The global food system, particularly its corporatization in recent decades, has generated vast wealth while simultaneously failing to address persistent food insecurity affecting one in four people globally. This inequity is exacerbated by climate change, conflict, and pandemics. Transformation towards a more just and sustainable food system is urgently needed. This research leverages a three-dimensional justice lens—distributional, recognitional, and representational—to analyze inequalities and injustices within the global aquatic food system. Distributional injustice arises from economic barriers limiting access to resources; recognitional injustice stems from social and cultural structures undervaluing certain identities; and representational injustice occurs when political structures exclude voices from decision-making. These dimensions are interconnected and create unequal distributions of benefits and burdens. The study focuses on the aquatic food system due to its high trade value and social importance, yet relative lack of research attention compared to terrestrial food systems. The researchers employ a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative and qualitative analyses to examine the global distribution of aquatic food system benefits, the recognition of barriers in national policies, and the relationship between barriers and unjust outcomes.

The authors draw on existing literature highlighting the concentration of wealth in the global food system and the persistent issue of food insecurity. They cite studies that demonstrate the interconnectedness of distributional, recognitional, and representational injustices in creating unequal outcomes. The review also emphasizes the importance of aquatic food systems for livelihoods and nutrition, particularly in low-income countries. The literature underscores the need for a justice-oriented approach to understand and address inequities within the food system, particularly within the context of global trade and interconnectedness.

The study uses a mixed-methods approach incorporating four key analytical components. First, a Gini coefficient is employed to quantify the inequality in the distribution of three aquatic food system benefits across 194 countries: production (quantity of food produced), distribution (value of export revenues), and consumption (dietary protein supply). Second, expert interviews and a summative content analysis of 306 national aquatic food policies are conducted to assess the extent to which policies acknowledge economic, social, and political barriers to participation. Third, Bayesian hierarchical models are used to determine the statistical associations between seven indicators of economic, social, and political barriers and eight aquatic food system benefits. These models control for relevant biophysical and geographic variables. Fourth, a positive deviance approach identifies countries with unexpectedly high or low aquatic food system benefits, and interpretative content analysis explores their policies to identify characteristics associated with more just outcomes. The study uses data from 2006-2016 and incorporates data on wealth, education, gender inequality, linguistic diversity, cultural hegemony, age dependency, voice, and accountability as indicators of barriers to participation.

The Gini coefficients reveal highly unequal distributions of aquatic food system benefits across countries. Production and export revenues exhibited particularly high inequality. While consumption was more evenly distributed, inequality remained significant. The policy analysis showed that policies most frequently address economic barriers, less often social barriers, and least frequently political barriers. Regional variations were also observed. The Bayesian models indicated that lower economic barriers (higher wealth and education) were associated with greater wealth-based benefits (higher per capita consumption and production per worker). Conversely, higher economic barriers led to greater dependence on aquatic foods for livelihoods. Economic and political barriers together created distributional and representational injustices, with greater voice and accountability linked to higher wealth-based benefits. Social barriers, particularly gender inequality, were associated with lower welfare-sustaining benefits (higher affordability of aquatic foods). Higher linguistic diversity was correlated with more jobs but lower exports. The positive deviance analysis identified policy characteristics associated with more just outcomes. Policies in countries with better-than-expected outcomes centered principles of justice and human rights, challenged unequal social norms, and specified inclusive decision-making processes and accountability mechanisms. In contrast, policies in countries with worse-than-expected outcomes often lacked attention to social barriers or placed the burden of change on disadvantaged groups.

The findings demonstrate that economic, social, and political barriers to participation significantly contribute to unjust outcomes within the global aquatic food system. The unequal distribution of benefits reflects not only economic disparities but also the impact of social and political structures. The study highlights the need for policies that address structural injustices and promote equitable access to resources and decision-making processes. The research underscores the importance of a holistic approach that considers the interconnectedness of different dimensions of justice. The observed regional variations highlight the need for context-specific policy interventions. The identification of effective policy attributes provides valuable insights for designing more just and sustainable aquatic food systems.

This study provides compelling evidence for the critical role of rights and representation in achieving justice within aquatic food systems. Policies that center human rights, promote inclusive decision-making, and address structural drivers of injustice are crucial for ensuring equitable access to the benefits of aquatic foods. Future research could investigate the effectiveness of specific policy interventions, examine the dynamics of power and influence within aquatic food systems, and explore the scalability and transferability of successful policy approaches across diverse contexts.

The study relies on available data and policy documents, which may not fully capture the complexity of on-the-ground realities. The analysis focuses on national-level data and policies and may not adequately reflect subnational variations in access to and control over resources. The indicators used to represent barriers to participation are proxies and might not fully capture the nuances of these complex social and political phenomena. The temporal scope of the data may limit the generalizability of the findings to more recent periods.