20
Deforesta on-free and
sustainable supply chains
for vegetable fats and proteins
for aquaculture feed
By Emanuele Novelli, Ph.D., Sustainability Consultant at Meo Carbon Solu ons GmbH; Myriel Camp, System Manager at
ISCC System GmbH.
Aquaculture plays a prominent role
for the sa sfac on of current and
future human dietary needs.
According to FAO, by 2025 the share
of aquaculture on the total world
fishery produc on will grow by 8 %-
points, from 44% to 52%, reaching the
level of about 100 million tons.
Achieving this produc on level
depends on a series of factors such as
availability and accessibility of good
produc on loca ons, sufficient
investments in infrastructures, capital
availability, and availability of fish
feed in the required quality and
quan es. With regard to fish feed, a
subs tu on effect between tradi on-
al fish meal/oil and vegetable meal/oil
can be observed. When looking at
specific terrestrial plant ingredients
such as e.g. soy or maize, it has to be
noted that these feed ingredients
partly originate from areas rich in
biodiversity and carbon stock, o en
connected to deforesta on or
grassland conversion. This ar cle
focuses on the impacts of terrestrial
plant ingredients produc on for
aquaculture feed and provides
insights into solu ons that cer fica-
on schemes like ISCC (Interna onal
Sustainability and Carbon Cer fica-
on) are able to offer for the
implementa on of deforesta on-free
and sustainable feed supply chains.
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Use of vegetable fats and
proteins in aquafeed
According to the FAO (2011), the most
prominent aquafeed ingredients used
for the three most relevant finfish
species groups are vegetable
ingredients of terrestrial origin,
making up around 60% to 80% in
weight (figure 1). With 30% share,
rapeseed meal is the most relevant
meal, closely followed by soybean
meal, wheat and maize. Taking into considera on the growth
of the aquaculture sector, the lower
There has been a subs tu on effect
price of vegetable-meals and the
between tradi onal fishmeal and
subs tu on trend described above, it
vegetable meal mainly driven by
is a ques on whether the needed
availability and market prices. Figure 2
future and rapid expansion of
shows that in 2016 interna onal
terrestrial feed produc on for
market prices for fish meal were four
aquaculture will be able to cope with
mes higher than the ones of soybean
the necessary social and environmen-
meal, while the price for fish oil was
tal requirements set by retailers and
more than double than the one for
demanded by consumers.
alterna ve vegetable oils, such as
rapeseed and soybean oils.

Fig. 1. World finfish aquaculture produc on and diet of the three most relevant species group (fish produc on referred to year 2014).

Challenges of sourcing
sustainable feed
Due to the fact that feedstock used
for aquafeed o en originate from
highly biodiverse and carbon rich
areas special a en on has to be put
on the risks associated with its
1
Cyprinids and Cichlids based on averages from diet data of China (2008). Salmons based on diet produc on, such as deforesta on or
data from Norway (2010). the conversion of highly biodiverse
2
Ca ish not included
3
Fishmeal, 64/65%, Bremen fca; Soya meal, 49%,Arg,cif Ro ; Rape meal,34%,fob ex-mill Hmb; Fish
grassland. Effects of deforesta on
oil, any orig, cif N.W.Eur; Soybean oil, Brazil, fob; Rape oil, Dutch, fob ex-mill linked to soybean produc on have
4
Monthly nota on un l April 2016
been already highlighted by many
Fig. 2: Prices of fish-, soybean-, rapeseed- oil and meal (2011 – 2016). NGOs (figure 3).
 22

Fig. 3: Excerpts of reports and ar cles from WWF and Mongabay websites highligh ng soybean cul va on related deforesta on risks.

Given this background, it is a commitments and their responsible objec ves (figure 4), however, there
challenge for the feed industry to sourcing policies. Leading players of s ll needs to be a lot done, looking at
keep promise of the no deforesta on the feed industry have set ambi ous the current land use change level.
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Fig.4. Sourcing policy posi on of leading aquafeed producers.


