New Study Looks at Value of Forage Fish Worldwide

Three kinds of contributions of forage fish were estimated: as direct catch, as food for other commercially important fish, and as an important link in the food web in marine ecosystems. The analysis showed these small fish contribute a total of $16.9 billion, as both direct catch and food for larger fish, to global fisheries annually, representing 20 per cent of the global catch values of all marine fisheries combined. Additionally, the scientists found in 75 per cent of the ecosystem models analysed, at least one of the highly dependent predator species of forage fish, such as seabirds, marine mammals, depended on these fish for half or more of its diet, and in 30 per cent of the models analysed, forage fish made up three-quarters of the diet for at least one predator species.

A team of scientists led by the Institute for Conservation Science at Stony Brook University examined these contributions of forage fish through a compilation and synthesis of 72 published Ecopath models from around the world. Ecopath models are a type of food web model that can be used to estimate the direction and strength of interactions among species within an ecosystem. This analysis identified ecosystems that are likely to have highly to extremely dependent forage fish predators, which may assist in ecosystem-based management efforts that consider both commercial fisheries and effects to threatened or endangered species.

"In addition to their value to commercial fishing and other industries that depend on them for their products, forage fish play valuable roles in global ecosystems while they are still in the water," said Dr Ellen K. Pikitch, co-lead author and executive director of the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science and professor at Stony Brook University. "By quantifying the overall contributions forage fish make globally to both economies and ecosystems, we can evaluate the trade-offs of various uses of forage fish."

"The global contribution of forage fish to marine fisheries and ecosystems," recently published online in the journal FISH and FISHERIES, synthesized data obtained from multiple independent studies of marine ecosystems around the world that include forage fish. This research was supported by a grant from the Lenfest Ocean Programme, and the research was conducted under the auspices of the Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force.

The analysis showed the value of the direct catch of forage fish is $5.6 billion. The highest forage fish catches were found in the Humboldt Current models where the Peruvian anchoveta fishery operates. The value of fisheries that are supported by forage fish is twice that of the direct catch at $11.3 billion. The dollar amount of the contributions of forage fish to industries such as tourism and recreational fishing were not estimated for this study, and would increase the estimated economic value of the fish as prey species.

"Most previous economic studies of forage fish have focused primarily on their role as a directly harvested commodity," said Konstantine J. Rountos, co-lead author and Ph.D. student at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University. "By including an analysis of the indirect value these fish provide as prey species, this study provides data to policy makers, fishery managers, and others when making decisions about the harvest of these fish."

"Considering the ecological roles and support services provided by forage fish in addition to their economic value can result in a win-win situation for both fisheries and ecosystems," said Dr Pikitch. "This approach can result in sustainable populations of both forage fish and the larger fish that depend on them, as well as oceans teeming with a healthy balance of marine life."