Freshwater savings from marine protein consumption
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15548799 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jessica A Gephart (0000-0001-6836-9291, McCormick (United States), corresponding author), Michael L Pace (0000-0001-5945-6131, McCormick (United States)), Paolo D’odorico (0000-0002-0007-5833, McCormick (United States)) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 014005-014005 |
| Publication date | 2014-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environmental Research Letters (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1748-9326 • E-ISSN: 1748-9326 |
| Publisher | IOP Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1088/1748-9326/9/1/014005 |
| OpenAlex | W2114007458 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 10 |
| References cited | 26 |
Marine fisheries provide an essential source of protein for many people around the world. Unlike alternative terrestrial sources of protein, marine fish production requires little to no freshwater inputs. Consuming marine fish protein instead of terrestrial protein therefore represents freshwater savings (equivalent to an avoided water cost) and contributes to a low water footprint diet. These water savings are realized by the producers of alternative protein sources, rather than the consumers of marine protein. This study quantifies freshwater savings from marine fish consumption around the world by estimating the water footprint of replacing marine fish with terrestrial protein based on current consumption patterns. An estimated 7 600 km ^3 yr ^−1 of water is used for human food production. Replacing marine protein with terrestrial protein would require an additional 350 km ^3 yr ^−1 of water, meaning that marine protein provides current water savings of 4.6%. The importance of these freshwater savings is highly uneven around the globe, with savings ranging from as little as 0 to as much as 50%. The largest savings as a per cent of current water footprints occur in Asia, Oceania, and several coastal African nations. The greatest national water savings from marine fish protein occur in Southeast Asia and the United States. As the human population increases, future water savings from marine fish consumption will be increasingly important to food and water security and depend on sustainable harvest of capture fisheries and low water footprint growth of marine aquaculture
Agriculture · Aquaculture · Biology · Consumption (sociology · Ecological footprint · Economics · Ecosystem · Fish · Fishery · Food security · Freshwater fish · Marine ecosystem · Natural resource economics · Population · Sustainability · Water use · Aquaculture Nutrition and Growth · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Environmental Science · Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture Studies · Ecology
Feeding humanity through global food trade
Environmental performance of blue foods
The Global Food‐Energy‐Water Nexus
Health and climate change
Understanding the role of socioeconomic and governance conditions in country-level marine aquaculture production
Leaving seafood on the table
Shocks to fish production
Human food vs. animal feed debate. A thorough analysis of environmental footprints
Inequality or injustice in water use for food
A framework assessing the footprints of food consumption. An application on water footprint in Europe
Effect of aquaculture on world fish supplies
Global food demand and the sustainable intensification of agriculture
Rebuilding Global Fisheries
Water footprints of nations
Closing yield gaps through nutrient and water management
Virtual water transfers unlikely to redress inequality in global water use
Redefining agricultural yields
Todayʼs virtual water consumption and trade under future water scarcity
Spatial decoupling of agricultural production and consumption
Cross-national meat and fish consumption
Can marine fisheries and aquaculture meet fish demand from a growing human population in a changing climate
A revised approach to water footprinting to make transparent the impacts of consumption and production on global freshwater scarcity
Dams on the Mekong River
Fishing for Feed or Fishing for Food
| Unique citing works | 10 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,83 |
| Citation span | 2014 - 2024 (11) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 10 |