Sprat and herring are small pelagic fish caught in huge volumes for reduction to fishmeal and fish oil used in aquaculture feed, raising welfare concerns about catch and processing methods for billions of individual animals.
The welfare of small pelagic fish used for reduction is almost entirely unaddressed in current fisheries regulation. Billions of individual fish die annually in conditions causing significant suffering, including crushing in nets, suffocation on deck, and asphyxiation in fish pumps. The demand for fishmeal in aquaculture creates a direct link between farmed fish welfare improvements and the welfare of wild fish used in their feed. Reducing fishmeal use through lower-inclusion diets and alternative ingredients reduces the number of wild fish subjected to these conditions.