# Technology-driven reduction of fish post-harvest loss could enhance food security and economic resilience

## TL;DR

Improving fish post-harvest technologies could significantly increase fish consumption without catching more fish, boosting food security and reducing waste.

## Contribution

Quantitative modeling and case studies show that optimizing post-harvest processes can increase fish consumption by 74% and reduce consumer prices.

## Key findings

- Increasing fish consumption to 74% could provide 850 million additional daily portions without extra fishing.
- Post-harvest improvements could meet global protein and micronutrient needs while lowering fish prices.
- Reducing waste is more impactful than increasing catch for sustainable food systems.

## Abstract

Globally, only 54% of harvested fish is consumed directly by people, with the remainder lost to spoilage, inefficient processing, limited by-product utilization, or diverted to non-food uses. This inefficiency limits the nutritional, economic, and environmental potential of aquatic foods. Here, we assess the impact of targeted post-harvest interventions—including cold chain improvements, better handling practices, and valorisation of by-products, using a quantitative modelling approach with a qualitative synthesis of case studies and literature. We show that increasing net fish consumption by humans to 74% through feasible technological adoption could deliver an additional 850 million portions of fish per day, without harvesting a single extra fish. These “hidden harvests” could meet global dietary protein and micronutrient needs while reducing price to the consumer by nearly 10%. Whilst these findings should be seen as upper limits rather than expected outcomes. They highlight post-harvest optimisation as a critically underutilised lever for advancing nutrition security, reducing pressure on aquatic ecosystems, and achieving sustainable, equitable growth in blue food systems. Reducing waste, not simply increasing catch, is the key.

Increasing post harvest consumption of fish to 74% of total catch would deliver an additional 850 million portions of fish per day globally, according to mathematical modelling of fish utilization