Ecuador's small pelagics fishery improvement program has been accepted into the IFFO RS Improver Program.
The FIP – covering anchovy, sardines, mackerel, and herring – was founded in August 2018 by a group of 18 Ecuadorian fishing and processing firms, along with international feed producers Vitapro, Skretting, and BioMar-owned Alimentsa.
The IFFO RS certification, which is operated by the International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organization, the trade group for suppliers of fishmeal and fish oil, signifies that fishmeal and fish oil products are being produced sustainably. The IFFO RS Improver Program is for fisheries that are implementing improvements allowing them to eventually comply with the IFFO RS standard. Usually, fisheries in the IFFO RS Improver Program cannot proceed through full certification either because of a lack of fisheries management, factory infrastructure, or due to operational issues.
Dan Lee, standards coordinator for the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices sustainability certification, told FeedNavigator the move was a major milestone towards sustainable seafood production in Ecuador.
“Markets are demanding responsibly-farmed shrimp, and this includes responsibly-sourced marine ingredients in aqua feeds,” Lee said.
Carlos Cacao, the vice president and director of Empresa Pesquera Polar, which is involved in the FIP, said the process of improving the fishery and eventually obtaining full IFFO RS certification could take five years or longer, according to the Cámara Nacional de Pequeria, a trade group representing the Ecuadorian seafood industry.
"We must remain committed, because we will have to continue contributing, each phase will have a cost,” he said.
There is growing global demand, especially in Europe, for sustainably certified fishmeal and fish oil, Cacao said. Improving the management and sustainability of Ecuador’s small pelagics fishery is also a valuable goal in and of itself, he added.
Next steps will include the creation of a progressive fishery action plan and a multi-stakeholder agreement on achievable actions, Cacao said. The FIP must follow that plan on a specified timeline and will be checked by third-party observers to ensure it is hitting all of its objectives, IFFO said.
Photo courtesy of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
