Investor interest in aquaculture risks being undermined by a failure of ESG policies, according to a group of NGOs.
The report by Changing Markets Foundation, Feedback, Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements and Western Sahara Resource Watch says issues such as fish mortality and the use of wild-caught fish for feed present significant environmental, social, and animal welfare concerns that can affect returns and damage reputation, while also undermining the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
The value of the global aquaculture market is projected to reach US$376bn by 2025 with soaring consumer demand for seafood, coupled with the depletion of wild-fish stocks from overfishing, making farmed fish an attractive target for investment.
However, high mortality rates and the sector’s continued dependence on wild-caught fish for use in aquafeed represent a systemic and economic threat for companies, according to the group’s analysis.
“Investments in aquaculture are in troubled waters,” said Alice Delemare Tangpuori, campaign manager at Changing Markets Foundation. “Current unsustainable practices threaten to affect returns and damage reputation, as consumers come to realise the magnitude of fish dying in farms and also how these farms still use billions of wild-caught fish as feed, diverting valuable proteins from African and Latin American countries and damaging ocean ecosystems.”
The report claims that not a single investor or financial institution has in place robust policies to require the reduction of farmed fish mortality rates, either directly or in their supply chain. It also found no investors or financial institutions with criteria in place requiring a reduction or phase-out of the use of wild caught fish as feed.
The NGOs are calling on investors to require companies to publicly disclose their full aquaculture supply chains and provide transparent reporting on key indicators.
The future of seafood sustainability and implications for the foodservice sector was discussed in a recent Footprint40 podcast with special guest Charles Clover, executive director of the Blue Marine Foundation.
