Use of wild fish and other aquatic organisms as feed in aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific 119
- CONCLUSIONS
The fisheries sector is an important contributor to the GDP of most Asian countries.
Interestingly, the percent contribution to the GDP from aquaculture in Bangladesh,
the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Philippines, China, Thailand and Viet Nam
has exceeded that from capture fisheries, while the contribution of captured fish is still
slightly higher in Cambodia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia (Sugiyama, Staples and
Funge-Smith, 2004). However, in the latter group of countries, the contribution to the
GDP from aquaculture has also been increasing, but not that from the capture fisheries
sector, except in Cambodia.
The increasing predominance of the aquaculture sector is a most welcome sign.
However, the aquaculture sector in the Asia-Pacific region is the largest consumer of
fish, reduced or otherwise, as feed sources for the cultured stocks (but not the highest
consumer of fish oil). Overall, it is predicted that aquaculture will use an equivalent
of between 9 228 453 and 13 970 887 tonnes of trash/low-value fish by 2010. This is
equivalent to 33 to 50 percent of this global resource. While it can be argued that such
a high consumption of these resources for foodfish production in the Asia-Pacific
(which accounts for over 90 percent of global aquaculture production), is justified, this
is a simplistic stance. A more responsible development of the aquaculture sector in the
region necessitates that the availability of foodfish to an ever changing and demanding
population is enhanced and that the livelihoods of poor farmers and the associated
provisions of food security and poverty alleviation are ensured.
The responsibility of the aquaculture sector in the region is further exacerbated
by the decline in wild catches, even if we do not give serious consideration to the
rather pessimistic scenarios suggested by some workers. The equation is not straight
forward; there are thousands of artisanal fishers who cater directly to the needs of the
aquaculture sector and whose fishing methods are probably not destructive as often
described. These artisanal fishers mostly use gillnets of appropriate mesh size and
which do not negatively impact the sustainability of such fisheries, unlike the case of
industrial fishing (e.g. trawling).
It is also important to consider the use of trash fish/low-value fish in aquaculture in
relation to the changes that are occurring in the marine capture fisheries in the region
per se, rather than globally. It has been shown (Sugiyama, Staples and Funge-Smith,
- that major changes have occurred in the marine capture fisheries in the region
over the last two decades. For example, the landing of trash fish in China rose from 1.3
million tonnes in 1980 to 5 million tonnes in 2002, and in the South China Sea these
landings exceeded 60 percent of the total production. Comparable figures are reported
from the Gulf of Thailand fisheries and in the western Malaysian trawl fishery, trash
fish accounted for 51 percent of the landings. Given that trash fish/low-value fish are
generally not preferred for human consumption (particularly near landing sites where
better aquatic products are available at an affordable price), and that their distribution
to inland areas is hampered by issues related to poor quality and high transportation
costs that affect marketability, the question therefore arises: what is the best and most
appropriate use of this resource?
The aquaculture sector in the Asia-Pacific region has undergone an unprecedented
growth over the last two decades and has done so to a significant degree through an
increased reliance on fish as feed, in one form or another. It is important to note that the
fish produced via feeding of trash fish/low-value fish are not necessarily destined for
high-end markets, e.g. tilapia and catfishes, which generate incomes that in turn ensure
food security and contribute to poverty alleviation. It is also important to highlight the
contribution of fish culture based on trash fish/low-value fish to the protection of coral
reefs, the preferred habitats of groupers.
It is important to note that all predictions indicate that the aquaculture sector in
the Asia-Pacific region is becoming increasingly prudent and conscious of the use of