Fussy cats threatening fish supplies

news.com.au 25 Aug 08;

CATS with a fondness for gourmet meals are threatening fish supplies, an Australian scientist says.

Deakin University scientist Dr Giovanni Turchini has discovered an estimated 2.48 million tonnes of forage fish - a limited biological resource - is consumed by the global cat food industry each year.

"That such a large amount of fish is used for the pet food industry is real eye-opener," Dr Turchini said.

"What is also interesting is that, in Australia, pet cats are eating an estimated 13.7 kilograms of fish a year which far exceeds the Australian average (human) per capita fish and seafood consumption of around 11 kilograms.

"Our pets seem to be eating better than their owners."

Wild forage fish, which includes sardines, herrings and anchovies, are an important link in the marine food chain, as part of the diet of larger fish like tuna and swordfish.

Overfishing of marine resources is a concern to conservationists and the fishing industry.

"While much of the criticism has been on the grounds that forage fish could be better used for human consumption directly, particularly amongst the poorer nations of the world, rather than in the production of food for farmed fish, little attention has been paid to the amount of forage fish used by the pet food industry," Dr Turchini said.

She said she believed the pet food industry was moving towards marketing premium and super-premium products.

"These gourmet pet foods contain a significant amount of fish that may be suitable for direct human consumption."

Different raw material, such as by-products of the fish filleting industry, would be better used in pet food.

A more objective and pragmatic approach to the use of decreasing fish stocks was needed, she said.

Cats eating into world fish stocks
Chee Chee Leung, The Age 25 Aug 08;

GOURMET meals dished up to pampered pets could be threatening world fish supplies, Victorian scientists have warned.

Calculations by Deakin University researchers show an estimated 2.48 million tonnes of forage fish are used each year by the global cat food industry.

Leading this fishy business is the US, where more than 1.1 million tonnes of small forage fish, including sardines, herrings and anchovies, go into cat food.

Across Europe the figure is close to 870,000 tonnes, while almost 34,000 tonnes of the increasingly limited biological resource was imported into Australia each year to satisfy feline appetites.

Fish nutrition researcher Giovanni Turchini described the findings as "a real eye-opener". They reveal the extent to which fish suitable for human consumption goes into cat food.

Each cat in Australia eats 13.7 kilograms of fish a year, while humans on average consume about 11 kilograms of fish and seafood each.

"Australian pet cats are eating better than their owners," Dr Turchini said.

With ongoing debate about how to manage marine resources, the Deakin scientist said more research was needed to determine how much of the fish in cat food could be replaced by fish offal and other meat byproducts.

"I think giving a nice chunk of fish to a pet is important to satisfy the personal hedonistic needs of the owner, not the nutritional need of the cat," he said. "Cats will be very happy to eat the offal from a trout."

Dr Turchini's paper, co-written with colleague Professor Sena De Silva, is published online by the Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics.