Saving Seafood

Pregnant mothers and children should eat seafood

November 15, 2019 — Two recent studies, Hibbeln et al. 2019 & Spiller et al. 2019, published together in Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids (PLEFA), examined the health benefits of consuming seafood during pregnancy. Researchers found that seafood consumption during pregnancy was strongly linked to increased IQ in children.

Thirteen leading dietary scientists spent the last two decades conducting the most thorough review on the subject in history. The research evaluated studies on 102,944 mother-child pairs and 25,301 children.

The findings strongly supported what many consumers already know—seafood is good for you. But the specific measurements to this notion were striking, so much so that one of the authors warned SeafoodNews.com, “There is a lost opportunity for IQ when mothers are not eating enough seafood.”

The study found children gain an average of 7.7 IQ points when mothers ate seafood during pregnancy, compared to mothers that did not eat seafood. Another finding showed that children born from mothers who did not eat seafood during pregnancy were three times more likely to be hyperactive.

Read the full story at Sustainable Fisheries UW

FDA panel endorses wider use of fish-oil drug to protect against heart problems

November 15, 2019 — A panel of experts unanimously recommended Thursday that the Food and Drug Administration allow wider use of a fish oil-based drug to treat people at high risk for heart attacks and strokes even when they are taking cholesterol-lowering drugs.

The 16-0 endorsement of the FDA advisory committee puts Dublin-based Amarin Corp. one step closer to widespread distribution of Vascepa, a drug the company has said could be worth billions of dollars annually. The FDA, which usually follows such guidance, could make a long-awaited final decision next month.

“There’s a definite need for additional therapeutic approaches,” said Kenneth D. Burman, chief of the endocrine section at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, who chaired the panel. Despite some side effects, he said, “this seems a very useful new agent for addition to the armamentarium for the treatment of these patients.”

The drug, a purified version of the Omega-3 fatty acid found in fish, is aimed at some of the more than 40 million people in the U.S. who take statins to control their LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, and have adopted lifestyle changes, yet remain at risk of cardiovascular problems because of elevated triglyceride levels.

Triglycerides are another type of fat in the blood. When their levels are too high, generally more than 200 milligrams per deciliter of blood, the result can be deaths, heart attacks, strokes, unstable angina or the need for cardiac surgery.

A landmark 2018 study, led by a researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and sponsored by Amarin, showed that patients who took four grams of Vascepa daily fared 25 percent better in staving off those events than those given a placebo. The researchers spent more than six years following more than 8,000 middle-aged and older patients in 11 countries who had coronary artery disease or diabetes and at least one other risk factor, such as high blood pressure.

Read the full story at The Washington Post

SFP releases 2019 reduction fisheries report

October 28, 2019 — The following was released by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

A review of the management of the leading European and Latin American fisheries used for fishmeal and fish oil has concluded that 88 percent of the volume comes from fisheries that are at least “reasonably well-managed.”

The report, which analyzes 26 reduction fishery stocks worldwide, also identified an increase of 2 percent in the volume of fish from fisheries that are considered “poorly managed.”

“All of the fisheries already have relatively good management schemes in place; continued efforts in addressing the remaining management issues, and also in complying with the scientifically advised measures, would likely contribute to a faster recovery of the respective stocks to healthy levels,” the report’s authors wrote.

Other key findings from the report include:

  • Three percent of the total catch volume of the reduction fisheries in the analysis comes from stocks classified as “very good condition.” As in the four previous editions of this report, this corresponds to a single fishery: Antarctic krill – Atlantic Southern Ocean. This stock is managed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and has had MSC-certified fisheries since 2010.
  • Eighty-eight percent of the total catch volume in the analysis comes from stocks that are considered to be “reasonably well-managed (or better),” (i.e., that score 6 or above on all five criteria outlined by SFP’s FishSource database), a three-percent decrease compared to last year. The stock with the largest contribution to this category continues to be the Anchoveta – Peruvian northern-central stock, which represents approximately 32 percent of the total catch, compared to 33 percent in the previous overview.
  • Twelve percent (1.1 million tonnes) of total reduction fisheries catch comes from fisheries classified as “poorly managed,” a rise of 2 percent compared to last year. The volume coming from poorly managed fisheries is still, however, considerably lower than that observed prior to 2017.

There is a critical need to develop and expand improvement efforts in Southeast Asian fisheries, which are not included in the report’s analysis. These fisheries likely represent close to half of the global catch for this sector, yet are poorly understood and plagued by persistent environmental and social issues.

“Fish meal and fish oil are important feed ingredients that provide key nutrients to farmed shrimp and fish,” said Dave Robb, sustainability director, animal nutrition and health, at Cargill. “But it’s important they are sourced responsibly. Fishery improvement projects (FIPs) provide an important opportunity to drive sustainable development in areas like Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Africa, helping to improve fisheries management and activities for the long-term benefit of all participants. Cargill is already engaged in some FIPs and encourages other actors in this sector to also engage in such schemes, to help secure a sustainable future for fishmeal and oil. Collaboration is key: together, we can help achieve environmentally and socially sustainable fisheries.”

