MARKETING

New standards drive interest

in fish used for fish meal By Duncan Leadbitter

With the increasing focus on sustainability of aquaculture, attention is on the provenance of fish for fish meal.

Sustainable aquaculture production is a common goal for industry situation where the right balance between meeting this demand and
and community groups alike. Over the past few years, defining what is creating benefits for others has not yet been found.
sustainability in the context of various aquaculture production systems Channelling demand for fish in favour of sustainable production
has been the focus of several groups globally. In the case of some has proven to be a valuable mechanism for assisting the development
farmed species, the issue of the sustainability of the feed materials of good management in capture fisheries. Existing standards for
also requires attention and considerable effort is being devoted to sustainable aquaculture as well as those in development, use the
understanding what species are used in fish meal production and same logic. The two systems interact when the issue of sustainable
whether the fisheries involved are sustainable. fish meal is being considered.
Fish meal standards are in the aquaculture standards developed by the
From wild fish to fish meal Global Aquaculture Alliance, GlobalGap and the Aquaculture Dialogues. In
Fish from capture fisheries are used as feed by a variety of farmed addition, the International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organisation (IFFO) has
products such as salmon, shrimp, groupers, cobia, spiny lobsters released its Responsible Sourcing Scheme certification program which
and some species of shellfish. In some circumstances, feed fish are has requirements for the management performance of fisheries used to
supplied unprocessed, particularly the case in South East Asia, to supply fish for meal production. Already, there is considerable diversity in
feed marine fish such as groupers, spiny lobsters and carnivorous the stringency of these standards and, thus, their ability to be a force for
shellfish. Otherwise, as with feeding salmon and shrimp, the feed fish good when it comes to the improved management of fisheries.
is processed and incorporated into formulated feeds to a greater or At the weakest level there are systems which simply ask whether
lesser degree, depending on nutritional and quality requirements. the species being used for fish meal is listed in the so called red
The demand for feed fish has grown enormously in recent years in list of the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature).
tandem with the growth in aquaculture production. In some situations, This body considers submissions from members (governments and
this is putting stress on the populations of wild fish. Moreover, given non government bodies) regarding the status of species and allocates
the fact that many of the species of interest provide some functional the species to a range of categories depending on how threatened the
role in the overall marine ecosystem there are also concerns about the populations are. Very few marine fish are included as there is no regular
consequences of fishing of those aquatic species that depend on these evaluation of fish species and those that are listed are not subject to
fish for their long term survival. regular review. This is a very low bar in terms of standards.
The most well known feed fish species comprise pelagic species Other standards seek independently verifiable information that,
such as anchovies, sardines, sprats, mackerels, herrings and the stock of fish being used is not in an overfished state; the impacts of
sardinellas. There are well managed fisheries for these species in some fishing have been acted upon and that there is a working management
countries that can track the status of the stock and control catches. regime in place. Such standards are far more in keeping with modern
However, in other countries, the level of knowledge about the stocks and expectations about standards for fisheries management as set out by
the effectiveness of management controls are lacking, and it is thus the FAO Guidelines for the Ecolabelling of Fish and Fishery Products
difficult to assure sustainable use. This in turn puts fish dependent from Marine Capture Fisheries.
communities, farmers, as well as the wider environment at risk.
A second source of fish for feed production is a wide range of
species generally caught whilst trawling for shrimp or benthic fish. In
Africa, this by- catch is food for local communities whereas in many
western countries, it is simply discarded. In Asia, it is a major source
of feed for animals (pigs, ducks, etc.) and fish.
In addition, trawl fisheries are well known for having significant
impacts on the seabed itself and for harvesting a wide variety of species,
especially in tropical areas where species diversity is high. If management
is good then these impacts can be kept to an acceptable level.
The key concerns in these fisheries include:
• the uncontrolled fishing of species of conservation concern such as
turtles and sharks/rays;
• the removal of species which cannot tolerate heavy fishing
pressure, i.e. loss of species diversity; and
• removal of juveniles which if not caught can provide a good income
for other fishermen, e.g. snappers and groupers.
Inadequate management in many countries has resulted in
overfishing and major changes in marine ecosystems. The growing
demand for fish meal has created a situation where efforts to control
overfishing will result in lost catches of so called trash fish. Such controls
are resisted by fishermen and the situation continues to decline.

Can standards help?

