Based around the framework of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Roundtable is also established to provide a single value chain contact point to contribute to existing platforms aimed at ensuring sustainable management of fisheries providing marine ingredients. It also considers food security both in terms of quantity and nutritional properties and encompasses waste reduction. The work includes resource management, the wider environmental impact as well as socio-economic concerns.

The Roundtable will foster and support precompetitive efforts by members to:

• Identify and agree on ways to further improve the availability of sustainable marine ingredient materials.
• Investigate the potential of new raw material sources, such as mesopelagic species and others.
• Catalyse and support existing and new fisheries improvement projects.
• Understand and address urgent social issues and enhance social responsibility in key fisheries and regions.
• Maintain a global overview of the state of the resources and industry.

The first priority for the Roundtable is West Africa, where production of marine ingredients (both direct and through by-products) has grown dramatically over the last decade, and a number of economic and social challenges have been identified. Southeast Asia is another geographic priority, where multispecies fisheries pose unique management challenges and some fisheries are tainted by human rights and labour abuses. The Roundtable will also address other important topics such as life cycle assessments and potential new raw material sources.

”Nutreco and Skretting have been an active founding member of the Global Roundtable on Marine Ingredients. This platform gives rise to lively and constructive discussions where a fact-based picture of the activities and expectations of the industry’s value chain is given. Our collective work includes resource management, wider environmental impacts as well as socio-economic concerns. A multi-stakeholder approach is critical if we want to drive environmental and social improvements in key fisheries globally and ensure food security. This is why, being one of the world’s leading feed producers, Skretting’s participation is so important.”