The ecological impacts of reduction fisheries on the wider marine ecosystem are not fully understood. A guest article by Birdlife International in the report highlights the vulnerability of seabirds to restrictions in the availability of forage fish that result from fishing.

Commenting on the results, Dave Martin, deputy programs director at SFP, said, “Despite a minor drop in performance this year, the fishmeal and fish oil industry in Europe and Latin America has built a good track record of responsible sourcing, although there is inevitably still room for improvement. Given this, it is urgent that global industry turn its attention squarely to Southeast Asia.”

The full report is available for download by clicking here

Fish Oil Supplements May Do Your Heart Good

October 1, 2019 — Millions of Americans pop a fish oil supplement each day, hoping to bolster their heart health. Now, research suggests they may be on the right track.

The most up-to-date review of data from 13 prior studies found daily omega-3 fish oil supplement use tied to a significant lowering of risk for heart attack, according to a team led by Dr. JoAnn Manson. She is a professor of epidemiology at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in Boston.

Daily use of the supplement — typically about 840 milligrams per day — was also linked to a lower overall risk of dying from heart disease, the review found.

In total, the 13 studies involved data on more than 120,000 adults, a sample size that is 64% larger than any other yet conducted, the researchers said.

Although the findings are encouraging, fish oil remains just one factor in heart health, Manson said in a school news release.

Read the full story at U.S. News

Replacing fish-based aquaculture feed with plant-based increases environmental impacts

April 24, 2019 — The sustainability of farmed seafood is directly tied to how efficiently the animals turn their feed into flesh, aka food for people. Farms that use more feed to grow the same amount of food are more impactful than others. But what also matters is the kind of feed given to cultured species. Typically, fish and shrimp are fed fishmeal, a kind of feed made from ground-up fish. Fishmeal can be made from the excess trimmings of fish processing, but there are several wild-caught fisheries that only serve to be reduced into fishmeal for aquaculture, e.g. Peruvian anchoveta. However, with a growing market for farmed seafood, fishmeal is in high demand.

This has raised fishmeal prices worldwide; so some shrimp farms, most of which are in developing countries, have begun to substitute fishmeal with plant-based feeds. A recent paper in Sustainability, Malcorps et al. 2019, set out to measure the environmental and social impact of substituting fishmeal for plant-based feed in farmed shrimp. Currently, shrimp feeds are 20-30% fishmeal, depending on the shrimp species being farmed—what would the environmental impact be if those percentages dropped?

Malcorps et al. 2019 built a computer model to assess the changes in land, freshwater, and fertilizer use caused by substituting a portion of fishmeal shrimp feed with plant-based feed. The model found that substituting fishmeal with plant-based feed led to a dramatic increase in terrestrial resource demand for the 5 crops commonly used for substitution (wheat, soybeans, rapeseed, pea, and corn). A maximum plant-based substitution in shrimp feed would lead to a 63% increase in freshwater use, 81% increase in land use, and an 83% increase in phosphorus (fertilizer) relative to the current levels in those 5 crops.

Further, and more concerning, is the notion that increased demand on those 5 crops would raise prices and seriously impact poor families that rely on them for food.

Read the full story at Sustainable Fisheries UW

 

Eating Fish May Help City Kids With Asthma Breathe Better

April 1, 2019 — It’s long been known that air pollution influences the risk — and severity — of asthma. Now, there’s emerging evidence that diet can play a role, too.

A new study finds that higher consumption of omega-3 fatty acids, found in oily fish such as salmon, sardines and lake trout, and in some plant sources such as walnuts and flaxseed, is linked to reduced asthma symptoms in city kids who are exposed to fairly high levels of indoor air pollution.

“We know that asthma is a disease that’s driven by inflammation,” explains Dr. Emily Brigham, a pulmonologist at Johns Hopkins University and co-author of the study. As our bodies digest fish, the omega-3 fatty acids generate byproduct molecules known as “pro-resolving mediators” that make their way into our lungs. “They help to resolve inflammation,” Brigham says.

Given this anti-inflammatory effect, Brigham and her colleagues had a hunch that diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids may help attenuate the effects of air pollution on kids’ symptoms. To study this, they tracked the diets and indoor air pollution levels (from sources including smoke, dust and allergens) in the homes of 135 children, mostly African-American and all with asthma, in Baltimore, Md.

They measured two types of indoor air pollution, made up of different sizes of particulate matter: PM2.5 (fine inhalable particles that are 2.5 micrometers or smaller), and the somewhat larger PM10. These particulates are all too small for us to see, but they can make their way into our airways, and the smaller size — PM2.5 — can lodge deeply inside our lungs.

Read the full story at New England Public Radio

New study suggests fish oil derivative may benefit heart health

March 19, 2019 — New numbers suggest that a purified fish oil derivative, a prescription drug called Vascepa, is more effective at preventing cardiovascular events than previously thought.

