Sowing a future of sustainable food through aquaculture

According to researchers working with IDRC’s AQUADAPT initiative, the key to sustainable aquaculture is that it must work with nature instead of against it.

While farming aquatic animals and plants can efficiently produce nutritious food for the growing global population, the adverse effects it can have on the environment threaten to outweigh the benefits. For example, commercial fishponds have contributed to the clearing of at least 70% of Southeast Asia’s mangroves — one of the world’s richest ecosystems. This is a severe problem in the Asia-Pacific region where most of the world gets its farmed seafood.

But Prashneel Chandra, a senior research officer in the Aquaculture Division at Fiji’s Ministry of Fisheries, said that damage can be undone to improve food production in the long run. He explained that mangrove restoration has delivered a tenfold increase in profits for women oyster farmers in Fiji.  More research on nature-based approaches can bolster livelihoods. According to Chandra, “people [especially women] in the Pacific small-island nations have more sea compared to land area, this is where I see people benefiting and improving their livelihoods — seafood is the way of life in the Pacific.” 

Nature-based solutions in aquaculture, like mangrove restoration, combine ecosystem protection or rehabilitation with food production. They can help ensure that aquaculture growth works with ecosystem services and local people rather than against them. But that is just the first step towards the long-term goal: making the whole aquaculture sector regenerative.

What does regenerative aquaculture mean?  

Regenerative practices in aquaculture aim to restore and revitalize ecosystems rather than merely sustaining them in their current state. Unlike conventional aquaculture, which often focuses on minimizing harm, regenerative aquaculture actively contributes to the health of the surrounding environment, enhancing biodiversity, improving water quality and increasing ecosystem resilience. This approach includes practices where different species are cultivated together to create a balanced, self-sustaining system. It also includes the use of restorative species like oysters, mangroves or seaweed, which naturally filter water and sequester carbon. The goal is to create systems that not only produce food but also positively impact the environment, helping to repair degraded ecosystems and build long-term sustainability. 

AQUADAPT, also known as Nature-based Climate Solutions in Aquaculture Food Systems in Asia-Pacific, is a four-year partnership between IDRC and Global Affairs Canada that addresses the intertwined challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and food insecurity through applied research on nature-based solutions in aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region. 

In Fiji, an AQUADAPT oyster project aims to improve local water quality by utilizing the natural filter-feeding functions of black-lip oysters and restoring upstream watershed catchment areas. This will further enhance downstream water quality and promote the adoption of regenerative aquaculture practices. An affiliate of this project, Justin Hunter of J. Hunter Pearls, believes that “the more people that are dependent on a clean healthy environment, the more people that will be become stewards of the sea and call for fundamental change...There is no question that regenerative aquaculture has to happen now.” 

In Indonesia, another AQUADAPT project aims to build resilience by integrating mangrove restoration with shrimp aquaculture ponds as an alternative to conventional and destructive shrimp farming. World Resources Institute Indonesia and partners from Konservasi Indonesia see nature-based aquaculture as part of sustainable coastal development planning. One of the researchers, Victor Nikijuluw of Konservasi Indonesia, said that to be effective, ocean conservation must benefit both nature and communities: “For every conserved ocean area, there should be economic activity supporting local people.” 

From the perspective of Fiji, Chandra sees nature-based aquaculture as an important development driver for Pacific Island women and youth, but scaling up these solutions so more people can benefit requires effective public-private-research collaboration: “The public sector needs to look into and promote research and pass this information down to the private sector to work together in development plans.” 

Chandra and his colleagues are participating in another AQUADAPT project that will support the development of national innovation and investment plans for sustainable aquaculture in Fiji along with the Philippines and Thailand. Curating national innovation and investment plans can help close the research-public-private-policy gap. 

This is just one way that AQUADAPT is championing the value of multisector partnerships. The initiative works directly with 35 institutions, including universities, civil society organizations, governments and the private sector, and engages with community leaders, scientists, aquafarmers, global experts and other stakeholders through evidence-based action.  

Researchers must generate evidence on how regenerative solutions can be environmentally beneficial, profitable and support social inclusion. AQUADAPT project researcher Nikita Gopal from the Gender and Aquaculture and Fisheries Section of the Asian Fisheries Society has little doubt that nature-based solutions can deliver on the promise to transform aquaculture. “If you want to make our communities more resilient, it’s high time that we move to restorative and nature-based systems,” urged Gopal. For Gopal, sustainable aquaculture is needed, “today more than ever”, in order to protect future generations from the impacts of climate change while feeding a warming planet. 

The lessons in this article are drawn from the discussion of a panel of experts convened by the AQUADAPT initiative during the 21st International Institute of Fisheries Economics & Trade (IIFET) Conference in Penang, Malaysia, from July 15-19, 2024. The panel brought together AQUADAPT partners from academia, the private sector, global aquaculture organizations and government ministries to debate how aquatic foods can drive economic development while benefiting nature and community livelihoods.   

Learn more about the AQUADAPT initiative. 

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