Fishing the Feed
The ocean covers two-thirds of our planet and plays a crucial role in sustaining life on Earth. However, overfishing, pollution, growing demand for natural resources and climate change are placing ocean ecosystems under extreme stress. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that over 90% of global fish stocks are either overfished (33.1%) or fished to maximum sustainable levels (59.9%). Chronic over-harvesting of fish and other species poses a threat to biodiversity, to the long-term sustainability of fisheries and to the people who depend on them for their lives and livelihoods. Despite these trends, global seafood consumption has doubled over the past 50 years and roughly half of world fish consumption today comes from aquaculture. Proponents of the industry claim aquaculture has the potential to deliver affordable, healthy protein and could provide a way of diverting pressure from wild fish stocks. However, the industry is failing to deliver on this promise due to its continued reliance on wild-caught fish; almost one-fifth of the world’s total catch of wild fish is processed into fishmeal and fish oil that is fed to farmed fish. This campaign highlights the impacts of using wild-caught fish to feed farmed fish on marine ecosystems and food security and sheds light on murky global supply chains.
Spotlight
Feeding a Monster: How European aquaculture and animal industries are stealing food from West African communities
Reports
Krill, Baby, Krill: The corporations profiting from plundering Antarctica
This report investigates the main culprits responsible for the plundering of the cornerstone of the Antarctic food web: krill. Much of the marine life in the Southern Ocean is either a direct predator of ...
Floundering Around: An assessment of where European retailers stand on the sourcing of farmed fish
This report offers a comparative review of 49 leading European supermarket chains’ policies on farmed fish. Based on extensive research it identifies leaders and laggards.
Investing in troubled waters: the material risks of fish mortality and the use of wild-caught fish in feed for the aquaculture sector
This report shows investors could be doing much more to push companies to rapidly address two critical business risks: the use of wild-caught fish in feed and high mortality rates that stem from poor fish we...
Feeding a Monster: How European aquaculture and animal industries are stealing food from West African communities
This report uncovers how each year, over half a million tonnes of wild-caught fish are taken out of the oceans around West Africa and ground down into fishmeal and fish oil to feed farmed fish and animals.
Dans les mailles du filet. Comment les grandes surfaces françaises font face à l’utilisation de poissons sauvages dans les chaînes d’approvisionnement aquacoles
This report evaluates the performance of the eight biggest food retailers in France when it comes to protecting our oceans and offering their customers sustainably farmed fish and seafood.
Erwischt: Wildfisch als Fischfutter für Aquakulturen!
This report outlines how effectively Austrian retailers are safeguarding the health of the oceans and fish welfare through the sustainability of their aquaculture supply chains. Read our German language report:
Überfischung: Wildfisch als Fischfutter in Aquakulturen – Schweizer Detailhändler im Vergleich
This report outlines how effectively Swiss retailers are safeguarding the health of the oceans and fish welfare through the sustainability of their aquaculture supply chains. Read our German language report:
Atrapados: Cómo los supermercados españoles abordan el empleo de pescado salvaje en su cadena de suministro acuícola
This report looks at how effectively Spanish supermarkets are safeguarding the health of the oceans, through the sustainability of their farmed fish supply chains. Read our Spanish language report:
Futter Bei Die Fische: Ein Bericht zum Umgang von Groß- und Einzelhändlern in Deutschland mit Wildfisch als Fischfutter in ihren Aquakultur-Lieferketten
This report assess how effectively the top seven German supermarkets are addressing the ocean sustainability implications of the farmed seafood they sell. Read our German language report:
What Lies Beneath: Uncovering the truth about Peru’s colossal fishmeal and fish oil industry
This report calls for a rapid phase-out of the use of wild-caught fish to feed farmed fish and other farmed animals.
Caught Out: How UK retailers are tackling the use of wild fish in their aquaculture supply chains
This report scores the top 10 UK supermarkets to assess how effectively they are addressing the ocean sustainability implications of the farmed seafood they sell, which remains largely reliant on the use of ...
Fishing for Catastrophe
This report presents damning evidence that the production of fishmeal and fish oil for use in the growing global aquaculture industry is destroying fish stocks, marine ecosystems and traditional livelihoods.
Until the Seas Run Dry: How industrial aquaculture is plundering the oceans
This report shines a spotlight on the environmental and social impacts of reduction fisheries - the use of wild-caught fish in fishmeal and fish oil to feed farmed fish.
Latest Press Releases
Other Media & Publications
Fishing the Feed
The farmed salmon and prawn on your plate has a dirty secret. It is fed on billions of wild-caught fish trawled from the oceans, destroying fish stocks, destabilising marine ecosystems and depriving food fro...