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

Status and trends on the use of small pelagic fish species in Chile 305

or pampanito (Stromateus
stellatus), cabinza grunt
(Isacia conceptionis) and
other fish that as a whole
contributed approximately
24 percent of the oil. By
contrast, trash fish contribute
around 47 percent of the total
fish oil produced in Chile.
These trash fish originate
mainly from the canning and
fish processing industry.

3.1.3 Fishmeal and fish oil
prices and markets
In 2005, approximately
40 percent (340 thousand tonnes) of the total fishmeal produced in Chile was used for
domestic consumption. Given that the Chilean aquafeed production was on the order
of 850 thousand tonnes, the volume of fishmeal included in these feeds was around
240 thousand tonnes. The
remaining amount was
devoted to other uses
in animal production.
Between 1991 and 1994,
domestic use of fishmeal
was more or less
70 percent of the total
national production. In
1995, the domestic use
was reduced to 60 percent
of total production, and
by 1998 only 45 percent
of the total production.
During 1998, national
fishmeal production was
at its lowest at any time the
last decade (643 thousand
tonnes), and coincided
with one of the most devastating El Niño events ever to affect the coasts of the South
Pacific (Avaria et al., 2004). In 1999, the production of fishmeal increased significantly
(1 million tonnes), with domestic consumption accounting for around 70 percent of the
total fishmeal production.

TABLE 7
Annual production of fishmeal and volumes for domestic use and export (thousand tonnes)
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Fishmeal
production 1 471 1 423 1 383 1 841 1 553 1 399 1 225 643 1 000^877 778 843 705 988 827
Fishmeal for
export^465 540 366 453 633 612 552 349 282 235 257 320 373 362 487
Fishmeal for
domestic
market

1 006 883 1 017 1 388 919 786 672 294 718 642 520 523 332 626 340

Source: SUBPESCA (2006b)

Source: SERNAPESCA (2006)

FIGURE 11

Annual production of fish oil, 1995–2005

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Other fishes Trash fish Total fish oil

T housand t onnes

FIGURE 12

Fishmeal use in Chile, 1991–2005

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005

Fishmeal for local market Fishmeal for export

Percent