Den 28. oktober deltog Marine Ingredients Denmark som oplægsholder ved Technical Seminar on Frontiers in Aquaculture Part II i Qingdao, Kina. Seminaret blev arrangeret af den Danske Ambassade i Beijing, Danish Export Association – Fish Tech Network og Food Nation, og samlede centrale danske og kinesiske aktører fra hele værdikæden inden for akvakultur. Programmet er her

Formålet med seminaret var at styrke erfaringsudveksling, samarbejde og udviklingen af bæredygtige løsninger til en sektor, der fortsat vokser globalt – og hvor foder og ernæring spiller en helt afgørende rolle.

Vi bidrog med et keynote-oplæg om den strategiske betydning af marine ingredienser i fiskefoder. Oplægget fremhævede den dokumenterede ernæringsmæssige værdi af marine råvarer, deres rolle i at understøtte fiskevelfærd og robusthed i kritiske livsstadier, samt hvordan marine ingredienser fortsat bidrager til en effektiv og ansvarlig udnyttelse af marine ressourcer.

”Marine ingredienser udgør et unikt og højt koncentreret kompleks af essentielle næringsstoffer, som stadig ikke kan efterlignes fuldt ud af alternative ingredienser. Samtidig arbejder branchen målrettet for at sikre gennemsigtighed og bæredygtig forvaltning af ressourcerne. Det er denne kombination af ernæringsmæssig nødvendighed og ansvarlig råvaretilgang, der gør marine ingredienser strategisk vigtige for fremtidens akvakultur,” forklarede Dr. James Hinchcliffe, Marine Ingredients Denmark, i sit oplæg.

Seminaret understregede både den kinesiske og danske interesse i at udvikle foderstrategier, der styrker fiskevelfærd, forbedrer foderudnyttelse og reducerer miljøpåvirkningen – områder hvor marine ingredienser fortsat spiller en central rolle og hvor nye forskningsinitiativer allerede er på vej.

Marine Ingredients Denmark ser frem til at fortsætte dialogen og udbygge samarbejdet med både kinesiske og danske partnere om innovative og bæredygtige løsninger inden for akvakulturerhvervet.

Marine Ingredients Denmark deltog i Accelerating the Mission: A Danish EU Presidency Conference for the restoration and sustainability of Europe’s ocean and waters, som fandt sted i Nyborg den 23.–24. september 2024. Konferencen markerede et vigtigt skridt i Horizon Europe-missionen “Restore our Ocean and Waters”. Arrangementet samlede repræsentanter fra danske ministerier, Europa-Kommissionen, forskningsinstitutioner og erhvervsliv.

Vores bidrag

Marine Ingredients Denmark deltog i workshops om, hvordan missionens målsætninger kan omsættes til konkrete løsninger i de enkelte sektorer. Vi understregede behovet for at håndtere den stigende forurening, der truer Europas have og vandmiljøer, og samtidig sikre en mere forsvarlig udnyttelse af de marine ressourcer. Den danske marineingredienssektor viser, hvordan dette kan lade sig gøre i praksis: ved at udnytte eksisterende råvarer fuldt ud og omdanne biprodukter fra fiskeri og akvakultur til proteiner og olier med et dokumenteret lavt klimaaftryk.

Centrale pointer

Flere budskaber stod tydeligt frem under konferencen:

• Konsistens i regulering er nødvendig. Forskellige fortolkninger af EU-regler skaber fortsat usikkerhed for brancher, der arbejder med marine råvarer. Harmonisering er afgørende for at fremme innovation og investeringer.

• Overførbare modeller findes. Danske erfaringer med certificering, sporbarhed og udnyttelse af biprodukter viser, at industrielle cirkulære løsninger både er gennemførlige og har effekt.

• Køreplanen skal være handlingsorienteret. Den strategiske køreplan, som blev præsenteret  må ikke forblive på visionsniveau, men skal fungere som et konkret redskab for medlemsstater og sektorer til at implementere faktiske tiltag.

Vejen frem

For Marine Ingredients Denmark understregede konferencen vigtigheden af aktiv deltagelse i EU’s processer. Vores sektor har en central rolle i at sikre, at missionen både leverer reelle forbedringer for vandmiljøet og samtidig understøtter en bæredygtig forsyning af protein og olie til foder og fødevarer. Vi vil fortsat bidrage med vores erfaring inden for udnyttelse af biprodukter, certificering og bæredygtige værdikæder, når køreplanen skal omsættes i praksis.

