IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i15p12039-d1211618.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Evaluating Alternative and Sustainable Food Resources: A Review of the Nutritional Composition of Myctophid Fishes

Author

Listed:
  • Bowen Zhang

    (Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Battery Point, TAS 7004, Australia
    CSIRO Environment, Battery Point, TAS 7004, Australia)

  • Heidi Pethybridge

    (CSIRO Environment, Battery Point, TAS 7004, Australia)

  • Patti Virtue

    (Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Battery Point, TAS 7004, Australia
    CSIRO Environment, Battery Point, TAS 7004, Australia)

  • Peter D. Nichols

    (Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Battery Point, TAS 7004, Australia
    CSIRO Environment, Battery Point, TAS 7004, Australia)

  • Kerrie Swadling

    (Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Battery Point, TAS 7004, Australia)

  • Alan Williams

    (CSIRO Environment, Battery Point, TAS 7004, Australia)

  • Kim Lee-Chang

    (CSIRO Environment, Battery Point, TAS 7004, Australia)

Abstract

Additional and alternative sustainable food resources are needed as the global human population increases. Marine fishes have long provided essential nutrients, such as omega-3 long-chain (≥C20) polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFA), protein, and vitamins to meet human dietary requirements and feed for agricultural production. Many current commercial fish stocks are depleted or fully exploited, but oceanic mesopelagic fishes, particularly the myctophids (lanternfishes), represent a potentially very large and unfished resource. This review analysed the literature on nutritional and biochemical compositions of myctophids as a first step towards understanding the health benefits and risks of consuming them. We found that myctophids have high levels of protein (11–23% wet weight, WW) and variable lipid content (0.5–26% WW). In most species, desirable triacylglycerols or phospholipids dominated over less-desirable wax esters, and most have abundant amounts of health-promoting n-3 LC-PUFA, such as DHA and EPA. Myctophids have low levels of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants. Most nutritional information is available for species from the Pacific and Southern Oceans and for the genera Benthosema , Electrona , and Diaphus . Myctophids generally possess favourable nutritional profiles, but major gaps in knowledge regarding their stock assessment, ecology and the economic viability for their harvest are barriers to developing sustainable fisheries.

