Blue food

What is Blue Food? What is the significance of Blue Food?  What Issues are associated with Blue Food? What are the important Blue Food Schemes? Read further to know more.

Blue foods play a significant role in the economies, way of life, nutritional stability, and cultures of many nations.

They sustain the livelihoods of over 800 million people, the majority of whom labour in small-scale systems, and provide protein to over 3.2 billion people.

They are also an important source of nutrients for many coastal, rural, and indigenous communities. Blue foods are foods produced from freshwater and saltwater habitats by the capture or cultivation of aquatic or marine animals, plants, or algae.

Also read: Blue Flag Certification

What is Blue Food?

• Aquatic animals, plants, and algae that are captured or grown in freshwater and marine habitats are considered blue foods.
• It is discovered that they rate higher than foods derived from terrestrial animals in terms of their nutritional value and potential for sustainability gains.
• Numerous blue dietary species are abundant in vital vitamins, minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids.
• The main aquaculture species, such as tilapia, salmon, catfish, and carp, were discovered to have smaller environmental footprints than meat from other sources.
• Additionally, capture fishing is involved. All types of harvesting of naturally existing living resources in freshwater and marine settings are referred to as capture fisheries.
• Varieties include tilapia, salmon, catfish, and carp, as well as seaweed, sea cucumber, and bivalves (mussels, oysters, etc.).

Significance of Blue Food

They are found to be more nutritious and have a higher potential for sustainability benefits than foods made from terrestrial animals. Let’s take a look at some of the blue food’s main significance.

Blue Food- Key Source of Nutrient:

• Blue foods play a significant role in the economies, way of life, nutritional stability, and cultures of many nations.
• They sustain the livelihoods of over 800 million people, the majority of whom labour in small-scale systems, and provide protein to over 3.2 billion people. They are also an important source of nutrients for many coastal, rural, and indigenous communities.

Low Emission and Tackle Deficiencies by Blue Food:

• Comparatively speaking, they produce fewer emissions than beef from land.
• The main species raised in aquaculture, on the whole, were found to have less of an environmental impact than flesh from other sources.
• Additionally, India’s B12 and omega-3 deficiency can be treated with aquatic meals. Omega-3 deficiency is prevalent in over 91% of nations with vitamin B12 shortage.

Reduce Cardiovascular Diseases with Blue food:

• About 82% of the 22 nations with a high cardiovascular disease risk could address health and environmental issues by promoting blue foods over excessive red meat consumption.

Revenue Potential for Global South:

• Blue foods can help indigenous communities in the global north and the global south improves their nutrition, quality of life, or national income.

Less pressure on Land:

• The area that was required for conventional agriculture to support the expanding population is now freed up by aquaculture and marine farms.

Food Security attained by Blue food:

• Increased consumption and significant reductions in malnutrition may result from investments in innovation and better fishing management.
• By addressing both the issue of Real Hunger and Hidden Hunger, they can feed the multitudes.

Fulfilling SDG commitment:

• The promotion of blue foods will contribute to the achievement of numerous SDGs. E.g.
  • SDG 2: Nutrition
  • SDG 14: Sustainable use of marine resources

Also read: Food Processing and Related Industries in India

Environmental performance of blue foods – Report

• The study has revealed that the transition to healthy, equitable, and sustainable food systems will depend critically on blue foods and the waters in which they are grown.
• The least amount of land and water are used in the creation of blue foods, as well as the least amount of greenhouse gas and nutrient emissions.
• Increased consumption and significant reductions in malnutrition may result from investments in innovation and better fishing management.
• The promotion of blue cuisine will aid in the achievement of numerous SDGs (SDG 2 – Nutrition and 14 – Sustainable use of marine resources).

