Fish Oil and Fish Meal From Sustainable Fisheries

SUSTAINABLE RESOURCES

FISH OIL AND FISH MEAL FROMSUSTAINABLE FISHERIESResource Review No.1, July 1996

When you go into each section click the above title to get back to thisindex page. The arrows at the bottom of the pages will take youthrough the following articles sequentially.

1. SUMMARY

1.1 INTRODUCTION

1.2 TRADE IN FISH OIL

1.3 TRADE IN FISH MEAL

1.4 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

2. EUROPEAN INDUSTRIAL FISHING

2.1 INTRODUCTION

2.2 SANDEEL

2.3 NORWAY POUT

2.4 SPRAT

2.5 HERRING

2.6 CAPELIN (NORTH ATLANTIC)

2.6.1 CAPELIN (BARENTS SEA)

2.7 BLUE WHITING

2.8 HORSE MACKEREL

3. INDUSTRIAL FISHING OUTSIDE EUROPE

3.1 PERU


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3.2 CHILE

3.3 USA

4. DISCARDS OF FISH

5. SEABIRDS

6. OVERVIEW AND CONCLUSION

7. REFERENCES


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INTERNATIONAL FISHMEAL & OIL MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION

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SUSTAINABLE RESOURCESThe title Resources at the top of each page will bring you back to this main indexpage.

FISH OIL AND FISH MEAL FROM SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES●

SUSTAINABILITY OF FISH RESOURCES FOR MEAL AND OILPRODUCTION

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FISH OIL AND FISH MEAL FROM SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES

SUMMARYConcern has been expressed about purchasing and refining for edible purposesfish oil obtained from fish resources which are not sustainable. Focus has been onthe fishery in the North Sea.

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From the North Sea about 1 million tonnes of fish are landed for processing intofish meal and fish oil. These fish are generally non-edible species (small bony oilyfish) and are collectively called 'industrial' fish. A global catch of industrial fish ofaround 30 million tonnes is landed and processed. Thus the North Sea representsonly 3% of the world total. It yields about 9% of internationally traded fish mealand 15% of traded fish oil.

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The state of utilisation of the industrial fish species in the world has been reportedby UN Food & Agriculture Organisation FAO. On the basis of a classification ofmoderately fished, fully fished and depleted stocks, none of the industrial fishspecies showed depleted stocks.

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Fish oil and fish meal production directly/indirectly turn a sustainable resourceinto valuable and nutritious human food, e.g. chicken, fish and edible fats, for agrowing world population.

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Industrial fishing is undertaken by conventional fishing vessels using conventionalnets with government controlled mesh sizes.

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Worldwide nearly all of the industrial fish caught are subject to quotas. These areset by Govemment bodies on the basis of scientific advice to ensure stocks aresustainable.

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In the North Sea the industrial fish catches (Norway pout, sprat and sandeels) aregoverned by quotas, except sandeels. Evidence so far from an independent bodymonitoring fish stocks (ICES) indicates industrial fishing does not threaten overallstocks of sandeels - only 20% to 30% of these stocks are caught. In consequencequotas have been considered unnecessary for sandeels.

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There is no scientific evidence that industrial fishing is significantly affecting thefood chain of human grade fish such as cod and haddock.

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It is concluded that industrial fisheries in Europe, North and South America basedon independent scientific advice are sustainable and ecologically sound. The fishoil and meal industry believes it is necessary that industrial fisheries continue tobe controlled and managed based on scientific advice, in order to maintain thisresource in a manner that is biologically, economically and socially sound. To thisend the fish oil and meal industry is fully supportive of an official fishery policywhich will achieve the above objectives.

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1.1 IntroductionFish oil is produced almost exclusively from small, inedible, bony, pelagic fish - socalled industrial fish. Worldwide around 30 million tonnes of such fish are caught andprocessed into fish oil and fish meal.

