Globalism, localism and blue food systems – How can cross-scale tensions be reduced? A production perspective from UK seafood stakeholders

‘Blue foods’ are derived from aquatic species that are caught or cultivated and are amongst the most globally traded commodities. Growing emphasis is being placed on blue foods in future transitions to sustainable food systems. However, recent international events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, UK-EU ‘Brexit’, and Russia-Ukraine war have caused renewed interest in ideological debates between globalism and localism and associated cross-scale tensions. Here, we aim to provide further insight into cross-scale tensions in blue food systems through a literature review and UK-based seafood stakeholder workshop. From our literature review, the evidence for cross-scale tensions was linked to the following themes: economic efficiency versus social justice; food security and food sovereignty; sustainability and traceability. A stakeholder workshop revealed a need for international market actors to support improvements in the social and environmental practices of blue food producers. Fully traceable supply chains that enable the transfer of information across jurisdictions were also deemed desirable to provide greater assurance on product legality and provenance. Developing a blue foods strategy at a national level was suggested as a solution to potentially rebalance the influence of international markets, with the objective of rejuvenating re-localised blue food systems. To be successful, a blue foods strategy will require the alignment and integration of policies that impact on different industry subsectors.