It has been led by Duncan Leadbitter from the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong.
IFFO
A new article released by IFFO, The Marine Ingredients Organisation, highlights the crucial role that responsibly managed fisheries play in sustainable food systems and biodiversity protection.
Reviews in Fisheries Science & Aquaculture has been led by Duncan Leadbitter from the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong, and is the outcome of a workshop funded by IFFO that examined the impacts of global food production.
The main findings of the article are that replacing animal protein sourced from marine fisheries with animal protein from agriculture is "likely" to increase threats to biodiversity, and that integrated food systems are "critical".
"More tools are needed to enable objective, localized comparisons between the biodiversity impacts of land-based animal protein production and marine fishing," warned Dr. Brett Glencross, Technical Director of IFFO.
For this reason, IFFO has launched a pilot project involving experts to discuss the magnitude of biodiversity impacts and guide future decision-making.
Finally, Glencross reminds us: "Well-managed fisheries do not rely on fundamental changes to ecosystems in the way that agriculture does, and significant progress is already being made in improving fisheries management."
In its monthly report on global trends in fishmeal and fish oil production for October, IFFO projected a production of 5.4 million tons for fishmeal and 1.2 million tons for fish oil in 2025. It also highlighted the positive global trends in marine ingredients production recorded in the first three quarters of the year, now coming to an end.