Saving Seafood

IFFO responds to “unjustified and damaging” criticism of aquaculture’s fishmeal, fish oil use

February 15, 2018 — Fishmeal and fish oil are and will continue to be efficient and sustainable aquaculture feed components if they are responsibly sourced and used strategically, while not using them could compromise fish health and lead to unnecessary waste, IFFO, The Marine Ingredients Organisation has stressed.

In response to an article published by National Geographic, titled “Why salmon eating insects instead of fish is better for environment,” which discusses fishmeal and fish oil replacement in salmon feed, Andrew Mallison, director general of IFFO, said the total replacement of fishmeal and fish oil, as called for in the article, was unjustified and damaging to the fish farming industry.

Mallison said that while IFFO agreed with the need for additional feed options in aquaculture to ensure the growth of “this vital industry,” the article quoted information that was both out-of-date and incorrect.

The improvement in management of wild-capture fisheries has ensured that in recent years stocks are in fact steady and not declining, according to the FAO’s State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2016, he said.

“While catches of some small pelagic species used to produce fishmeal and fish oil are volatile, this is due to environmental fluctuation with permitted catches being varied in line with biomass abundance to protect the stocks. These small pelagic species are often not as palatable, spoil quickly and are less popular compared to other local fish, but can be turned into highly nutritious feed,” Mallison said. “Further evidence of sustainability in the production of marine ingredients is that over 45 percent of the global production of fishmeal and fish oil is now independently certified as being safe and environmentally responsible, including in its sourcing of raw materials, a figure that far exceeds any other source of feed ingredient.”

Regarding the efficiency of the use of fishmeal and fish oil, Mallison highlighted that the latest FIFO (fish in: fish out ratios) using 2015 data showed a conversion rate of one kilogram of wild fish used in feed creates 1.22 kilograms of farmed salmon, demonstrating that farmed salmon now produce globally more consumable protein than is used in feed.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

Omega Protein sets date to decide on Cooke deal

November 27, 2017 — Cooke Aquaculture will know as soon as Dec. 19, a week before Christmas, whether it’s getting what it hoped to find under the tree: a large Houston, Texas-based company that catches menhaden and reduces it to fishmeal and fish oil.

That’s the date Omega Protein has set for a shareholder vote on its proposed acquisition by the Cooke’s New Brunswick, Canada-based parent company, according to a new Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

 

The Press of Atlantic City: Menhaden decision sticks to science-based fisheries management

November 27, 2017 — Few people eat menhaden, or mossbunkers, so the foot-long fish is familiar mainly to those who use it for bait to catch bigger fish such as striped bass. Lots of other animals, such as ospreys and dolphins, eat them, too, and people also use them for fish-oil supplements, feed for aquaculture and bait for lobsters.

The management of such a beneficial fish is therefore crucial to many human and wildlife interests. Half a century ago, menhaden were superabundant, and as much as 712 million metric tons of menhaden was caught and mostly used for fertilizer. That led to a population crash and the fishery collapsed.

Since the 1990s and the advent of fisheries management, which included the closing of the menhaden fishery for a time, the menhaden population along the Atlantic Coast has recovered significantly. Stock assessments show the biomass of Atlantic menhaden more than doubling to about 1.2 million tons.

This month, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission updated its menhaden management plan, taking into account the increasing menhaden stock.

The commission was heavily lobbied by the fishing industry and by a coalition of environmentalists and sport-fishing interests led by a unit of the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Read the full editorial at The Press of Atlantic City

Hand cream to luxury leather: Incubating ideas on how to use fish parts

November 5, 2017 — In Reykjavik’s harbour, overlooking the colourful fishing vessels, there’s a building full of bright, young entrepreneurs. While they may never set foot in a boat, haul a net or set a hook, with their social media, marketing and design skills they’re determined to maximize value from the seafood industry.

They’re members of Iceland’s Ocean Cluster House, an innovation incubator for startup companies looking for the best new business idea from fish oil, bones, intestines and skin, or whatever else the ocean provides.

It’s the brainchild of Thor Sigfusson, who’s eager to show the space to a group visiting from Newfoundland and Labrador.

“Let me just walk with you through the house, now.”

The tour starts at the Ocean Cluster’s public restaurant, Bergsson, where pillows are made from old boat sails and pendant lights are cleverly fashioned from old buoys. Everywhere you look there are reminders of the ocean.

“We love to have designers involved with what we are doing here,” says Sigfusson, who holds a PhD in business.

While working on that degree, he found that fishing companies with money to invest weren’t well connected with entrepreneurs in the marine field. So, in 2011, he brought them all together under one roof.

Read the full story at CBC NEWS

 

SFP report: Better management happening for reduction fisheries

October 30, 2017 — Sustainable Fisheries Partnership has released its annual sustainability overview of reduction fisheries for 2017, showing an overall improvement in their management.

The report, “Reduction Fisheries: SFP Fisheries Sustainability Overview 2017,” reviewed 20 of the most significant fisheries used for the production of fishmeal and fish oil, concluding that 81 percent of the total catch volume out of those fisheries came from stocks that are “reasonably well managed or better.”

“This compares to 57.4 percent last year – a very large improvement,” according to an SFP press release.

