Dataset: Global market drivers for sustainable cephalopod food systems

1. Aquatic food systems are important contributors to global food security
to satisfy an intensifying demand for protein-based diets, but global
economic growth threatens marine systems. Cephalopod (octopus, squid,
cuttlefish) fisheries can contribute to food security; however their
sustainable exploitation requires understanding connections between
nature’s contributions to people (NCP), food system policies and human
wellbeing. 2. Our global literature review methodology examined what is
known about cephalopod food systems, value chains and supply chains and
associated market drivers. For analysis, we followed the IPBES conceptual
framework to build a map of the links between cephalopod market drivers,
NCP and good quality of life (GQL). Then we mapped cephalopod food system
dynamics onto IPBES (in)direct drivers of change relating to catch, trade
and consumption. 3. This research contributes knowledge about key factors
relating to cephalopods that can support transitions towards increased
food security: the value of new aquatic food species; food safety and
authenticity systems; place-based innovations and empowerment of
communities; and consumer behaviour, lifestyle and motivations for better
health and environmental sustainability along the food value chain. We
outline requirements for a sustainable, equitable cephalopod food system
policy landscape that values nature’s contributions to people, considers
UN Sustainable Development Goals and emphasises the role of seven
overlapping IPBES (in)direct drivers of change: Economic, Governance,
Sociocultural and Socio-psychological, Technological, Direct Exploitation,
Natural Processes and Pollution. We present a novel market-based
adaptation of the IPBES conceptual framework – our ‘cephalopod food system
framework’, to represent how the cephalopod food system functions and how
it can inform processes to improve sustainability and equity of the
cephalopod food system. 4. This synthesised knowledge provides the basis
for diagnosing opportunities (e.g. high demand for products) and
constraints (e.g. lack of data about how supply chain drivers link to
cephalopod NCP) to be considered regarding the role of cephalopods in
transformations towards a resilient and more diversified seafood
production system. This social-ecological systems approach could apply to
other wild harvest commodities with implications for diverse marine
species and ecosystems and can inform those working to deliver marine and
terrestrial food security while preserving biodiversity.