Oceans cover 70 per cent of the world’s surface and contain 80 per cent of all life (UN, 2022). 40 per cent of the population live 100km from the coast and the ocean provides 3.1 billion of them with their primary source of protein (UN, 2017). Marine food systems, however, are increasingly under strain. Unsustainable fishing has skyrocketed: the percentage of fish populations unsustainably fished has more than tripled in the last half century (WWF, 2023). 90 per cent of fish stocks are now overexploited (UNCTAD, 2018)  

Despite the challenges marine food systems face, they receive little attention compared to terrestrial environmental issues and food systems. However, broken marine food systems and disrupted aquatic environments have severe implications for human development. Rising sea temperatures, for example, exacerbate the risk and intensity of storms, lead to more extreme weather patterns, increase the range of tropical diseases, reduce the ability of the ocean to absorb carbon, and lead to rising sea levels. These risks disproportionally affect the most vulnerable: poor populations are more likely to live in areas prone to flooding while more than 90 per cent of fishers and fish farmers live in developing countries (AFDB, 2015).