Robert Lefebure is the fisheries manager at MarinTrust, a program dedicated to the responsible sourcing, production, and traceability of marine ingredients.
Ensuring responsible management of the fisheries providing raw materials to the marine ingredients sector is critical to the FAO’s Blue Transformation Roadmap and the responsible development of the global aquaculture sector.
Small pelagic fisheries in particular are known for their dynamic stock status. They respond rapidly to changes in their environment and are both critical to the healthy functioning of ecosystems and supporting livelihoods. It is, therefore, important to recognize progress in driving responsible management of these fisheries. Such efforts require collaboration among a wide range of stakeholders: governments, local communities, industry, and NGOs.
From a marine ingredient production perspective, some fisheries we at MarinTrust have been working with are making significant strides. It is critical to ensure that marine ingredients such as fishmeal and fish oil are sourced from fisheries managed in alignment with the FAO’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries or undertaking a fishery improvement project (FIP) process.
Such a requirement is central to compliance in the key certification schemes within the aquafeed industry: Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP), Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), and Global GAP. While MarinTrust does not certify fisheries, it sets the standard for marine ingredient production facilities to be certified by third party-accredited certification bodies. A key demand for that approval is that the raw material comes from responsibly managed fisheries.
Take, for example, the Chilean Austral sardine fishery. In 2025, it achieved MarinTrust approval – a milestone that reflects real, on-the-water improvements. It is clear that collaborative efforts played a role in supporting this progress.
Another example is the Ecuadorian multi-species fishery. This fishery represents a forward-thinking approach to ecosystem-based management – an area where traditional single-species models are increasingly challenged by climate variability and shifting marine dynamics. MarinTrust has been actively working to support such multi-species initiatives, recognizing that the future of well-managed fisheries lies in adaptive, holistic frameworks.
Two MarinTrust-accepted FIPs are more complex multi-species fisheries: the Gulf of Thailand fishery and the Vung Tau fishery in Vietnam.
These have been in an improvement process for a few years under MarinTrust’s multi-species pilot. In those instances, the assessment criteria have been designed to meet the needs of complex fisheries that do not fit the conventional approach to fishery assessment. While significant adaptations are needed for fisheries in these regions to meet the standards of responsible management – whether for direct consumption or for producing fishmeal and fish oil – MarinTrust and our FIP partners view this as a shared journey of learning and innovation. Our priority is to develop practical solutions to complex challenges, ensuring a long-term supply of responsibly sourced marine ingredients.
Let me also highlight the growing importance of byproducts in marine ingredient production. The increased utilization of fish byproducts is a testament to the industry’s ability to innovate and reduce waste, aligning with circular economy principles. As we see the effects of the climate crisis on the marine environment being more pronounced, with prolonged heatwaves, effects on up-welling dynamics, and more, an innovative use of byproducts represents an additional source of raw material supply for marine ingredient production in uncertain times.
This trend needs to be encouraged and supported by robust certification schemes assuring the traceability of those raw materials. This is a clear benefit brought by the most recent version of the MarinTrust Standard Version 3, launched last year.
As we move forward, dialogue on the state of fisheries globally informs our own species assessments and can be considered in third-party evaluations. We welcome the transparency and data that such discussions and data bring, and we remain committed to continuous improvement, collaboration, and innovation in the marine ingredients sector.
Sustainability is not a static goal; it’s a journey. While no single piece of data can capture the full picture, each one adds valuable perspective.
