MarinTrust’s Libby Woodhatch stresses importance of fishmeal factory certification

Certifications are essential credentials for improving fisheries, reducing instances of illegal fishing, increasing the effective use of fish waste, and achieving food security, according to Libby Woodhatch, the executive chair of London, U.K.-based marine ingredient certification body MarinTrust.

During this year’s edition of IFFO – The Marine Ingredients Organization’s annual conference in Cape Town, South Africa, which took place from 23 to 25 October, Woodhatch spoke to SeafoodSource on the importance of these certifications, particularly emphasizing that the improvement of marine fisheries through certifications leads to catching fewer but higher-quality fish.

“Marine ingredient producers want to make high-quality fishmeal and fish oil for fed aquaculture and other consumers, but that is only possible with high-quality fish byproducts,” she said. “This means they have to source their fish from certified fisheries that are well-managed because they also want to provide assurance to their customers that they are not processing fish that is obtained illegally, unreported, and unregulated (IUU).”

Citing the example of Mauritania, where the country’s small pelagic fishery is often targeted by ... ... 

Photo courtesy of MarinTrust