Abstract
Seafood plays a vital yet underexplored role in addressing nutritional deficiencies in tropical countries. Despite Brazil’s vast coastline and marine biodiversity, seafood contribution to human nutrition remains insufficiently quantified. Here we present a nationwide assessment of seafood’s nutritional role in Brazil by integrating household-level dietary data (n > 30,000), nutrient composition of protein sources and fisheries statistics. We find that average seafood intake is below recommended levels, at 5.3 kg per capita per year, while nutritional deficiencies, including vitamin A and calcium deficiencies, remain widespread. Projections show that increasing seafood consumption from 6% to 25% of total protein intake could substantially reduce these deficiencies. However, seafood demand exceeds fisheries supply in several states, underscoring the limited potential to increase fishery catches and that targeting seafood consumption based on nutritional value could maximize health benefits. Our findings emphasize the role of marine resources in human nutrition and underscore the need for improved fisheries governance and sustainable seafood policies in Brazil.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access through your institution
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$32.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$119.00 per year
only $9.92 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Subjects
- Ecosystem services
- Macroecology
Data availability
All data used in this research are publicly available. The raw RFB data can be found at https://www.ibge.gov.br/en/statistics/social/health/25610-pof-2017-2018-pof-en.html?edicao=27315&t=downloads. The uFish 1.0 dataset was obtained from https://www.fao.org/infoods/infoods/tables-and-databases/faoinfoods-databases/en/. FishBase nutritional data were obtained from https://github.com/mamacneil/NutrientFishbase. TBCA data are available at http://www.tbca.net.br/. Fishery landing data were obtained from http://www.propesq.pesca.sp.gov.br/37/conteudo. Processed data used in the analyses are available from GitHub via https://github.com/Sinbiose-Reefs/food_security.git.
Code availability
All R code used in the analyses is publicly available from GitHub via https://github.com/Sinbiose-Reefs/food_security.git.
References
Díaz, S. et al. Summary for policymakers of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3831673 (IPBES, 2019).
Blue Food Assessment (accessed May 2024); https://bluefood.earth
The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture. Blue Transformation in Action (FAO, 2024); https://doi.org/10.4060/cd0690en
Golden, C. D. et al. Aquatic foods to nourish nations. Nature 598, 315–320 (2021).
Google Scholar
Tigchelaar, M. et al. The vital roles of blue foods in the global food system. Glob. Food Sec. 33, 100637 (2022).
Google Scholar
Reducing Inequalities for Food Security and Nutrition (High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition, 2023).
Ritchie, H., Rosado, P. & Roser, M. Hunger and Undernourishment (Our World in Data, 2023); https://ourworldindata.org/hunger-and-undernourishment
VIGISAN: II Inquérito Nacional sobre Insegurança Alimentar no Contexto da Pandemia da COVID-19 no Brasil (Rede Brasileira de Pesquisa em Soberania e Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional, 2022); https://olheparaafome.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Relatorio-II-VIGISAN-2022.pdf
Hicks, C. C. et al. Harnessing global fisheries to tackle micronutrient deficiencies. Nature 574, 95–98 (2019).
Google Scholar
Béné, C. et al. Contribution of fisheries and aquaculture to food security and poverty reduction: assessing the current evidence. World Dev. 79, 177–196 (2016).
Google Scholar
Chen, J. et al. A critical review on the health benefits of fish consumption and its bioactive constituents. Food Chem. 369, 130874 (2022).
Google Scholar
Robinson, J. P. et al. Navigating sustainability and health trade-offs in global seafood systems. Environ. Res. Lett. 17, 124042 (2022).
Google Scholar
Manson, J. E. et al. Marine n − 3 fatty acids and prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer. New Engl. J. Med. 380, 23–32 (2019).
Google Scholar
Cidades e Estados (municipal profiles database) (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE), accessed January 2024); https://www.ibge.gov.br/cidades-e-estados
Naylor, R. L. et al. Blue food demand across geographic and temporal scales. Nat. Commun. 12, 5413 (2021).
Google Scholar
Ritchie, H. & Roser, M. Fish and overfishing. Our World in Data https://ourworldindata.org/fish-and-overfishing (2023).
Lewis, J. Codex Nutrient Reference Values: Especially for Vitamins, Minerals and Protein (FAO and WHO, 2019).