Most governments and industries recognise the need for good
management. The rapid growth in demand for fish meal has created a

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 MARKETING
However, some systems are more transparent than others. Given
that one purpose of a standard is to educate and inform, a lack of League Table of Fisheries used for
transparency as to how decisions are made undermines credibility and Fishmeal and Fish Oil
is at odds with the FAO guidelines.
The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) works as a business
to business catalyst, encouraging businesses to ask their
Does the supply chain have a role in suppliers to provide technical information. In March, it published
promoting sustainable use? a sustainability league table of the principal fisheries used for
One of the major changes in the fisheries industry in the last ten the production of fishmeal and fish oil. The 22 fisheries have been
years has been the involvement of entities outside the traditional assessed using the FishSource (www.fishsource.org) methodology
management mix of mainly government and the capture fisheries sector.
devised by SFP. In the top five scorers are herring (Norwegian
Companies involved in fish processing, wholesaling and retailing have
increasingly become involved in fisheries management (to a greater or spring spawner), herring (Canada autumn spawner), sprat (Baltic
lesser degree) for a mix of business and ethical reasons. Sea), herring (Icelandic summer spawner) and horse mackerel
These companies have accepted that, as purchasers of fish, not (West stock, NE Atlantic).
only do they need to meet the expectations of their customers in terms The results of the table will prove invaluable to fishmeal and
of product attributes (sustainability is now an attribute like quality) oil buyers seeking guidance on sustainable sourcing as well as
but that corporate social responsibility is as relevant to the seafood manufacturers of aquaculture and farm animal feeds. Buyers of
industry as it is to others. In this regard, the fact that a company does aquaculture products and organisations developing aquaculture
not have a consumer presence does not mean it is not a target of public standards will also find the data useful in helping to shape policies.
criticism, if it handles a product that is risky in some way. The analysis excludes fish taken from so-called ‘trash fish’
Agreed and transparent standards that genuinely require fisheries. These mixed species fisheries utilise fish not suitable
sustainability (or are progressing towards it) are an important tool for
for human consumption (whether because of size or palatability)
seafood companies operating in markets that scrutinise their impacts
(direct or indirect) on the environment. Companies should ensure that and are frequently found in East and South-East Asia. These
the standards they seek to be involved with have good stakeholder fisheries can be deliberately targeting a mixed species catch
support. More importantly, given the growing pressure on feed for the purpose of creating feeds or they may be targeting other
sources, there has to be more than a small amount of self interest species (e.g. shrimp) with relatively indiscriminate gear types and
in ensuring that supplies are in good shape for years to come. generating a high ‘by-catch’ which has a marketable value. These
fisheries are generally poorly characterised with little data in the
Transparency – good for markets public domain but the total catch may be as high as 5 million
One of the current challenges in providing factual advice on the status tonnes (similar to Peruvian anchovy) (Asian Fisheries Today: the
of species used in fish meal production is the difficulty in finding out production and use of low value/trash fish from marine fisheries
what species are used. Some companies freely divulge information in the Asia Pacific region, FAO, 2005)
when available, especially when the source fisheries are known to be
well managed and a considerable amount of information is available
on www.fishsource.org, a site operated by Sustainable Fisheries
Partnership (SFP). However, when information is lacking or the status Duncan Leadbitter is consulting for
of the supply fishery is in question, obtaining information is difficult. Sustainable Fisheries Partnerships as
Whilst this may be understandable, the market is evolving to expect Technical Director and one of his roles
such information to be made available and, in the future, lack of focuses on feed fish fisheries. He is a
transparency may equal a lack of contracts. Director of Australia-based Fish Matter
A key objective of SFP involvement in aquaculture feed issues which provides practical advice to industry,
and related standards development is to ensure a much greater government and NGOs regarding the
transparency in the supply chain. Sellers of seafood are increasingly sustainable use of fish and other aquatic
being asked questions about where does the seafood come from and natural resources. Prior to this, in 2000, Duncan was International
what is ‘in’ the product. Fisheries Director for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), and
In the vast majority of cases the availability of a clear answer is was responsible for developing and managing the MSC’s Asia
more than sufficient and prevents speculation. Transparency works for Pacific region. Email: [email protected]
all parties and is a key element in ensuring that the capture fisheries
that fuel the growth of the aquaculture industry are well managed.

November/December 2010 issue will feature

• Food Safety/Traceability

NEXT
• Industry Review on Marine Fish
• Novel Meals & Oils
• Health Management
Bonus distribution

ISSUE • Aquafair Malaysia 2010, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, November 25-28

• Asian-Pacific Aquaculture & Giant Prawn 2011, Kochi, India,
January 17-20, 2011
Deadlines: Technical articles – October 1, 2010
Advert bookings – October 5, 2010
Contact information: Email: [email protected] ; [email protected]

AQUA Culture Asia Pacific Magazine September/October 2010 | 41