HEALTH & WELLNESS
Hailed to be one of the most nutritious foods, our appetite for seafood is running oceans into depletion and extinction of species. Marine life sustainability depends on us and the choices we make with our forks from within our own kitchens.
State of the oceans.
According to the latest edition of the United Nations Fisheries & Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020 report, overfishing has increased from 33.1 percent in 2018 to 34.2 percent currently, resulting in approximately 90 percent of the world’s fish stocks now fully fished or overfished. This is coupled with the complexities of the ongoing pandemic, which despite not having directly affected any species of seafood, has had a catastrophic effect on fisheries and aquaculture food systems worldwide. More specifically, seafood supply chains from fishing and aquaculture production, to processing, transport, and wholesale and retail marketing are all bearing the brunt of Covid-19, resulting in complex sustainability issues.
Seafood remains highly sought after due to its health benefits, as it is an essential source of high-quality protein, micronutrients (selenium, iodine and zinc), and omega-3 fatty acids. As seafood is also low in calories, total fat and saturated fat, numerous studies have shown that a healthy weekly consumption of it can decrease the risk of heart attacks, strokes, obesity and hypertension. Completing the trilogy of benefits is the fact that these aquatic organisms also provide essential nutrients for developing infants and children, especially in low-income food-deficit countries (currently amassing to approximately one billion people), where diets are heavily reliant on fish for protein.
Bursting with so many health benefits, it’s no surprise that we have reached the point of over-fishing and collapsing marine ecosystems. The issue of sustainability is a serious one affecting aquatic life. As the global population continues to grow, seafood plays an increasingly important role as a sustainable and healthy protein source.
“Seafood in general is one of the healthiest animal proteins available and is the last major food source that humans collect from the wild. It is also the animal protein with the relatively lowest carbon footprint.” Anne Gabriel, programme director, Oceania and Singapore, Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
Science-based international non-profit organisation and certification schemes such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) ensures sustainable fish populations, conservation of habitats and the general marine environment, while global conservation organisation Ocean Wise are examples of organisations committed to tackling the issue of marine sustainability. By recognising and rewarding efforts to protect oceans and safeguard seafood supplies for the future, their end goal is helping consumers make wiser choices, which will hopefully subsequently improve future ocean health.
Says Anne Gabriel, programme director, Oceania and Singapore, MSC, “Singapore and the Asian region are highly imperative in meeting MSC’S vision in keeping our oceans healthy. Asia is the world’s largest seafood producer and consumer, with China and Japan being the two largest seafood markets by value. People in these countries also tend to eat a far greater diversity of species than consumers in other parts of the world. As more companies and consumers in these regions demand sustainable seafood, they send a strong message to fisheries to continue their commitment towards sustainability. Some of these have motivated recent developments such as the first certified squid and octopus fisheries, sea cucumber, as well as yellowfin and blue fin tuna. In Singapore, international hotel chains like Grand Hyatt and Hilton have been tremendous supporters of the sustainable seafood movement.”
The MSC label also gives retailers and supply chain companies the opportunity to play their part in fighting overfishing and safeguarding the future of our oceans. By committing to sourcing MSC certified
seafood, companies can help achieve sustainable development goals such as end overfishing, restore fish stocks, protect marine ecosystems and eliminate IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated) fishing.
Singapore-based aquaculture firm Barramundi Asia is doing its part in attaining greater global food security by growing barramundi ethically, efficiently and sustainably, sold through its Kühlbarra brand. Says Tan Ying Quan, the firm’s senior business development manager, “Our premium Kühlbarra barramundi are fed the highest-quality fish food that is certified to be sustainable and traceable. Every batch can be traced to the exact percentages of the various fish, plant proteins and naturally sourced oils included in the food.” The proteins come from sustainably sourced fish meal and a variety of plant proteins such as canola and lupines. The oils are sourced from temperate fish, ensuring our fish have high levels of healthy polyunsaturated fatty acids such as omega-3 and omega-6. “It’s simple. Better food equates to healthier and better-tasting fish.” Tan also added that they are considering alternative plant-based sources such as algae and soy for feeding the fish in an effort to further reduce the footprint created by using fish to feed fish. “Despite being sustainable and environmentally friendly, the feed is currently quite expensive, so economies of scale need to be created before the feed is affordable for more fish farmers to use.” It’s an unfortunate catch-22 situation.
