Norway House, Rue Archimède 17, Brussels | 4 March 2026 |
12:00 – 13:30 – Lunch included
The extension of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition from 2025 to 2030 comes at a pivotal moment for the EU’s policy agenda. As implementation of the Vision for Agriculture and Food, the EU Ocean Pact and the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 advance simultaneously, the need for stronger policy coherence across food, ocean and environmental frameworks is clear.
Aquatic foods are rich in essential nutrients, support livelihoods and can contribute to sustainable and climate-resilient food systems when responsibly managed. They are uniquely positioned at the intersection of public health, environmental sustainability and international development policy. Too often, however, they are under-represented in policy discussions.
The Global Action Network on Sustainable Food from the Oceans and Inland Waters for Food Security and Nutrition was established to mobilise actions for sustainable aquatic food systems for food security and nutrition, taking the approach “from healthy waters to healthy people”. As the EU continues to shape policies related to food systems, health, oceans, environment and global partnerships, there is an opportunity to strengthen coherence and ensure aquatic foods are fully integrated into nutrition and food security frameworks.
Bringing together EU institutions, Members of the European Parliament and UN bodies, this event will foster cross-agency dialogue and identify concrete policy pathways to embed aquatic foods across the EU policy landscape in the next phase of the Decade of Action on Nutrition.
Objectives
- Mark the extension of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition and reaffirm commitment to sustainable food systems for healthy diets.
- Linking to the UN Decade of Ocean Science and the challenge to “sustainably nourish the global population”.
- Highlight the role of aquatic foods in delivering nutrition, food security, public health and environmental benefits.
- Showcase how the Global Action Network is mobilising partnerships and policy action to position aquatic foods as a key component of food security and improved nutrition.
- Break down institutional silos by convening different European Commission services, EU institutions and UN bodies.
- Generate solutions-oriented policy dialogue focused on how EU policymaking can better integrate aquatic foods across food system, health, environment and international cooperation agendas.
Expected Outcomes
- A concise post-event press release capturing key insights, identified entry points and priority considerations for integrating aquatic foods across policies.
- Identification of existing and upcoming policy processes where aquatic foods should be considered.