Select a result to preview

Fishing for Catastrophe (Changing Markets Foundation)

This report contains an executive summary. Here it is, reproduced exactly.

Executive summary

Overview

Based on findings from on-the-ground investigations carried out in India, Vietnam and The Gambia in mid-2019, this report presents damning evidence that the production of fishmeal and fish oil (FMFO) for use in global aquaculture supply chains is precipitating the collapse of fish stocks, compromising food security, and destroying the social and economic fabric of communities living adjacent to historic fishing grounds at a time when the oceans are being pushed to the brink by the impacts of climate change, pollution and overexploitation. Using information gathered from in-depth supply-chain research, the report, which is the first to map FMFO supply chains from fishery to fork, also establishes links between unsustainable - and often illegal - FMFO sourcing practices in the countries investigated and among major European aquafeed companies and retailers.

FMFO is mainly used as an ingredient in feeds for aquaculture and agriculture.² Almost one-fifth of the world's annual wild-fish catch is taken out of the ocean for this purpose.² Roughly one-third of FMFO goes to the agricultural sector (5% to chickens, 23% to pigs³), but aquaculture became the dominant user of 'reduction fisheries' (which supply fish for FMFO, rather than for direct human consumption)ᴬ in the early 2000s.⁴ In 2016, 69% of fishmeal and 75% of fish-oil production went to seafood farming.⁵ Global demand for FMFO is mainly driven by China's huge aquaculture sector, but export-oriented sectors, such as salmon farming in Norway and Scotland and prawn farming in Asia, are also significant consumers.

The biggest reduction fishery, typically representing 30-35% of world production of FMFO, is Peruvian anchoveta. However, other regions are also important suppliers of the global market and, as such, require close scrutiny. In Asian countries, where a broader diversity of fish species is used than in South America and northern Europe,⁸ locally produced FMFO often supplies domestic seafood farms with direct or indirect links to overseas retail markets. Our investigations found that in two of the region's key FMFO- and aquaculture-producing countries, India and Vietnam, collapsing fish stocks and the economics of the FMFO industry are pushing fishing vessels to systematically plunder the oceans for species that have not previously been used for FMFO production, as well as juvenile fish, which should be left in their natural environment to reach maturity and ensure a stable fish population.

Increasing demand in major markets - notably China - has also spurred growth in West African FMFO production; according to UN Comtrade figures, in 2016, it produced 7% of the world's fishmeal. Some countries have experienced a particularly steep rise in production; for example, half of Mauritania's fish catch is used to produce fishmeal.⁹ Shockingly, in The Gambia, where GDP was a mere $1,700 per capita in 2018¹⁰ and people rely on fish as a staple food, our investigation found that the combined catch of just one of the country's FMFO plants accounted for approximately 40% of the country's total reported fish catches in 2016. Gambia's fish catch is turned into fishmeal at a rate of 5 kilos of fish for 1 kilo of fishmeal and exported abroad, mainly to China.

ᴬ A reduction fishery is one that uses ('reduces') its catch to produce fishmeal or fish oil, rather than for direct human consumption (see: http://blog.msc.org/blog/2017/03/22/reduction-fisheries-sustainable-fish-oil/).

Failures of governance and links to the global market

Using information gathered through detailed supply-chain research and analysis, this report identifies links between unsustainable fisheries for FMFO in Africa and Asia and major players on the global market, including aquaculture companies, aquafeed producers, seafood processors and retailers. It also highlights failings in oversight and governance of the sector, both at regulatory level and on the part of the FMFO trade association and certification body, The Marine Ingredients Organisation (IFFO). We found that FMFO and aquafeed plants with proven links to highly unsustainable fishing practices are certified by, or are members of, IFFO, which has a clear conflict of interests due to its double-hatted role. Our research also found that IFFO membership and certification are used as marketing tools at multiple stages of the supply chain; however, it is clear from our findings that they provide a sustainability smokescreen, preventing further probing by downstream customers of FMFO producers regarding the true impacts of using wild fish to feed farmed seafood. The report concludes that IFFO is wholly unfit to serve as a certification body, and that retailers and aquafeed companies need to stop taking its assurances at face value.

Our research finds that aquafeed companies with unsustainable and illegal sourcing practices are supplying seafood farms exporting to the global market - and, in turn, many of the biggest seafood processors and retailers in the world. This means that aquafeed companies, aquaculture producers, seafood processors and major retailers are complicit by association in the socioeconomic and ecological damage our investigators encountered. While our analysis focused on European retail supply chains, we would expect the picture to be broadly similar in other high-income markets, based on the knowledge that the same aquafeed companies and seafood exporters supplying the European market are also exporting to other markets in the Global North, including the US and Canada.

