Mussels, oysters, crabs, sea urchins and sea cucumbers rarely feature in food policy debates, yet an international study involving KAUST researcher Jessica Zamborain-Mason argues they deserve a central place. Published in Nature, the work assessed how aquatic invertebrates could contribute to 30 nutrients important for human health, comparing concentrations across species, body parts and processing methods.
Because most invertebrates have never been nutritionally analysed, the team built predictive models that combine existing nutrient data with species traits such as habitat and body size, extending estimates to more than 50,000 species worldwide. The results are striking: current global invertebrate production could meet the annual vitamin B12 and selenium requirements of more than 5 billion people, and the needs of around a billion for copper, omega-3 fatty acids, iodine and zinc.
The authors are careful not to call for mass harvesting. Their argument is that fisheries and aquaculture policy should value seafood by the nutrients it delivers, not only by tonnage or revenue, and that discarded body parts and dried products often carry particular nutritional value. For countries expanding domestic seafood production, including Saudi Arabia, the study offers a framework for planning aquaculture around nutrition and sustainability together.