An estimated 1.7 million metric tonnes –  or 17 percent – of the total catch used for reduction purposes came from poorly managed fisheries, “a significant drop compared to 42.6 percent last year,” according to SFP.

Of the 20 stocks used for the survey, 10 have fisheries certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, 19 have fisheries that are covered by the IFFO Responsible Sourcing certification, and three are covered by fishery improvement projects. According to the SFP, more than two-thirds of the production covered in its study comes from fisheries that are MSC-certified or under full assessment (25 percent), or in a FIP (44 percent). Those include the newly launched FIPs for Peruvian anchovy (north-central stock) and Mauritanian small pelagic species.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Fishmeal-free info deemed misleading and misguided

October 6, 2017 — A competition established to inspire the increased use of alternative ingredients to fishmeal in aquafeeds has been lambasted for “the organisers’ use of negative messaging, exaggeration and misinformation in relation to marine ingredients”.

The winners of the fishmeal-free feed (F3) challenge were announced in Dublin yesterday. However, a statement from IFFO, the marine ingredients organization, – while congratulating the winners – laments that: “Unfortunately, the F3 Challenge organisers have refused our offers to enter into dialogue or meet and provide up-to-date facts, instead choosing to seek publicity through a number of misleading or false statements.”

IFFO rubbishes claims that marine ingredients are not sustainable by pointing to the fact that “over 45% of the global production of fishmeal and fish oil is now independently certified as being safe and environmentally responsible, including in its sourcing of raw materials, a figure that far exceeds any other source of feed ingredient”.

Read the full story at The Fish Site

Menhaden battle once again pits Virginia against Northern states

September 25, 2017 — HEATHSVILLE, Va. — Five years ago, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission cut the menhaden harvest by 20 percent, forcing the largest employer in the rural tip of the Northern Neck, Omega Protein, to lay off workers and decommission a ship.

The tiny fish is sold by fishermen as bait to catch blue crabs and commercially rendered for its oil and byproducts at Omega’s Reedville plant. Environmentalists and anglers say it’s critical to the diet of other Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic species such as osprey, striped bass and dolphin. At the time, commissioners said menhaden was at the point of being depleted.

Since then, ASMFC, which manages fisheries from Maine to Florida, changed its method of assessment and says stocks are now healthy. It began easing catch limits to where the quota is now only about 6 percent short of the 212,000 metric tons it once was.

Omega, which catches a half-billion fish each year, replaced two of its seven ships this year with larger, more efficient ships and rehired some of its employees.

But the company sees a new problem.

Monty Deihl, vice president of Omega’s operations, calls it “a fish grab” by other ASMFC member states, specifically northern states where more menhaden have been showing up.

“The stock is very healthy, the quota could be raised, but no one wants to raise the quota because Virginia will get 85 percent of whatever is raised,” he told a crowd of mostly employees and their families at an ASMFC public hearing last week. “You should be offended at the way all the other stuff was done to try to get a piece of what you all put your time and careers in to build.”

Read the full story at the Free Lance-Star

Hearings about menhaden fishing rules coming to East Coast

August 24, 2017 — BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. — Fishing managers are holding a series of public hearings along the East Coast about potential changes to the way they manage the menhaden fishery.

Menhaden are a heavily fished species of small fish that are used as bait and fish oil. They also play a critical role in ecosystems because they’re preyed upon by larger fish, seabirds, whales and dolphins.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission said last month it’s looking to balance “menhaden’s ecological role as a prey species” with the needs of people who harvest and use it.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Washington Post

Fatty acids lower your risk of heart disease. Without fish, you’re missing out.

August 17, 2017 — Are you getting enough omega-3s? These vital fats are beneficial for heart, brain and eye health, but it’s not just the amount that matters. The type of omega-3s in your diet could determine the health benefits you’re getting — especially if you don’t eat fish.

Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids called EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) are found in marine sources such as fatty fish and fish oils. Another type of omega-3s is ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), which is found in plant sources such as flax seeds, canola, chia and walnuts.

Most Americans aren’t getting enough EPA and DHA. That’s of concern because there is strong evidence that these omega-3s reduce triglyceride levels to help lower the risk for heart disease or heart attack. There is some evidence that these healthy fats may also reduce blood pressure and improve blood vessel function. And those are just some of the heart-health benefits. The evidence for these benefits in ALA isn’t as strong.

Penny Kris-Etherton, distinguished professor of nutrition at Pennsylvania State University, points out that, “We really haven’t seen evidence for benefits of plant omega-3s on cognition or in preventing stroke.”

Bruce Holub, professor at The University of Guelph adds, “EPA and DHA are shown to be quite effective at lowering triglyceride levels in the blood, while equal amounts of ALA had no effect.”

Getting enough DHA is especially important for pregnant women because it’s essential for healthy development of a baby’s brain and eyes.

Read the full story at the Washington Post

Regulators: Menhaden fish population in good shape

August 3, 2017 — PORTLAND, Maine — One of the most important little fish in the sea is in good shape.

That’s the analysis of the regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which reviewed the Atlantic menhaden population and found it remains healthy. The commission says the fish is not experiencing overfishing.

Atlantic menhaden are harvested by fishermen for use as bait and to make fish oil.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at ABC News