Most of the fish oil is used for human consumption in edible products such as margarine.Both fish oil and fish meal are indispensable components of feeds for farmed fish. Fishmeal is also a valuable component of feeds for farmed animals - particularly young,breeding and milk producing animals. Directly or indirectly this valuable resource is asupply of human food.

How sustainable are the industrial fish used in the production of fish meal and oil? Also,in catching them are other fish caught in the process; what is the by-catch? As thesesmall fish are part of the food chain for larger fish, what impact does their capture haveon stock of human grade fish? Answers to these questions are vital to reassureconsumers that industrial fisheries are responsible fisheries ensuring sustainability of thisresource and others on which they impact.

Providing answers to these questions form the basis of this report. As the North Sea is'nearest to home', it is considered first. But it is South America which is the world's andUK's major fish oil and fish meal supplier. Information on these areas follows.

The sources of information used are independent organisations such as the UnitedNations' Food & Agriculture Organisation in Rome (FAO), and the International Councilfor Exploration of the Sea (ICES).

1.1 Introduction

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1.2 Trade in Fish OilThe world's major exporters of fish oil are Peru, Chile, USA, Denmark, Iceland andNorway (Figure 1). These same countries are the world's major producers. Totalproduction of fish oil in 1993 was 1.1 million tonnes; total export was 0.66 milliontonnes.

1.2 Trade in Fish Oil

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1.2 Trade in Fish Oil

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1.3 Trade in Fish MealThe world's major exporters of fish meal are Peru, Chile, Denmark and Iceland (Figure2). These same countries are among the world's major producers together with Japan,Norway, Thailand, USA and USSR, which consume domestically most of theirproduction and thus do not have a significant export. Total production of fish meal in1993 was 6.2 million tonnes; total export was 3.6 million tonnes.

1.3 Trade in Fish Meal

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1.3 Trade in Fish Meal

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1.4 Sustainable DevelopmentThe term "sustainable development" has been used by the Food and AgricultureOrganization (FAO) who use the words in recognition of the use of these resources tosatisfy human needs and improve the quality of human life10. The definition ofsustainable development which FAO report as having been adopted by the WorldCommission on Environment and Development in 1987 is probably the simplest:

"Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability offuture generations to meet their own needs."

A further definition for both aquatic and terrestrial systems adopted by the 94th FAOCommittee on Fisheries in 1991 is as follows:

"Sustainable development is the management and conservation of the natural resourcebase, and the orientation of technological and institutional change in such a manner asto ensure the attainment and continued satisfaction of human needs for present andfuture generations. Such development conserves land, water, plant and geneticresources, is environmentally non-degrading, technologically appropriate, economicallyviable and socially acceptable."

More details of this definition applied to all sectors of the fishing industry can be foundin the original document.

1.4 Sustainable Development

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2. EUROPEAN INDUSTRIAL FISHING

2.1 IntroductionThe species of fish used in full or in part, in Europe for industrial fishing are 1 shown inthe table at the base of this page:

The seven species (see table) which are utilised for industrial fishing can be classifiedinto three categories:

those for which there is at present little or no use for human consumption (sandeel,capelin and Norway pout)

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those for which there is a potential use for human consumption but which are usedmainly for production of fish meal and oil (blue whiting, horse mackerel andsprat)

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those for which the primary market is that for human consumption but for whichthe surplus is sold for production of meal and oil (herring and mackerel).

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None of the above resources are described by FAO 1 as over-utilised or depleted exceptsome sectors of the Atlantic herring. Other sectors of the same resource are described asmoderately exploited. Most other species are described as moderately to fully exploited.

