SUSTAINABILITY 60 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE February 2024 acidity, and pollutants, as well as more intense and unpredictable weather events. SOLUTIONS: A. Ban bottom trawling. Where bans are not possible, modify trawl gear, reduce trawl speed and duration, elevate nets to avoid damaging the sea floor and use bycatch reduction devices. Also, adopt site-specific management measures. B. Promote regenerative ocean and seaweed farming, both of which can provide benefits of carbon sequestration, restoration of ocean ecosystems, and addressing the global plastics crisis. C. Sourcing feed from responsible and sustainable sources should be a top priority, as it directly relates to other animals being captured and processed to feed, producing a substantial amount of GHG emissions. FOOD SECURITY, AS RELATED TO SDG 2, 14 High aquatic animal welfare translates to a more food-secure future, as it uses the best available science to create high welfare environments that ultimately reduce disease and mortality. SOLUTIONS: A. Consume low trophic species, such as sardines and anchovies as direct protein and nutrient sources in relevant communities. B. Improve the efficiency of fish feed conversion ratios to safeguard wild fish populations for communities who depend on fish for their main source of nutrition. C. Promote local protected marine reserves to allow fish populations to recover, and serve as a source of protein for local communities. FOOD SAFETY, AS RELATED TO SDG 3, 14 Several welfare factors affect fish product safety and quality for consumers. During rearing, poor welfare leads to more bacteria, viruses, biotoxins, and parasites, which are commonly treated with antimicrobials and chemicals. During slaughter, microbial contamination of water, increased handling, invasive stunning and slaughter methods could lead to increased bacterial growth post-slaughter, compromising the safety of the food product. SOLUTIONS: A. In aquaculture, every effort should be made to provide a high welfare environment for the aquatic animal that is species- and life stage-appropriate, coupled with humane stunning and slaughter, to minimize stress and disease. B. In capture fisheries, every effort should be made to capture, handle, and slaughter aquatic animals with welfare in mind to minimize stress and disease. ECOSYSTEM HEALTH, AS RELATED TO SDG 12, 13, 14, 15 A lack of welfare considerations in aquaculture and capture fisheries negatively impact the ecosystem’s health. In aquaculture, poor nutrition from excess or insufficient feed for fish could lead to compromised water quality, aquatic pollution, and attract wild fish or predators due to extra feed hanging in the water column. In capture fisheries, abandoned fishing nets and gear, or ghost gear, continue to kill wildlife and pose serious ocean plastics pollution issues. SOLUTIONS: A. In offshore aquaculture, provide species-appropriate welfare considerations to reduce the probability of predators, escapes, and waste-water spillage. B. In any aquaculture system where predation is likely to be an issue, a risk assessment of the deployment of anti-predator measures should take account of the animal welfare impact on the farmed fish, on the predators themselves, and on any nontarget species that may be affected. C. In capture fisheries, fishing gear that is designed with welfare and environmental impacts in mind can help reduce unnecessary mortality of aquatic species (both target and non-target) and any potential of ocean plastic debris. LIVELIHOODS, AS RELATED TO SDG 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15 Many local communities around the world rely on fisheries for employment, nutritious food, and human health. However, they are threatened by poor management and unsustainable fishing methods and practices that results in overfishing and excessive bycatch of non-target species, including
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