EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Directorate-General for Research WORKING PAPER THE FISH MEAL AND FISH OIL INDUSTRY ITS ROLE IN THE COMMON FISHERIES POLICY Fisheries Series FISH 113 EN This study was requested by the European Parliament's committee on Fisheries within the annual research programme. Thispaper ispublished in EN only. Author: University of Newcastle Upon Tyne (UK), Poseidon Aquatic Resource Management Ltd (UK) Responsible Official: MrsBeatriz OLIVEIRA-GOUMAS Division for Agriculture, Regional Policy, Transport and Development ASP 06D141 Tel: (+32) 284 29 36 Fax: (+32) 284 69 29 E-mail: [email protected] Manuscript completed in December 2003. Further information on DG4 publications can be accessed through : www.europarl.eu.int/studies Luxembourg, European Parliament, 2004 The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorized, provided the source is acknowledged and the publisher isgiven prior notice and sent a copy. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Directorate-General for Research WORKING PAPER THE FISH MEAL AND FISH OIL INDUSTRY ITS ROLE IN THE COMMON FISHERIES POLICY Fisheries Series FISH 113 EN 02-2004 Fish Meal and Fish Oil Industry EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. Introduction The raw materials used by the fish meal and fish oil industry are derived from directed industrial fisheries 1 and from the by-products of fisheries for human consumption (fish trimmings). The interaction between the CFP and the fish meal and fish oil industries is through the directed fisheries for teleost 'feed fish' from which fish meal and fish body oils are derived, and sharks from which some liver oils are extracted. The reformed CFP (EC, 2002) is a move away from single stock management towards an ecosystem based approach to fisheries management in line with the requirements of the Rio Convention of Biological Diversity (1992) and the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (1995). The Commission has advocated a long-term strategy to promote the protection of vulnerable species and habitats and suggests that this is achieved through means such as gear restrictions and closed areas and seasons. Within the context of the fish meal and fish oil industry this will affect the directed fisheries for teleost 2 feed fish (e.g. sandeels, Norway pout, sprats and blue whiting) which are used to produce fish meal and fish body oils, and the significantly smaller directed fishery for sharks from which some fish liver oils are derived. Fish trimmings, such as offal, which are derived from the processing of fish targeted for human consumption, are also an important source of raw material for the fish meal and fish oil industry. However, the effect of the CFP on these fisheries is considered outside of the remit of this report as the fish meal and fish oil industries use only the by-products of these fisheries. The European Commission has asked ICES to evaluate the impact of industrial fishing on marine ecosystems (EC, 2002). This will include monitoring industrial fisheries to ensure that their impact on fish species used for human consumption and other marine species remains low. Industrial fishers use purse seines and light otter trawls to catch feed fish and long lines and tangle nets to catch sharks. Purse seines, long lines and tangle nets operate in the water column, and otter trawls operate closer to the sea floor but with only sporadic contact with it. The direct effects of these gears on the ecosystem therefore involve the accidental catching of other species and limited disturbance to the sea floor. The indirect effects of these fisheries will involve the predators and prey of species caught in directed industrial fisheries. The fisheries for feed fish are controlled by a series of management measures including total allowable catch (TACs), by-catch limits and closed areas. Apart from TACs, the management measures have been established to prevent damage to species dependent on feed fish and the juveniles of other species. The fisheries for sharks are unregulated. The feed fish fisheries support a substantial part of the Danish, Swedish and Finnish fishery sectors. In Denmark for example, 41% of the fishers rely in some way on the feed fish fishery. The employment dependency on the shark fisheries is reported as being no more than 200. 1 For the purposes of this report, industrial fisheries are defined as all fisheries which target fish not destined for human consumption and which enter an industrial process. Some fish species are used for both industrial pur- poses and for human consumption. 