Vitamin Sea: Identifying risks in the flow of nutrition from aquatic foods in vulnerable coastal and islands states in the face of a changing climate

Marine resources under pressure

Fish and shellfish contain vitamins, minerals and trace elements that are vital for human health. However, climate change can effect the distribution and availability of species, with serious consequences for people who are highly dependent on these marine resources. People in coastal areas and small island nations, especially in low- and middle-income countries, are particularly sensitive to changes in the availability of nutrients from aquatic foods, as alternative sources do not always exist.

Coastal areas and small island nations in focus

Our research team will be working with data from Tanzania, the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. By modelling how different climate scenarios effect marine food webs, and thus access to nutrients, we hope to predict changes and identify particularly vulnerable areas in need for management, as well as contribute to strategies to strengthen local communities in the face of future challenges. 

Maps will help visualize the marine food web

Our research team will identify changes in nutrient availability using data already collected on fish, environmental variables and marine food webs. We will then model how nutrient availability is effected by different climate scenarios. We will do this using newly developed statistical methods. The results will then be visualized in the form of different layers in a map where the layers show nutrients in fishing waters and are based on species-specific distribution patterns of fish.

International cooperation

We are leading the project together with partners from WorldFish and Tanzanian Fisheries Research Institute (TAFIRI).