Issues Associated with Blue Food

• Bycatch: This is the term used to describe the unintentional mortality of non-target species when they are accidentally caught in fishing nets.
• Pollution: Seafood quality and safety may be impacted by pollutants in the water, such as heavy metals, PCBs, and microplastics.
• Mislabeling and Fraud: There have been cases of seafood goods being mislabeled, with a less expensive fish being sold as a more expensive one. This can lead to consumer deception and potential health risks.
• Overexploitation: According to the World Bank, nearly 90% of all marine fish populations are currently overfished or completely exploited, which is a problem due to overfishing, illegal fishing, and other unsustainable methods of producing aquatic food.
• Acceptance of Blue Food: The popularity of sea cucumbers and related varieties is still very low. It requires a shift in eating behaviours.
• Technology and Capital Intensive sector: One of the major challenges with blue food is the need for high-end technology and capital.
• Lack of skilled labour and resources: It needs rarely skilled labour.
• Lack of proper cuisine and dishes: More R&D activities are required by chefs and scientists to make dishes loved by the masses.
• The danger of invasive species: There may be a threat of invasive species in case of imports for culturing in a country.

Blue Food Schemes

Some of the important schemes related to Blue food are,

Draft Blue Economy Policy:

The draught Blue Economy policy has been released by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), which is seeking comments and suggestions from different stakeholders. It is consistent with the Indian government’s 2030 vision for a “New India.”

Key Highlights of the Policy,

• • It categorised the blue economy as one of the 10 core dimensions for national growth.
  • It emphasizes policies across several key sectors to achieve holistic growth of India’s economy.
  • It recognizes the following 7 thematic areas:
    • National accounting framework for the blue economy and ocean governance.
    • Coastal marine spatial planning and tourism.
    • Marine fisheries, aquaculture, and fish processing.
    • Manufacturing, emerging industries, trade, technology, services, and skill development.
    • Logistics, infrastructure and shipping, including trans-shipments.
    • Coastal and deep-sea mining and offshore energy.
    • Security, strategic dimensions, and international engagement.

Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana:

• Nodal Ministry/ Department: Department of Fisheries
• Tenure: 2020-2025
• Intended Beneficiaries are
  • Fishermen, fish farmers, fish workers and fish vendors
  • Fisheries Development corporations
  • Self Help Groups (SHGs)/Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) in the fisheries sector
  • Fisheries cooperatives and federations
  • Entrepreneurs and private firms
  • Fish Farmers Producer Organisations/Companies (FFPOs/Cs)
  • SCs/STs/Women/Differently abled persons

Why in News?

According to a recent study, blue food from aquatic environments can aid in reducing nutritional deficiencies, creating jobs, and increasing export income in India.

Aquatic or blue foods can be made more environmentally sustainable than they currently are, according to a recent study titled Environmental performance of blue foods. As part of the Blue Food Assessment, the report is released (BFA). The BFA is a partnership between the nonprofit EAT, Stanford University in the United States, and Stockholm Resilience Centre in Sweden.

Way Forward

• Increasing Awareness: To raise knowledge of the advantages of blue foods and their ability to address malnutrition, poverty, and environmental degradation, governments, NGOs, and the private sector should collaborate.
• Promoting Sustainable Fishing Practices: To prevent the depletion of fish stocks and to safeguard the marine environment, it is important to address unsustainable fishing methods like overfishing, destructive fishing techniques, and bycatch.
• Encouraging Aquaculture: When done ethically and sustainably, aquaculture can be a viable method of creating blue foods. Governments can promote the development of sustainable aquaculture practices by providing technical assistance, training, and incentives.
• Small-scale fishers have a huge part of the global seafood system and are incredibly diverse. Therefore, for sustainable production of blue food systems, small-scale fishers need to be strengthened.
• The enormous diversity of blue foods carries important nutritional, cultural, economic and environmental value. To realize its potential, policymakers should put in place:
• Better governance, including the participation of small producers, women and other marginalized groups,
• Better stewardship of the natural resources on which blue foods rely; and
• Investment in building resilience to climate change.

Article written by Aseem Muhammed