The huge dilemma: how to increase seafood consumption for health benefits without impacting fisheries' sustainability?

Abstract

The seafood consumption is recognised as beneficial for health and its consumption is recommended. But how to promote seafood consumption and maintain fisheries at a sustainable level, when many stocks are overexploited? A comprehensive literature review focused on publications from the last two decades was carried out in the electronic library databases, using combinations of the keywords, and the relevant references cited in these sources were carefully analysed. To face this challenge, the involvement of all is needed, and consumers should choose seafood products that are ecologically sustainable (from assessed and well-managed stocks). These choices should include locally sourced, aquaculture, certified and eco-labelled products. This review identifies creation of school meal programmes as a major step towards the implementation of important concepts such as healthy and sustainable food choices and hospitality providers as places to educate population about the seafood sustainability by developing menus with sustainable recipes. It is necessary to improve communication with consumers to raise their awareness of sustainable consumption, providing clear and objective messages. Only in this way will it be possible to meet the great challenge of the century and ensure that the production, processing and distribution of food is socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.