StockMain fishing

countries

Catches('000t) State of

exploitation1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992

Sandeels

Denmark,Norway, FaeroeIs. 857 1042 1134 754 1021 1060 F

Capelin

Iceland, Norway,Russian Fed,Greenland 1022 1031 777 796 1200 2078 F

2.1 Introduction

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Blue whiting

Norway, RussianFed, Faeroe Is,Spain, Denmark,Lithuania 693 661 651 575 433 465 M-F

Atlantichorsemackerel

Norway, Ireland,Denmark,Netherlands,Spain 261 357 384 440 409 455 M

Norway pout

Norway,Denmark, FaeroeIs. 339 277 352 296 303 451 M-F

SpratDenmark, RussianFed, Poland 246 255 209 191 255 269 M

Atlanticherring†

Norway, Finland,Denmark, UK,Sweden,Netherlands,Iceland 1305 1401 1356 1214 1110 1259 M-D

*F = fully utilised; M = moderately utilised; D = depleted†= EU prohibits the landing of herring with the objective of converting into meal and oil.

2.1 Introduction

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2.2 Sandeel

TAC (Total Allowable Catch): No ICES limit (except UK catch around Shetland andprecautionary quota on west coast of Scotland)

Minimum net mesh size: 16 mm (EU, Norway)

In the North Sea, Denmark (84%) is catching most of this species and Norway much ofthe remainder. The growth of the sandeel fishery is shown in Figure 3. Norway has arestricted fishing season from 1st March to 31st October. (see table)

The average landings, in thousand tonnes, by area in EU and non-EU countries for theperiod 1986-1990 were as follows 2:

Area EU Non-EU TotalSkagerrak/Kattegat 27.9 0 27.9North Sea 679.8 158.2 838.0West of Scotland 19.3 0 19.3Total 727.0 158.2 885.2

The fishery is classified by FAO and ICES as "fully fished" but sustainable in the shortterm as far as ICES is concerned (1; 3 and 5).

The by-catch of other species in catches of sandeel is minimal 2 because of their shoalingbehaviour which is a protective measure keeping predators to the margin of the shoal 3.The fisheries are considered, therefore, to have no significant impact on catches of otherspecies. It is for this reason and its sustainability that the EU does not fix TACs forstocks of sandeels2.

The main argument concerning the fishery is whether there is an indirect impact as aconsequence of the fishery removing potential food for other fish species. Sandeel is afood species of haddock and of mackerel and to a lesser extent of cod and whiting.

2.2 Sandeel

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Biological evidence shows no detrimental effects on food fish species since 1960 as afunction of increasing the sandeel catch from 100 TT (thousand tonnes) per year to 800TT per year in 1977-782.

A recent independent multi-centre study 4; used the ICES multi-species (forecast) modelto predict the long-term effects of changes in the Danish industrial fisheries. A 20%reduction in fishing effort of sandeel would result in a predicted 16% increase inspawning biomass of sandeel but only an insignificant 2% and 1% increase of spawningbiomass of haddock and cod respectively. Economically the cost of reduction of sandeelcatch would not be off-set by increased catches and sales of cod and haddock. The totalvalue of landings from the North Sea would be reduced by 1%.

2.2 Sandeel

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2.3 Norway Pout

TAC:

Minimum net mesh size:

180 TT in 1995 in specified EU zones

16 mm

Fishing is conducted by Norway, Denmark and the Faeroe Islands in the North Sea, NorwegianSea and West of Scotland. (see table) The fishery expanded during the early 1970's and isundertaken largely by the industrial fishing fleets in those countries. Catches in the North Seaare shown in Figure 3.

2.3 Norway Pout

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FAO 1 describe the resource as moderately to fully utilised. ICES 5 consider the stock to bewithin safe biological limits, which can sustain current levels of fishing effort in the short term.

The main by-catch is blue whiting with an average estimate of 22%. Haddock and whiting arecaught as a by-catch in the fishery. EU legislation stipulates the maximum by-catch level of allspecies for which separate legislation provides a minimum landing size. It shall not exceed 10%weight of the total catches retained on board. It is argued by those who undertake the humanconsumption fishery for haddock and whiting that the fishery for Norway pout should be bannedin order to increase catches in the human consumption fisheries. Sensitive spawning areas forhuman consumption fisheries are already protected against Norway pout fishing by theimposition of the "pout box" (geographical zone of special protection).

