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Fish also contributes to a diversified and nutritious diet.
It provides high-value protein and also represents an
important source of essential micronutrients, minerals and
fatty acids. While average per capita fish consumption may
be low, even in small quantities fish can have a significant
positive nutritional impact by providing essential amino
acids (FAO, 2014).
Plants
In addition to fish, marine ecosystems provide harvestable
plants (SDG2 ‘promote sustainable agriculture’). The
production of seaweed (both for human consumption and as
input to other sectors, e.g. as fertilizer for agriculture) has
increased rapidly between 2002 and 2012, totalling more
than 23 million tonnes of cultured seaweed (FAO, 2014).
Approximately 9 million tonnes of this production was for
human consumption and 14 million tonnes for industrial