An irony of the current global economic system is that it is depleting the very natural capital on which it depends. Such self-destruction is most obvious in the overfishing of seas, lakes and rivers by an industry reliant on healthy fish stocks.

Yet any assets or capital, including “blue capital” emerging from our waters, can and should be carefully managed to provide incremental returns, according to Essam Yassin Mohammed, interim director general of WorldFish, a research organization under the international food security partnership CGIAR.

More growth, in fact, is entirely feasible in the fishing and aquaculture sector. Output could be raised sixfold under sustainable management, according to research by University of California Santa Barbara resource economist Christopher Costello, Shanghai Jiao Tong University agronomist Cao Ling and Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile marine biologist Stefan Gelcich.

The implications of this level of potential growth would be profound for countries across Asia, which already produces more than 90% of global aquaculture output, according to U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates, yet continues to see high levels of poverty, food insecurity and inequality.

To achieve more and better returns from fish and seafood, the sector must increase its ambitions and go beyond simply finding ways to sustain the current level of production in the face of rising demand.

Instead, both industry and policymakers must develop and adopt regenerative strategies that maximize returns on blue capital, not only to improve incomes but also to provide livelihoods, nutrition and health.

The transition from an extractive model to a regenerative model will rely on systemic political and economic shifts, which will be neither easy nor straightforward but can offer significant potential returns by alleviating hunger, poverty and inequality.