Suggested Citation

  • Bowen Zhang & Heidi Pethybridge & Patti Virtue & Peter D. Nichols & Kerrie Swadling & Alan Williams & Kim Lee-Chang, 2023. "Evaluating Alternative and Sustainable Food Resources: A Review of the Nutritional Composition of Myctophid Fishes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-19, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:15:p:12039-:d:1211618
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/15/12039/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/15/12039/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gascuel, Didier & Morissette, Lyne & Palomares, Maria Lourdes D. & Christensen, Villy, 2008. "Trophic flow kinetics in marine ecosystems: Toward a theoretical approach to ecosystem functioning," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 217(1), pages 33-47.
    2. Rosamond L. Naylor & Ronald W. Hardy & Alejandro H. Buschmann & Simon R. Bush & Ling Cao & Dane H. Klinger & David C. Little & Jane Lubchenco & Sandra E. Shumway & Max Troell, 2021. "A 20-year retrospective review of global aquaculture," Nature, Nature, vol. 591(7851), pages 551-563, March.
    3. Daniel Pauly & Villy Christensen & Sylvie Guénette & Tony J. Pitcher & U. Rashid Sumaila & Carl J. Walters & R. Watson & Dirk Zeller, 2002. "Towards sustainability in world fisheries," Nature, Nature, vol. 418(6898), pages 689-695, August.
    4. R. M. Cook & A. Sinclair & G. Stefánsson, 1997. "Potential collapse of North Sea cod stocks," Nature, Nature, vol. 385(6616), pages 521-522, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Richter, Andries & Dakos, Vasilis, 2015. "Profit fluctuations signal eroding resilience of natural resources," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 12-21.
    2. Espinoza-Tenorio, Alejandro & Espejel, Ileana & Wolff, Matthias, 2015. "From adoption to implementation? An academic perspective on Sustainable Fisheries Management in a developing country," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 252-260.
    3. Alberto Roca Florido & Emilio Padilla Rosa, 2024. "Analysing the impacts of a reform on harmful fishery subsidies in Spain using a social accounting matrix," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 13(1), pages 1-29, December.
    4. Flückiger, Matthias & Ludwig, Markus, 2015. "Economic shocks in the fisheries sector and maritime piracy," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 107-125.
    5. Christopher Shaw & Klaus Knopf & Werner Kloas, 2022. "Toward Feeds for Circular Multitrophic Food Production Systems: Holistically Evaluating Growth Performance and Nutrient Excretion of African Catfish Fed Fish Meal-Free Diets in Comparison to Nile Tila," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-31, November.
    6. Bradley Chen & Victoria Y. Fan, 2015. "Strategic Provider Behavior Under Global Budget Payment with Price Adjustment in Taiwan," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(11), pages 1422-1436, November.
    7. Lipper, Leslie & Cavatassi, Romina & Symons, Ricci & Gordes, Alashiya & Page, Oliver, 2022. "IFAD Research Series 85: Financing climate adaptation and resilient agricultural livelihoods," IFAD Research Series 322020, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
    8. Dana Miller & Stefano Mariani, 2013. "Irish fish, Irish people: roles and responsibilities for an emptying ocean," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 529-546, April.
    9. Sanchirico, James, 2004. "A Social Scientist's Perspective on the Potential Benefits of the Census of Marine Life," RFF Working Paper Series dp-04-23-rev, Resources for the Future.
    10. Katherine Elizabeth Drury & Felicity Victoria Crotty, 2022. "Developing the Use of Wool Rope within Aquaculture—A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-17, July.
    11. Gamble, Robert J. & Link, Jason S., 2009. "Analyzing the tradeoffs among ecological and fishing effects on an example fish community: A multispecies (fisheries) production model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 220(19), pages 2570-2582.
    12. Tyler D Eddy & Jonathan P A Gardner & Alejandro Pérez-Matus, 2010. "Applying Fishers' Ecological Knowledge to Construct Past and Future Lobster Stocks in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 5(11), pages 1-12, November.
    13. Naylor, Rosamond & Fang, Safari & Fanzo, Jessica, 2023. "A global view of aquaculture policy," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    14. Sara Apresentação & Mafalda Rangel & Assunção Cristas, 2024. "Towards Sustainability: A Framework for Evaluating Portuguese Small-Scale Fisheries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-14, April.
    15. Grealis, Eoin & O’Donoghue, Cathal, 2015. "The Economic Impact of the Irish Bio-Economy: Development and Uses," Research Reports 210704, National University of Ireland, Galway, Socio-Economic Marine Research Unit.
    16. Claude E. Boyd & Aaron A. McNevin & Robert P. Davis, 2022. "The contribution of fisheries and aquaculture to the global protein supply," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(3), pages 805-827, June.
    17. Libralato, Simone & Solidoro, Cosimo, 2008. "A bioenergetic growth model for comparing Sparus aurata's feeding experiments," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 214(2), pages 325-337.
    18. Link, Jason S. & Pranovi, Fabio & Libralato, Simone, 2022. "Simulations and interpretations of cumulative trophic theory," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 463(C).
    19. Renau, Jorge Marco & Valbuena, Nicolas & Valderrama, Diego & Vasquez, Monica, 2024. "Examining the Success of the Tilapia Industry in Huila, an Emerging Aquaculture Hub in the Colombian Southwest," EfD Discussion Paper 24-3, Environment for Development, University of Gothenburg.
    20. Matthew R. Miller & Maryam Abshirini & Frances M. Wolber & Te Rerekohu Tuterangiwhiu & Marlena C. Kruger, 2023. "Greenshell Mussel Products: A Comprehensive Review of Sustainability, Traditional Use, and Efficacy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-22, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:15:p:12039-:d:1211618. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.