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

Wild fish and other aquatic organisms as feed in aquaculture in Europe 251

6. CURRENT AND POTENTIAL ALTERNATIVE USES OF FEEDFISH AND OTHER
   AQUATIC SPECIES AND THE RELATED MACRO-LEVEL IMPACT ON FOOD
   SECURITY AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION
   6.1 Current and alternative uses of feed-fish catches
   Europe differs from Asia in that aquaculture depends upon formulated diets that
   have been made from fishmeal and fish oils from targeted feed fisheries. Around
   three-quarters of European fishmeal is derived from targeted feed-fish fishery catch,
   while one-quarter is from either (i) those fisheries where a portion is used for direct
   human consumption or (ii) bycatch or trimmings that are utilized for fishmeal when
   no economically preferable alternative is available.
   Table 22 shows the ten main species used to produce fishmeal in Europe. Excluded
   from this analysis are the feed fisheries of South America, which are considered separately
   within this volume. This table indicates a number of trends and opportunities:

6.1.1 Increased utilization of the feed fisheries for human consumption:
While some of the feed-fish species are too small to use for human consumption
(i.e. sand eel and Norwegian pout), others show some potential for direct human
consumption, specifically blue whiting and capelin (Table 22).
Blue whiting are unlikely to find a ready market in chilled form, either as whole
fish or as fillets – their small size, discoloration due to autolysis and bruising and the
presence of parasites all weigh against them in competition with other well established
white fish species. However, research some 10–15 years ago (MAFF, undated)
showed that skinless fillets can be produced from chilled or frozen whole fish for the
manufacture of frozen laminated blocks for finger or portion production. Another
possible product form investigated was blue whiting mince prepared from skinless
fillets that could also be used to manufacture fish cakes, fish pies and cook-freeze
dishes. One possible European export outlet for blue whiting is to Japan as surimi, an
intermediate product in mince form used there for the manufacture of kamaboko, a
speciality product of high value. Uptake of these new technologies has been slow and
blue whiting is unlikely to become an important food fish in the near term.
A proportion of capelin is currently used for human consumption (Figure 9).
Around 16 percent of the Icelandic catch in 2005 was frozen whole for sale in Japanese
and East European markets. Over the early part of the 2006 season, of the 135 000
tonnes reported caught by Icelandic vessels, 58 000 tonnes (42 percent) were frozen for
human consumption and 78 000 tonnes (58 percent) were processed into meal and oil.
Such low capelin catches favour
a higher proportion of these fish
going for human consumption

• an examination of the trend in
  Icelandic capelin usage over the
  last ten years indicates a fairly
  consistent volume of capelin
  used for human consumption.

6.1.2 Non-target, bycatch or
trimmings that are utilized for
fishmeal
A number of food-fish species
are also used for reduction into
fishmeal and fish oil, either
whole when market conditions

Source: FAO (2005a)

FIGURE 9

Icelandic capelin production by product type, 1994-2005

0

50 000

100 000

150 000

200 000

250 000

300 000

350 000

400 000

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Production (tonnes)

Year

Capelin meal Capelin oil Capelin roes, frozen Capelin, frozen