October 9, 2018 โ The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership has released its latest annual report on reduction fisheries, and has concluded that the sustainability of the fisheries worldwide has improved by roughly eight percent.
The report, which analyzed 26 reduction fisheries โ fisheries that harvest fish to be processed into fishmeal and fish oil โ found that the amount of catch coming from poorly managed fisheries has dropped 16 percent from last year, and has been steadily decreasing since 2016. The report also found the 91 percent of the catch volume came from stocks โthat scored 6 or better on all five criteria outlined by SFPโs FishSource database,โ according to SFP.
While the report is positive, the authors โ Pedro Veiga, Marina Mendes, and Blake Lee-Hardwood โ also noted that Asian fisheries have been largely excluded from the data, โbecause of the current difficulty in establishing management and catch data.โ
โThis omission is significant, because the fisheries of Asia provide very large quantities of fishmeal; it is hoped that future editions of the report will be able to extend coverage to at least some of these fisheries,โ the authors wrote. โNonetheless, we are confident that the report covers approximately 50 percent of global fishmeal and oil production.โ
Roughly three percent of the total catch volume of what was included in the report is coming from fisheries that have stock in โvery good condition.โ The entirety of that amount is attributed to one fishery: Antarctic krill in the Atlantic Southern Ocean. Of the 91 percent of fisheries that are โreasonably well-managedโ or better, the largest contributor was the Peruvian anchoveta fishery, representing 33 percent of the total catch.
โThis report clearly identifies a positive trend among the reduction fisheries of the North Atlantic and Eastern Pacific, although there is still significant room for improvement with some fisheries,โ the authors wrote. โThe proportion of fisheries achieving higher sustainability ratings has increased significantly; this builds on improvements identified in the previous report for 2017. These results clearly represent a good news story for the fishmeal and fish oil industry and show that it is becoming ever more responsible with regards to fisheries management.โ
Industry leaders within aquaculture were pleased by the news in the report.
โBioMar is proud to support SFP in its efforts to improve the environmental stewardship of global marine resources. The positive trend in this yearโs report demonstrates the power of the multi-stakeholder approach to โgreeningโ value chains through responsible sourcing,โ BioMar sustainability specialist Erik Olav Gracey said. โWe will continue to actively support SFP through collaboration and support of fisheries improvement projects worldwide.โ