Fresh study warns of fragility of aquafeed’s marine ingredient supply – The Fish Site

Report on Aquaculture Feed Sustainability and Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

1.0 Introduction: The Role of Aquaculture in Global Food Security

Aquaculture has become the world’s fastest-growing food production sector, surpassing wild-capture fisheries in 2022. Its continued expansion is critical for achieving SDG 2: Zero Hunger by providing essential animal-sourced protein to a global population projected to reach 10 billion. However, the sector’s reliance on finite marine resources for feed presents significant challenges to its long-term sustainability and its contribution to other key SDGs.

2.0 Analysis of Feed Dependency and Future Projections

A collaborative analysis by researchers from Xiamen University, University of Massachusetts Boston, University of Arizona, and University of Tasmania highlights the urgent need for innovation in aquaculture feeds. The findings underscore the sector’s vulnerability to supply chain disruptions and its impact on marine ecosystems.

2.1 Key Findings

• Feed Shortfall: To meet rising global demand for farmed seafood, the aquaculture industry requires an additional 1.8 million metric tonnes of alternative feed ingredients annually.
• Production Milestone: In 2022, global aquaculture production exceeded that of wild-capture fisheries for the first time, cementing its role in global food systems.
• Climate Impact: Climate change and restrictive fishery management could reduce forage fish catches by nearly 20%.
• Economic Risk: A reduction in forage fish supply could cause a 35% decline in global fed aquaculture output, with reductions exceeding 70% for high-value species like salmon and shrimp if alternatives are not scaled.

3.0 Challenges to Sustainable Aquaculture and SDG Alignment

The current feed model poses direct challenges to the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals. The volatility of forage fish supplies, exemplified by the 2023 closure of Peru’s anchoveta fishery, demonstrates the fragility of the supply chain.

1. SDG 14: Life Below Water: The dependency on wild-caught forage fish for fishmeal and fish oil places immense pressure on marine ecosystems. Treating these as finite resources is essential for protecting marine biodiversity and ensuring sustainable ocean management.
2. SDG 13: Climate Action: Climate-induced disruptions to ocean currents and temperatures directly impact forage fish populations, creating a feedback loop that threatens the stability of the aquaculture sector.
3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production: The traditional linear model of using wild fish to feed farmed fish is unsustainable. A transition towards circular resource use and alternative ingredients is necessary to establish sustainable production patterns.

4.0 Strategic Recommendations for a Sustainable Future

To secure its future and position itself as a leader in sustainable food production, the aquaculture industry must pivot its strategy regarding feed ingredients. This involves a multi-faceted approach rooted in innovation and responsible resource management.

4.1 Pathway to Sustainability

• Strategic Resource Management: Treat fishmeal and fish oil as strategic, finite resources, optimizing their use through advanced feed formulations and selective application.
• Accelerate Alternative Ingredients: Scale up the development and adoption of alternative feeds to decouple aquaculture growth from wild fisheries. This aligns with SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. Key alternatives include:
  • Microbial proteins
  • Algal proteins and oils
  • Insect-based proteins
  • Next-generation plant proteins
• Embrace Circularity: Integrate circular economy principles by advancing technologies that utilize waste streams in feed formulation, contributing further to SDG 12.

5.0 Conclusion

The future growth of the aquaculture sector is intrinsically linked to its ability to innovate and adapt to ecological limits. By accelerating the transition to alternative feed ingredients and treating marine resources with strategic foresight, the industry can mitigate risks, reduce its environmental footprint, and play a more robust role in achieving global Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those related to hunger, marine conservation, and responsible production.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

SDG 2: Zero Hunger

• The article directly connects aquaculture to global food security, stating its continued growth is “essential to meet our global food security needs” as the population approaches 10 billion. It highlights that aquaculture supplies “nearly one-fifth of all animal-sourced protein,” which is crucial for nutrition and ending hunger.

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

• The core theme of the article is the sustainable management of resources within the aquaculture industry. It emphasizes the need to treat “fishmeal and fish oil as strategic, finite resources” and calls for “major progress in using fishmeal and fish oil more efficiently.” The promotion of “alternative ingredients” and “circular resources use” directly aligns with achieving sustainable consumption and production patterns.

SDG 14: Life Below Water

• The article is fundamentally about the relationship between aquaculture and marine ecosystems. It discusses how the industry’s growth is “linked to the very ocean it seeks to relieve.” It addresses the impact of over-reliance on wild-caught “forage fish” and mentions specific events like the “closure of Peru’s anchoveta fishery,” highlighting the need to conserve and sustainably use marine resources to prevent further depletion of wild fish stocks.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

• The article calls for technological advancement and innovation to make the aquaculture industry more sustainable. It advocates for “accelerating alternative innovations” and “advancing technologies in feed formulation.” The push to develop and scale up ingredients like “microbial, algal, insect-based, and next-generation plant proteins and algae oils” represents a move towards upgrading an industry for greater sustainability and resource efficiency.

SDG 13: Climate Action

• The article explicitly mentions the threat of climate change to the aquaculture supply chain. It states that “climate change and fishery management restrictions could reduce global forage fish catches by nearly 20 percent,” demonstrating the direct impact of climate-related hazards on marine resources and, consequently, on the food production sector. This underscores the need for the industry to adapt to climate impacts.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

SDG 2: Zero Hunger

• Target 2.1: By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round. The article supports this by framing aquaculture as a critical sector for supplying “more than half of the world’s seafood” and a significant portion of “animal-sourced protein” to a growing global population.

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

• Target 12.2: By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources. The article’s main argument revolves around this target, advocating for treating fishmeal and fish oil as “finite resources,” improving their use efficiency, and accelerating the adoption of “alternative feed ingredients” to reduce pressure on natural stocks.

SDG 14: Life Below Water

• Target 14.4: By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield. The article’s discussion of potential reductions in “forage fish catches” and the “closure of Peru’s anchoveta fishery” directly relates to the challenges of managing wild fish stocks sustainably. The push for alternative feeds is a strategy to reduce the fishing pressure that this target aims to regulate.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

• Target 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes. The call to accelerate “the use of alternative ingredients,” advance “technologies in feed formulation,” and embrace “circular waste streams” is a direct call to action for the aquaculture industry to innovate and adopt more sustainable processes.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

Implied Indicators for SDG 2 & SDG 14

• Global aquaculture production volume: The article mentions that “total global aquaculture production surpassed that of wild-capture fisheries for the first time in 2022.” This can be used as an indicator to track the food supply from aquaculture.
• Volume of global forage fish catches: The projection that catches could be reduced by “nearly 20 percent” due to climate change and management restrictions serves as a key indicator for the health of marine ecosystems and the pressure on wild stocks.

Implied Indicators for SDG 12

• Volume of alternative feed ingredients used: The article identifies a need for “an additional 1.8 million metric tonnes of alternative feed ingredients each year.” Tracking the actual adoption and scaling of these alternatives (e.g., algal, insect-based proteins) would be a direct measure of progress.
• Fish-in/Fish-out ratio (efficiency of fishmeal/oil use): The statement that aquaculture has made “big strides in squeezing more value out of every kilogram of fishmeal and oil use” implies that the efficiency of converting wild fish into farmed fish is a key metric for measuring sustainable resource use.

Implied Indicators for SDG 13

• Percentage decline in aquaculture output due to supply shocks: The model’s finding of a potential “35 percent decline in global fed aquaculture output” due to forage fish scarcity is an indicator of the sector’s vulnerability to climate-related disruptions. Measuring the actual impact of such events on production would track the industry’s resilience.

4. SDGs, Targets and Indicators Identified in the Article

Source: thefishsite.com