The supply of sustainable fishmeal and fish oil assures unlimited aquaculture production, said the technical director of the International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organisation (IFFO), Andrew Jackson.

Fishmeal is increasingly used in fish feed and marine raw materials will continue making a significant contribution. "Research is reducing the levels of fishmeal and fish oil necessary in fish feed. The increasing volume of this raw material comes from by-products, which represents a major advance," he added.

However, it is necessary to take precautions since the same species should not be fed with the same fishmeal, according to Jackson.

It is also important to be careful to avoid by-products of threatened species. "We are implementing a definition on what constitutes an acceptable by-product to add it to our standard," he said.

In October of last year, the IFFO introduced their Responsible Supply Standard that covers two critical areas: the source responsible for the production of fishmeal and fish oil, and the purity and safety of these products.

The entity cooperates with fishmeal producers, food companies, aquaculturists, retailers, as well as with the Global Aquaculture Alliance, the Marine Conservation Society and with the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) in the launch of that standard.

According to Chile's Fisheries Subsecretariat (Subpesca), 22,038 tonnes of fishmeal worth US$32.4 million were sold overseas in January, whereas a year before, 49,079 tonnes worth US$44 million had been exported.

The major destination markets of fishmeal were China, Japan, Spain, South Korea and Canada.