EWOS and Mackerel Fishmeal from Iceland
In response to the erroneous Intrafish article (05 August 09) on EWOS and Icelandic mackerel, we would like to clarify our position on this matter.
The EWOS sourcing and purchasing team makes fishmeal buying
decisions based upon a variety of factors including: quality, sustainability,
price and availability. In the recent case
on Icelandic mackerel sourcing, sustainability was not a factor in our decision
to stop buying, as Einar Wathne (Deputy Managing Director for EWOS Group)
explains “The actual reason is that mackerel meal caught in summertime has
problems with the right qualities, the right freshness of meal that we demand
for salmon feed. That’s the reason we haven’t bought the fishmeal from
The sustainability of fisheries is a complex affair,
particularly in the case of transboundary stocks like mackerel. Wathne continues
“When it comes to the sustainability issue its right we don’t buy fish from
what are judged as unsustainable fisheries. But, the position on mackerel from
“We consider, from scientific advice on size of stock, that the
current quota [of mackerel] is sustainable. In our position we must encourage
the commissions to resolve political issues, because it becomes an issue for
more than the mackerel fisheries, it becomes an issue for the whole aquaculture
industry - We need to get this resolved as soon as possible” concludes Wathne.
