....you can only manage what you can measure

As greenhouse gas emissions blanket the Earth, they trap the sun’s heat, causing climate change

A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions (from a process or an activity) causing global warming

Food systems are responsible for around one third of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The aquaculture sector represents 0.49% of global greenhouse gas emissions

Fish need to be fed, but feed has a carbon footprint

Assessing environmental sustainability is much more than just carbon footprint

Environmental impacts (inputs and releases) do not just occur on the production unit

A product’s whole life cycle needs to be considered

Why measure the environmental impacts of marine ingredients?

How to compare the impacts of marine ingredients with that of other feed ingredients?

LCA analyses in the feed sector are mandated by the EU to be based on economic allocation

Fishmeal and fish oil's footprint is low compared to that of other feed ingredients

Regular data updates are needed, leading to an IFFO project (2023)

Comparing apples with apples is the way forward

In June 2024, the leading scientific journal in fisheries science, Reviews in Fisheries Science and Aquaculture, published a review analysing the evolution of sustainability metrics for the marine ingredients sector. In this review, the authors look at the origin of those metrics, their assumptions and limitations and propose a path forward. Life cycle assessment (LCA) analyses are considered the most practical and robust option for use as a shared metric system.