With seafood playing an important role in the diet of many, reducing food loss in the aquatic food industry is essential for improving global food security. The good news? Aquatic food loss and waste (FLW) in the United States may be as low as half previous estimates. 

A groundbreaking study provides the first in-depth estimation of food loss and food waste (FLW) in the U.S. aquatic foods sector, using species-specific data acquired across many of the top-producing countries. About 80% of the seafood that is consumed in the United States is imported. Therefore, accounting for the international aspect was necessary to provide a comprehensive view of U.S. aquatic FLW.  Researchers conducted interviews and collected secondary data in the U.S. and across Vietnam, Norway and other primary producing countries.

Looking at a four-year period from 2014-2018, they estimate FLW for the top ten fish species consumed. This approach provides a clearer assessment of the FLW occurring, while previous studies were much more general and did not account for species and supply chain characteristics. 

“The method is the same, but the data are different,” said Frank Asche, one of the authors and a professor in the School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences at UF. “The key is not the differences between the different countries, but to account for the differences of the species being consumed and the parts of the fish are not being exported but are still being used.” 

The study shows FLW in the aquatic foods industry in the United States is only about 22.7%, a drastic decrease from previous estimates by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) of 50% in North America and 43-47% in the U.S. 

Beyond providing an overall estimate, researchers identified where FLW occurred in the supply-chain process, with the vast majority happening in the primary production and final consumption stages. 

When it comes to increasing sustainability and food security, this knowledge is helpful for knowing which areas of the supply chain to target for reducing waste. Production can be broken down even further into two main categories for production: harvest aquaculture and capture fisheries. 

For capture fisheries, the study authors said better technology and regulation reform could reduce the number of fish being discarded due to damage in the harvest process. 

“Reducing waste is about more than just harvesting the right number of fish,” said James Anderson, one of the study authors and a Food and Resource Economics professor at UF. “It’s about harvesting them well and minimizing waste. It’s about not losing quality and quantity in the process.” 

 Aquaculture, or farmed fish, now accounts for about 50% of edible aquatic food production but is still relatively new and has opportunities to improve its resilience toward loss from disease and other factors.  

“Aquaculture is still in its infancy, so investing in things that improve its efficiency and reduce losses is reducing waste,” Anderson said.  

The study also evaluated quality loss, a crucial factor in determining and minimizing food waste. Unlike the physical loss of a product, quality loss occurs when lower-quality products are sold for a discounted price, but the product is still able to be used. 

Another way to reduce physical loss is by finding more uses for the byproducts. By finding uses for the other portions of the fish, food waste can be reduced as less of the fish is being discarded.  

For example, in Norway, they are processing all parts of a salmon but the fish blood. However, according to Asche, this often needs processing facilities of a larger scale to be feasible. 

“Alternative uses for the non-premium products require capacity, and to create that capacity, you normally need scale,” Asche said.  

According to the researchers, this study not only provides hope that food security is better in the aquatic foods industry than we previously thought. It also provides insight into ways to reduce further the loss percentage occurring, both through regulation and consumer education.  

“Better research, knowledge, and regulation reform can fix the harvest side,” Asche said. “The consumer side is really just up to you and me and whether we care enough.”  

The full article, “Aquatic food loss and waste rate in the United States is half of earlier estimates,” is available now in NatureFood: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-023-00881-z.  

4