A New York Times blogger says fsh oil supplementation may contribute to killing off a species of small fish that does a lot to keep our waters clean, but industry members say it's nothing but a fish tale.
New York Times blogger and the author of the forthcoming “Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food,” Paul Greenberg admits he knows about safe, sustainable and avoidable fish as well as the health benefits, but had never looked into fish oil. In his research, he found fish oil comes mostly from menhaden, a fish from the herring family. Menhaden are particularly good at converting algae into omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFAs) that provide so many health benefits to humans. Their consumption of algae helps keeps the oceans clean. They are also the base of the omega-3 food chain as tuna, striped bass, redfish and bluefish among others eat menhaden as a source of omega-3s.
However, the future is looking dim for menhaden, Greenberg wrote. Humans use menhaden for animal feed, lipstick, paint, edible spreads, salad dressing and fish oil. With a half-billion menhaden taken from the ecosystem every year, numbers are in decline.
For fish oil consumers, Greenberg advised taking supplements made from products that don’t deplete the fishery, including products made from fish discards or flax oil. On a larger, scale, Greenberg called for a ban of fishing for menhaden in federal waters.
In response to this article, Originates, the supplier of EssentiOmega fish oil concentrates, sent a press release saying most companies derive fish oil from small species of fish with high reproductive cycles and relatively short life spans, such as anchovy and sardine. They said many ingredient suppliers do not use larger fish with longer lifecycles caught as mature adults because they are more likely to have higher concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and their removal from the oceans may have an undesirable environmental impact. They added the fishing industries of Peru and Chile, especially, are closely monitored by those governments because these are important industries for them.
Originates further noted the health benefits of fish oil have been well documented, with new studies contributing to the body of science being published weekly.