Stable food resources and increasingly acidic oceans: two interconnected crises that we must begin to address with common governance.

Through fishing activities, our seas provide approximately every year 90 million tons of natural fish resources, a scale of harvest that has no equal on land. Although it is not the largest provider of food in absolute terms, therefore, the ocean is an irreplaceable pillar for the Food safety global, especially for coastal communities and developing countries.

The stability of this vital resource, however, clashes with the pressures of now alarming phenomena such as pollution and the consequences of climate change. In this context, theocean acidification It appears to be a threat as invisible as it is dangerous to the health of the seas, and consequently to the livelihoods of billions of people around the world.

What does ocean acidification have to do with food security?

In the world, beyond 3,3 billions of people depend on fish for at least 20% of their animal protein needs. In some countries, this percentage exceeds 50%. Currently, it is stated in thelast report ofInternational Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification (OA Alliance), marine seafood accounts for 17% of all edible animal protein produced globally. Approximately 40% of the 90 million tonnes of seafood caught each year comes from small-scale fisheries. It is within this framework that the ocean's role in global food security.

According to the FAO definition, food security (food security) is the situation in which “All people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.As stated in the report, food security is divided into six interconnected dimensions: stability, sustainability and availability – which are largely determined by environmental factors – and access, use and ability to act – which are instead more influenced by social factors. Ocean acidification, explain the OA Alliance researchers, seriously compromises the ability to meet all six dimensions of food security.

Our ocean, which for many years has protected us by absorbing the excess heat and carbon dioxide we have released into the atmosphere, is rapidly acidifying: projections indicate that the ocean surface could be 150% more acidified by the end of this century. Thus, combined with other stressors such as warming waters and pollution, theOcean acidification threatens the health and survival of several species and entire marine ecosystems, with inevitable consequences for the billions of people who depend on the ocean for food and more.

Blue food and acidification: two issues, but one conversation.

As reported by the FAO in 2022, global seafood consumption has increased more than fivefold in the last 60 years. At the same time, ocean acidification is proceeding at a rate unprecedented in recent geological history. Since the beginning of the industrial era, the average pH of ocean surface waters has dropped from 8,2 to about 8,1, corresponding to a 30% increase in acidityThis phenomenon is already reducing the presence of carbonate ions in water, hindering the formation of the calcareous shells of corals and mollusks, and depriving marine organisms of essential resources for their growth and reproduction, which are forced to use much more energy to maintain the pH of their internal fluids and stay alive. According to scientific reports from the Stockholm Resilience Centre, approximately 40% of global surface water has already exceeded the critical chemical safety threshold.

Taking into account the growing pressure of this phenomenon on marine ecosystems and the increasingly crucial role of seafood in global food security, the need for address the two issues in an organic manner.

As reported in a recent study published in the journal Environmental Research: Food Systems, it is urgent to address the issue of "blue" food security in the context of ocean acidification. And to do so, we must first observe and understand the governance context which influences the responses to this specific problem.

FAO and UNFCCC, two examples of fragmented governance

As the research states,

Ocean acidification will significantly impact seafood production. Indeed, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has highlighted that these effects have already been seen in shellfish aquaculture and fisheries worldwide.

Too often, however, the two issues are treated separatelyThe FAO, the authors explain, has no explicit mandate for the governance of ocean acidification. If it is mentioned, however, the phenomenon is relegated to a list of stressors. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), on the other hand, addresses the issue only indirectly through CO2 mitigation efforts, and even when it explicitly refers to food production, it does not explicitly link it to acidification. As the study states,

This results in fragmented authority, unclear responsibilities, and limited integration across different policy areas. Furthermore, there is a discrepancy: blue food security is recognized as an issue of legal and political urgency, while AO often receives only scientific attention.

In short, there's a tendency to overlook the connection between the two. Yet, the two issues are closely interconnected on a scientific and ecological level: researchers have identified 13 key issues for food security related to Blue Food and 10 related to ocean acidification; seven of these key issues—including marine resources, biodiversity, and climate change—overlap. It is therefore urgent, they conclude, that the various local and international legal and political frameworks adopt an approach capable of considering ocean acidification and food security as a single entity. closely related elements, as is already happening in some Pacific island nations such as Fiji and the Solomon Islands.

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