188 Fish as feed inputs for aquaculture – Practices, sustainability and implications
To preserve stocks, the Under Secretary of Fisheries, with the approval of the
National Fisheries Council in Chile, has responded with a number of monitored
control measures based on acoustic assessments of fish stocks and research cruises. The
Chilean Government regularly introduces temporary fishing bans throughout the year,
mainly to protect spawning activity and recruitment periods. To fairly divide fishing
between these temporary bans, legislation has now been introduced that will impose
quotas for each licensed fishing company according to its average catch over the last
two years and its storage capacity.
Anchoveta catches in Chile were 1.5 million tonnes in 2005, 1.7 million tonnes in
2004, 0.75 million tonnes in 2003, 1.5 million tonnes in 2002 and 0.85 million tonnes
in 2001. Catches of sardine (Clupea) were 277 000 tonnes in 2005, 329 000 tonnes in
2004, 274 000 tonnes in 2003 and 310 000 tonnes in 2002, which is nearly the same
amount as landed in 2001 (325 000 tonnes). This is in contrast with catches of 782 000
tonnes in 1999 and 723 000 tonnes in 2000. Since 2002, this resource has been subject
to a national quota.
Total catches of pelagic fish used in the fishmeal industry in Chile have decreased
from 4.5 million tonnes in 1999 to 3.7 million tonnes in 2000, 3.2 million tonnes in
2001, 3.7 million tonnes in 2002, 2.9 million tonnes in 2003, 3.9 million tonnes in 2004
and 3.5 million tonnes in 2005. This is mainly due to a reduction in TACs imposed by
the Chilean Government. Total fishmeal production was 1 million tonnes in 1999, 842
000 tonnes in 2000, 699 000 tonnes in 2001, 839 000 tonnes in 2002, 664 000 tonnes in
2003, 933 000 tonnes in 2004 and 789 000 tonnes in 2005.4.2.4 Observations on existing principles and criteria for sustainable fisheries
To date, the criteria used by fisheries biologists, fisheries economists and fishery policy-
makers to determine the sustainability of specific reduction fisheries have been mainly
based on variations in reported landings, stock biomass (usually on a traditional single
species basis), fishing capacity and effort, and on the existence and implementation of
adequate fisheries management regimes to ensure that the landings of the target species
are kept within agreed safe biological limits (Yndestad and Stene, 2002; SEAFEEDS,
2003; Bjørndal et al., 2004).
However, present sustainability criteria give little or no consideration to wider
ecosystem implications such as trophic interactions; habitat destruction; and potential
social, economic and environmental benefits and risks (Parsons, 2005). Clearly, it
follows from the above discussion that if wider ecosystem and socio-economic factors
are to be incorporated into revised and broader ecologically based sustainability
assessments of reduction fisheries, then new revised definitions, principles and criteria
will have to be developed (SEAFEEDS, 2003; Huntington, 2004; Huntington et al.,
2004; Lankester, 2005).
It is relevant to mention here that FAO has developed and published guidelines on
an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF) management (FAO, 2003) in support of the
FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) (FAO, 1995). These guidelines
state that the purpose of an ecosystem approach to fisheries “is to plan, develop and
manage fisheries in a manner that addresses the multiple needs and desires of societies,
without jeopardizing the options for future generations to benefit from the full range
of goods and services provided by marine ecosystems”. The guidelines define an EAF
as follows: “An ecosystem approach to fisheries strives to balance diverse societal
objectives, by taking into account the knowledge and uncertainties about biotic,
abiotic and human components of ecosystems and their interactions and applying an
integrated approach to fisheries within ecologically meaningful boundaries”.
FAO has also produced technical guidelines on indicators for sustainable development
of marine capture fisheries (FAO, 1999) that outline the process to be followed at
the national and regional levels to establish a Sustainable Development Reference