In the first large-scale investigation of dried fish consumption, an international team of researchers, including NRI scientists, has revealed that dried fish make a major contribution to the recommended nutrient intakes of young children and women, highlighting their hidden importance for global food security and nutrition.
Often overlooked, dried fish are in fact a nutrient-rich “superfood” feeding millions across Africa. Now, for the first time, evidence quantifies the essential nutrients in sun-dried and smoked fish, showing their potential to help tackle malnutrition across the tropics – if the right policies are in place.
Despite being affordable, widely available, and a staple in many diets, dried fish have remained largely invisible in research. Produced mainly by small-scale fisheries and traded informally, little was known until now about their scale of production, patterns of consumption, or true nutritional value.
Drawing on data from the multinational Living Standards Measurements Study conducted in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda, the researchers estimate that dried fish are eaten weekly by one in three households, reaching 54% more people than fresh fish. They are especially important in poorer households and in communities near coasts or cities, reinforcing the need to safeguard local fish catches for local nutrition, rather than prioritising export markets.
But one key question remained: just how nutritious are dried fish?
The researchers analysed the nutrient content of some of the most commonly consumed dried fish across East and West Africa and the Indian Ocean, testing 19 species in total. These included freshwater fish from the Great Lakes, such as the Lake Victoria sardine, and marine species such as Madeiran sardinella from West Africa and rabbitfish from the Indian Ocean.
Their analysis revealed just how nutrient-rich dried fish can be. Even small quantities contribute substantially to the recommended nutrient intakes for women and young children. By concentrating nutrients into compact, shelf-stable portions, sun-drying and smoking make dried fish even denser in key minerals than fresh fish of the same size, particularly for iron and zinc, both critical for public health.
The findings show that modest portions of dried fish can deliver more than 15% of recommended intakes for essential nutrients including calcium, iodine, iron, selenium, zinc, and vitamins B12 and D. Yet nutrient content varies by species: powdered and smoked marine fish are especially rich in iron and omega-3 fatty acids, while freshwater species from Lake Victoria provide higher levels of calcium and zinc.
These insights point to dried fish as a powerful tool in the fight against malnutrition. Researchers suggest that these nutrient-rich dried fish could be powdered and incorporated into infant foods to prevent and treat nutrient deficiencies, which are highly prevalent in low- and middle-income countries and driving poor health outcomes.
Study co-author Lydia O’Meara, PhD candidate and nutrition consultant at NRI at the time of this work said: ‘This research shines a light on the powerful nutrition found in dried fish, an often overlooked but affordable food that can be easier to trade and store in low-resource settings with limited refrigeration. By filling important data gaps, this study helps guide development of sustainable food systems for healthy diets and supports the use of dried fish in school meals, women and children’s nutrition, and public health programmes across Africa.’
Dr Kendra Byrd who also co-authored the study said: ‘Dried fish are not only important for diet quality, but for their climate adaptive capabilities. As climate change worsens and weather events disrupt food production, dried fish will be even more important to keep on hand. For these reasons, it is important their production and value chains are preserved.’ Dr Byrd was a Senior Research Fellow in Food Systems and Nutrition at NRI at the time of this work.
The findings of the study, which was supported by the Royal Society and the European Research Council, are outlined in the paper ‘Dried fish provide widespread access to critical nutrients across Africa’, published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America (PNAS). The study was led by Lancaster University.
Other researchers on the study were: James Robinson, Antonio Allegretti, Rucha Karkarey, Tim Lamont, Sarah Martin, Sophie Standen, Nicholas Graham and Christina Hicks of Lancaster University; Eva Maire of Lancaster University and the University of Montpellier; Johnstone Omukoto, Christopher Aura, and Naftaly Mwirigi of Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute; Richard Ansong of the University of Ghana; Marian Kjellevold of the Institute of Marine Research, Bergen; Jessica Gephart of the University of Washington, and Shakuntala Thilsted of CGIAR.