Freire, K. M. F. et al. Reconstruction of marine commercial landings for the Brazilian industrial and artisanal fisheries from 1950 to 2015. Front. Mar. Sci. 8, 659110 (2021).
Google Scholar
Eggertsen, L. et al. Complexities of reef fisheries in Brazil: a retrospective and functional approach. Rev. Fish Biol. Fish. 34, 511–538 (2024).
Google Scholar
Heilpern, S. A. et al. Declining diversity of wild-caught species puts dietary nutrient supplies at risk. Sci. Adv. 7, 22 (2021).
Google Scholar
Heilpern, S. A. et al. Biodiversity underpins fisheries resilience to exploitation in the Amazon river basin. Proc. R. Soc. B 289, 1976 (2022).
Google Scholar
Cheung, W. W. L. et al. Rebuilding fish biomass for the world’s marine ecoregions under climate change. Glob. Chang. Biol. 28, 6254–6267 (2022).
Google Scholar
Pauly, D. et al. Fishing down marine food webs. Science 279, 860–863 (1998).
Google Scholar
Freire, K. M. F. & Pauly, D. Fishing down Brazilian marine food webs, with emphasis on the east Brazil large marine ecosystem. Fish. Res. 105, 57–62 (2010).
Google Scholar
Golden, C. Nutrition: fall in fish catch threatens human health. Nature 534, 317–320 (2016).
Google Scholar
Robinson, J. P. W. et al. Climate-induced increases in micronutrient availability for coral reef fisheries. One Earth 5, 98–108 (2022).
Google Scholar
Crona, B. I. et al. Four ways blue foods can help achieve food system ambitions across nations. Nature 616, 104–112 (2023).
Google Scholar
Amenyogbe, E. Application of probiotics for sustainable and environment-friendly aquaculture management—a review. Cogent Food Agric. 9, 2226425 (2023).
Google Scholar
Fisberg, M. et al. Exploring diet and nutrient insufficiencies across age groups: Insights from a population-based study of Brazilian adults. Nutrients 16, 750 (2024).
Google Scholar
Ritchie, H., Rosado, P. & Roser, M. Meat and Dairy Production (Our World in Data, accessed July 2024); https://ourworldindata.org/meat-production
Ribeiro, C. da S. G. & Corção, M. The consumption of meat in Brazil: between socio-cultural and nutritional values. Demetra Food Nutr. Health https://doi.org/10.12957/demetra.2013.6608 (2013).
Hötzel, M. J. & Vandresen, B. Brazilians’ attitudes to meat consumption and production: present and future challenges to the sustainability of the meat industry. Meat Sci. 192, 108893 (2022).
Google Scholar
Fiorella, K. J. et al. Contemporary aquaculture: implications for human nutrition. Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 70, 83–90 (2021).
Google Scholar
Albuquerque, F. C., Bender, M. G. & Longo, G. O. The potential of estuarine fishes in supplying micronutrients to coastal and traditional populations in Northeast Brazil. Perspect. Ecol. Conserv. 23, 100272 (2025).
Albuquerque, F. C. et al. Fish loss in tropical coastal ecosystems can jeopardise nutrient supply to traditional fishing communities. People Nat. (Hoboken) https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.70285 (2026).
Dominguez, J. M. L. The coastal zone of Brazil: an overview. J. Coast. Res. 39, 16–20 (2006).
Heilpern, S. A. et al. Substitution of inland fisheries with aquaculture and chicken undermines human nutrition in the Peruvian Amazon. Nat. Food 2, 192–197 (2021).
Google Scholar
Tacon, A. G. J., Lemos, D. & Metian, M. Fish for health: improved nutritional quality of cultured fish for human consumption. Rev. Fish. Sci. Aquac. 28, 449–458 (2020).
Google Scholar
Comex Stat—Sistema de estatísticas de comércio exterior (Ministério do Desenvolvimento, Indústria, Comércio e Serviços, accessed 27 May 2024); https://comexstat.mdic.gov.br/
Freitas, A. K. et al. Nutritional composition of the meat of Hereford and Braford steers finished on pastures or in a feedlot in southern Brazil. Meat Sci. 96, 353–360 (2014).
Google Scholar
Pohořelá, B. et al. Nutritional quality and assessment of contaminants in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) of different origins. J. Food Qual. 2022, 1–9 (2022).
