Increase in environmental compatibility of capture fisheries and aquaculture

The number of seafood products that are permitted to carry the blue MSC sustainability seal continues to grow, particularly in Europe.

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Fishing and aquaculture have in recent years made enormous progress on their path to a more sustainable approach to production even if critics still doubt or deny the fact. For the criteria that enable objective assessment of the situation paint a clear picture: the environment and the resources it holds are today in better shape and we are entitled to look optimistically into the future.

The term “sustainability” has for some time been a firm and hardly avoidable part of today’s language and culture. It is used in all conceivable contexts and very different areas of life… and so in the fish industry, too. It is thus all the more surprising that among the public only a very small number of people can actually explain what the word means or what it entails. This is probably due to the fact that the verb “to sustain”, from which the noun “sustainability” is derived has almost completely disappeared from everyday spoken language and only appears in scientific publications. In its original sense the word “sustain” meant to “keep (something) going over time or continuously”. By this is meant a principle of action in the use of resources which focuses on preserving their essential properties, stability and the regeneration ability of the systems. The idea of sustainable management already emerged in the 18^th century in the forestry sector with the aim of not felling more trees than could grow again. Behind this was at that time the guiding principle that one should live off the interest and not reduce the capital.

It is not so much a specific process or individual action that the term “sustainability” describes but rather a philosophy, a management approach that not only focuses on the moment, on short-term success or profit, but is geared to the longer term, to permanency. It requires future-oriented management so that not only we ourselves but also our children, our children’s children, and future generations will still be able to make use of the same resources. In the meantime the principle of sustainability has extended beyond the environmental aspect to cover quite different branches of society. Future-oriented management thus implies that in addition to the ecological aspects of our actions we must also consider their social and economic consequences.

Sustainability in the fishing sector means to only catch that volume of fish which will not endanger the regrowth of the stocks and will ensure high yields in the long term. In practice that means above all that the fishing methods used must preserve the stocks and prevent overfishing, largely minimize the proportion of unwanted by-catches, avoid reducing the reproductive capacity of the target fish species, and not damage ecosystems such as the seabed unreasonably or even irreversibly. This naturally also includes all forms of illegal, unreported or unregulated (IUU for short) fishing. When assessing the sustainability of individual fisheries it is necessary, however, to consider the different sensibilities of individual fish species. The stocks of species that are not sexually mature until a relatively high age and only have few young are more threatened by overfishing than species that grow quickly and reproduce at a comparatively young age with large numbers of offspring.

About ten per cent of all fish catches are already MSC certified

In the past it was impossible for customers at fish counters and frozen food cabinets to recognize whether a product came from overfished or sustainably managed stocks. Sustainability certificates constitute an intelligent solution to this problem: the Friend of the Sea seal or the blue logo of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) gives the consumer confirmation of the products’ sustainable origins. This simple concept is also clever in that it makes consumers the driving force behind changes towards more sustainability. For it is their shopping behaviour, their decision in favour of a certified product that will probably make even unwilling producers support sustainable management in the long run. The Marine Stewardship Council which was founded in 1997 by WWF and the food group Unilever and has been an autonomous, independent, non-profit organisation since 1999 is probably the world’s largest certification organisation. To assess the sustainability of a fishery MSC primarily looks at three criteria:

1. The biological condition of the fish stocks (Are there enough fish in the stock to allow sustainable catches in the long term?).
2. The impact of fishing on the marine environment (What effect does the fishery have on other organisms, for example marine mammals or seabirds?)
3. Fishery management systems (Are the current rules and regulations sufficient to guarantee sustainable fishing and the protection of the marine environment?).

