The Norwegian budstikke is a traditional wooden stick historically used to carry important messages across regions — a means of spreading news or warnings quickly through community cooperation. Today, the budstikke symbolizes collective action and shared responsibility in Norwegian culture, serving as a metaphor for rallying people together toward a common cause.
We adopt the budstikke as a symbol to carry key messages related to sustainable aquatic food systems for food security and nutrition — to encourage boundary-crossing between people with different knowledge and perspectives, and to call for actions from healthy waters to healthy people. This initiative aims to promote interdisciplinary science and science-based policymaking, emphasizing the essential role of aquatic foods as a key component for achieving sustainable food security and improved nutrition.
The key messages presented below reflect the content and discussions from the event and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Global Action Network’s mission statement.
Messages from One Ocean Science Congress 2025 Town Hall event “Optimising the Potential of Aquatic Food Systems – Science Needs for a Blue Transformation”
- Science must demonstrate the comparative benefits of aquatic food systems
- Aquatic food systems science must better engage in a food systems approach
- Science must be grounded in equity and justice to be optimised effectively and sustainably
- Science must drive nutrition-focused aquatic food systems governance
- Science must drive sustainable, nutrition-sensitive, and equitable aquaculture
Messages from UN Ocean Conference 2025 side event “The Ocean We Depend On – Achieving SDG 14 Through Sustainable Governance”
- International and regional cooperation is essential
- Science and evidence-based policy are fundamental to sustainable ocean governance and sustainable aquatic food systems
- Capacity building and inclusion are key to long-term sustainability
- The role of aquatic foods in nutrition and food security must be recognized and strengthened
Messages from IUNS-ICN2025 Scientific Symposium “Advancing Nutrition and Sustainable Food Systems in the Nordic Region – Lessons Learned for Regional and Global Impact“
- Increase in seafood consumption can promote both human health and sustainability.
- Nutritionists should be more visible in food system dialogues.
- Food system transformation is a smart investment and requires bundled actions by multiple actors.
- Efficient regulations, innovations and shift in mindset and social norms are also crucial.
- School meals should follow climate-friendly dietary guidelines and be introduced gradually accompanied by a pedagogical concept.
- Safe foods from the ocean with efficient monitoring system are important.
Messages from 13th WIOMSA Scientific Symposium “Enhancing nutrition security through regional collaboration: advancing high-quality analytical data on aquatic foods“
- Continue leveraging Programmes that connect research, policy, and practice, fostering collaboration and shared learning across sectors.
- Actively engage in partnerships and information sharing across countries to align strategies, harmonize data, and coordinate actions for greater collective impact.
- Prioritize the collection, analysis, and application of reliable, locally relevant data to guide evidence-based decision-making and adaptive management.
- Support training, mentorship, and long-term institutional development to ensure sustained technical and organizational capability.
- Advocate for and embed aquatic foods within national and regional nutrition, food security, and climate strategies to enhance their visibility and impact.”