2 'Bony' fish e.g. gadoids, clupeids and sandeels. iii PE 341.942 Fish Meal and Fish Oil Industry The main demand for fish meal and fish body oils is as animal feed in agriculture and aquaculture. The European Union is one of the major consumers of feed fish products, accounting for approximately 18% and 19% of world meal and oil consumption respectively between 1997-2001. In 2002, the main consumers of fish meal within the EU were the aquaculture industry (33%), the pig industry (32%) and the poultry industry (29%). Fish liver oils provide health benefits to humans and are used in health supplements. The squalene oil in shark liver is used in cancer and AIDS inhibiting drugs. 2. The structure of the fish meal and fish oil industry in the European Union 2.1. The industrial fisheries The industrial fishery for feed fish is conducted by both EU registered vessels (landing 1 524 000t annually) and non-EU vessels which land into EU ports (landing 277 000t annually). Trimmings from the fish processing industry produce 912 500t annually. The directed fishery for sharks conducted by EU countries, lands between 7 000 to 14 000t annually. The two main target fish of the industrial feed fish fisheries are sandeels and sprats which formed 42% (642 000t) and 31% (472 000t) respectively of the EU feed fish fisheries annually between 1998-2002. Most sandeels are caught in the North Sea, whilst sprat are caught in the Baltic, North Sea and Kattegat/Skagerrak. Other important industrial feed fish include herring (186 000t landed annually), blue whiting (111 000t), and Norway pout (96 000t). Approximately 87% of the EU’s industrial herring is taken in directed fisheries in the Baltic. Their small size in this region makes them unmarketable for human consumption. Herring is also caught as by-catch in the sprat fisheries in the Baltic, Kattegat/Skagerrak and North Sea and forms between 0-35%, 17% and 8% of the catch respectively. Blue whiting is taken in directed fisheries in the North Sea and east Atlantic. One of the problems associated with the Atlantic blue whiting fishery is that so little is known about the biology and ecology of this species, yet species is increasingly targeted. Norway pout is caught in the North Sea, Kattegat and Skagerrak but its use in the fish meal sector has decreased significantly because of management measures which restrict by-catch and the availability of alternative target fisheries. Denmark is the largest of the EU industrial fishing nations and takes 69% of the total EU feed fish catch. Other EU countries catching feed fish, including the candidate countries, are Sweden (19.4%), Finland (5.0%), the UK (3.2%), Ireland (2.6%) and Poland (1.7%). Latvia and Lithuania have banned the targeting of fish for industrial purposes. Between 9 to 15 vessels are reported to target shark in the Eastern Atlantic, and this is conducted by vessels registered in the UK, Spain and Portugal. 2.2. Trimmings Trimmings from other fisheries represent 33% of the total supply of raw material to the fish meal and fish body oil industry. It is estimated that 80% of the trimmings from fish processing enter the fish meal and fish body oil industry in Denmark, although this figure is only 10% in Spain. In the UK, Germany and France, between 33-50% of fish trimmings enter the fish meal and fish body oil industry. iv PE 341.942 Fish Meal and Fish Oil Industry 2.3. Fish meal and fish oil processing Table ES1 shows the number of fish meal processing plants in the EU and their dependence on the directed feed fish fisheries and trimmings. Table ES1. Fish meal plants in the EU and their reliance on directed industrial fisheries and trimmings from other fisheries Factories % trimmings % feed fish Denmark 4 10 90 France 3 100 0 Germany 1 100 0 Ireland 1 60 40 Spain 10 100 0 Sweden 1 25 75 UK 3 85 15 Source: IFFO (2002), Digest of Selected Statistics, Annual Conference, Cancun The number of fish meal plants has fallen in the last 20 years. The Danish sector has seen a reduction from 20 to 4 plants, whilst the UK sector has seen a reduction from 10 to 3. 3. Production, import and export of fish meal and fish oil 3.1. Fish meal and fish oil processing Fish meal and fish body oils are derived from directed fisheries for feed fish (providing 67% of raw material) and trimmings produced as by-products of processing fish for human consumption (providing 33% of raw material). Fish meal is produced by cooking the fish, before pressing them to remove water and body oil, and finally drying them at temperatures of between 70ºC to 100ºC depending upon the meal type manufactured. After extraction from the fish meal, fish body oils are purified through centrifugion. Fish oil represents around 5- 6% of the total raw material body weight. Between 1997 and 2001, the EU was the world’s fourth largest producer of fish meal at 9%, and the second largest producer of fish body oil at 16%.