With global seafood demand rising and wild fisheries stretched to their limits, sustainable aquaculture has become essential to food security and economic growth, and it plays a major role in reducing greenhouse emissions and limiting environmental damage. Now responsible for nearly 60% of global seafood production, it is ever more critical for meeting the demand for dietary protein and reducing food insecurity.

This report offers insights to public and private sector investors, positioning aquaculture among the most promising opportunities for building a more sustainable food system over the next 25 years.

Drawing insights from seven mature aquaculture industries across the globe – Bangladesh, Chile, China, Ecuador, Egypt, Thailand and Viet Nam – the report examines how financial mechanisms, and the evolving roles of the public and private sectors informs future investments in sustainable aquaculture.

The report analyses investment trends and financial mechanisms shaping the industry’s future, concluding that aquaculture’s growth potential requires a significant transition from small-scale to more intensive production. To reach its full potential, the sector now requires innovative financing at scale, particularly in emerging markets helping small scale farmers improve productivity through adoption of improved farming practices.

Based on the sector’s current trajectory, business-as-usual investments of $500 billion could increase growth of aquaculture at a rate of 1.9% to 159 million metric tons – excluding seaweeds – and generate 8 to 14 million new jobs by 2050. In contrast, investing $1.5 trillion in more ambitious measures could increase global aquaculture production to 255 million metric tons by 2050, almost 100 million metric tons higher than the “business-as-usual” case, and create between 13 and 22 million jobs.

Download Volume I here