none 10.1093/icesjms/fsae184 Oxford University Press (OUP) Oxford University Press 286 169602408 507 2025013015080861200 10.1093 2025-01-30T15:08:22Z 2025-01-06T09:53:01Z 2 ICES Journal of Marine Science 1054-3139 1095-9289 01 2025 01 22 2025 82 1 Vera N Agostini Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) , 00153 Rome , Italy Erik Olsen Institute of Marine Research (IMR) , 5817 Bergen , Norway http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7552-2335 Céline Tiffay Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) , 00153 Rome , Italy Edward H Allison WorldFish , 11960 Penang , Malaysia Andreea-Laura Cojocaru Department of Safety, Economic, and Planning, University of Stavanger , 4021 Stavanger , Norway Christopher Costello Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) , Santa Barbara, CA 93106 , United States Maria J Darias MARBEC, Université Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD , 34090 Montpellier , France http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1954-6284 Michael Fabinyi Climate, Society and Environment Research Centre at the University of Technology of Sydney , Sydney, NSW 2007 , Australia Elizabeth A Fulton Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) , Canberra, ACT 2601, Australian Capital Territory , Australia http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5904-7917 Stefan Gelcich Instituto Milenio en Socio-Ecologia Costera, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile , 8331150 Santiago , Chile Katherine E Mills Gulf of Maine Research Institute , Portland, ME 04101 , United States http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6078-7747 Flower E Msuya Zanzibar Seaweed Cluster Initiative , P.O. Box 3794, Zanzibar , Tanzania Shakuntala H Thilsted Nutrition, Health and Food Security Impact Area Platform, CGIAR , Washington D.C., DC 20005 , United States Michelle Tigchelaar WorldFish , 11960 Penang , Malaysia Linwood Pendleton Abstract Aquatic foods hold a unique potential to contribute to a much-needed transformation of food systems thanks to their high nutritional value, cultural significance, and relatively low environmental impact. However, realizing this potential requires a transformative approach to help overcome two grand challenges: sustainably increasing the production of nutritious aquatic foods and ensuring equitable access to these resources. This paper highlights the key recommendations from the White Paper on Challenge 3 (‘Sustainably nourish the global population’) of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (hereafter, the Ocean Decade), developed by a group of experts under the Vision 2030 process, on the science needed to support a ‘Blue Transformation’. A holistic, interdisciplinary science agenda is proposed, emphasizing strengthened institutional and public–private partnerships, prioritizing the inclusion of small-scale actors, women, and youth, and focusing on delivering science targeted to solve specific challenges. The Ocean Decade provides a platform to catalyse these efforts, fostering a paradigm shift towards inclusive, co-created science. Achieving these goals will enable aquatic food systems to contribute significantly to global food security and the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. 01 2025 01 22 2025 01 06 2025 fsae184 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 10.1093/icesjms/fsae184 https://academic.oup.com/icesjms/article/doi/10.1093/icesjms/fsae184/7943087 https://academic.oup.com/icesjms/article-pdf/82/1/fsae184/61340862/fsae184.pdf https://academic.oup.com/icesjms/article-pdf/82/1/fsae184/61340862/fsae184.pdf Ocean Decade Vision 2030 White Papers—Challenge 3: Sustainably Nourish the Global Population Agostini 2024 10.25607/r7qs-a228 Ambio Bennett 50 981 2021 10.1007/s13280-020-01451-4 Recognize fish as food in policy discourse and development funding Building blue food Futures for people and the planet. 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