CAUGHT OUT

The report evaluates UK supermarkets' reliance on fishmeal and fish oil (FMFO) for farmed seafood, arguing that the current 'fed aquaculture' model is unsustainable and threatens marine ecosystems and global food security. It ranks retailers based on their policies, transparency, and in-store practices, finding that none have a time-bound target to eliminate wild-caught fish in feed.

• The global aquaculture industry is heavily reliant on wild-caught fish for feed, with approximately 15 million tonnes of wild fish used annually to produce fishmeal and fish oil (FMFO), representing nearly 20% of the total global catch.
• In 2019, UK consumers purchased 103,000 tonnes of the top six farmed seafood species, which indirectly resulted in the consumption of 177,000 tonnes of wild fish used as feed.
• None of the top ten UK retailers surveyed have established a clear, time-bound target to reduce or eliminate the use of whole wild-caught fish in their aquaculture feed supply chains.
• Tesco was the highest-scoring retailer in the report's scorecard, achieving a score of 60% and being the only retailer to provide 'Fish In, Fish Out' calculations for its top five aquaculture products.
• ALDI was ranked at the bottom of the scorecard due to a lack of engagement with the research and a failure to provide information on the origin of farmed seafood sold in its stores.
• The report argues that seafood certification schemes, such as IFFO RS, MSC, and ASC, are often insufficient proxies for sustainability and may mask unsustainable practices in countries like India, Vietnam, and the Gambia.
• The Scottish farmed salmon industry is highlighted as a significant consumer of wild fish; in 2018, it was estimated to have used around 460,000 tonnes of wild fish for feed.
• Krill is being marketed as a sustainable alternative to FMFO, but scientific evidence suggests that industrial krill fishing in the Southern Ocean harms predators like penguins and is threatened by regional warming.
• In-store investigations revealed that farmed salmon is heavily marketed and prominently placed at eye level, while information regarding production methods and provenance is often inaccessible to customers.

APA

Changing Markets Foundation (2020). CAUGHT OUT. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Caught_Out_Report_FINAL.pdf

Chicago

Changing Markets Foundation. CAUGHT OUT. 2020. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Caught_Out_Report_FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Changing Markets Foundation |title=CAUGHT OUT |date=March 2020 |url=https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Caught_Out_Report_FINAL.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{changingmarketsfoundation2020caught, author = {{Changing Markets Foundation}}, title = {{CAUGHT OUT}}, institution = {Changing Markets Foundation}, year = {2020}, month = mar, url = {https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Caught_Out_Report_FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }