A recent study published in the journal of Environmental Research: Food Systems, examines how trade in aquatic foods can contribute to nutrition security across regions, using the dried dagaa (small pelagic fish) fishery in Zanzibar, Tanzania, as a case study. The authors introduce the concept of “nutrition-sensitive trade,” which refers to trade that delivers and balances access to nutrient-dense foods to multiple spatially distant populations, including nutritionally dependent or nutritionally vulnerable groups, without undermining the nutrition security in the communities where food is produced, whether agricultural, coastal, or riparian.

Key Findings

The study finds that Zanzibar’s dagaa trade plays a significant role in supplying affordable protein and micronutrients to both local consumers and vulnerable populations in at least six African countries. 

Key findings include:

• Dagaa trade is embedded in both domestic and regional food systems, with fresh dagaa and blanched-sun-dried dagaa largely consumed locally while dried products, primarily sun-dried dagaa and blanched-sun-dried dagaa are exported.  

• Trade flows are dynamic and shaped by environmental, social, institutional, and economic factors, including changing fish stocks, export demand, processing technology, and permit systems. 

• Seasonal patterns strongly affect food availability: during dry seasons, more dagaa is processed for export, which may reduce domestic access to fresh fish, reshaping consumption patterns and potentially influencing nutritional outcomes

See https://www.cgiar.org/news-events/news/nutrition-sensitive-trade-what-zanzibars-dagaa-fishery-reveals-about-food-and