An independent assessment of the resource 4 has calculated that a 20% decrease in pout fishingwould result in a 1% increase in human consumption fish landings but a 1% decrease in thevalue of total landings from North Sea fisheries, In 1990 a more extreme scenario of banning thefishery completely was studied and calculated that this would increase the average annuallandings of haddock by 5 TT (1.5% of total landings) and 43 TT of whiting (37%) with a totalvalue of £48 million. The value of the Norway pout lost from the EU fishery would be of theorder of £4 million 2.

Thus there did appear to be a clear financial benefit in banning the industrial fishery for Norwaypout. However, as M.Holden 2 of the EU Commission pointed out, the situation is not asclear-cut as this analysis implies. On average 28% of the haddock and 10% of the whiting byweight caught in the human consumption fishery are discarded; this is a situation which has

2.3 Norway Pout


existed at least since the 1960's when records on discards were first collected. Greenpeace haspublished higher figures at 60% and 36% respectively 6 (see section 4 on Discards). If alldiscarding stopped, the additional value of landings of haddock was calculated to be £67 millionand of whiting £24 million. It therefore seems inappropriate that the fishery for Norway poutshould be banned until at least such time as those who undertake the human consumptionfishery for haddock and whiting and who would benefit from such a ban stop discarding 2.Mortality of haddock due to industrial fisheries only amounted to 6% of mortality due to humanconsumption fishery compared with 15% caused by discards during the two decades from 1971to 1990 7.

2.3 Norway Pout




2.4 Sprat

TAC: 39,770 tonnes in Skagerrak and Kattegat in1995150,000 tonnes in North Sea in 1995181,400 tonnes in Baltic Sea in 1995

Minimum net mesh size: 16 mm; 32 mm

The fishery is mainly conducted by Denmark, Norway, Russian Fed. and Poland (seetable). Denmark fish within the above quotas set by the EU. Catches in the North Sea areshown in Figure 3.

FAO 1 describe the resource as moderately utilised. The EU Commission has noted thatthe stocks declined but have increased again in recent years 2.

Young herring are taken as by-catch during fishing for sprat. The EU has addressed theproblem in three ways. Firstly, it has banned fishing for both herring and sprat off thewest coast of the Danish mainland during the period when juvenile herring are abundantin that area. Secondly, it has gradually phased out the period in which it was permitted touse nets of less than 32 mm minimum mesh size to fish for sprat in the Skagerrak andKattegat. Thirdly, it has fixed a TAC for sprat for the Skagerrak and Kattegat in order tolimit catches to the lowest possible politically acceptable level; catches taken in thisfishery are not subject to the 5% by-catch limit 2.

The EU Commission made a study of banning this fishing in 1989. An additional studyin 1994 4 showed that reducing this fishing by 50% would increase the landings ofhuman-grade herring by 10% and human consumption round-fish by 1-2%. Howevergiven the low price of herring in 1989 because of the limited market for humanconsumption purposes, the EU Commission considered any additional landings would besold for processing to meal and oil and there would be no increase in the total incomefrom the two types of fisheries 2.

2.4 Sprat

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There is no evidence that industrial fishing for sprat is starving larger predator speciesdependent on it in the food chain. The total mortality of the sprat is as high as 80%, ofwhich predator fish count for 60% and fishery is responsible for about 20% 7.

2.4 Sprat

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2.5 HerringHerring fishing is taking place in Norwegian, Faeroese, Icelandic and EU waters (seetable). All fishing is subject to national or regional quotas.

There are several different spawning stocks of herring. The main stocks in the NorthEast Atlantic are the Norwegian spring spawning stock, the Icelandic summer spawnersand the North Sea stocks.

Due to overfishing in the 1950's-1960's the Norwegian spring spawning stock washeavily reduced. Fishing was banned for almost 25 years. The fishery was opened in1985 in Norwegian waters with very small quotas. The stock is now rebuilt and isconsidered by ICES to be within safe biological limits.

