262 Fish as feed inputs for aquaculture – Practices, sustainability and implications
At an ecological level, recent work by ICES questions the immediate assumption
that the reduction of fish into fishmeal and subsequent use in aquaculture is less
efficient than leaving the fish in the sea to supply predators further up the food chain.
It then goes on to state that so long as the food conversion efficiencies are regularly
reviewed, then a closely regulated combination of industrial fisheries and fisheries for
human consumption fisheries may provide the only solution to the long-term demand
for fish protein.
The European aquaculture industry has proven to be vulnerable to health issues
arising from contamination of fishmeal and fish oil raw materials – either through
the concentration of pollutants through the food chain or via the production and
distribution process – that affect consumer confidence in the farmed product. Two
potential problems that have become particularly important recently include (i) the
presence of dioxin, PCB and other POP residues in human food products of animal
origin and (ii) the relationship between meat and bone meal, and the incidence of BSE
in ruminants, coupled with the linkage with Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease (CJD). These
problems have resulted in a number of pieces of strict legislation that have banned the
use of fishmeal in ruminant diets and increased the logistics and costs of feed milling
and compounding in order to achieve greater levels of traceability.
In summary, although feed-fish fisheries capture and processing only make a small
contribution towards European fisheries-related employment (0.5 percent) and value
added (2.8 percent), they help support an important aquaculture industry that has
been dependent upon regional fishmeal and fish oil production to sustain its growth.
Although the relative contribution of regional feed-fish stocks is likely to fall as
alternative protein products become increasingly used, it is considered that they will
have a continued role to play in the production of European aquafeeds as part of a
balanced strategy of sustainable use and responsibility.8.2 Recommendations for further action
Based on the above, a number of recommendations can be made to ensure that
the moderate forecasted growth in European aquaculture can continue – against a
background of increased global demand for fishmeal and fish oils – and yet improve its
environmental performance, particularly in regard to the sustainable sourcing of raw
materials for aquafeeds. Recommendations include:- Management of European feed fisheries should be improved through a combination
of greater political will and cooperation, as well as the gradual adoption of the
ecosystem approach as implementation mechanisms evolve. - Technical and other assistance should be provided to feed fisheries outside
European waters, in particular South American and Antarctic resources, through
greater cooperation and the strengthening of relevant regional fisheries management
organizations. - Piloting of innovative management approaches should be done, such as the
certification of responsibly managed feed fisheries to provide a market incentive
to influence fishmeal and fish oil purchasing. - Barriers to the sourcing and use of sustainable fishmeal and fish oils should be
addressed by (i) adopting well-structured feed-fish fisheries sustainability criteria
to guide buyers; (ii) improving traceability of materials, especially if blended
during manufacture or distribution; (iii) encouraging sustainable purchasing
strategies through the use of formal environmental management systems, and
(iv) premium branding of aquafeeds and aquaculture products produced using
sustainable raw materials. - Markets for European feedfish and their by-products in eastern Europe and
the Far East should be investigated. These markets currently absorb between
60 000 and 100 000 tonnes of Icelandic capelin per year, which might be increased.