Omega-3 from Farmed Seafood: Promoting Farming Sustainability, Improving Food Security, and Choosing the Most Nutritious and Functional Plate

Global demand for omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs), particularly EPA and DHA, is rising in parallel with population growth and demographic ageing. Wild-catch fisheries alone cannot meet this demand sustainably, positioning aquaculture as a pivotal and expanding source of omega-3-rich food for human populations worldwide. Farmed seafood now accounts for over half of global fish consumption, yet critical questions remain about the environmental footprint of its production, the nutritional quality of its omega-3 profile, and its capacity to deliver adequate, bioavailable fatty acids equitably across diverse populations. Addressing these questions is essential to achieving SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

Despite aquaculture’s growth, a triple challenge persists: ensuring that farming practices are environmentally sustainable; guaranteeing that farmed seafood delivers omega-3s in sufficient quantity and quality to meet the nutritional needs of a growing and ageing global population; and understanding how the nutritional and functional value of those omega-3s varies depending on the type of fatty acid (EPA vs. DHA), the food matrix, and the characteristics of the consumer; particularly life stage, from pregnancy and early childhood through to older adulthood. Recent advances in sustainable feed formulations using alternative ingredients (algae, insect meal, single-cell oils) offer promising pathways to maintaining omega-3 retention while reducing ecological pressure. At the same time, emerging evidence on the differential bioavailability and functional roles of omega-3s across the life course calls for a more nuanced, population-sensitive approach to dietary recommendations and food system design.

This Research Topic aims to consolidate and advance knowledge across these interconnected dimensions, bringing together environmental, nutritional, and food-systems perspectives to inform both science and policy.

This Research Topic welcomes submissions addressing one or more of the following themes:

• Environmental sustainability of omega-3 production in aquaculture systems, including lifecycle assessments and ecosystem impact studies

• Omega-3 supply, bioavailability, and retention in farmed seafood relative to dietary recommendations and wild-catch alternatives

• Food system strategies to meet growing and ageing population demand for omega-3-rich seafood equitably and sustainably

• Nutritional and functional roles of EPA and DHA across the life course — pregnancy, infancy, adulthood, and older age — framed within dietary and food security contexts

• Dietary patterns, consumption behaviours, and consumer choices related to omega-3-rich farmed seafood

• Policy reviews and case studies linking aquaculture, omega-3 supply chains, and sustainable diet goals

We welcome original research, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, narrative reviews, perspectives, and policy briefs. Submissions should maintain a clear focus on the interplay between environmental sustainability, food systems, and human nutritional outcomes. Manuscripts centred on aquaculture feed formulation or fish husbandry without a direct link to human nutrition or food security fall outside the scope of this Research Topic.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: aquaculture sustainability, omega-3 fatty acids, food security, bioavailability, functional nutrition, life course, sustainable diets, EPA · DHA

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.