A SCOTTISH fish scientist says food shortages in the Third World can be tackled by letting the poor eat carp.

Stirling University aquaculture professor Dave Little says fish farming is already providing more than half of the fish consumed directly by human beings.

In a report titled “Let Them Eat Carp” – echoing the French revolution phrase “Let Them Eat Cake wrongly attributed to Marie Antoinette – Mr Little says the vast majority of farmed fish is consumed in the same developing countries where it is produced, and is widely accessible to poorer consumers in these markets.

Writing in the on-line academic magazine The Conversation, he said: “Most of it comes from a dynamic new class of small- and medium-scale commercial farms, the existence of which is rarely recognised.

“Fish is a rich source of vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and high-quality protein. It plays a particularly important role in the diets of billions of consumers in low- and middle-income countries. Many of these people are poor, malnourished and unable to afford alternative nutrient-rich foods such as fruit, eggs and meat.”

Mr Little said a “quiet revolution” in farmed fish supply has been driven neither by corporate agribusiness nor by tiny farms.

He said: “Most of the growth has come from a dynamic and increasingly sophisticated segment of small- and medium-sized commercial farms and the myriad businesses that support them by supplying inputs such as feed, logistics and other services. These unsung heroes have focused on growing affordable fish such as carp.”