On 1st February IFFO published its new datasheet on “The Production of fishmeal and fish oil from Peruvian anchovy”, which describe the stock, fishing effort, processing and products of the worlds largest feed grade (industrial) fishery responsible for 25% – 30% of global output of fishmeal and fish oil.
The most striking feature is the strength of the comprehensive management controls in place to protect the stock from overfishing, including satellite tracking, third party monitoring and 24 hour recording of compliance. “The controls are science-based and imposed by a government determined to protect the stock and the resource” says Jonathan Shepherd (Director General of IFFO).
This picture of responsible fishing by the world’s No. 1 industrial fishery must give encouragement to those livestock – and especially fish – farmers, for whom fishmeal and fish oil are key specialist feed ingredients. This makes all the more puzzling Greenpeace’s report issued earlier this week challenging the sustainability of aquaculture. As the Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) recently confirmed, 45% of all fish consumed by humans is now raised by farms and aquaculture is the only way to fill the coming fish gap.
