cycle, from inputs to disposal. Impacts that are most often considered are greenhouse gas emissions or climate change, land use, water use and scarcity, eutrophication and acidification. However, assessments of impact on marine resources are often lacking. Previous methods for calculating the FIFO ratio are incompatible with Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) because of a lack of allocation of co- and by-products. Because the eFIFO method applies economic allocation, it aligns with other impact categories in LCA software using similar allocation strategies allowing for comparison of trade-offs between marine ingredient use compared to LCA impact categories providing more nuanced analysis. Sustainability certification and rating schemes still use old FIFO calculation methods that underestimate the efficiency gains in marine ingredient use made by the aquaculture and marine ingredient sectors. Adoption of eFIFO would enable policy makers and stakeholders in the industry to make better informed choices based on a calculation method that takes circular economy principles into account, and this could be a powerful stimulus to greater use and innovation in the utilisation of fish by-products. Such a strategy contributes to the sustainable growth of the aquaculture industry and its crucial role in the global food system. “Fish as feed: Using economic allocation to quantify the Fish In : Fish Out ratio of major fed aquaculture species.” Aquaculture, 528. Kok et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. aquaculture.2020.735474 See also the Institute of Aquaculture’s explanatory video youtu. be/8iXDVL7gqf8 AUTHORS: Björn Kok, Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, UK & Blonk Sustainability Tools, The Netherlands | Wesley Malcorps, Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, UK | Richard Newton, Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, UK | Dave Little, Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, UK.
WHAT WE LEARNED • Almost all species groups assessed in this study are net producers of fish, producing more fish biomass than consumed on average. • Global fed aquaculture produces 3-4x as much fish as it consumes. Atlantic salmon and trout aquaculture are net neutral, producing as much fish biomass as is consumed. • Some Fish In: Fish Out methods misrepresents wild fish use and do not consider the increasing share of fish by-products used in fish feed. • The economic FIFO (eFIFO) method uses economic allocation that gives a higher impact to the limiting feed ingredient (fish oilmeal versus fishmeal oil), reflecting socio-economic drivers of capture fisheries. • Attributing fish inclusion based on economic value results in lower impacts for by-product derived marine ingredients compared to unprocessed forage fish. • Using the eFIFO, rather than conventional FIFO, would encourage by-product use and circular economy principles to lower the overall fish use. Source: Björn Kok et al
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