| New research from the WWF report Food for thought: the use of marine resources in fish feed reveals that aquaculture, which includes both fish - mainly salmon, trout, tuna, sea bream or cod - and crustacean farming, currently consumes 70 per cent of the global production of fish oil and 34 per cent of total fishmeal. According to WWF, which has conservatively estimated that four kilograms of wild-caught fish are needed to produce one kilogram of farmed fish, the growing demand for fish oil and fish meal is having dramatic consequences on the stocks of several small pelagic species, such as pilchard or blue whiting. | WWF believes that further increase in the farming of species like trout and salmon cannot occur without immediate changes in their food sourcing, and is calling on government to develop and encourage alternative feed resources for the aquaculture industry, such as by-catch and offals from fishing and plant-based proteins. WWF also urges the aquaculture industry to demand sustainable sources of fish oil and fish feed. | ||
| 2003-02-19 | Gland, Switzerland - WWF yesterday warned in a new report that the global demand for fish feed is threatening already pressured wild fish stocks, and that the rapidly growing aquaculture industry could well be using all of the world’s fish oil and half of its fishmeal by 2010. |
| "In its current state, aquaculture is contributing to an increased pressure on already depleting fish stocks," said Dr. Simon Cripps, Director of WWF’s Endangered Seas Programme. "The ecological consequences of a decline in fish stocks used in fish feed can have devastating effects throughout the marine food chain from wild stocks of cod, haddock, and other commercial species right on up to dolphins, orcas and marine birds." Fish feed and fish oils are produced primarily from industrial fisheries in the Northeast Atlantic and off the coasts of Chile and Peru. | Globally, annual catches of fish feed stocks represents more than one third of total catches. In the Northeast Atlantic, several species are considered to be overfished. Of particular concern is the small, pelagic blue whiting fishery, which is on the brink of collapse. The blue whiting catch in 2001 was 1.8 million tons, more than double its quota, and there is no current management plan for the fishery. | "Governments must recognize that the best way to guarantee the health of marine ecosystems, and thus to maximise the sustainable catch of commercial fish is to ensure the health of the entire ecosystem," added Dr. Cripps. "Aquaculture can play an important role to provide an adequate supply of fish to consumers, but it must happen in tandem with sustainable fisheries and sustainable sourcing, rather than its current status as one of the primary contributors to fisheries decline." WWF Please continue... |
| For additional information: Peter Bryant, WWF's Endangered Seas Programme,pbryant@wwfint.org Olivier van Bogaert, WWF International Press Office,ovanbogaert@wwfint.org WWF Photo: Fish farms, like this one in the Faeroes Islands, are a major consumer of fish oil and fishmeal. © WWF-Canon / Maren Esmark Download the Report in pdf form: Food for Thought: The Use of Marine Rsources in Fish Feed; http://www.panda.org/downloads/marine/foodforthoug.pdf WWF Endangered Seas Programme: http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/marine/index.cfm Please also read: Shrimp aquaculture; Deep-fried, sautéed, skewered, or dipped in cocktail sauce, shrimp are a popular food worldwide. But cheap shrimp carry a heavy cost. Shrimp farms are causing devastating ecological harm and social upheaval in tropical coastal countries in Asia and Latin America. http://www.greenpeace.org/campaigns/intro?campaign_id=4025 Pirate Fishing: http://www.greenpeace.org/campaigns/intro?campaign_id=4022 E.U. Forces Sweden to Overfish: http://www.greenpeace.org/press/release?item_id=135561&campaign_id=4019 |