The drug lowered the rate of these events in high-risk patients — including strokes, heart attacks and deaths from cardiovascular causes — by 30% overall versus placebo, according to a study published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

This is better than previously thought because because the study authors took into account not just first cardiovascular events as before, but also second, third, fourth events, and so on. Earlier results were announced by Irish drugmaker Amarin Pharma in September and then in a study released November in the New England Journal of Medicine.
“By looking only at first events, we underestimate the true underlying treatment benefit offered,” study author Dr. Deepak L. Bhatt said in a statement Monday.

“With this drug, we are not only preventing that first heart attack but potentially the second stroke and maybe that third fatal event,” said Bhatt, executive director of interventional cardiovascular programs at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

According to these latest data on cardiovascular episodes, Vascepa slashed first events by a quarter, second and third events by more than 30%, and later events by almost a half. The researchers estimated that by treating a thousand patients for five years, they could prevent 76 coronary revascularizations, 42 heart attacks, 14 strokes, 16 hospitalizations due to unstable angina and 12 deaths related to cardiovascular causes.

Read the full story at CNN

Major Chinese fish oil producer and exporter Shandong Yuwang Pharmaceutical approved Friend of the Sea

November 19, 2018 — The following was released by Friend of the Sea:

Chinese manufacturer Shandong Yuwang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has obtained Friend of the Sea certification for refined fish oil and softgel from Engraulis rigens sourced from FAO Area 87 (Southeast Pacific).

Friend of the Sea’s standard for sustainable fish oil and Omega-3 certifies that the oil originates only from fisheries that are compliant with Friend of the Sea’s sustainable fishing requirements, including good fishery management, selective fishing gears and social responsibility, and that a full chain of custody is in place throughout the supply and production chain.

Shandong Yuwang Pharmaceutical Co. Ldt., which processes 20000 tons of crude fish oil and produces 10000 tons of refined fish oil, is one of the largest world’s manufacturer of refined fish oil. While being exported to America and Europe, the finished fish oil also guarantees material supply of stringent standard’s fish oil preparation and products for Yuwang itself.

“We decided to join the Friend of the Sea project because we are eager to give our contribution in conserving the marine habitats and protecting them for future generations,” claims Albert Ho, Business Manager at Shandong Yuwang Pharmaceutical.

“The approval of Shandong Yuwang Pharmaceutical as a Friend of the Sea certified company consolidates the presence of our certification in China and is the confirmation that more and more fish oil manufacturers are committed towards environmental sustainability” comments Paolo Bray, Founder and Director of Friend of the Sea.

Recent studies say fish oil could boost your heart

November 16, 2018 — Heart disease is the leading killer in America, and San Antonio is no exception.

But as the Washington Post reports, two recent major studies point to the possibility that medications derived from fish oils could help protect people from heart attacks, strokes and other types of cardiovascular ailments. These are medications, not supplements.

The long-term studies involved two drugs derived from omega-3 fatty acids. Both studies found the drugs, if taken appropriately, made a significant difference for people with diabetes or heart disease.

Read the full story at the San Antonio Express

Should You Keep Taking Those Fish Oil And Vitamin D Pills?

November 16, 2018 — Nearly 19 million Americans take fish oil supplements and some 37 percent of us take vitamin D. Many may be motivated by research that has suggested these pills can protect heart health and prevent cancer. On Saturday, NPR published a story on long-awaited research on both supplements that called those claims into question.

The findings of the trial, called VITAL, were complex. When researchers looked at cancer and overall cardiovascular events, they found no protective benefit from taking vitamin D or fish oil supplements. But when they looked only at heart attacks, they did find a benefit, especially for African-Americans and people who eat little fish. (Researchers say further study is needed to see whether those benefits hold up.)

The story prompted a wave of questions from our readers and listeners. Many of you wrote in asking, essentially, should I stop taking these supplements?

To get answers to some of your questions, we spoke with Dr. JoAnn Manson, chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, who headed the VITAL trial. We also turned to Dr. Bess Dawson-Hughes, senior scientist and director of the Bone Metabolism Laboratory at Tufts University School of Medicine.

The findings of the VITAL study cast doubt on benefits of fish oil for cancer and cardiovascular disease. Should people just throw out their pills?

JoAnn Manson: No. For those already taking supplements, our findings do not offer a clear reason to stop. If you want to consider starting, our recommendation is to talk with your health care provider, but this does not need to be done on an urgent basis. We do caution against taking very high doses, but at the level fish oil [was taken] in our study there were no significant adverse effects. In addition, while fish oil did not reduce the risk of stroke or other cardiovascular problems, it did reduce the risk of heart attack by 28 percent and that is a significant finding.

Previous research suggests fish oil may have greater benefits for heart health than for reducing stroke, because there are some mechanisms — such as reducing irregular heart rhythm — which would be more important for heart attack than for stroke.

Read the full story at NPR