REDUCED DEPENDENCY ON FISH-BASED FEED IS KEY TO SUSTAINABLE AQUACULTURE

A new report released by the Marine Aquaculture Task Force is calling for the aquaculture industry to reduce its reliance on aquafeed made from wild-caught forage fish. The report entitled, "Sustainable Marine Aquaculture: Fulfilling The Promise; Managing The Risks," recommends research into alternative, sustainable feed ingredients as well as an ecosystem-based approach to managing fisheries for the key prey species used to make fishmeal and fish oil, the main ingredients in aquaculture diets.

Approximately half of seafood consumed today is produced by fish farms. The United States lags behind the rest of the world in farmed seafood production, importing more seafood than it exports with an annual trade deficit of $8 billion. NOAA is seeking to expand aquaculture in U.S. marine waters five-fold before 2025. Concerned about the potential ecological effects of escalating aquaculture development offshore, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute convened the Marine Aquaculture Task Force, an independent panel of experts in science, law, policy, business and conservation, to study current practices in marine aquaculture and to recommend environmental standards for U.S. operations.

Within the report, aquafeed was identified as one of six key areas needing to be addressed within a national aquaculture policy in order to protect marine resources. The Task Force concluded that "forms of aquaculture that consume more fish than they produce cannot assist society in addressing the global problem of wild fisheries depletion." The aquaculture industry is the largest consumer of fishmeal and fish oil, produced by factory reduction of small forage species such as menhaden and sardines. Reducing these fish into feed to rear carnivorous finfish, like tuna and salmon - both highly-prized aquaculture species - results in increased fishing pressure on the forage stocks and a net loss of available protein for consumption.

In addition, the Task Force points out that broader ecosystem impacts of forage fisheries, such as predator-prey relationships, must be considered in order to ensure the ecological sustainability of reduction fisheries and their products.

NCMC Marine Bulletin -- Winter 2007