Food Security and Responsible Fisheries

World fish production has peaked at around 130 million tons (110 million tons landed and 20 million tons discarded) but only just over 60% are used for human consumption and almost 40% are NOT used for human consumption, so there is still scope for improving supplies of fish for human consumption (Box 1). The fish that is NOT utilised for human consumption includes 30 million tons small pelagic fish used for production of fishmeal and some 20 million tons of discarded (not landed) bycatch.

The Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries inter alia encourages States to promote the use of fish for human consumption whenever appropriate and it also calls for reduction of post-harvest losses and waste and for improved use of bycatch.

Small pelagics

Small pelagic fish include the sardines, sardinella, anchovies, herring, capelin, horse mackerel, bonga, etc. In general small pelagic fish have a silvery-bluish colour and may be very fatty. They are eaten in many different ways such as fried, salted, marinated, fermented, smoked, canned, dried (Figure 1 - Fresh Sardines on Ice: Excellent Food)

Fresh sardines on ice: excellent food.

In many countries they are used industrially for canning and for production of fishmeal and oil. Fishmeal is then used in animal feed and fish feed. Some 30 million tons of small pelagic fish are used for fishmeal in Peru, Chile, Norway, Denmark, USA and other countries (Figure 2 - Sardines pumped straight from boat to fishmeal plant (Peru))

Sardines pumped straight from boat to fishmeal plant (Peru)

Fishmeal and canning industries are closed circuits where large fishing boats of 500 to 1000 ton capacity discharge their catches by pumping to bulk trucks or directly through pipelines to the processing plants. Fish traders have no access to the fish. Most of the industries were set up in the 1950s and 1960s when local populations, in particular the urban populations, were small and well supplied with fish from the artisanal fishing sector. This explains perhaps the contradiction in countries such as Peru, Chile, Mexico, Morocco and others: while small pelagics are caught in large quantities they are not or hardly available in local markets.

These countries have been trying to improve the use of their resources for human consumption, often in collaboration with FAO and other organisations. Most of the effort consisted of technology driven product development making `low-cost' products available. This has not produced many results. A new approach to market them fresh may be more successful.

In many African and Asian countries small pelagic fish is a popular low cost food. Local production in several African countries cannot meet the demand and considerable quantities of frozen small pelagics are imported in Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo-Kinshasa, Congo-Brazzaville and others. Yet, sizeable quantities of locally caught small pelagics are lost during peak periods when the marketing system cannot cope with gluts. Prices decrease to a point where fishermen may even refuse to go to sea. Investment in large scale traditional processing capacity (smoking) or modern processing (canning or freezing, or even fishmeal) is not justified. The traditional Mediterranean way of salting and pressing, characterised by low investment and high capacity, may provide an intermediate technology solution. Applied research in Senegal has shown promising results (Figure 3 - Salted pressed sardinella (Senegal)).

Salted pressed sardinella (Senegal)

Reduction of losses

Physical losses occur in traditional fisheries and in modern fisheries. However, in traditional fisheries most of the post-harvest losses are economic losses: reduced value as a result of quality deterioration (a very fresh fish commands a better price than a stale fish and freshly smoked or dried fish has a better price than fish stored for months). Physical losses in industrial fisheries consist mainly of discarded bycatches of fish of unwanted species or size; most of it dead or dying when thrown back into sea.

The best prices are paid for good quality fresh fish and a good way to reduce losses and at the same time improve the incomes of traditional fishing families is to promote fresh fish marketing through the use of ice and insulated containers on-board of the canoes. Fish produced by artisanal fishermen can be of high quality and has a good demand in local and export markets. The use of insulated containers and ice enables the fishermen to make fishing trips of a week or more and make considerable savings on fuel while reaching new fishing grounds (Figure 4. - Insulated container on canoe (Cameroon)).

Insulated container on canoe (Cameroon)

Improving traditional technologies of smoking, salting, drying and fermentation also helps to reduce economic losses. The famous Chorkor oven from Ghana has been successfully introduced in several countries. However, success is not automatic and depends a lot on local conditions. The Chorkor oven is most suitable when there are large quantities of small fish such as sardinella, anchovies, dagaa, kapenta, etc. (Figure 5. - Chorkor oven (Ghana))

Chorkor oven (Ghana)

In Africa the number of products made from small pelagics is a relatively low compared to South-east Asian countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Philippines. South-south collaboration between these continents could lead to further diversification of the product range in Africa, to increased incomes, reduction of losses and increased food supplies. For example, boiling small fish in salt water before drying it produces a superior product and there would also be demand for value-added products such as keropok (fish crackers). Even fish sauce would find a demand in many African countries where soup cubes and fermented fish are common ingredients in local dishes.

Shrimp bycatch

Discards are estimated at approximately 20 million tons per year of which several million are discarded in tropical shrimp fisheries. These fisheries take place close to the shores of developing countries with for whom the cheap fish is a (potential) source of income and food. In a shrimp trawl there are generally only 10% to 20% shrimp; the rest is bycatch consisting mainly of small fish often thrown back to sea (dead) but which can be dried or smoked or salted and entered into the traditional marketing chain. Shrimp trawlers spend many days, even weeks, at sea and have little interest to preserve the bycatches. (Figure 6. - A mixed catch of shrimp, fish, etc. by a shrimp trawler (Cuba)).

A mixed catch of shrimp, fish etc., by a shrimp trawler (Cuba)

In several countries there is a transfer of bycatch at sea between the trawler and small coastal vessels. The coastal people buy or barter the fish or receive it as payment for helping to sort the catch. Often bycatch has become an important factor in the economic performance of a shrimp trawler, in particular the smaller local fresh shrimp trawlers which do not freeze the shrimp on-board and therefore make shorter trips. In these cases the fish is no longer unwanted and the term `bycatch' is hardly appropriate anymore. Large freezer trawlers, often owned by foreign companies operating under joint venture with local firms, are less interested in transferring bycatch to coastal people, often because of fear of theft of the shrimp. They dump the fish overboard (Figure 7. - Coastal boats waiting for shrimp bycatch (Mozambique)).

Coastal boats waiting for shrimp bycatch (Mozambique)

There is a general agreement that discards should be further reduced through selective fishing gear and selective fishing methods and/or through increased utilisation of bycatches. Bycatch includes juveniles of fish that could grow into large, high value fish. However, little is known about the ecological effect of bycatches and of discards and further studies are required.