Based on these decision criteria, certification according to MSC standards can probably serve as evidence of a fishery’s sustainability. And the balance of the MSC programme to date is very positive. In mid-January 2015 nearly 350 fisheries were listed and just under 250 of them had already gained the much sought after MSC certificate. The total catch of certified fisheries and those for which certification is pending amounted to nearly 10 million tonnes, or more than one tenth of global catch volume. In the meantime more than 25,000 products bear the MSC seal, and about 16,000 of them are available for the end consumer at the retailer’s. MSC products are sold in more than 100 countries worldwide. This is clear evidence that the turn towards more sustainability has not only begun but has already made considerable progress. And in addition to MSC there are also other certification organisations that are acting in the same direction. For a fishery to be recognized according to Friend of the Sea standards it is not permissible to fish overfished stocks, the fishing methods used must not damage the seabed, and the bycatch rate must be below 8 per cent of catch volume. Even the climatic effects of the fishery and fish trade can be assessed. For
this, Friend of the Sea offers a relatively simple CO₂ calculator, the Seafood Carbon Footprint Calculator. The admittedly controversial monitoring programme for dolphin-safe tuna catches (SAFE) also makes a visible contribution to sustainability despite certain weaknesses for it helps prevent unwanted bycatches of marine mammals, sharks, sea turtles, swordfish and other by-catch species during tuna fishing for the canning industry. Currently about 90 per cent of the canned tuna traded worldwide comes from producers who have joined the SAFE programme.

Turnaround in European fisheries achieved

Despite some continuing shortcomings of global fisheries FAO’s current SOFIA report (The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2014) describes some success of the efforts made towards more sustainability. The share of overfished stocks in 2011, the last year in which these figures were compiled, was still much too high at 28.8%. However, the share of sustainably utilized stocks that are fished within safe biological limits according to the Maximum Sustainable Yield principle (MSY) had risen to 61.3%. If we add the 9.9 per cent of not fully utilized stocks, we see that in 2011 nearly three quarters of the commercially important fish stocks were used responsibly. This marks a considerable achievement which however – measured against expectations in relation to sustainability – is not enough. For the SOFIA report also points to the fact that the share of those stocks that are outside safe biological limits has risen since 1990. Although this development has indeed slowed down considerably it could not be stopped entirely or (what would be better still) reversed.

European fisheries in the North East Atlantic and the North Sea and Baltic can testify similar figures. The European Commission reported in March 2015 that fishing in EU waters is pursued in an increasingly sustainable manner. If all member states adhere to the fishing quotas adopted in December 2014 this would add 9 further fish stocks to the list of fish stocks that are managed according to the MSY principle.  This would mean a rise of well over 60 per cent in the number of sustainably fished stocks and highlights the success of the ongoing sustainability transition. As part of the reform of Common Fisheries Policy the EU set itself the goal to manage all European fish stocks sustainably by 2020 at the latest. Certainly, the EU had such ambitious plans in the past, too, but this time they really seem to be working seriously on their realisation. And that was urgently necessary for in 2011 when the EU Commission presented its proposition for the reform of fisheries policy nearly 75 per cent of fish stocks in the EU were considered overfished. At that time the fleets of many member states caught a lot more fishes than could regenerate naturally and the fishing sector was becoming increasingly unprofitable and demanded constant financial aid; the industry’s future seemed uncertain.

The reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) aims at making fishing ecological, profitable and socially sustainable. This would contribute towards stabilising the supply of fish and seafood to EU citizens and creating profitable employment and growth opportunities in coastal regions. However, a necessary prerequisite for this would be that the stocks return to a sustainable level and all destructive fishing practices are ended. Fishing quotas must be based on the preservation of maximum productivity of fish populations. This could help the stocks to grow which in turn would allow larger catch volumes, higher earnings and better wages for crew members. Because larger fish stocks alone are not sufficient to achieve this target, the reformed CFP includes a whole package of measures:

1. Multi-year management plans for implementing an ecosystem-based and precautionary approach to ensure that resources are protected and long-term returns maximized.
2. Discard ban. The fishermen are committed to landing all commercially utilizable species in the catch. The general discard practice should with some exceptions be gradually phased out from 2015 to 2019.
3. Regulation of fishing capacities. Fleet capacities (number and size of vessels) should be better adapted to fishing opportunities.
4. More effective support of artisanal fisheries which often play an important role for cultural identity within the social setting of Europe’s coastal regions.
5. Development of scientific knowledge about the condition of marine resources.
6. New market policy. Existing intervention regulations will be modernized and simplified. Producer organizations may buy fishery products when prices fall below a certain level and store them for sale at a later point in time.

