Putting it into context
Comprising a diverse range of species and products, today’s seafood supply chains provide essential nutrition to billions of people around the world. In addition to being the principal source of long chain omega-3 fatty acids, which are central to human health and development, these foods also provide crucial minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, zinc, iron, selenium and iodine, as well as vitamins A, D and B, and vital amino acids like lysine and methionine. We’ll touch on this a bit further in the report.
It is widely accepted that even consuming small quantities of seafood can have a significant positive nutritional impact for people of all ages. These health benefits, along with population growth, rising incomes and increased urbanisation have resulted in a strong global consumption trend. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), people have never consumed as much fish as they do today. The FAO’s most recent data finds that the world consumption has doubled since the 1960s to an estimated 20.5 kg per capita in 2018, and also that the annual global growth in consumption has risen at twice the rate of the population’s expansion every year for the last 40 years.
As a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact Sustainable Ocean Principles, we recognise the urgency and global importance of a healthy ocean, and will take action to promote the well-being of the ocean for current and future generations.
The plateauing of wild-capture fisheries has put a strong onus on aquaculture to meet most of the market’s increasing need for seafood products. Again, the FAO has evidenced that the industry is rising to the challenge and growing faster than any other major food production sector. Indeed, the human consumption of farmed fish and shrimp has already eclipsed that of products from wild fisheries and it is projected that by 2030, 60% of the seafood we consume will be farm produced, based on a total global harvest of 110 million tonnes.
In a report released in 2020 commissioned by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, titled Ocean Solutions that Benefit People, Nature and the Economy, it is stated that the ocean is capable of producing six times more seafood in a sustainable way by 2050, with a significant potential to expand ocean aquaculture if farms avoid adversely affecting surrounding ecosystems and use fish feed that is not made from wild caught fish.
As a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact Sustainable Ocean Principles, we recognise the urgency and global importance of a healthy ocean, and will take action to promote the well-being of the ocean for current and future generations. The Sustainable Ocean Principles provide a framework for responsible business practices across sectors and geographies. They build upon and supplement the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.
Aquaculture vs capture production
At Skretting, we believe there is much more than can be achieved.
Despite the clear growth trends, fish and shellfish account for only 7% of the proteins consumed worldwide, while just 2% of all the food that we eat comes out of the sea. This is despite our oceans covering more than 70% of the Earth’s surface. Therefore, as we look ahead to the challenge of providing almost 10 billion people in 2050 with a healthy diet that is produced within planetary boundaries, aquaculture is uniquely placed to be one of the most productive and sustainable food systems for people and planet.
In 2020, Skretting produced 2.3 million tonnes of feed resulting in more than 21 million seafood meals per day.
