Agriculture can help aquaculture become greener

Aquaculture, the farming of fish and seafood, is now recognised as a highly efficient system to produce protein for human consumption. Furthermore, it is central to feeding an ever-growing growing global population without exceeding environmental constraints defined as planetary boundaries. In contrast, many terrestrial animal production systems are considered to be both inefficient and impacting on land use and climate change. This has led to suggestions that mankind needs to adopt a much more plant-centric diet, the only exception being fish, consumed as both a source of protein and essential dietary nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids. Here, we consider the implications of such a transition, and also the challenges that aquaculture must face to increase productivity within planetary boundaries. In particular we consider how agriculture, especially crops, can provide solutions for aquaculture. For example, agriculture can provide experience of managing monocultures and developing new technologies such as GM crops tailored specifically for use in aquaculture. We propose that a closer connection between agriculture and aquaculture will create a resilient food system capable of meeting increasing dietary and nutritional demands without exhausting planetary resources.