For much too long, Africa has been facing food shortages. Nowadays, a range of food innovations are on the verge of moving from niche to norm. A recent “Fish-Friendly” report outlines innovations in fish and aquaculture, enabled by much-needed policies. And there is more to it. We see a maritime blue and circular bioeconomy emerging, with key principles of regenerative marine food supply, re-using waste as feedstock, and decarbonization advantages. With over 30,000 km coastline, Africa has an enormous potential in marine aquaculture. Circular economy principles can actually boost such systems in Africa, particularly in small-scale fisheries. Sludge from aquaculture could be re-used as fertilizer, or become feedstock for agriculture. Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) is key candidate for upscaling, with novel systems combining fish & rice, as well as fish & ducks/chicken/pigs. Other innovations include astonishing ‘polychetae‘ worms being able to transform sediments in nutrients and becoming eatable themselves too, and red seaweed which is rich in a range of precious proteins and vitamins. Adding a nexus with energy is forward-looking too, when photovoltaic replaces current carbon-intensive energy supply for aquaculture, or offshore wind combined with low tropic aquaculture helps achieving SDGs. Current unsustainable Fishmeal and Fish Oil (FMFO) production could transition towards low pelagic marine food supply for local livelihoods in countries like Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal. A range of such innovations is climbing up the technology readiness ladder.
Lessons from global resource governance for marine policies and communities
A triangle of barriers is related to governance, finance and demand. However, resource governance in the extractives offers useful lessons on transparency to govern marine resources– with key principles on transparency and investing revenues wisely in human development; the Fishery Transparency Initiative (FiTI) is active on those topics. The new international biodiversity agreement BBNJ will imply more Marine Protected Areas around all coastlines where fish stocks could recover and financial contributions from developed countries; also, it will facilitate Other Environmental Conservation Measures (OECM) and help articulating the voices of indigenous communities. In a similar direction, the recent WTO agreement on removing harmful subsidies in fishery could enable a shift towards sustainable small-scale fisheries and aquaculture. International climate policy could apply Article 6 of the Paris Agreement to finance mangrove reforestation as a ‘blue wall’ to absorb carbon and protect coastlines, while also offering breeding ground for fish and biodiversity and help phasing out fossil fuels.
Towards an inclusive development with blue justice
A key is to realize potential high protein supply and low carbon footprints from a sustainable blue and circular bioeconomy, which could contribute substantially to food security in Africa and Planetary Health Diets. Future management needs to embrace co-development with local communities to become inclusive and contribute to blue justice. Recent initiatives such as Mwaana Inc. could well boost the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) with more blue systemic innovations.
Acknowledgement: This is a written version of a panel contribution made at the Global Forum on Food and Agriculture (GFFA) in Berlin on 16 January 2026. I wish to thank panelists as well as Andreas Kunzmann, Lara Stuthmann and Achim Schlüter for useful information.
Scientific Director of the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) in Bremen since January 2022. Till then he has been Chair in Sustainable Global Resources at University College London (UCL) and Director of the UCL Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources. He holds a full professorial position at University of Bremen and an honorary professorship at University College London. His research interests cover sustainable resource governance, blue economy, circular economy, and the resource nexus. With more than 350 publications and an h-index of 53 (google scholar), he is also among the top 2% of the world’s most cited scientists (‘Stanford List’).