Aquatic foods are important for nutrition, livelihoods and cuisines in many countries across Asia and Africa, yet they have historically been overlooked in food policy and research (Béné et al. 2015;Golden et al. 2021). However, in response to renewed political attention to food systems, including at the United Nations and the World Economic Forum (Tigchelaar et al. 2022;Crona et al. 2023), there is increasing recognition of the accessible and affordable contribution of aquatic foods to nutrition security in both high-and low-income countries (Béné et al. 2015; Bennett et al. 2021;Ryckman et al. 2021). There is also growing realization that this contribution is made possible by the inherent diversity of aquatic food systems -including land and seascapes that produce over 600 farmed species and 2,200 from wild caught animal and plant species (Naylor et al. 2021a;Crona et al. 2023), and a diversity of actors and activities associated with producing, transforming, distributing, and consuming aquatic foods (Short et al. 2021; Tigchelaar et al. 2022;Tlusty et al. 2019).Owing to a combination of factors -most notably population growth, rising incomes, and urbanization -demand for aquatic food has continued to increase over recent decades, leading to transformations in how it is produced, traded and consumed (HLPE 2014;FAO 2022). Current understandings of these transformations are dominated by a productivist perspective that focuses on the spectacular intensification and expansion of aquaculture -a phenomenon commonly referred to as the 'blue revolution' (Garlock et al. 2020). This productivist framing holds important policy implications as it influences the ways in which aquatic food systems are imagined, understood and ultimately governed. At the heart of this blue revolution rhetoric is the assertion that aquatic productivity must keep increasing in order to meet the ever-growing demand for these foods globally Chapter 1 1 2 (see Pullin & Neal 1984;Bush 2008;Hishamunda et al. 2009). The conjunction of this narrative with wider neoliberal agendas of economic development and growth (see Sonnino et al. 2016) has consequently asserted that aquaculture is fundamental to food and nutrition security by making aquatic foods more abundant and cheaper (Short et al. 2021). Over time, aquatic productivism has been credited with even wider (yet poorly substantiated) merits (Béné et al. 2016). For instance, 'blue economy' narratives have driven perceptions that aquatic landscapes have an untapped potential for aquaculture expansion to deliver economic growth and improved livelihoods (Cisneros-montemayor et al. 2021). In addition, the blue revolution is assumed to deliver a range of opportunities for improving environmental performance (e.g. lower carbon footprints) of the (global) food systems to which they contribute (Crona et al. 2023; Willett et al. 2019).While having driven the expansion of aquaculture, aquatic productivism has also drawn attention away from multiple other factors that shape the role of aquatic foods, especial...