ICES estimated the spawning stock biomass to have been about 5.4 million tonnes andthe total stock biomass 10.1 million tonnes at the beginning of 1996. The spawning stockbiomass is expected to increase sharply in the next 2-3 years due to the recruitment andgrowth of herring belonging to the strong 1991 and 1992 year classes. However, due tothe uncertain future recruitment pattern a conservative long term fishing policy of annualcatches, not exceeding 1 million tonnes, is advocated.

Recently Norway, Faeroes, Iceland and Russia agreed upon quotas for Norwegian springspawning herring and discussions are currently taking place with the EU to establishquotas for their fishermen. Due to the large biomass of this resource, considerablequantities will inevitably become available for processing to meal and oil, even with aconservative fishing policy. There is no by-catch in this herring fishery.

Like most, if not all, of the herring stocks in the North Atlantic, the Icelandic summerspawning herring stock collapsed in the late 1960's and a fishing ban was implemented.Since the fishery of these herring was resumed in the 1970's, a conservative fishingpolicy has been adhered to, which means that the fishery is not allowed to remove morethan 20% of the fishable biomass.

2.5 Herring

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Since 1970 the abundance of the Icelandic summer spawning herring has increased fromabout 10 TT to 500-600 TT, which is beyond its abundance in the known past. Inaccordance with the above fishing policy the annual catch is at present near the 100 TTlevel. Today, approximately one half of the catch can be marketed for humanconsumption. The remainder is processed to fish meal and oil. There is no by-catch inthis fishery.

All herring directly caught by EU fishermen have to be made available to the humanconsumption market. In circumstances of poor quality or over supply the herring can beutilised for processing to meal and oil.

ICES has recently (May 1996) confirmed the safe biological limit of the North Sea stockat 800 TT. However the stock is now estimated at 500 TT. The EU Commission hascalled for tighter control of the sprat fishery to reduce by-catch as well as reducedherring quotas.

FAO 1 describes the resource as ranging from moderately utilised to depleted dependingon the location and stock.

2.5 Herring

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2.6 Capelin (North Atlantic)

TAC: Fixed annually by government agreementbetween Iceland, Norway and Greenlandfollowing advice from ICES.

Minimum net mesh size: 20 mm

Caught by Norway, Iceland and Greenland in the North Atlantic (see table). Not caughtin the North Sea. A separate stock exists in the Barents Sea (see section 2.6.1). Theaverage landings are given in Section 2.1. of this report. FAO 1 describe the resource asfully utilised but not over-utilised. The sustainability of the resource is protected bygovernment agreement fixing annual quotas for their national fleets as well as minimummesh size and closures of areas rich in juvenile fast growing fish. Stock abundance ishigh at present.

The by-catch of other species in catches of capelin is minimal because of their shoalingbehaviour which is a protective measure keeping predators to the margin of the shoal.The fishery has no significant catch of other species.

Capelin are food for cod and other marine species. For most of their 3-4 years of lifethey do not swim in shoals and are therefore easy targets for predator species. Just priorto spawning the capelin form large schools which exclude predators but allow fishingusing purse-seiners. The fish quotas are set by government to ensure that there issufficient fish for the predators (natural mortality) and a minimum of 400 TT ofspawning stock remains unfished in order to maintain the sustainability of the species.During the fishing season generally the schools are made up of adult spawning capelin.If younger capelin are found in the catch the fishing is temporarily suspended. Afterspawning, the capelin dies.


