
Identifying risks in the flow of nutrition from aquatic foods in vulnerable coastal and islands states in the face of a changing climate
Project overview
Participants
More related research
Short summary
In the Vitamin Sea-project we will investigate how climate change effect people's access to nutritious food from the ocean, especially those living in coastal areas and in small island nations.
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).