2026/03/18 by Yichen Yan, Xiaomin Xiao, Rui Liu +9 · 1 voice
Environmental Science · #Coastal and Marine Management #Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies #Marine and fisheries research
paper · doi:10.1016/j.geosus.2026.100463
openalex publication_date 2026/03/18 · openalex created_date 2026/03/20 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15
Fisheries carbon sinks are being increasingly recognized as emerging components of blue carbon and nature-based climate solutions. However, their roles extend far beyond carbon sequestration alone, encompassing ecosystem functioning, food systems, livelihoods, and social equity. Existing research remains fragmented across biogeochemical, ecological, socioeconomic, and governance domains, limiting a coherent understanding of how fisheries carbon sinks contribute to sustainable development. In this study, an integrated Fisheries Carbon Sinks–Ecosystem Services–Human Well-Being (FCS–ESS–HWB) framework is developed, and a systematic evidence synthesis of 399 peer-reviewed studies following the RepOrting standards for Systematic Evidence Syntheses (ROSES) protocol is conducted. By coupling a theoretical analysis of ocean carbon pumps with a multidimensional bibliometric review, we examine the mechanisms, system types, intervention pathways, indicator systems, and governance structures that shape the FCS–ESS–HWB nexus. The results reveal that fisheries carbon sinks—across seaweed farming, shellfish aquaculture, integrated multi-trophic aquaculture, and animal-mediated biological pumps—simultaneously influence climate regulation, water purification, coastal protection, biodiversity maintenance, food security, livelihoods, and social equity. However, major uncertainties persist regarding long-term carbon fate, accounting boundaries, spatial representativeness, and the quantitative role of governance. Governance regimes emerge as decisive in determining whether fisheries carbon sinks generate synergistic sustainability outcomes or reinforce ecological and social trade-offs. By explicitly embedding fisheries carbon sinks within a social–ecological–governance systems perspective, this study advances a sustainability-oriented understanding of marine carbon sequestration and highlights key priorities for integrating fisheries carbon sinks into climate policy and sustainable ocean governance.