ISCC Solu ons for
sustainable and
deforesta on-free supply
chains for feed
In order to address the above-
men oned challenges and to keep
promise of the no deforesta on
commitments and responsible
sourcing policies, more and more
companies are using ISCC to prove
compliance and show their commit-
ment towards sustainable produc on.
ISCC is a globally leading cer fica on
system, which provides solu ons for
sustainable and deforesta on-free
supply chains. It has been developed
through an open mul -stakeholder
process and is currently governed by
an associa on with nearly 100
members. The ISCC system covers all
kinds of agricultural, forestry and
alterna ve raw materials and can be
applied in various markets, including
the feed, food and biochemical
market as well as in the bioenergy
sector. Since its start of opera on in
2010 over 17,000 cer ficates in more
than 100 countries have been issued.
ISCC provides full traceability along
supply chains through site-specific
cer ficates issued by independent
cer fica on bodies, who verify
compliance with high ecological and
social sustainability requirements,
including land and labour criteria such
as the protec on of biodiversity, the
preserva on of carbon sinks, good
agricultural prac ces and the respect
of human and social rights. Compen-
sa on for new plan ngs is not
allowed. Another core pillar of ISCC
cer fica on is the carbon footprint
24
verifica on as well as the non-GMO
produc on for feed, which both can
be applied on a voluntary basis. All
ISCC cer ficates are published on the Increasing demand for
ISCC website and enable each player
aquaculture feed causes a shi
to source sustainable products from
any cer ficate holder. from the use of fish meal/oil to
In order to verify that no illegi mate vegetable meal/oil as feed
land use change has taken place, ISCC
uses GRAS (Global Risk Assessment ingredient. Along with this shi
Services), a web-based tool based on
remote sensing technology which
comes the risk of sourcing raw
provides comprehensive sustainability material associated with
-related geo-referenced informa on
on biodiversity, land use change, deforesta on or grassland
carbon stock and social indices.
conversion as well as other
Occurrence of land use change can be
verified by using a simple to interpret environmental and social
greenness index called the Enhanced
Vegeta on Index (EVI). Using EVI me problems.
series from 2000 un l today, GRAS
users can differen ate among the
types of green cover, see the history
of the land use, and most importantly
for sustainability cer fica on and to
detect the exact point in me of land
verifiably implement no-deforesta on
use change (see example in figure 5).
commitments. Auditors can use it for
For producers, the use of GRAS is a
risk analysis prior to cer fica on.
secure and credible way to prepare
Fig. 5. GRAS can iden fy the exact point in me when land use change has taken place.
Example Brazil.

Another problem the aquaculture
industry is facing is the loss of
mangroves due to expansion of
aquaculture produc on into
mangrove areas. GRAS is in the
posi on to clearly iden fy mangroves
and show any land use change with a
high accuracy, using high resolu on
satellite images. The GRAS tool is able
to map exis ng aquaculture
opera ons based on polygons
provided by farm operators and it
analyzes mangrove destruc on in the
past un l today (see figure 6).
Furthermore, it points out areas of
high biodiversity in the vicinity of the
farm opera ons and offers a
con nuous monitoring of the
opera ons and the respec ve
surrounding areas (e.g. annually).
Conclusions
Increasing demand for aquaculture
feed causes a shi from the use of fish
meal/oil to vegetable meal/oil as feed
ingredient. Along with this shi comes
the risk of sourcing raw material
associated with deforesta on or
grassland conversion as well as other
environmental and social problems.
Due to this risk, feed producers are
increasingly under observa on of Non
- Governmental Organisa ons (NGOs)
and consumers and at the same me
retailer request proof that supply
chains are sustainable and deforesta-
on-free.
Credible cer fica on is essen al in
order to have a real impact on the
previous men oned challenges. The
ISCC system applies high sustainability
standards and strict rules of imple-
menta on and verifica on. Through
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Fig. 6. GRAS can accurately map mangroves using high-resolu on Radar and Op cal
imagery.
the use of innova ve tools and
technologies ISCC ensures a credible,
effec ve and cost efficient cer fica-
on process. The combina on of ISCC
together with the GRAS tool allows its
users to source sustainable and
deforesta on-free material. ISCC
cer fica on is therefore an important
AFΩ
pillar in sustainability strategies of
companies, which can be used for
More informa on
communica on with customers.
Dr. Emanuele
Novelli,
Sustainability
Bibliography Consultant at
FAO (2011): Demand and supply of Meo Carbon
Solu ons
feed ingredients for farmed fish and
GmbH
crustaceans.
FAO (2016): The state of world
E: novelli@meo-carbon.com
fisheries and aquaculture.
FAOSTAT (2017): Global soybean
Myriel Camp,
produc on and cul va on (years 1995
System
- 2025). Manager at
WWF (2016): The soy scorecard. ISCC System
GmbH
WWF (2017): The gran Chaco.
Mongabay (2017): New soy-driven E: camp@iscc-system.org
forest destruc on exposed in South-
America.