Fish as feed inputs for aquaculture – Practices, sustainability and implications: a global synthesis 31
o Connected with the above, prices may become more variable, with a general
shift upwards as the supply base is effectively reduced.
o Increased pressure will be put upon sustainable fishmeal stocks. This should
not be an issue if stocks are well managed (as they should be if deemed as
sustainable).
o To reduce the risk of unforeseen quality or contamination problems,
formulators will continue to prefer a mix of fishmeals from different
sources.
These concerns are only really valid over the short-term. Longer-term supply
assurance depends on the sustainable management of feed fisheries, and thus
the industry may have to review its approach to fishery exploitation if it is to
continue to be viable in the future.- Seasonal availability: Most fishmeal manufacturers use several species throughout
the year to reflect seasonal availability and condition (i.e. oil content). Although
it is possible to choose (or avoid) a particular fish species, to do so necessitates
increasing purchases of other meals, possibly at higher cost and, given shipping
and storage constraints, holding higher stocks to get past the seasons involved.
Producers are reluctant to hold stock for more than a few months. When forced
to do so, they usually reduce prices to clear stock out. If aquaculture buyers have
no storage available, then they spot buy and this occurs almost always above the
market price, and because they generally beat the market by buying long and at
lows in the cycle whenever possible, this severely impacts their buying strategy.
Some aquaculture companies have very long-term frame contracts with fishmeal
producers. Agriculture feed buyers source fishmeal in smaller quantities, use
traders and have shorter-term buying positions. They are more numerous than
the oligopoly of aquaculture feed buyers, and so their behaviour is more of an
approximation to a perfect market. - Buying power: Asian pig and poultry farming requires more fishmeal than
aquaculture in the West and is important in determining world price and supply.
Aquaculture buyers no longer influence fishmeal producers and traders in Peru
and elsewhere to the extent they did formerly. Norway has become a net importer
rather than, as once, an exporter, while Chile is now a net importer of fish oil; so
freedom to avoid or choose certain meals could be constricted by this factor.
4.3.2 Recommendations for improving responsible sources of aquafeeds
Huntington (2004) made a number of recommendations to the Scottish fish-farming
industry to improve their sourcing of sustainable fishmeal and oils for aquafeeds. These
have been reviewed and expanded to apply to aquaculture as a whole:
- Critera for feed-fish fishery sustainability: The majority of European aquafeed
manufacturers use the FIN Sustainability Dossier, which is published every
year once the EC’s annual fisheries management regime has been accepted. As
previously discussed, this dossier now includes a review of the wider ecosystem
ramifications of feed-fish utilization. To assist this process, it would be useful to
have a formal series of “sustainability criteria” specifically for feed fisheries that
could be applied to the main species being sourced and independently verified to
provide consumer confidence. This could act as a first stage to pre-assessment and
full certification of the more sustainable feed fisheries over the longer term. - Improved traceability: Fishmeal purchasers should request improved information
on fishmeal species ingredients and their origin, together with improved
traceability and chain of custody. Such information should be made fully available
to the public to provide assurance of the industry’s transparency.