Emerging trends in aquaculture value chain research

This paper introduces a special issue of Aquaculture that brings together the largest collection of research on aquaculture value chains compiled to date, comprising 19 individual papers and this introductory review. The introduction identifies five themes emerging from research on aquaculture value chains in the special issue, namely: multi-polarity, diversity and scale, dynamics of transformation, performance and equity, and technical and institutional innovation. Contrary to much research to date, the papers addressing these themes show how the expansion of aquaculture has resulted highly diverse configurations of production for consumption in the global South. Collectively, the papers highlight the need for greater attention to neglected value chain segments and categories of actor, modes of production, regulation, and innovation, and patterns of access to benefits. The papers synthesized also affirm the need for more rigorous and diverse future value chain research to illuminate the aquaculture sector's ongoing development, and contribute to the sustainable expansion as an increasingly important component of the global food system