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2.6.1 Capelin (Barents Sea)

TAC: Fixed annually between the Norwegian-Russian Fisheries CommissionMinimum net mesh size: 20 mm

The Barents Sea capelin is fished by Norway and Russian Fed. The stock size is annuallysurveyed by acoustic estimates of abundance, by age and mean weight at age in the autumn. Asignal to ban fisheries is given when the stock biomass drops below one million tonnes, lowrecruitment indices are observed, and when spawning stock biomass is expected to fall below500 TT. The advice is given by ICES. In recent years fisheries were stopped based on the aboverecommendations during 1987 through 1990 and again in 1994. The capelin fisheries are notexpected to be opened until 1998/9. There is no by-catch in the Barents Sea capelin fisheries. Inthe Barents Sea capelin is food for cod, seals and whales. Herring feed on capelin larvae. Duringspawning the capelin form large schools. The fish, however, is at this stage not a major part ofthe food chain for edible food fish, and the fisheries are opened during the spawning season. Thenatural mortality is very high after spawning.

2.6.1 Capelin (Barents Sea)

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2.7 Blue Whiting

TAC: ICES recommendation of 500 TT for 1996 but not yet implemented by regionsMinimum net mesh size: 32 mm

Norway, Russian Fed., UK and Faeroe Islands catch most of this species in the Atlantic and West Coastof Scotland.

The fishery is classified by FAO 1 as moderately to fully utilised. ICES 5 state that the fishery was fullyestablished in 1977 with catches since 1987 being below the recommended (but not implemented)yearly TACs. Multi-national surveys are carried out annually and ICES consider the stocks to be withinsafe biological limits.

The by-catch of other species in catches of blue whiting is minimal. Most of the catches are taken in adirected pelagic trawl fishery in deep waters of the Atlantic west of Ireland and Scotland.

There is no reported impact of catching blue whiting on the food chain of human-grade fish.

2.7 Blue Whiting

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2.8 Horse Mackerel

TAC: Western horse mackerel 300 TTNorth Sea horse mackerel 60 TT(The above pertain to EU waters only)

Minimum net mesh size: 32 mm

Species mainly caught by Norway, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands and Spain (see table).The catches of Western horse mackerel increased in the 1980's due to the extremelystrong 1982 year class. Since 1987 considerable catches have been taken by theNorwegian purse-seine fleet for manufacture of meal and oil while most catches of othercountries have been taken for human consumption. The North Sea horse mackerel aremainly taken as by-catch by industrial fishery while catches from a directed fishery forhorse mackerel are low.

ICES 5 considers the stock of Western horse mackerel to be within safe biological limits.There is no information on the present state of the stock of North Sea horse mackerelalthough the annual catch since 1987 has been well below agreed TACs.

The by-catch of other species is minimal. Indeed some landings of horse mackerel are asa result of by-catch from fisheries for other species.

There are no reports of catches of horse mackerel having a detrimental impact on thefood chain for edible food fish.

2.8 Horse Mackerel

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3. Industrial Fishing Outside Europe

3.1 PeruPeru is the largest producer of fish meal and oil with an industry almost entirely based onprocessing of anchovy. Sardine (South American pilchard) is primarily landed for canningpurposes, but in the event of over-supply of the market, some quantities are reduced to meal andoil.

The fish resource off the coast of Peru is controlled by government quotas with enforceablefishing bans (about 130 days in the year) to protect the resource during spawning and in theevent of undersized fish being landed. The Peruvian Government works closely with the advisorof IMARPE, the National Institute for Sea Research, and advisors from FAO to ensure thesustainability of the resource.

The landings have fluctuated from year to year which is not unusual with short-lived pelagicspecies subject to occasional environmental changes (El Niño phenomenon). The fishing beganin the late 1950's. Catches since 1970 (Figure 4) show the major fluctuations and the impact ofthe El Niño years.

3.1 Peru

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FAO 1 describe the anchovy resource as recovering and the sardine as ranging from fully fishedto over-fished. More recent data from IMARPE describe both resources as fully fished 11

3.1 Peru

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3.2 ChileChile is the second largest producer of fish meal and fish oil with an industry based on smallpelagic fishes like anchovy (anchoveta) and Pacific pilchard (sardina) in the North and jackmackerel (jurel) in the Centre and in the South.

