FishSource, Reduction Fisheries and Aquaculture

This briefing released by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership describes the current scoring for the main reduction fisheries worldwide by the assessment methodology known as FishSource (www.fishsource.org)  which has been devised by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership. The scoring does not currently cover data poor ‘trash fish' fisheries in Asia even though they account for very large catches (perhaps in total as large as Peruvian Anchovy) and supply significant amounts of fishmeal to aquaculture, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to SFP.

The briefing examines the implications of current FishSource scores for aquaculture certification schemes and concludes that:

 The requirement that aquaculture (and animal) feed manufacturers disclose information concerning source fisheries is the fundamental building block for establishing the sustainability of the marine elements of feeds regardless of ‘scores' or ‘standards'. Such disclosure is not yet common practice among stakeholders within the aquaculture supply chain although it could be achieved without compromising commercial confidentiality.

 No reduction fishery is currently managed within an eco-system based fisheries management regime. This situation needs to improve significantly. Fisheries that have established a successful single species stock management regime should now be looking to evolve an ecosystem based approach to ensure sustainability in the future.

 8.8% of the global catch from reduction fisheries comes from fisheries that score more than 8 across all FishSource criteria. The target stocks for these fisheries are in good shape from the perspective of single stock management regimes.

 13.8% of the global catch from reduction fisheries comes from fisheries that score above 6 in all criteria (and where no more than one of five scores may be missing) BUT the score for biomass is at least 8 or more meaning biomass is above target levels. This is important because reduction fisheries typically target forage fish which occupy a low trophic level and where great precaution is required with regards to biomass in the absence of good ecosystem data and an ecosystem based fisheries management regime.

 66.9% of the global catch from reduction fisheries comes from fisheries that score above 6 across all criteria with only one criteria unscored (and that unscored criteria is NOT biomass).

 Aquaculture certification schemes that intend to use FishSource as a guide to feed sustainability can choose to set the standard at different levels but adopting a minimum score of 6 (for all criteria) will provide a very wide range of fisheries to choose from to create compliant feed. Adopting this approach but insisting on a minimum biomass score of 8 (to ensure adequate precaution when sourcing from low trophic level fisheries) will still allow large amounts of fish to be found in the market place (13.9% of global catch).

 Aquaculture supply chain stakeholders that are utilising feed fisheries not yet scored by FishSource (eg: single species Asian pelagic fisheries) should identify these fisheries immediately so that they can be effectively scored and included in the overall FishSource global database.

 The issue of mixed species trawl fisheries in east and south-east Asia supplying aquaculture and animal feeds needs to be examined as a matter of urgency. Feed manufacturers relying on such fisheries should disclose information regarding species, location and fisheries-related data such as biomass and harvest estimates consistent with requirements for commercial confidentiality.

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