While all the markets we looked at were characterised by a surprising lack of traceability and transparency regarding the origin and supply chain of farmed seafood products, we were able to establish that numerous European retailers are sourcing products from aquafeed companies and seafood processors linked to unsustainable FMFO supply chains. These retailers include:

Summary of key findings from India, Vietnam and The Gambia

Our findings show that FMFO production, driven by demand from the global aquaculture sector, is visibly accelerating the decline of fish stocks in India, Vietnam and The Gambia that marine fisheries for human consumption have already pushed to breaking point. Local fisherpeople and communities are clear-eyed about the consequences for them; they see the slump in catches they are currently experiencing as a precursor to the inevitable destruction of the fisheries that sustain them. However, they feel powerless against the economic might of the industry.

Case study: India

The investigation focused on two regions:

Key findings

Indian supply-chain links

Norwegian company Skretting is sourcing fish oil from a number of Indian FMFO companies in Ullal district, several of which are members of IFFO. Many of these companies present their IFFO membership within a 'certification' context, which is potentially misleading.

One of the FMFO plants our investigators visited in Ullal, which confirmed it accepted 'all fish' for FMFO processing, supplies a number of global aquafeed companies, including Skretting, Mitsubishi Corporation, Godrej Agrovet Limited, Cargill India Pvt. Ltd, Uni-President Feeds, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, CP Aquaculture India Pvt Ltd (part of Thai multinational Charoen Pokphand Group) and Grobest Feeds.

Case study: Vietnam

The investigation team visited three ports in the south of Vietnam which are important fishmeal production hubs:

Key findings

Vietnamese supply-chain links

Investigations at Tac Cau port found IUU fishmeal from Phuc Ngoc fishmeal plant to be entering the supply chain of Vinh Hoan Corporation, a large aquafeed producer and leading Vietnamese pangasius exporter to the EU. This fishmeal is also entering the supply chain of CP Vietnam, the feed subsidiary of global giant CP Foods, part of Thai multinational conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group.

Investigation at Song Doc port found IUU fishmeal from Bich Khai fishmeal plant to be entering the aquafeed supply chain of leading feed producer, Grobest, which supplies to Vietnam's largest prawn exporter, Minh Phu - a company that exports significant amounts of seafood to the EU and US, including Europe's leading prawn supplier, Heiploeg International. Heiploeg is owned by Dutch fishing giant, Parlevliet & Van der Plas.ᴮ

Investigations at Phuoc Tinh Port found that IUU fishmeal from Phuc Loc fishmeal plant was entering the aquafeed supply chain of CP Vietnam, also part of Charoen Pokphand Group.

ᴮ Parlevliet & Van der Plas states on its own website: 'The fish caught by the vessels of Parlevliet & Van der Plas is solely intended for human consumption. It is not meant for conversion into fishmeal. (see: https://www.pp-group.nl/fishing)

Case study: The Gambia

Our investigation covered all three operational FMFO plants in The Gambia, which are located along a 30-kilometre stretch of coastline in the villages of Sanyang, Gunjur and Kartong, just over the border from Senegal.

Key findings

Gambian supply-chain links

Neither the FAO nor the government has records of Gambian FMFO production or exports, even though fishmeal plants have been operating in the country for some years.

However, our investigation found that all three plants have been exporting FMFO illegally. They transport these products in large containers that are shipped abroad by major international logistics companies, including Maersk, according to the Gambian Food Safety and Quality Authority - which only discovered this after our investigators questioned them. Our questioning prompted the government to temporarily halt their exports.

From May 2017, the three plants had been exporting their FMFO destined for human consumption and feed without securing the required food-safety certificates, potentially avoiding export fees and falsifying food-safety certificates - meaning the FMFO did not undergo any food-safety controls or inspections. This reveals serious gaps in international oversight on food security and product traceability, putting consumers' safety at risk.

A shroud of secrecy surrounds the FMFO plants' international clients. Nonetheless, an entry in the Oceans Disclosure Project database shows that Danish aquafeed company, BioMar, sourced round sardinella from The Gambia in 2018.¹¹ Export data also reveals shipments to Vietnam, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Mauritania and Chile - a number of which are hubs for aquafeed production with strong supply links on to North America and Europe. Our investigation confirmed that one of the main importers of Gambian fish oil is Chilean company, TRIO S.A., which would have been importing fish oil from The Gambia without proper food-safety certificates. This company is part of a conglomerate, TRIOGROUP, which exports to the US and the UK, among other international markets.

Golden Lead - The Gambia's main FMFO plant, which is responsible for most of the environmental crimes the industry is committing - has exported fishmeal to one company that is a member of IFFO and another, in Vietnam, which serves as a black market conduit to the Chinese market.