Pelagic fish species are the most used for the supply of fish oil and fish meal; generally, these are unsuitable for human consumption because they are small and bony and it would not be economically viable to process them to consumer needs.

They are caught off the coasts of Peru and Chile and in the North Atlantic, North Sea and the Baltic Sea.

There have been suggestions recently that these species are overfished. While the FAO report The State of Worldfisheries and Aquaculture(2002) concludes that only 18 percent of stocks or species groups are reported as overexploited. The species classified as overfished tend to be long-lived, slow-growing fish that are less able to support high exploitation rates than the faster-growing, short-lived species predominantly used for fish oil and fish meal.

Both Chile and Peru have tight government controls on fishing and fishing stops are imposed and policed through boat tracking systems in order to prevent overfishing. They actively manage their fisheries, maintain close contact with international organisations that monitor fish stocks and conduct their own research into stock maintenance and development.

The 1998 El Niņo was one of the worst ever and had a significant impact on the fish numbers in the seas off Peru and Chile. However, once it was over, the pelagic fish stocks recovered rapidly through a combination of the nature of the fish (fast-growing, short-lived) and the protection afforded by the governmental controls, demonstrating the sustainability of this resource. Recent data from IMARPE, the Peruvian Government’s research unit responsible for monitoring fish stocks, confirm that the anchovy resource (used in fish meal and fish oil production) is in sound biological condition. Current catch statistics support this conclusion.

Worldwide fishing is stable at around 95 million tons per year, of which approximately one third is used for fish meal and fish oil. This is supplemented by the trimmings from the processing of wild fish caught for human consumption. We believe there is still potential to increase significantly the contribution made from the by-products of the fish processing industry if greater attention is paid to this. The proportion of the total catch used for fish meal and fish oil has not changed during the expansion of commercial aquaculture. One of the reasons for this is because the level of fish meal in fish feed has been reduced as better diet formulations have been developed.

Total fish meal production is around 6.5 million tons per year, of which aquaculture is using 2 million tons (31%). Total fish oil production is between 1 and 1.2 million tons and aquaculture uses 40% of this. Should further expansion of aquaculture raise demand for fish meal and fish oil, it is far more likely that this will be achieved through a shift of markets.

At present, the remaining two-thirds of the fish meal produced are used in feed for land animals. An increase in amounts of fish meal used for fish feed is far more likely to come through a reduction in the amount used for pig and poultry feed, rather than an increase in either the pelagic fish catch or an increase in the proportion of the total catch used for these products.

Considerable investment is being made in research to find alternatives to these high quality fish meals and oils. We now know that refined vegetable protein sources can be used, and that they are as good for the health, growth and quality of fish as any other protein. An extra demand for oils is most likely to be met through the addition of vegetable oils.