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A sweeping New York Times investigation has just exposed the dirty secret behind industrial fish farming: It relies on wild fish for feed. This drains ocean ecosystems, taking food and livelihoods from coastal communities, especially in West Africa.

Among the report’s findings:

• The fishmeal industry’s supply chains are linked to forced labor, worker deaths, and pollution, undermining claims that the farmed seafood these supply chains support is sustainable.
  
• The investigation traces these supply chains to major corporations, including Cooke and Sysco, and to supermarket shelves at Kroger, Walmart, and beyond.
  
• More than 20% of all wild-caught fish globally goes to uses other than direct human consumption—primarily fishmeal and fish oil for animal feed, especially in aquaculture.
  
• It takes more than 700 wild anchovies to feed a single farmed salmon, which diverts nutritious protein from people’s plates to industrial farms.

The story anchors The Outlaw Ocean Project’s global investigative series, Food for Feed: The Price Paid Beyond the Plate, involving more than 70 researchers and reporters, with coverage published in 65 media outlets across 25 countries.

Bonus: Check out this short documentary from Outlaw Ocean exploring the devastating impact of the fishmeal industry on fishing communities in Senegal.