Pelagic fisheries are strictly regulated by the Under-Secretary of Fisheries according to the newFishing Law. Since 1986 fishing effort in all major pelagic fisheries is limited to a certainnumber of boats that assure sustainable yields. New boats are allowed to enter only to replaceolder units, taking care that total hold capacity remains the same.

Also minimum size limits on landed fish apply to sardine and jack mackerel, together withregulations on minimum mesh size of fishing nets.

For anchovy at least two periods are protected by means of government imposed fishing bans.One during summer, to protect the recruitment population and the other during winter, to protectthe spawning season. A similar management applies to sardine.

Like most of the pelagic fisheries in the world large fluctuations in biomass are registered yearto year by these species due mainly to changes in the annual strength of recruitment processesaffected by changes in oceanographic conditions. Also they are affected by the El Niño in thesame way as in Peru.

Since 1960 the growth of the Chilean fisheries has been remarkable (Figure 5). Since 1980 onehas seen a change in species composition with a decline in sardine abundance that has beenreplaced by anchovy in the northern part of the country (Figure 6).

FAO describes the jack mackerel fisheries as moderately fished and their statements on anchovyand pilchard are the same as for Peru.

3.2 Chile

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3.2 Chile


The Chilean pelagic fishing industry finance most of the research on resources conducted in thecountry by means of a special tax to constitute the Fisheries Research Fund. Evaluation of thestate of the fisheries, monitoring of the biological and oceanographic conditions and otherstudies are conducted yearly by institutes and universities with money provided by this Fund.

3.2 Chile




3.3 USAThe production of fish meal and oil in USA is largely based on menhaden fish (related toherring). Menhaden is a fish found near the coast in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Ithas no human food outlet because of taste and appearance - it is an excessively oily andbony fish - and is not a significant factor in the human consumption fisheries food chain.

Catching of menhaden is regulated by two US agencies - the Atlantic States MarineFisheries Commission and the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission. The fishingseason, set by government regulation, is from April through to October each year with alimited "second season" extending into late autumn in North Carolina. Repeatedscientific studies over a number of years have shown the by-catch to be significantly lessthan 1%.

The resource has been sustainable over many years. The decrease in recent years hasbeen a consequence of economic forces and industry consolidation, significantly fewerboats are fishing today than 10 years ago. FAO1 recognise the fishery as being fullyutilised.

Stock

Main fishingcountries

1992

Catches('000t) State of

exploitation1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992N.W.Atlanticmenhaden USA 297 327 326 395 346 313 FW.C.Atlanticmenhaden USA 26 34 31 34 51 27 FGulf menhaden USA 907 639 583 520 551 433 F

3.3 USA

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3.3 USA

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4. DISCARDS OF FISHDiscarding fish is an unfortunate practice of large sectors of the food-fish industry.When the fish are discarded at sea they are already dead. FAO 8 estimate that globallydiscards in commercial fisheries are about 27 million tonnes per annum with a range ofestimates from 17.9 - 39.5 million tonnes. Shrimp trawl fisheries, particularly fortropical species, were found to generate more discards than any other fishery type andaccount for just over one-third of global total. At the other end of the scale, low levels ofdiscard are recorded for pelagic trawls, purse-seines targeting on menhaden, sardine andanchoveta and some of the high seas drift net fisheries. Between these two extremes liethe other groups.

Discards are a consequence of fishermen catching fish below the minimum landing sizeor having limited storage space and not wishing to store and land for further processinglower value fish species. Also they are a consequence of quotas, resulting in discards ofparticular species of fish when quotas are exceeded for that species, or when lowergrades of the quota species are taken which would count toward the fisherman's quotabut yield lower prices in the market place.

Unlike the production of fish oil and fish meal, discards make a negligible contributionto the human food chain. They can be sources of food for sea-birds and for scavengerfish.

