The fisheries sector is currently confronted with several challenges and risks, including climate change, overfishing, and unsustainable practices which threaten global food security and ecosystem health. In this context, aquaculture plays a fundamental role in ensuring global fish food security, supporting economic growth, and promoting nutritional well-being. However, ensuring the sustainable management of aquatic food systems requires a multifaceted approach that integrates innovation, traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), governance, and technological advancement. Innovative management strategies are increasingly being adopted to address the ecological and socio-economic challenges associated with aquaculture and fisheries. Simultaneously, rapid advancements in aquaculture technology, including precision farming, biofloc systems, and recirculatory aquaculture, etc., and other technology such as Integrated fish farming are redefining production efficiency and environmental stewardship while advancing circular economy models. Yet, technological innovations alone are insufficient to catalyze the systemic transformation required in aquatic food systems. Achieving sustainability necessitates a rethinking of innovation itself: fostering inclusive innovation ecosystems, strengthening policy and governance frameworks, and ensuring equity through the active involvement of farmer’s groups. Multi-stakeholder collaborations, capacity building, and the integration of diverse knowledge systems such as scientific, indigenous, and localized are vital to creating nature-positive outcomes. On the other hand, traditional ecological knowledge offers valuable insights into ecosystem resilience, biodiversity conservation, and community-based stewardship. Harnessing indigenous knowledge alongside modern science and digital technologies not only enriches resource management but also strengthens capacity against the growing impacts of climate change such as rising temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events. The review emphasizes that achieving long-term sustainability necessitates inclusive innovation ecosystems, equitable governance, multi-stakeholder collaborations, and the blending of scientific, indigenous, and localized knowledge systems. Together, these strategies strengthen adaptive capacity against climate change impacts and pave the way for sustainable and climate resilient aquatic food systems.
Keywords: Aquaculture, sustainable, climate change, innovation, traditional knowledge, governance