New study suggests more human consumtion of forage fish
In a report entitled "Alarming New Study: World's Fish Catches are Being Wasted as Animal Feed", the Stony Brook University wakes up to the reality that humans don't want to eat small, bony fish that currently are being harvested for industrial fish meal and fish oil production. Acknowledging that these are "relatively inexpensive" (in other words- available to humans at a low cost) species of forage fish like some kinds of anchovies, sardines, menhaden and others, the report's lead author, Dr. Jacqueline Alder and senior author Dr. Daniel Pauly from the University of British Columbia state that "We need to stop using so many small ocean fish to feed farmed fish and other animals".
The study is to be published in November in the Annual Review of Environment and Resources, and it finds that one-third of the world's marine fish catches are ground up and fed to farm-raised fish, pigs, and poultry, "squandering a precious food resource for humans and disregarding the serious overfishing crisis in our oceans". The authors and their colleagues urge that other foods be used to feed farmed animals so that these "forage fish" can be brought to market for larger-scale human consumption.
It is well documented that farmed fish like salmon convert fishmeal and fish oil to edible protein much better than any terrestial livestock like chicken and pigs. Another fact is that a farmed salmon uses a lot less marine derived protein than its wild cousins, who must eat a lot more forage fish to get to the same size as a farmed salmon. It is also now known that recent research in Norway has developed diets for farmed salmon that allow for a net gain in marine protein- meaning it takes less than one kilo of (undesired for human consumption) forage fish to produce one kilo of farmed salmon. It is also generally accepted that the fisheries for these large stocks of forage fish are well managed and have remained relatively stable except during years of influence by the El Niño.
The study, produced in partnership between the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and the ENGO Pew Charitable Trust, claims that "Currently, catches of forage fish are predominantly used in animal feed, but these species are highly nutritious and well-suited for direct human consumption". "We need to stop using so many small ocean fish to feed farmed fish and other animals," Alder said. "These small, tasty fish could instead feed people. Society should demand that we stop wasting these fish on farmed fish, pigs, and poultry".