Aquaculture is subject in many places to strict environmental regulations

It is much more difficult to assess sustainability status in the aquaculture sector. Whilst the condition of fish stocks in the fishing sector enables fairly clear judgements and inferences, such evaluation criteria are lacking in the aquaculture sector. Added to this is the complexity of many of the problems with which aquaculture producers can be confronted. The effects of farming on the environment, for example: water pollution through uneaten feed and fish excrement or chemical and medication residues. Escapes that might mate with wild fishes and thus have detrimental impacts on the gene pool constitute a further problem. And if aquaculture is based on wild fry (as in eel or tuna farming) this can also cause damage to natural stocks. Unqualified allegations against aquaculture are still not permissible, however, because the effects of farming can be very different depending on the region, type and size of the water
body, farmed species and intensity of production. Aquaculture is not only carried out in open systems such as floating net cages but also in near-natural ponds, land-based circular tanks and raceways, or in fully enclosed recirculating systems. A fish farm located in a cold fjord with the regular flow of the tides will generally have other environmental consequences than open net cages in standing tropical waters. A lot of outdoor aquaculture facilities are in the meantime fitted with cleaning units which range from simple settling ponds and sedimentation basins to complicated drum and biofilters to reduce contamination of the effluent water.

Many countries in the western world but also in poorer regions of the planet have tightened their environmental regulations considerably. Production licences for aquaculture facilities are often linked to strict environmental and social standards, and non-compliance can lead to harsh penalties and even closure of the farm. In Norway and other countries aquaculture in one of the best regulated and most strictly controlled sectors of the economy. This does not, however, mean that all problems have been solved satisfactorily or that sustainability can be guaranteed throughout the industry. There is still a lot to do and for some difficulties there are currently still no viable solutions in sight… Avoidance of escapes, for example, or problems with salmon lice and other parasites, combatting shrimp diseases such as EMS, or the search for affordable, same-quality alternatives for fish oil containing Omega 3 fatty acids. That, too, is an element of sustainability where aquaculture is concerned.

Sustainability certificates as “seals of approval” for aquaculture facilities

As in fisheries, there are also different seals and certificates with which operators can attest to compliance with certain environmental and social sustainability standards. Whereas in North America the most common is the Best Aquaculture Practice seal of the Global Aquaculture Society, most people in Europe favour the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) which is considered a seal of approval for the sustainability of aquaculture facilities. WWF was again the major initiator of this seal (as was the case with the MSC, too) when the organisation set in motion a broad-based discussion for a greener aquaculture, which ultimately (in 2009) led to the formation of the ASC. Because the ASC standards were developed in a tough discussion process they represent a compromise between the interests of all stakeholders. However, they contain all the necessary requirements that are essential for environmentally-friendly, responsible, sustainable aquaculture. With that, the ASC standards are a good indicator of the sustainability of aquaculture. And indeed, the signs are good, for the number of facilities undergoing the complex and costly certification procedure is constantly growing. Although for example the ASC standards for salmon farming have only been available since mid-2012 there were already 50 companies within the programme at the beginning of 2015. The Global Salmon Initiative, whose companies contribute much more than 70 per cent to worldwide salmon production, hopes to have all farms certified according to ASC standards by 2020.

Based on the number of certified companies and products the MSC has currently advanced much further than the ASC. This is quite understandable, however, for the MSC went into operation ten years earlier. Apart from that, the ASC is grappling with complex issues arising from the wide variety of farming methods and produced species that abound in aquaculture. Whereas for the MSC the basic standards for all fisheries are the same and only have to be slightly modified in individual cases the diversity of aquaculture often forces the ASC to define special standards for every single species. As is the case with MSC it is mainly the big retail chains that are the driving force behind developments towards more sustainability in the ASC. Nearly all of them are pushing their suppliers to undergo certification. Parallel to these developments new kinds of production techniques are emerging in aquaculture that are more sustainable and more environmentally friendly than many of today’s methods. Following the example of polycultures, for example, IMTA systems (Integrated Multi Trophic Aquaculture) are being designed that combine the farming of various different species. A similar approach can be seen in aquaponics, which through the production of several species combines and links more closely the material and energy cycles. And the strategic plans of the EU [COM(2002)0511, COM(2009)0162] with which the Commission intends to fight stagnation in European aquaculture production also focus on the sustainable development of this sector.

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