Google Scholar
Santos, J. P. et al. Fisheries monitoring in Brazil: how can the 2030 agenda be met without fisheries statistics? Biota Neotrop. 23, e20221439 (2023).
Google Scholar
Bevilacqua, A. H. V. et al. Following the fish: the role of subsistence in a fish-based value chain. Ecol. Econ. 159, 326–334 (2019).
Google Scholar
Carvalho, R. A. A., Cunha, F. E. A. & Araújo, M. E. Captura e processamento de peixes recifais no estado do Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil. Acta Fish. Aquat. Res. 1, 91–103 (2013).
Dias, M. Auditoria da pesca—Brasil 2021: uma avaliação integrada da governança, da situação dos estoques e das pescarias, 2nd edn (Oceana Brasil, 2022); https://brasil.oceana.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/Auditoria-da-Pesca-2021.pdf
Cordeiro, P. H. Aquicultura no Brasil—análise da evolução do setor entre os anos de 2013 a 2023. Rev. Aracê 7, 37184–37208 (2025).
Google Scholar
Valenti, W. C. et al. Aquaculture in Brazil: past, present and future. Aquac. Rep. 19, 100611 (2021).
Google Scholar
Pesquisa de orçamentos familiares 2017–2018: análise do consumo alimentar pessoal no Brasil (IBGE, 2020).
Magris, R. A. et al. A blueprint for securing Brazil’s marine biodiversity and supporting the achievement of global conservation goals. Divers. Distrib. 27, 198–215 (2021).
Google Scholar
Prates, A. P. L., Gonçalves, M. A. & Rosa, M. R. Panorama da Conservação dos Ecossistemas Costeiros e Marinhos no Brasil 152 (Ministério do Meio Ambiente, 2012).
Salas, S., Chuenpagdee, R., Charles, A. & Seijo, J. C. (eds) Coastal Fisheries of Latin America and the Caribbean Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper N. 544 (FAO, 2011).
Banco Central do Brasil (accessed 28 May 2024); https://www.bcb.gov.br
Tabela Brasileira de Composição de Alimentos (TBCA) (Universidade de São Paulo, accessed June 2022); https://www.tbca.net.br
FAO/INFOODS Databases (FAO, accessed June 2022); https://www.fao.org/infoods/infoods/tables-and-databases/faoinfoods-databases/en/
Froese, R. & Pauly, D. (eds) FishBase (accessed June 2022); https://www.fishbase.se
R Core Team R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing (R Core Team, 2023).
Funding
This research was conducted by the Reef Synthesis Working Group (ReefSYN) funded by the Synthesis Center on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (SinBiose, CNPq, grant number 442417/2019-5 to M.G.B.). M.G.B. is funded by CNPq productivity scholarship (311934/2025-0). G.O.L. is funded by a CNPq productivity scholarship (308072/2022-7). A.L.L. discloses support for the research of this work from CNPq (grant numbers 153024/2022-4, 164240/2021-7, 151228/2021-3, 152410/2020-1) and CAPES (PDPG-POSDOC, grant number 88887.800011/2022-00).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
M.L.X.G., A.L.L., C.A.M.M.C., L.E., C.E.L.F., R.B.F.-F., K.M.F.F., V.J.G., N.H., G.O.L., T.C.M., J.P.Q., D.A.V.-N., L.S.W. and M.G.B conceived the study. M.L.X.G., A.L.L. and M.G.B. conducted the data analysis. M.L.X.G. led the writing of the manuscript. K.M.F.F. provided the fishery landings dataset central to the supply–demand analysis. M.L.X.G., A.L.L., C.A.M.M.C., L.E., C.E.L.F., R.B.F.-F., K.M.F.F., V.J.G., N.H., G.O.L., T.C.M., J.P.Q., D.A.V.-N., L.S.W. and M.G.B. contributed to writing and editing the manuscript. All authors reviewed and approved the final version.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Peer review
Peer review information
Nature Food thanks the anonymous reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary information
Supplementary Information (download PDF )
Supplementary Figs. 1.1, 1.2, 2.1–2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, Tables 3.1, 3.2 and 4.1 and Appendices 1–4.
Reporting Summary (download PDF )
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
Reprints and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gallina, M.L.X., Cordeiro, C.A.M.M., Eggertsen, L. et al. Seafood consumption could help fill nutrition gaps in Brazil.
Nat Food (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-026-01402-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Version of record:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-026-01402-4
Source: Ecology - nature.com