4. DISCARDS OF FISH

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5. SEABIRDSSeabirds often eat short-lived, schooling fish such as herring and sprats, anchovies andsandeels. Because in such short-lived fish species population fluctuations are typicallyhigh, they represent a highly variable and unpredictable food source. Changes in seabirdpopulations associated with fluctuations in fish prey recruitment have been recorded indifferent geographical locations. For example changes in the kittiwake population inNova Scotia, kittiwakes in the Bering Sea and puffins in the Norwegian Sea have beenlinked to low recruitment of their prey fish.

The Marine Laboratory in Aberdeen, Scotland 9 in coordination with the UK Departmentof Environment, the Scottish Office, WWF, Scottish Natural Heritage and the RoyalSociety for the Protection of Birds undertook a study on the biology of sandeels in thevicinity of seabird colonies at Shetland. It is evident from the fluctuations in sandeelabundance observed following the closure of the fishery, that the effect of fisheries neednot be invoked when attempting to explain the changes in seabird population. Whilstthese results do not prove conclusively that fishery had no deleterious effect on sandeelstocks, it does suggest that other factors were much more important including changingcurrent patterns.

5. SEABIRDS

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6. OVERVIEW AND CONCLUSIONSThe state of utilisation of the industrial fish species in the world has been reported byUN Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO). On the basis of a classification ofmoderately fished, fully fished and depleted stocks, none of the industrial fish speciesshowed depleted stocks.

Industrial fishing is undertaken by conventional fishing vessels using conventional netswith government controlled mesh sizes.

Worldwide nearly all of the industrial fish caught are subject to quotas. These are set bygovernment bodies on the basis of scientific advice to ensure stocks are sustainable.

No significant impact of industrial fisheries on availability of food for cod and haddock,the sustainability of which in the North Sea is of considerable concern, has been reportedby independent scientific investigation.

It is concluded that industrial fisheries in Europe, North and South America aresustainable and ecologically sound. The fish oil and meal industry believes it isnecessary that industrial fisheries continue to be controlled and managed, based onscientific advice, by elected representatives of society in order to maintain this resourcein a manner that is biologically, economically and socially sound.

6. OVERVIEW AND CONCLUSIONS

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7. REFERENCESPlease use you back button on your browser to return to the previous page.1. Review of the State of World Fishery Resources: Marine Fisheries (1995) FAOCircular No.884.

2. Review of the Common Fisheries Policy (1992) House of Lords Select Committee onthe European Communities Session 1992-3 Second Report pp.85-105.

3. K.Popp Madsen (1994) Fisk & Hav No.45 (English translation available).

4. Study of the Danish Fish Meal and Fish Oil Industry (1994) Danish Ministry ofFisheries in association with The Scottish Office ISBN 87-983198-2-5.

5. ICES (1995) Report of the Advisory Committee of Fisheries Management (ICESCooperative Research Report) in press.

6. Net losses, gross destruction: European Fisheries in Crisis (1992) Greenpeace UK,London.

7. K.Popp Madsen (1992) "Industrial Fishery: A review of developments in the NorthSea, Skagerrak and Kattegat and an assessment of its effects" published by the DanishInstitute for Fisheries and Marine Research.

8. A global assessment of fisheries by-catch and discards (1994) FAO FisheriesTechnical Paper 339.

9. Biology of Sandeels in the Vicinity of Seabird Colonies at Shetland: P J Wright and MC Bailey, Marine Laboratory Aberdeen. Fisheries Research Report No.15/93.

10. Living marine resources and their sustainable development (1995) FAO FisheriesTechnical Paper 353.

11. J. Csirke et al (1996) Boletin IMARPE Vol 15 No. 1.

INTERNATIONAL FISHMEAL & OIL MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION2 College Yard, Lower Dagnall Street, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL3 4PA, UK.

Telephone:01727842844 Fax: 01727842866 Telex: 94013381 (IAFM G)

7. REFERENCES

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7. REFERENCES

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Fish Oil and Fish Meal From Sustainable Fisheries

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