Fishmeal production is up 30 percent worldwide this year through April, according to IFFO – The Marine Ingredients Organization.
As was the case in March, when IFFO reported production was up by an even higher 36 percent, the main driver of the increase was greater production of fishmeal in Peru due to the late start of the 2022 second fishing season in the north-central area of the country.
IFFO said production in the latter half of 2023 will be driven by the first fishing season of anchovy and white anchovy in Peru, which will begin with an exploratory research trip on 3 June, according to an announcement from the Peruvian government on 1 June.
“The quota for this region has been fixed preliminarily at 1.091 million tons. The fishing season will continue after the exploratory fishing if the findings allow it, and the quota could be changed depending on the new biomass evaluation,” IFFO said. “This announcement is of strategic importance to the marine ingredients industry given that, on average, based on annual production figures over the last decade, Peru accounts for 20 percent of global fishmeal and fish oil production.”
IFFO, which tracks fishmeal production in Peru, Chile, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, the United States, Africa, and Spain, reported Spain was the only country to register a decrease in fishmeal production year-over-year in April 2023.
The total cumulative output of fish oil in the first four months of 2023 was down 7 percent compared to 2022, mainly driven by a drop in the fish oil production in North Europe, IFFO said.
Photo courtesy of IFFO
