A project aiming to improve responsible sourcing by gaining more understanding of South East Asia fisheries that supply raw material for fishmeal production has completed its first six months of data gathering.
Jointly funded by the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) and IFFO, the Marine Ingredients Organisation, the project has made contact with government agencies and businesses and aims to build more contacts in the region and provide a detailed overview of raw materials in Thailand and Vietnam to identify any issues and ensure a pathway for responsible supply, based on seeking improvements in management.
Robust management
Duncan Leadbitter, director of Fish Matter and project lead, said: “The fishmeal and fish oil sector has had a long history of seeking to ensure that the fish used for reduction are from responsible sources.
“The Responsible Sourcing program is well developed and has been extended to facilitate the development of Fishery Improvement Projects. The fisheries in tropical Asia are quite different from those that supply fishmeal in other parts of the world and this has required some new approaches which are in development.
“We want to see industry’s leadership role expanded to help ensure that fisheries are responsibly managed wherever in the world they occur.”
Mr Leadbitter has produced a series of draft internal reports for the two funding bodies with the aim of having a public report ready by the end of the year. The data gathering used both publicly available information and in-country sources, such as the Thai Fish Meal Association and a Vietnamese consulting company, Kim Delta.
A video giving an overview of the project by Duncan Leadbitter is now available on the IFFO website.
