The Fish Innovation Lab aims to reduce poverty and improve nutrition, food security, and livelihoods in developing countries by supporting the sustainable development of aquaculture and fisheries systems.
To achieve these goals, our activities target three program areas: Improving aquaculture and fisheries productivity, reducing and mitigating risks to aquaculture and fisheries, and improving human outcomes. You can learn more about the Fish Innovation Lab’s overall approach and cross-cutting themes.
The Challenge: Advancing the Productivity Frontier
In developing countries, more than 2.6 billion people depend on some form of fish for more than 20% of their total animal protein — and as the global population increases, so too will demand for fish. Fisheries are also an essential source of income for the almost 200,000 people employed directly or indirectly by the industry in developing countries.
Enhancing the productivity of aquaculture and fisheries systems can improve food and nutrition security by not only ensuring more people can access fish as part of their diet, but also by driving income growth among people employed in the sector.
Generating Evidence-Based Solutions
The Fish Innovation Lab supports research to identify and develop scalable technologies and practices that sustainably increase fish production, while prioritizing natural resource conservation and the needs of producers and fishers. Our research focuses on improved technologies and practices that increase the productivity and profitability of aquaculture and fisheries sectors in developing countries. Research topics in this area seek to
- Improve fish feed, for example by developing cost-effective and locally-sourced diet formulations that can replace fish meal and other expensive food stuffs
- Enhance techniques for selective breeding and improved fish genetics
- Improve aquaculture technology, including polyculture, integrated aquaculture, and climate-resilient production systems
- Support sustainable fisheries management