal states where the fishing takes place.”
Beyond DWF exports, when fishers in IOR countries do have business opportunities to fish their own waters, their catch is also typically exported, which pushes up local prices and limits access to nutritious seafood for poorer populations in the same way DWF exports do.
If IOR countries prioritize domestic nutritional needs over economic profits by shifting fishing efforts toward species like anchovies, which are more nutrient-dense and accessible, instead of lucrative species like tuna, locals would benefit more from the stocks right off their coasts. However, Andreoli said widespread changes would need to arise in order to incentivize fishers to make such changes.
“Redirecting incentives, including subsidies, to support local consumption and well- or better-managed small-scale fisheries would require coordinated policy efforts but could substantially improve both nutrition and long-term resource sustainability,” Andreoli said. “While the export sector provides significant economic income, balancing that with domestic nutritional needs, which impact health, is essential to ensure food and nutrition security for vulnerable communities in the region. Whether it is worth retaining exports needs to be assessed locally.”
This balance would require a multifaceted approach, according to the study.
Policies that prioritize protecting coral reefs, for example, which are highly vulnerable, would safeguard important sources of micronutrients. To accomplish this, the researchers suggested shifting consumption from reef species to small pelagic species, which are nutrient-rich, more resilient to fishing and climate change, and generally more affordable.
Placing better protections around sharks, rays, billfish, cephalopods, and tuna would be important, too, according to the study, because even though they provide relatively low nutritional value, they play essential roles in marine ecosystems and are highly vulnerable.
This goal would require stronger governance of DWF fleets to prevent bycatch and overexploitation of vulnerable species.
“I hope that this work underscores the importance of viewing fisheries as a cornerstone of nutrition and public health – not just a trade commodity. By highlighting these links and the need to protect nutrient-rich species for domestic consumption, we aim to inspire a shift in policy and public understanding, valuing fisheries for their role in public health and food security, especially in countries where this is really needed,” Andreoli said.
