Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK.
Australian Research Council, Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
Nature. 2019 Oct;574(7776):95-98. doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1592-6. Epub 2019 Sep 25.
Micronutrient deficiencies account for an estimated one million premature deaths annually, and for some nations can reduce gross domestic product by up to 11%, highlighting the need for food policies that focus on improving nutrition rather than simply increasing the volume of food produced. People gain nutrients from a varied diet, although fish-which are a rich source of bioavailable micronutrients that are essential to human health-are often overlooked. A lack of understanding of the nutrient composition of most fish and how nutrient yields vary among fisheries has hindered the policy shifts that are needed to effectively harness the potential of fisheries for food and nutrition security. Here, using the concentration of 7 nutrients in more than 350 species of marine fish, we estimate how environmental and ecological traits predict nutrient content of marine finfish species. We use this predictive model to quantify the global spatial patterns of the concentrations of nutrients in marine fisheries and compare nutrient yields to the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies in human populations. We find that species from tropical thermal regimes contain higher concentrations of calcium, iron and zinc; smaller species contain higher concentrations of calcium, iron and omega-3 fatty acids; and species from cold thermal regimes or those with a pelagic feeding pathway contain higher concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids. There is no relationship between nutrient concentrations and total fishery yield, highlighting that the nutrient quality of a fishery is determined by the species composition. For a number of countries in which nutrient intakes are inadequate, nutrients available in marine finfish catches exceed the dietary requirements for populations that live within 100 km of the coast, and a fraction of current landings could be particularly impactful for children under 5 years of age. Our analyses suggest that fish-based food strategies have the potential to substantially contribute to global food and nutrition security.
微量营养素缺乏估计每年导致 100 万人过早死亡，对一些国家而言，其国内生产总值（GDP）降幅最高可达 11%，这凸显出需要制定注重改善营养而非单纯增加粮食产量的粮食政策。人们从多样化的饮食中获取营养，但富含生物可利用微量营养素的鱼类往往被忽视，而这些营养素对人类健康至关重要。人们对大多数鱼类的营养成分以及渔业的营养产量差异缺乏了解，这阻碍了需要进行的政策转变，无法有效利用渔业为粮食和营养安全带来的潜力。在这里，我们使用超过 350 种海洋鱼类的 7 种营养素浓度，估计环境和生态特征如何预测海洋食用鱼类的营养成分。我们使用该预测模型量化海洋渔业中营养素浓度的全球空间模式，并将营养产量与人群中微量营养素缺乏的流行情况进行比较。我们发现，来自热带热区的物种含有更高浓度的钙、铁和锌；体型较小的物种含有更高浓度的钙、铁和欧米伽 3 脂肪酸；来自冷区或采用浮游生物摄食途径的物种含有更高浓度的欧米伽 3 脂肪酸。营养素浓度与总渔业产量之间没有关系，这突出表明渔业的营养质量取决于物种组成。对于一些营养摄入不足的国家，海洋食用鱼类渔获物中所含的营养成分超过了生活在离海岸 100 公里范围内人群的饮食需求，目前捕捞量的一小部分对于 5 岁以下儿童的影响可能特别大。我们的分析表明，以鱼类为基础的食物战略有可能为全球粮食和营养安全做出重大贡献。
