The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns are creating health and economic crises that threaten food and nutrition security. The seafood sector provides important sources of nutrition and employment, especially in low-income countries, and is highly globalized allowing shocks to propagate. We studied COVID-19-related disruptions, impacts, and responses to the seafood sector from January through May 2020, using a food system resilience ‘action cycle’ framework as a guide.

On-farm performance of the genetically improved farmed tilapia (GIFT) strain in monoculture and polyculture ponds in Bangladesh was assessed using a stratified random sample of 213 GIFT and 256 non-GIFT farmers. The GIFT strain of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) was mostly farmed by small-scale farmers operating less than one ha of ponds and with lower assets than their non-GIFT counterparts. The GIFT strain had a faster growth rate (27% and 36% faster than that of non-GIFT tilapia in monoculture and polyculture, respectively).

We tracked the impacts of COVID-19 on aquatic food value chains in Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Myanmar and Nigeria during 2020. We assessed the availability and price of aquatic foods and production inputs using a high frequency panel survey of 767 actors from eight value chain nodes. We also conducted semi-structured phone interviews with 63 respondents in Bangladesh and online interviews with 100 aquatic food value chain actors and key informants from 17 sub-Saharan African countries.

Animal-source foods (ASF), such as fish, provide a critical source of nutrients for dietary quality and optimal growth of children. In sub-Saharan Africa, children often consume monotonous cereal-based diets, a key determinate of malnutrition such as stunting. Identifying existing sources of ASF for children’s diets will inform the development of nutritious food systems for vulnerable groups.

Recent literature on marine fish farming brands it as potentially compatible with sustainable resource use, conservation, and human nutrition goals, and aligns with the emerging policy discourse of ‘blue growth’. We advance a two-pronged critique. First, contemporary narratives tend to overstate marine finfish aquaculture’s potential to deliver food security and environmental sustainability. Second, they often align with efforts to enclose maritime space that could facilitate its allocation to extractive industries and conservation interests and exclude fishers.

Cambodia's rice field fisheries contribute to national fisheries production and fish consumption in farming-fishing households. As irrigation development is underway to expand the (currently 17%) rice field area irrigated, it is essential to account for and maintain the aquatic connectivity, habitat diversity, and access that make rice field fisheries possible.

Debates on seafood in the Global South tend to prioritize food security, whereas debates on seafood in the Global North emphasize sustainability. We track the evolution of both debates and propose the concept of ‘sustainable commoditization’ to reconcile them. We identify three pillars of action that are necessary for sustainable commoditization of seafood in the Global South, namely: (1) sustainable intensification; (2) supply chain transformation; and (3) supporting policy and regulation.