Animals and Money: Deap-Sea Delicacy: The Value of Scabbardfish for Madeira

In many regions fish is a common food source, favoured for its high amounts of protein, omega fatty acids and other nutrients. Portugal has the third highest per-capita fish consumption in Europe [1] and the Autonomous Region of Madeira has a particularly high consumption of fish-based meals [2]. Madeira is a large island off the coast of Africa. The waters surrounding the island have low levels of nutrients, and so, Madeiran fishery is dependent on a small number of species, including some deep-sea species [3]. Some of the most relevant of these deep-sea species are the scabbardfish, specifically the black scabbard fish and the intermediate scabbard fish.
Black scabbardfish can be found in the northeast and central Atlantic from the British Isles to Madeira and the Canary isles [4,5,6]. Intermediate scabbardfish live in the ocean surrounding the Azores, Madeira, the Canaries and northeast Africa [7]. The meat of scabbardfish is a popular food choice and considered a delicacy on Madeira.  
Black scabbardfish have been caught on Madeira for more than 100 years [8]. Since the 1980s, fishery for black scabbard increased greatly, reaching a maximum of roughly 4500 tonnes in 1997 [3]. Catches have declined since, but scabbardfish still make up a large quantity of the annual yield, with more than one third of the total catch being scabbardfish in 2021 [9]. In 2021, 5,200 tonnes of fish were caught in Madeiran waters, generating 14.1 million € [9]. Of this amount, scabbardfish contributed 1,900 tonnes which resulted in a first sale value of 5.8 million € [9]. In the same year, the GDP of the Autonomous Region of Madeira was 5.026 billion € [10]. Scabbardfish, according to their first sale value, therefore contributed 0,115% of the Madeiran GDP in 2021. The value of a single scabbardfish depends on its weight. A kilogram of scabbardfish has a rough first sale value of 3,05 €, but scabbardfish are usually heavier than that. Using specific weight-length formulas, the weight of a single fish can be determined [11]. On average, black scabbardfish are 118 cm long, while the slightly larger intermediate scabbardfish is measured at around 128 cm [11]. These lengths equal mean weights of 1675 g for black scabbardfish and 2731 g for intermediate scabbardfish. Therefore, a single black scabbardfish has a first sale value of 5,11€, while that number increases to 8,33€ for intermediate scabbardfish.
There are however a few factors to consider regarding these price estimates. As the prices given here are first sale value, and the product likely goes through multiple levels of distribution before reaching the customer, consumers will probably pay substantially more when purchasing the fish. Therefore, the first sale values lead to an underestimate of the importance of scabbardfish economically. Second, intermediate scabbardfish were only recently discovered near Madeira and are difficult to externally differentiate from Black Scabbardfish [7]. It is possible that some of the data may have been based on the assumption that there was only black scabbardfish present. That would mean that black scabbardfish may be overvalued in economic calculations as some of the earnings are made with intermediate scabbards. 
While scabbardfish continue to be a popular delicacy in Madeira, it is difficult to assess the state of the scabbardfish population and its future fate. By 2014, stocks of most other Madeiran fish were either collapsed or overexploited [12]. This could increase the pressure on scabbard populations. After 1997, there was a reduction in scabbardfish fishing vessels, however, the number of hooks per vessel and the number of days at sea have increased instead [12,13]. This goes along with an increase in travel distance per vessel to get to better fishing grounds which may point towards scabbardfish being overfished in some areas [3]. A prevalent theory suggests that the entire European black scabbard population is one large stock whose individuals migrate south depending on age or maturity [4]. If this is correct, then reductions in black scabbardfish should be examined as the collective result of all European countries and regions currently active in scabbardfish fishing. Therefore, to protect the population, cooperative measures for more sustainable fishing of scabbardfish would be required.

Rico Steinert
Issue 22 (PDF)