Capelin and Sand Eel: Welfare of Prey Fish Harvested for Reduction

Capelin and sand eels are small forage fish harvested in vast quantities for fish meal and oil production, with significant welfare and ecosystem implications.

Key Facts

Sand eel fisheries in the North Sea harvest hundreds of thousands of tonnes annually
Capelin is a primary prey species for Atlantic cod, seabirds, and marine mammals
Most sand eel and capelin catch is reduced to fish meal and fish oil for aquaculture
Sand eel fisheries have been linked to seabird breeding failures in the North Sea
Capelin spawning aggregations make them easy to catch in enormous quantities
Both species are ecologically critical in subarctic and arctic marine food webs

Welfare Considerations

Sand eels and capelin are caught by industrial vacuum suction systems or fine-mesh trawls that harvest entire aggregations. The scale of individual animal welfare harm is immense — billions of small fish suffocating in holds or being mechanically processed while alive. As with all forage fish, the individual suffering of each animal is no less real for its small size. The ecological welfare dimension is also significant: removing forage fish in large quantities starves dependent seabirds and marine mammals, creating second-order welfare harms across ecosystems.

What You Can Do

Reduce consumption of farmed salmon and other aquaculture products reliant on fish meal from forage fish
Support restrictions on sand eel fishing in ecologically sensitive seabird nesting areas
Donate to organisations advocating for forage fish ecosystem protections
Learn about the ecological role of forage fish and share this knowledge with others