Tobissæsonen 2025, der sluttede i begyndelsen af august, blev en udfordrende sæson for den danske fiskemelsindustri. Det skyldes i høj grad lukningerne af britiske farvande for tobisfiskeri, som har betydet reduceret adgang til råvarer. I alt modtog MID’s fabrikker 85.101 tons tobis i 2025, hvilket svarer til et fald på 5.000 tons i forhold til sidste år. Dette underskud understreger de vanskeligheder som fiskere, der opererer uden adgang til britiske farvande, står over for.

Samtidig var der også positive udviklinger, der viser fiskeriets modstandsdygtighed. Kvoten for europæisk tobisfiskeri i 2025 blev fastsat til 110.078 tons, og selvom de samlede landinger var lidt lavere end i 2024, var udnyttelsen af kvoten betydeligt højere. Fartøjerne landede i Danmark for 85.101 tons, mens der i Norge blev landet 20.187 tons. Sammen udgjorde dette 105.288 tons eller 96% af den samlede kvote. Til sammenligning blev kun ca. 60% af kvoten landet i 2024. På trods af de omfattende lukninger i britiske farvande var europæiske fiskere derfor i stand til at udnytte kvoten mere effektivt i år.

Det står klart, at lukningen af britiske farvande ikke længere er en kortvarig udfordring, men en strukturel ændring, der vil præge tobisfiskeriet i de kommende år. For at sikre, at bestandene forvaltes ansvarligt, samtidig med at råvareforsyningen til industrien opretholdes, vil det kræve både videnskabelig tilpasning og fortsat dialog mellem politiske beslutningstagere, fiskere og forarbejdningsvirksomheder.

Marine Ingredients Denmark har den 30. juni 2025 fremsendt høringssvar til fødevarestyrelsen høring over EU maksimalgrænseværdier for MOAH/mineralolie i fødevarer.

Vi ser reguleringen af MOAH-niveauer i fødevarer som et vigtigt led i arbejdet med at beskytte forbrugernes sundhed. Vi bakker op om indførelsen af grænseværdier, så længe de afspejler de tekniske og analytiske realiteter, særligt for marine olier, hvor analysemetoder stadig er under udvikling. Vi anbefaler en trinvis og fleksibel implementering, der muliggør løbende metodisk videreudvikling og validering af analyser tilpasset marine matricer. Endelig vil vi understrege behovet for en toksikologisk vurdering og prioritering af MOAH-komponenter, så reguleringen målrettes de forbindelser, der udgør den største sundhedsrisiko.

Læs hele høringssvaret her: MID høringssvar til høring over EU maksimalgrænseværdier for MOAH-mineralolie i fødevarer June 2025

A major long-term study from the Institute of Marine Research in Bergen has revealed how the quality of farmed Atlantic salmon has changed over the past 16 years. Published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, the study highlights a clear trade-off: salmon fillets today are safer to eat, with lower levels of harmful contaminants, but they also contain fewer important nutrients—especially the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA.

In the past, feeds for Atlantic Salmon were based on high inclusion of marine ingredients like fishmeal and fish oil, sourced from pelagic fish, which are rich in the long-chain omega-3s that are important to both fish health and human nutrition. But as global aquaculture expanded and marine resources became more limited and costly, feed producers began replacing fishmeal and fish oil with plant-based ingredients such as soy and rapeseed oil. By 2020, the share of marine ingredients in the diets of Atlantic Salmon was down to 24% from, 90% in the 1990s.

To understand this in detail, researchers at IMR analyzed nearly 7,000 salmon fillets, 900 feed samples, and 600 samples of raw feed materials between 2006 and 2021. The researchers found that omega-3 levels in feed dropped significantly between 2006 and 2014, then stabilized, which mirror a steep decline in marine oil inclusion in feeds between 2000 and 2020. The stabilization after 2014 likely reflects industry efforts to ensure salmon still receive the minimum levels of omega-3s needed for healthy growth and performance. At the same time, the study found contaminant levels—such as dioxins, PCBs, mercury, and arsenic— decreased significantly over the same period in both feed and fillet samples. These contaminants were associated to marine-based ingredients, which, like all natural sources can be exposed to environmental pollutants.

