To plan a sustainable future for seafood access in small island developing states, researchers highlight solutions hiding in plain sight

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the small island developing state of Kiribati is a collection of 33 far-flung tropical islands that are home to more than 126,000 people. Kiribati depends on seafood as a cornerstone of local food systems, but the nation’s marine resources are increasingly threatened by climate change and other environmental, social, and economic threats.

Other nations around the world face similar issues. So, to better understand how fisheries-based food systems might respond to change, researchers took a deeper look at the strategies that people in Kiribati currently use to access seafood.

The research team’s findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, share lessons from Kiribati, including how different strategies impact local diets, and how successful strategies could potentially be bolstered in the face of growing challenges.

UC Santa Cruz Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Katherine Seto led the study, which used machine learning to analyze data from a nationally representative household income and expenditure study and a village resource survey. She says the study’s focus on understanding current pathways to seafood access lays an important foundation for efforts to ensure stable and sustainable food systems into the future.