Climate Change Threatens Nutrient Loss in Seafood, Hitting Low-Income Countries
Climate change is endangering the availability of essential nutrients in seafood, and the impact is expected to hit low-income countries the hardest, warns, a recent study published in the journal "Nature Climate Change." Researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC) reveal that in a high emissions, low mitigation scenario, these nations could lose up to 30 per cent of vital nutrients found in seafood, including calcium, iron, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids.
However, the situation may not be as dire if the world succeeds in meeting the targets outlined in the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to a range of 1.5 to 2 degrees. Under this more optimistic scenario, the nutrient loss may be restricted to 10 per cent.
"Low-income countries and regions in the global south, where seafood plays a central role in diets and combating malnutrition, will bear the brunt of climate change's effects," states the study's lead author, Professor William Cheung, who also serves as the director of the UBC Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF). The researchers utilized predictive climate models and historical data from fisheries and seafood farming to project future nutrient quantities in seafood.
Focusing on four crucial nutrients commonly found in seafood and essential for human health, the researchers discovered that the availability of these nutrients peaked in the 1990s but has since stagnated into the 2010s, despite efforts to increase production through seafood farming and invertebrate fishing, such as shrimp and oysters.
Looking ahead, the researchers predict a decline in the availability of all four nutrients from seafood catches. Among these, calcium is expected to be the most severely affected, with a projected decline of around 15 per cent to 40 per cent by 2100 in scenarios involving low and high emissions, respectively. Omega-3 is also expected to decrease by approximately 5 per cent to 25 per cent, largely due to declines in the availability of pelagic fish, commonly used for catches.
In contrast to high-income, non-tropical nations such as Canada, the US, and the UK, where minimal declines are projected, lower-income tropical countries, including Indonesia, the Solomon Islands, and Sierra Leone, are expected to experience a steep decline in the availability of these nutrients by the end of the century under high emissions scenarios.
On a global scale, the researchers predict that nutrient availability from seafood will decrease by approximately 4 per cent to 7 per cent per each degree Celsius of warming. However, lower-income countries across the tropics, such as Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and the Solomon Islands, are likely to suffer two to three times this global average, with projected declines of nearly 10 per cent to 12 per cent per unit of warming.
The study's co-author, Muhammed Oyinlola, a postdoctoral fellow in UBC’s Department of Zoology, emphasized that climate change poses a significant threat not only to nutrient availability but also to seafood farming, potentially leading to a growing nutritional deficit.
Professor William Cheung, the study's lead author, emphasizes the significance of every degree of warming. He highlights that reducing warming can mitigate risks to both marine life and human health. The study underscores the need for global action to combat climate change to safeguard essential nutrients in seafood and protect the well-being of vulnerable populations in low-income countries.
