Vania Andreoli
PhD Candidate
Sea Around Us - Indian Ocean
School of Biological Sciences
University of Western Australia (UWA)
vania.andreoli@uwa.edu.au
PhD title: Nutrient security and equity of the Indian Ocean Rim: micronutrient composition of fisheries catches, their sustainability and trade flows.
Seafood is an important source of micronutrients including iron, zinc, vitamin B12 and vitamin A. In the Indian Ocean, small-scale fisheries contribute substantially to the diet of more than 800 million people living in developing countries. Populations in the Indian Ocean Rim are heavily dependent on these fisheries to provide key micronutrients. However, these fisheries are threatened by overexploitation, habitat degradation and climate change. Thus, the decline or collapse of marine resources places millions of people at risk of malnutrition.
Conventionally, fisheries catches are analysed simply on the basis of tonnes caught, ignoring that not all fish are nutritionally equal. My PhD thesis analyses the nutritional composition of the catches, with a specific focus on the Indian Ocean to quantify available fisheries-derived nutrients. My research also examines the impacts on nutritional security and equity of harmful fisheries subsidies, i.e., financial transfers from public entities to fishing enterprises, and the international trade flows, that moves fisheries-derived nutrients far away from where they are caught and needed.
Vania is originally from Italy, where she completed her Master in Environmental Economics and Policy at the University of Turin. She became fascinated with the ocean since moving to Australia in 2013. Vania’s interests lie in interrelations between the ocean and human health, in particular the global issues of food and nutrient security. She is exploring the challenges that compromise the role of wild capture fisheries in providing a secure source of food and nutrients, such fisheries subsidies, overfishing and international trade. Vania wants to impact policy by providing information on how to make the ocean a more equitable place for all.
Publications
Sumaila UR, Alam L, Abdallah PR, Aheto D, Akintola SL, Alger J, Andreoli V, Bailey M, Barnes C, Ben-Hasan A, Brooks CM, Carvalho AR, Cheung WWL, Cisneros-Montemayor AM, Dempsey J, Halim SA, Hilmi N, Ilori MO, Jacquet J, Karuaihe ST, Le Billon P, Leape J, Martin TG, Meeuwig JJ, Micheli F, Mokhtar M, Naylor RL, Obura D, Palomares MLD, Pereira LM, Rogers AA, Sequeira AMM, Sogbanmu TO, Villasante S, Zeller D, and Pauly D (2024) WTO must complete an ambitious fisheries subsidies agreement. npj Ocean Sustainability 3(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-024-00042-0
Andreoli V, Meeuwig JJ, Skerrit D, Schuhbauer A, Sumaila UR, Zeller D (2023). Fisheries subsidies exacerbate inequities in accessing seafood nutrients in the Indian Ocean. Npj Ocean Sustainability 2, 23. DOI: 10.1038/s44183-023-00031-9.
Zeller D, Ansell M., Andreoli V, Heidrich K. 2023. Trends in Indian Ocean marine fisheries since 1950: synthesis of reconstructed catch and effort data. Marine and Freshwater Research 74, 301-319. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF22148
Derrick B, Burns K, Zhu A, Andreoli V, Zeller D and Pauly D. 2023. Small-scale fisheries catch and fishing effort in the Socotra Archipelago (Yemen) between 1950 and 2019. Front. Mar. Sci. 10:1201661.
Andreoli V, Bagliani M, Crosi A. 2021. Drivers of protein consumption: A cross-country analysis. Sustainability 13(13): 7399.
Zeller D, Ansell M, Andreoli V, Harguth H, Figueira W, Dunstan D and Jenkins LD. 2021. Reconstructing historical baseline catches along Highway 101: U.S. West Coast marine fisheries, 1950–2017. Regional Studies in Marine Science 46: 101897.
Collaborations
Harvard University T.H Chan School of Public Health
University of British Columbia, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
Grants and Awards
2023 - Robson and Robertson Award (2023-2024) to support the research project: “Harmful fisheries subsidies exacerbate inequities in access to seafood nutrients – the 2024 UN Ocean Conference”
2022 - Robson and Robertson Award (2022-2023) to support the research project: “Aquatic Food Composition Database: Harvard University research visit”
Australian Government International Research Training Program (RTP) Fee Offset Scholarship (2022-2025)
University of Western Australia Postgraduate Award International Students (2022-2025)