Many of the world\u2019s largest aquatic food producers are highly vulnerable to human-induced environmental change \u2013 with some of the highest-risk countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa demonstrating the lowest capacity for adaptation \u2013 a landmark study has shown.<\/p>\n
Writing in the latest edition of\u00a0The Current<\/em>,\u00a0Sonia Fernandez from UC Santa Barbara<\/a>\u00a0explains that\u00a0the study<\/a>\u00a0shows that more than 90 percent of global blue food production faces substantial risks from environmental change, with several leading countries in Asia and the United States set to face the greatest threats to production.<\/p>\n The authors behind the new paper produced the first-ever global analysis of environmental stressors impacting the production quantity and safety of blue foods around the world, ranking countries for the first time according to their exposure from key stressors. A total of 17 stressors were surveyed, including algal blooms, rising sea levels, changing temperatures and pesticide exposure.<\/p>\n \u201cEnvironmental stressors do not care about national borders,\u201d noted\u00a0Ben Halpern<\/a>, co-lead author, who is a professor at UC Santa Barbara. \u201cStressors get moved by air, water, species, and humans, connecting land to sea and ecosystem<\/a> to ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n The research, published in\u00a0Nature Sustainability<\/em>, is one of seven scientific papers published by the\u00a0<\/a>Blue Food Assessment<\/a>\u00a0(BFA) as part of a global effort to inform future aquatic food sustainability.<\/p>\n