Malaysian-based science and tech giant Ecolex Group
Sdn Bhd’s marketing & communications manager Anushia Shanmugaraj similarly highlights two vicious circles in the fishing and seafood industry affecting sustainability. “The first is that overfishing decreases fish biodiversity and affects the aqueous ecosystem. Low biodiversity means lower fishing. And secondly, rearing the aquaculture industry produces a lot of waste and pollution in the oceans, thus also contributing to decreased fish populations.”
“To break the vicious circle, we need to find a sustainable alternative protein to replace fishmeal, while simultaneously improving the feed conversion rate to enhance productivity and decrease waste output,” she concurs.
Adds Josh Chiu, technology leader, Ecolex Animal Nutrition, "We need to find a sustainable alternative protein to replace fishmeal, while simultaneously improving the feed conversion rate to enhance productivity and decrease waste output."
“The current pandemic has escalated the need for more local food production, and less dependency on global supply chains. We are one of the frontrunners for Singapore’s call for 30 by 30” Dr. Dirk Eichelberger
However, Shanmugaraj says that there are still other issues affecting sustainability. For instance, areas such as supply chain, from production through processing, distribution, retailing, home food preparation and waste, plays a significant part in the food ecology and global food systems, which directly contribute to climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions. The problem is that although many companies are aware of these impacts, they are also facing other challenges such as the increasing need for food security, ensuring quality of nutrition in food, and ensuring an adequate supply of food to meet the daily needs of an ever-growing global population.
“In recent years, we definitely see an increase in responsible purchasing. Consumers today are aware that their purchasing behaviours dictate the level of environmental protection we as a community contribute and how food consumption has a larger global impact. Consumers are increasingly demanding more green products and are willing to pay a little more for them. As more awareness campaigns are made, consumers are becoming more educated on the possible long-term effects if changes are not made now. Consumers generally do have a positive attitude towards sustainable and green products, as long as they are affordable.”
Singapore Aquaculture Technologies (SAT) Pte Ltd, Singapore's first Ai-enabled smart fish farm, is a subsidiary of Wintershine, a locally-based sustainable aquaculture nutrition & healthcare company. Says Dr. Dirk Eichelberger, director SAT, “We are on a quest to find renewable and sustainable sources of protein and oil, for food and energy, using micro-algae as feedstock. Farming fish requires alternative feed sources, ideally based on plant proteins and not fishmeal. Micro-algae can deliver lipids (Omega 3, 6 and 9) and proteins as feed, feed ingredients or feed supplements, so algae cultivation and fish farming can go hand in hand. The ultimate question in farming sustainability is where the feed comes from.”
Eichelberger elaborates further by saying that their technology-supported aquaculture allows for more complex solutions to help with the transformation of the fishing industry, thanks to economically-justified technology; and fresher products with better taste and texture ethically farmed and harvested from good quality, sustainably produced feed (without antibiotics and GMOS, in a stress-free, cold chain environment for the fish). SAT’S sustainable seafood brand BLU~CURRENT is available at Redmart, Sasha’s Fine Foods, Straits Market and in several top restaurants across the island.
“The current pandemic has escalated the need for more local food production, and less dependency on global supply chains. We are one of the frontrunners for Singapore’s call for 30 by 30,” adds Eichelberger.
Home-grown Greenwood Fish Market has been providing consumers with sustainably sourced seafood for the past 20 years. “Some of our stocks include wild Alaskan salmon, wild-caught fishes from New Zealand, Netherlands, and other countries that already have strict fishing limits to keep it sustainable for future generations. Oysters and mussels are cultured, with fresh fishes being wild-caught within sustainable, legal limits by the exporting country. Furthermore, most of our suppliers are personal friends, so we know that they’re trustworthy,” says chef-owner Alan Lee.
Lee also agrees that attitudes are definitely shifting in favour of sustainability as businesses and customers are increasingly taking ownership and responsibility of safeguarding the future of seafood. However, such products demand a higher price, as balancing food costs whilst maintaining the business's price point is a prominent challenge. “Personally, we aren’t facing any new issue since we have always been committed to paying a premium for the freshest seafood from trusted suppliers. Our mission has always been to provide customers with value-for-money seafood, so we don't mind smaller profit margins so long as we're serving the best that we can get our hands on,” he says. “Thankfully, our guests have always been discerning and are willing to pay more for good quality seafood, be it at our restaurants or at our retail markets. Over the years, we have observed an increased interest in the origins and sustainability of our products, and our customers are usually willing to pay the slightly premium price which our quality products hold relative to others in the market.”