Boarfish Welfare and Deep Sea Fishing

Boarfish are deep-sea schooling fish harvested at industrial scale for fishmeal and fish oil, raising welfare concerns about both catching methods and their use to feed farmed fish.

Key Facts

Ireland and other European nations have harvested billions of boarfish annually since 2012
They are primarily used for fishmeal and fish oil in aquaculture feeds
Boarfish are caught by large pelagic trawls that cause pressure trauma as fish rise from depth
Their welfare status is poorly understood due to deep-water habitat and lack of research

Welfare Considerations

Boarfish harvested from mid-water depths experience decompression injury as trawl nets bring them to the surface. Swim bladder expansion, eye protrusion, and hemorrhage are documented effects of rapid decompression in fish caught from depth. The immense volumes harvested for reduction to fishmeal means welfare improvements would have enormous scale effects. Converting fish to fishmeal and oil to feed farmed species represents a significant welfare multiplier: the welfare of many small wild fish depends on reducing demand from aquaculture. Improving the feed conversion ratio of farmed fish and replacing fishmeal with alternative proteins reduces boarfish harvest pressure.

What You Can Do

Choose aquaculture products from operations using fishmeal-free or reduced-fishmeal feeds
Advocate for research into welfare-conscious harvesting methods for reduction fisheries
Support development of alternative proteins for aquaculture including insect meal and algae
Reduce consumption of farmed fish species with poor feed conversion ratios
Advocate for fishing quota reductions that protect prey fish populations