Agriculture can help aquaculture become greener

ABSTRACT Aquaculture, the farming of fish and seafood, is recognized as a highly efficient system for producing protein for human consumption. In contrast, many terrestrial animal protein

production systems are inefficient, impacting land use and exacerbating climate change. Humankind needs to adopt a more plant-centric diet, the only exception being fish consumed as both a

source of protein and essential dietary nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids. Here we consider the implications of such a transition, and the challenges that aquaculture must overcome to

increase productivity within planetary boundaries. We consider how agriculture, specifically crops, can provide solutions for aquaculture, especially the sectors that are dependent on marine

ingredients. For example, agriculture can provide experience with managing monocultures and new technologies such as genetically modified crops tailored specifically for use in aquaculture.

We propose that a closer connection between agriculture and aquaculture will create a resilient food system capable of meeting increasing dietary and nutritional demands without exhausting

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SIMILAR CONTENT BEING VIEWED BY OTHERS SUSTAINABLE AQUACULTURE THROUGH THE ONE HEALTH LENS Article 03 August 2020 TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE AQUACULTURE IN THE AMAZON Article 24 January 2025

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references ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Rothamsted Research receives grant-aided support from the BBSRC. J.A.N. and R.P.H. were partially supported by BBSRC ISPG Tailoring Plant Metabolism

(BBS/E/C/000I0420). J.A.N., D.R.T. and M.B.B. were partly supported by BBSRC IPA, Evaluating novel plant oilseeds enriched in omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids to support

sustainable development of aquaculture (BB/J001252/1), and BBSRC IPA Novel omega-3 sources in feeds and impacts on salmon health (BB/S005919/1). R.-E.O., J.A.N., D.R.T. and M.B.B. were also

partly supported by Research Council of Norway HAVBRUK Program grant no. 245325, Transgenic oilseed crops as novel, safe, sustainable and cost-effective sources of EPA and DHA for salmon

feed. AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, UK Johnathan A. Napier & Richard P. Haslam * Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science

and Technology, Trondheim, Norway Rolf-Erik Olsen * Institute of Aquaculture, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK Douglas R. Tocher & Mónica B. Betancor

Authors * Johnathan A. Napier View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Richard P. Haslam View author publications You can also search for this

author inPubMed Google Scholar * Rolf-Erik Olsen View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Douglas R. Tocher View author publications You can

also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Mónica B. Betancor View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CORRESPONDING AUTHOR

Correspondence to Johnathan A. Napier. ETHICS DECLARATIONS COMPETING INTERESTS J.A.N. is listed as an inventor on patents (granted and pending) relating to the production of omega-3 LC-PUFAs

in transgenic plants (patent GB1206483.8 and subsequent family members). ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PEER REVIEW INFORMATION _Nature Food_ thanks Sachi Kaushik, Surinder Singh and the other,

anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. PUBLISHER’S NOTE Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and

institutional affiliations. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Napier, J.A., Haslam, R.P., Olsen, RE. _et al._ Agriculture can help

aquaculture become greener. _Nat Food_ 1, 680–683 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-00182-9 Download citation * Received: 18 May 2020 * Accepted: 09 October 2020 * Published: 11

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