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

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

3.1.1 Fish species reduced for fishmeal and fish oil

Some fish and other aquatic species are specifically targeted for their reduction into

fishmeal and fish oil. These

species tend to be those

pelagic species with a high oil

content, small in size (that

makes them easy to reduce)

and available in large biomass

shoals for easy capture on a

large scale. The main species

used are characterized by

early maturation and high

fecundity. Their populations

respond quickly and strongly

to changes in environmental

conditions, which increases

the uncertainty of stock

forecasts, especially in

eastern Pacific waters

that are vulnerable to the

“El Niño” effect.

• European aquaculture: The main species used for fishmeal reduction from
  European stocks are capelin (Mallotus villosus), blue whiting (Micromesistius
  poutassou), small sand eel (Ammodytes tobianus), and to a lesser extent, Norway
  pout (Trisopterus esmarki). Landings of these species by the various European
  countries are shown in Table 5. European aquaculture mostly (around 35 percent)
  sources fishmeal from European feed fisheries. Peruvian anchovy (Engraulis
  ringens) and Chilean jack mackerel (Trachurus murphyi) (around 20 percent
  of European feed-fish use) are both imported from South America for use in
  European fish feed, and Poland and Ukraine both use Antarctic krill as a fishmeal
  source. The balance of fishmeal is derived from processing wastes. The volume of
  European feedfish being used in aquaculture is likely to remain static despite the
  anticipated increase in aquaculture production (see Section 2.2.4), with increasing
  proportions of South American meal and greater substitution with plant-based
  protein alternatives.


• American aquaculture: Aquaculture in the Americas depends mainly upon the
  small pelagic fisheries in the eastern Pacific Ocean (Tacon, 2009), where the main
  fish species used are Peruvian anchovy and Chilean jack mackerel (Table 6). With
  this abundance in feed fisheries, over 9.9 million tonnes or 47.2 percent of total
  finfish and shellfish landings from capture fisheries (21.0 million tonnes in 2003)
  was destined for reduction and other non-food uses. In addition, some other fish
  species (either from by-products or whole) are destined for reduction, including
  Alaska pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) (with total reported landings of
  1 522 860 tonnes in 2004), Argentine hake (Merluccius hubbsi) (467 748 tonnes),
  and southern blue whiting (Micromesistius australis) (92 83 tonnes).


• African and Near East aquaculture: Information on fish species used for African
  fishmeal and fish oil production is less certain (Hecht and Jones, 2009). In contrast
  to Europe and in the Americas, most small pelagic fish production is destined for
  human consumption, with only South Africa having a dedicated feed fishery. The
  main fisheries are those in Morocco (landings in 2004 of 653 474 tonnes, mainly
  consisting of the European pilchard (Sardina pilchardus), sardines (Sardinella
  spp.) and European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) while South Africa’s small
  pelagic fish catch of 611 159 tonnes mainly consisted of southern African pilchard

FIGURE 6

Global capture food and non-food (feed) fish production, 1995–2004

Source: FAO (2006a)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Year

Capture non-food (feed) Capture food

Landings (million tonnes)