From Ocean Stewardship and Food Security: The 2025 World Food Day’s Mandate

_{by Maman}

Every year on October 16, the world observes World Food Day, an annual moment established by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1979. This commemoration serves as a critical reminder of a fundamental human right: the guaranteed access of every individual to sufficient, healthy, and nutritious food.

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The World’s Need to Food Keeps Increasing

This year, under the theme “Hand in Hand for Better Food and a Better Future,” the FAO has underscored the necessity of cross-sector collaboration to forge a more equitable and sustainable food system. This push comes at a crucial juncture, challenged by relentless global social, economic, and increasingly pressing climate shifts.

With the global population surpassing 8.2 billion and projected to hit 9.7 billion by 2050, the question is simple yet globally urgent: How can the world feed billions amidst finite natural resources and an escalating climate crisis?

The answer cannot solely rely on agriculture. The oceans and the fisheries sector carry an equally vital role in ensuring global food resilience.

Looking at Fisheries’ Contribution to Food Security

Oceans cover 71% of the Earth’s surface, pointing to the immense potential of marine food sources. While the global economic value of the fisheries sector in 2022 ‘only’ stood at approximately USD 200 billion (dwarfed by agriculture’s USD 2.8 trillion), the trajectory of fish consumption shows an unrelenting upward trend.

The FAO reports a 122% surge in global fish consumption between 1990 and 2018, maintaining an average annual growth of 3%. This pace shows no sign of deceleration. This signifies that fish and fishery products are now indispensable in the global diet, driven by greater nutritional awareness and a growing demand for sustainability across the supply chain.

How Indonesia’s Tuna and Small-Scale Fishers Are at Play

Indonesia stands as one of the world’s largest tuna producers, supplying an estimated 19% of the global stock. In 2023, Indonesia’s tuna exports exceeded USD 920 million, with the United States, Japan, and the European Union serving as the principal markets.

The global tuna market itself is valued at USD 43 billion, with demand—particularly for canned tuna—forecast to rise by as much as 34% by 2050.

Domestically, fish consumption in Indonesia is also booming. World Population Review data shows that in 2022, the average Indonesian consumed 41.3 kg of fish per capita annually. The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) reported that approximately 1.5 million tonnes of big tuna species, skipjack, and neritic tuna were consumed in 2023. This dual role—as a major export commodity and a provider of vital, nutritious food for its own populace—cements the critical nature of the fisheries sector to Indonesia.

Small-Scale Fishers Face Compounding Challenges

Despite their outsized role, small-scale fishers are among the groups most vulnerable. Study suggests that they are more exposed to global economic instability and climate change.

Shifting tuna migration patterns force fishers to journey farther and for longer durations, driving up fuel costs. The size of their catches is diminishing, while increasingly frequent extreme weather events reduce their days at sea. These consequently result in decreasing fishers’ income. The persistent pressure often pushes fishing families into crippling debt simply to meet daily needs.

Compounding this is the influence of international trade policies on their welfare. The imposition of new export tariffs by the United States, for example, directly impacts Indonesia’s tuna processing industry. Research indicates that in Bitung, North Sulawesi, this policy led to a 60–80% reduction in workforce at some tuna loin processing firms. The fallout cascades down to the small-scale fishers, where the price of fish at the landing site dropped by 5–25% per kilogram.

In MDPI’s working area like Maluku and North Maluku, even internationally-certified fishers lack the market leverage. They often fail to negotiate for a fairer price at grassroots level. For them, global changes translate to lost earnings, even when their practices are models of sustainability.

Commitment to Resilience and Sustainable Fisheries

MDPI is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering small-scale fisheries. Our work is anchored in three primary approaches below.

First is equitable and sustainable fisheries management. This involves strengthening community-based data collection, promoting co-management through local governance bodies, and advocating for responsible management of fish aggregating devices.

Second, boosting fisher social and economic capacity. This is achieved through the development of social enterprises, strengthening the financial literacy of fisher households, and empowering coastal women and youth.

Lastly, cross-sector collaboration. We believe that collaboration can magnify the impact of Indonesia’s sustainable fisheries work. Currently MDPI is working with industry players, certification bodies like Fair Trade USA and MSC, the MMAF, the Tuna Consortium Indonesia, and international donors.

By 2025, MDPI has assisted over 1,400 small-scale tuna fishers in Eastern Indonesia. Located in a region within the Coral Triangle, it’s the global epicenter of marine biodiversity. Through this support, MDPI seeks to ensure that ocean sustainability progresses for fisher welfare and food security.

Towards a Food-Secure Future

This year’s World Food Day serves as a powerful reflection of the future of our food. It reminds us how food security is incomplete without justice for its small-scale producers.

Small-scale fishers are the frontline guardians of the ocean and key providers of the world’s seafood. Yet, they are the first to feel the brunt of the climate crisis and global market inequities.

A truly fair and sustainable food future demands that all stakeholders—governments, industry, coastal communities, and consumers—work “Hand in Hand,” as the FAO theme suggests.

Through unified cooperation and shared responsibility, organizations like MDPI are ensuring that we can build a food system and marine management framework that is not just sustainable, but equitable and resilient for all.