ANCHOVY ANXIETY

The Friday File: The humble anchovy is the primary ingredient in fishmeal, making it essential to production of salmon/seabass/shrimp. The expected El Niño could sharply reduce anchovy catches, creating shortages, perhaps dwarfing the impacts of the 1997 El Niño because fish consumption has risen from 14.4kg to 21.3kg/person, while aquaculture’s share of fish production has doubled from 25% to 50%. That’s a lot riding on one tiny fish.