Pelagic fish contributes to Health for All

Pelagic Fisheries

Today is World Health Day. Every year on 7 April, this day is celebrated to draw attention to a specific health topic of concern to people all over the world. It also marks the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948.

In 2023, on the WHO’s 75th anniversary, World Health Day is dedicated to health for all: to focus on previous and new global challenges related to human health.

Nutritious and healthy food is essential for a good health. As PFA, we are very proud that the pelagic fish from our members have a very important contribution to global food security:

• Pelagic fish is incredibly healthy. This is because it contains high-quality proteins, vitamins, and minerals, together with high levels of Omega 3 fatty acids.
• Among other things, this contributes to strong bones, lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, a healthy heart and promoting various cognitive developments.
• It is scientifically proven that the health benefits of pelagic fish could help close malnutrition gaps for undernourished people, especially young people and small children.
• Therefore, it is not surprising that three pelagic fish species are in the top 10 best recommended fish to eat.

Big health benefits

All these health benefits are especially needed in places where there is the greatest need for nutritious and affordable food. PFA members provide on average around 6 million healthy and high-quality meals a day with the lowest carbon footprint of all animal protein production. That is around 2.2 billion meals of fish per year.

Through responsible but efficient fishing activities, our pelagic fish can be sold for human consumption at the lowest possible price. In fact, around 90 percent of our fish goes to markets outside Europe, especially to African countries where food security is not always certain and where our members provide 5.5 million healthy and affordable meals every day.

That our members can provide so many meals of fish is because there are also extremely large numbers of pelagic fish swimming in the oceans. In other words: the quantities of pelagic fish caught by our members are directly related to the size of the biomass of the pelagic species – all based on scientifically determined quotas. It is an economic necessity to apply economies of scale due to the very large volumes of fish involved. This is the main reason why pelagic is so affordable for human consumption.

Sustainable fishing can continue to contribute to the food security of millions of people. The PFA and its members aim to maintain a climate-focused, sustainable form of fishing that produces a lot of affordable, nutritious fish. Not only now, but also in the future; so that future generations can continue to fish for health for all.

Date Posted: 7th April 2023