Consumers are becoming more health conscious, many looking to include more fish in their diet, and pet parents are no different.  We’re more aware of the health benefits of omega 3 for dogs and the increase in demand continues to grow the consumption of fish by 3.2% every year, which is twice as fast as the world’s population

With the increase in demand for fish and omega 3 supplements comes overfishing, which places extreme pressure on wild fish stocks, contributing to a loss of biodiversity in our oceans.   In 2016, FAO noted that 30% of fish stocks assessed were being caught at unsustainable levels.  And although the aquaculture industry has expanded in response to the growing demand, these farmed fish still need almost 140,000 tonnes of omega 3 to thrive, and up until now, wild-caught fish had been the only source. 

the truth of sustainable fish oil

With that in mind, many consumer brands are promoting their omega 3 supplements for dogs and humans as sustainable, but are they really?  14% of the global production is certified to be ‘sustainable seafood’ as NGOs have developed green certifications such as Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), or Friend of the Sea (FOS). 

Although it appears to have resulted in reduced bycatch in some fisheries and more sustainable practices among fisherman, these certifications don’t mean that their seafood is bycatch free, or that endangered, threatened or protected species have not been harmed. 

In fact, MSC allows certifiers to award generous scores to fisheries with high levels of bycatch, because the criteria focus only on ‘avoiding serious or irreversible hard’.  In contrast, FOS sets a limit of 8% of total catch in weight for discards and requires strong bycatch mitigation and monitoring regardless if the specie is endangered.  These certifications have plenty of loopholes, such as “shark finning not being accepted, but being tolerated in practice” (MSC). 

And truth be told, the situation is most likely worst because the fishing companies being audited are paying for these certifications that are keeping these NGOs afloat, in addition to the fact that in the middle of the ocean (where these vessels are fishing), there’s no organization or government official to enforce the law and verify each and every claim of the thousands of vessels out at sea.