Distributed from Coquimbo to Chiloe along the Chilean coast, fishing of Araucanian herring (Clupea bentincki) — also known as the common sardine — happens between the northern limit of the V Region and the southern limit of the X Region. Globally, herring represents the fifth-most important species for industrial and artisanal fisheries.
According to the latest figures from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in 2011 a total of 3.3 million metric tons (MT) of herring, incorporating 12 species, was caught. Of that, 887,272 MT was Araucanian herring.
The direct human consumption of herring forms a very small part of this species’ use. Most of the herring catch, along with other small fish like Peruvian anchovies, is used for fishmeal. Fishmeal is a huge component of the farmed fish business, representing 60 to 70 percent of farmed fish production costs. After Peru, Chile was the second-largest producer of fishmeal in 2011, producing 520,000 MT that year.
Amidst tighter catch limits and growing global demand — especially from China, which consumes nearly 45 percent of the world’s fishmeal — the average price of fishmeal in 2013 is expected to rise to USD 1,750 (EUR 1,237),18 percent up from 2012’s USD 1,478 (EUR 1,121). In December 2012, Chilean fishmeal prices were at an all-time high at USD 2,083 per MT, but that figure has since lowered, down to USD 1,747 (EUR 1,325) per MT in June.
As total allowable catch (TAC) for herring and Peruvian anchovy are way below historical figures, prices are expected to rise since demand is not slowing down. The TAC in Chile for herring is 605,000 MT. However, the TAC for southern central anchovy stock is down to 120,000 MT, adding pressure to the herring stocks and influencing the upwards trajectory of fishmeal prices.
Fishmeal production in Chile has had an erratic past. Production peaked in 1994 at 1.54 million MT, but fell sharply in the following decades to a 20-year low of 440,000 MT in 2009. Production since 2009 has hovered around a fairly stable 520,000 MT.
The rising prices of fishmeal and worry about the health of stocks are forcing the aquaculture industry to investigate alternative feed sources, such as plant- and insect-based feeds. Rising costs are eating into fish farmers’ profits.
