Towards a more sustainable aquatic food system: Interdisciplinary research on sustainable marine aquaculture in Africa

Aquatic foods are a vital source of essential nutrients and contribute to food and nutrition security in many countries. By 2030, per capita fish consumption is expected to increase worldwide with the exception of Africa, due to population growth outpacing supply on this continent. Aquaculture has significantly expanded in Africa—mostly based on freshwater aquaculture—, but marine aquaculture production is one of the lowest in the world. This conference, organised in the framework of the United Nations Ocean Decade Program AfriMAQUA (Nutrition-sensitive marine aquaculture in Africa), aims to bring together scientists from the South and the North from various disciplines to present their work on different aspects of the aquatic food system related to marine aquaculture in Africa. In addition, it will provide a platform for stakeholders with the mandate to contribute towards the development of Kenya's marine aquaculture, including academia, government, industry, and civil society, to discuss and craft future scenarios of marine aquaculture and capacity development in Kenya. Moreover, AfriMAQUA will organize a training course that will target young university students in marine aquaculture.