Fish as feed inputs for aquaculture: practices, sustainability and implications

120 Fish as feed inputs for aquaculture – Practices, sustainability and implications

fish, directly and indirectly, as feed sources for cultured stocks. There is clear evidence

that such usage will decrease significantly in the future, and this perhaps can be further

promoted by better translation of research into feed formulation, adoption of simple

but effective feed management practices and improvements to farm-made feeds. The

assumption that the use of formulated feeds is better than the direct use of trash

fish/low-value fish has to be scientifically substantiated from the viewpoints of both

efficacy and primary resource utilization, however, before attempting to encourage

resource-poor small-scale farmers to shift to the use of formulated feeds.

Most importantly, the issue of channelling trash fish/low-value fish to the

production of food for human consumption as opposed to its use for other purposes

needs to be carefully addressed. De Silva and Turchini (2008) endeavoured to show

the approximate breakdown of the usages (Figure 24). These authors also point out

that with living standards increasing throughout much of the world, the consequent

demands for foods that are perceived to be better, and other human recreational needs,

all of which impact on the demand of a dwindling biological resource, there is a need

for a global approach to the problem.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors thank the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of the Food and

Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for giving them the opportunity

to address this interesting subject, and M.R. Hasan, in particular, for his patience during

preparation of this manuscript. They wish to thank the many persons whose support

made this study possible, in particular our thanks are due to Hassanai Kongkeo and

Thuy T.T. Nguyen of the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific; U Hla Win,

formerly of the Directorate of Fisheries, Myanmar; Nguyen Hai Son of the Research

Institute of Aquaculture 1, Hanoi, Viet Nam; Dr Phan Dinh Phuc, Research Institute

for Aquaculture 3, Nhatrang, Viet Nam; Mr Sudjiharno, National Marine Aquaculture

Development Center, Lampung, Indonesia; Slamet Subyakto, National Brackish-water

FIGURE 24

The proportion of global trash fish/low-value fish used by different sectors

Source: De Silva and Turchini (2008)

Aquaculture 44.8%

(4 million tonnes as raw fish

and 13.4 million tonne reduced

into fishmeal)

Poultry 22.5%

(8.8 million tonnes reduced

into fishmeal)

Pigs 18.4%

(7.1 million tonnes reduced

into fishmeal)

Ruminants 0.8%

(0.3 million tonnes reduced

into fishmeal)

Domestic cats 6.0%

(2.3 million tonnes as raw fish )

Others (fur animal and pet) 7.5%

(2.9 million tonnes reduced into

fishmeal)

260.1 milliontonnes of

meat, 626.4 million

tonnes of milk and 63.3

milliontonnes of eggs,

produced globally

32.2 milliontonnes

of finfish and

crustaceans produced

by aquaculture

globally

5.2 million tonnes of

wild catch fish

exploited for

satisfaction of

hedonistic needs

Animal protein as

human food

13.2 million tonnes

of molluscs

produced by

aquaculture globally

56.1 million tonnes

of wild finfish,

crustaceans and

molluscs caught

human consumptionglobally used for

38.9 milliontonnes

of wild catch fish

globally not

directly exploited

as human food