The joint Nordic project on fishmeal and fish oil is about to be completed. The main objective of the project was to define the state of knowledge of fishmeal with a view to shedding light on where further research is needed. The results of the project can be used by both industry and the research community as a guide to progress. The project was carried out with the association of fishmeal producers in Europe EU-fishmeal, DTU Food & Aqua in Denmark, Nofima in Norway and received a grant from the Nordic Council of Ministers (AG-fisk).
Companies such as were involved in the project FF Skagen in Denmark, Sea edge in the Faroe Islands and Triple Nine in Norway. Marvin Ingi Einarsson, Industrial Engineer at Matís, was in charge of project management.
The main results of the project indicate that the quality of raw materials, fishmeal and fish oil is still not sufficiently well defined. The emphasis so far has been on the chemical content of fishmeal, with less emphasis on the positive health effects of using fishmeal and fish oil in feed. There is also a need to better link the effects of raw material handling and the effects of processing processes on both nutritional and natural factors.
The project led to a workshop in Copenhagen where many people from the fishmeal industry in Europe and experts in this field came together. One of the conclusions of the meeting was that in order to further strengthen the market position and competitiveness of producers, the fishmeal industry needs to gain a better knowledge of the needs of its customers and what it is that buyers are really looking for. There is a need to establish better communication channels between parties in the value chain, from fishmeal producers to consumers. It is important to establish a plan for how communication between the parties should be structured and subsequently formulate a clear research policy.