Trends in selected nutrients and contaminants in fish feed and Atlantic salmon fillets from 2006 to 2021

Since 2002, the European Union has enforced strict feed and food legislation that sets maximum limits for undesirable substances in feed materials. The implementation of this regulatory framework has played a central role in ensuring that products entering the aquaculture value chain meet stringent safety standards.

In parallel, the European marine ingredients industry has made substantial progress in eliminating contaminants such as dioxins and PCBs from fishmeal and fish oil. Through rigorous sourcing practices, improved processing technologies, and industry-led quality assurance schemes, the sector has significantly enhanced the safety profile of marine-derived feed ingredients. As a result, the situation today is far more controlled and transparent, with industry and regulators working together to ensure that marine ingredients continue to be both safe and nutritionally valuable components of aquafeeds.

While the biggest shifts in nutrient and contaminant levels took place between 2006 and 2014, the period since then has been marked by greater stability and consistency. These findings serve as a reminder of the strategic role marine ingredients play in aquafeeds—not just for supporting fish growth and health, but also for delivering nutritious seafood to consumers.

A newly published report from RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, “Fishmeal and oil from Baltic Sea herring: current uses and challenges for full transparency” , provides a detailed examination of how herring caught in the Baltic Sea is processed and utilized across sectors, particularly aquaculture. Commissioned by WWF Sweden, the study draws on both industry data and stakeholder input from across the fishmeal, feed, and aquaculture supply chain.

The report’s primary focus is to assess the fate of industrial landings of Baltic herring and to identify the key barriers to full traceability through the value chain. The findings confirm that while fishmeal and oil producers are able to deliver detailed sourcing data, the next stages—particularly feed production—remain a critical bottleneck in efforts to trace raw materials to specific species, stocks, or end markets.

Measurable Use of Baltic Herring in Aquaculture

New estimates presented in the report suggest that Baltic herring can indeed play a traceable and measurable role in supporting salmonid aquaculture in both Norway and Sweden. One Norwegian producer reported that approximately 0.015 kg of live-weight Baltic herring was used per kg of live-weight salmon or trout in 2023. In Sweden, the estimated use of Baltic herring in aquafeeds was approximately 650 tonnes in 2023, corresponding to around 0.08 kg of live-weight Baltic herring used per kg of live-weight rainbow trout produced in Swedish aquaculture.

This use represents a form of net protein production from a local marine resource that is not generally recommended for direct human consumption in large quantities due to persistent contaminants such as dioxins. Through processing, the fishmeal industry is able to reduce these contaminants and valorize the raw material into a high-quality source of protein and lipids for aquafeeds that is then safe to enter the value chain. Although not a central focus of the report, the data suggest that Baltic herring processing contributes in a measurable way to regional food security.

Sector-Level Destinations: Aquaculture Dominates

Using mass-balance data from selected processing facilities, the report finds that the majority of Baltic herring fish oil is used in aquaculture (approximately 99.8%), with fishmeal also predominantly going to aquaculture (69.3%), followed by pet food and agriculture.

The report also highlights that while multiple factories around the Baltic Sea process pelagic species into fishmeal and oil, the level of detail in reported data varies substantially by country and company. In one case, only one national dataset (from Denmark) provided estimates sufficient to support downstream analysis of aquaculture use.

Traceability Bottlenecks in the Feed Sector

The report notes that while feed producers are legally required to maintain records of raw material sourcing, detailed stock-specific information is often difficult to extract from current internal systems. In most cases, data on the use of Baltic herring was either unavailable or only shared as rough estimates, often requiring manual compilation. This variation in data accessibility and reporting practices presents a challenge for full transparency

Moving Toward Improved Transparency

The report recommends feed producers to adopt more structured data management to enable better traceability, and that certification schemes consider stronger requirements for marine ingredient disclosure. While new standards, such as ASC’s updated Feed Standard, may offer improvements in the future, their effectiveness in delivering stock-level transparency remains to be seen. Importantly, the report also notes improvements compared to earlier studies, citing more granular data from some industry participants and a more detailed picture of Baltic herring’s contribution to aquaculture supply chains.