Unprecedented rates of environmental change and ever-growing food production demands are reshaping our global food system, particularly for aquatic foods. Aquaculture now produces nearly half of global fish and plays an important role in food and nutrition security for billions of people while also supporting livelihoods and economies around the world. Despite the perceived high growth potential, there are significant knowledge gaps regarding the effects of aquaculture on local livelihoods and ecosystems. Careful examination of the potential environmental impacts of aquaculture and wild fisheries as well as identification of management challenges and disease risks are key to sustainable aquaculture expansion. Within this context, this Public and Ecosystem Health Impact Project will examine the shift to aquaculture production and its environmental and food security outcomes using the case study of East Africa’s Lake Victoria. Lake Victoria is the world's second-largest freshwater lake and provides a timely opportunity to examine aquaculture growth as it produces more than 8% of the global inland fish harvest, supporting a highly fish-dependent population of more than 30 million people. Cyanobacterial-producing harmful algal blooms are widespread and frequent in Lake Victoria and involve cyanobacterial production of a potent liver toxin known as microcystin that accumulates in fish. Optimizing healthy dietary choices requires balancing risk of microcystin exposure with nutritional uptake of beneficial fatty acids prevalent in fish.

 The project aims to elucidate the 1) impacts of aquaculture expansion on local livelihoods and food security and how aquaculture impacts aquatic environmental health, including 2) comparing microcystin and fatty acid content of aquaculture-raised and wild fish, and 3) examining fish health and farm management challenges critical to aquaculture industry development.