Use of marine raw materials 2021

Below in this text is the data for FFDR for fish meal and oil and the origin of fish meal and oil used in Skretting Norway feed.

Skretting Norway only buys marine raw materials from whole fish that are either certified (MSC or MarinTrust) or subject to a Fishery Improvement Project (FIP).

Use of wild fish for feed

Wild fish harvested from the ocean and processed into fish meal and fish oil are ingredients in fish feeds, and the Norwegian aquaculture industry has significantly reduced the inclusion rates of fish meal and fish oil from forage fish in fish feeds during the past two decades.

Fish meal and fish oil are both limited resources that are shared across a range of users with increasing demands including direct human consumption, aquaculture and pork and poultry production. We promote an efficient use of these resources, producing increasing amounts of farmed fish from a given input of fish meal and fish oil.

With the knowledge that we have at Skretting, salmon grower feeds can essentially require zero marine ingredients. This is possible due to 30 years of R&D at Skretting Aquaculture Innovation.

We will regularly update the industry with our use of wild fish used to produce 1 kg of feed, based on the average, weighted raw material composition. The use of wild fish is expressed as the Forage Fish Dependency Ratio (FFDR). It will be calculated based on the use of fish meal and fish oil.


FISH MEAL FFDR: Use of wild fish in feed, Forage Fish Dependency Ratio for fish meal

  2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 Unit
PROPORTION FISH MEAL FROM TRIMMINGS 20,5 13,7 21,7 22,0 27,0 17,0 24,0 15,0 % of total fish meal
TOTAL FISH MEAL 13,1 11,7 10,3 12,4 13,1 12,6 13,1 14,8 % of total feed
MINUS FISH MEAL FROM TRIMMINGS 2,7 1,6 2,2 2,7 3,5 2,3 3,2 2,2 % of total feed
FISH MEAL FROM WHOLE FISH 10,4 10,1 8,0 9,7 9,5 10,3 9,9 12,6 % of total feed
FISH MEAL FROM WHOLE FISH PER KG FEED 104 101 80 97 95 103 99 126 grams
FISH MEAL YIELD, STANDARD NUMBER 24,0 23,0 23,0 23,0 23,0 23,0 23,0 23,0 % yield of fish meal*
FFDRM PER KG FEED 0,43 0,44 0,35 0,42 0,41 0,45 0,43 0,55 kg wild fish per kg feed


FISH OIL FFDR: Use of wild fish in feed, Forage Fish Dependency Ratio for fish oil

  2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 Unit
PROPORTION FISH OIL FROM TRIMMINGS 31,5 16,6 12,0 26,0 32,0 20,0 26,0 20,0 % of total fish meal
TOTAL FISH OIL 10,2 10,0 10,4 10,9 10,5 10,7 9,8 11,2 % of total feed
MINUS FISH OIL FROM TRIMMINGS 3,2 1,7 1,2 2,8 3,4 2,2 2,6 2,2 % of total feed
FISH OIL FROM WHOLE FISH 7,0 8,3 9,1 8,1 7,1 8,5 7,2 9,0 % of total feed
FISH OIL FROM WHOLE FISH PER KG FEED 70 83 91 81 71 85 72 90 grams
FISH OIL YIELD adjusted for geographical origin according to the ASC standard 6,4 6,0 6,0 6,5 6,3 5,0 5,0 5,0 % yield of fish oil*
FFDRo per kg feed 1,09 1,39 1,52 1,24 1,13 1,70 1,44 1,79 kg wild fish per kg feed

* The yield refers to the amount of fish meal and fish oil one in average will get from processing 1 kg of wild fish, and are calculated according to the instructions given in the ASC salmon standard document v1.3 - July 2019. Typical figures from the industry refers to that one in average get 240 grams (24%) fish meal from processing 1 kg of wild fish and in average 50 grams to 70 grams of fish oil (depending on origin) from processing 1 kg of wild fish. The yield of fish oil will be variable – depending on species and season of the year.

Source of marine raw materials

Small pelagic fisheries are used in the fish meal and fish oil industry, but in some regions they are also important for direct human consumption. Also known as forage species, these are small, short-lived species that occupy a low trophic level (LTL) in the ecosystem. Due to their specific population biology and dynamics, these species are frequently resilient to fishing pressure if catches are well managed, but overfishing is always a possibility without effective controls. Through our Roadmap 2025, we strive to ensure that marine-based feed ingredients come from sustainable sources in the short- and long-term. The requirements aim to align industry incentives to support processes that will lead to improved fisheries management.

All fish meal and fish oil we use from whole fish must originate from certified (MSC or MarinTrust) fisheries or fisheries subjected to a Fishery Improvement Project (FIP).


Origin of fish meal and fish oil from whole fish 2021

Species Latin name Fish meal Fish oil Country of origin
Blue whiting Micromesistius poutassou 11,49 % 1,16 % Denmark, Iceland, Norway
Capelin Mallotus villosus 0,61 %  - Iceland
Herring Clupea harengus 3,15 % 7,95 % Denmark, Norway
Mackerel Scomber scombrus 1,04 % 0,33 % Chile, Denmark, Norway
Norway pout Trisopterus esmarkii 5,81 % 3,49 % Denmark, Norway
Pacific anchoveta Cetengraulis mysticetus -  3,30 % Chile, Peru, Panama
Peruvian anchoveta Engraulis ringens 18,92 % 26,07 % Chile, Peru
Sandeel Ammodytes marinus 23,76 % 10,54 % Denmark, Norway
Sprat Sprattus sprattus 14,12 % 15,50 % Denmark, Norway
Other   0,55 % 0,19 % Denmark, Norway
Total   79,46 % 68,54 %  


Origin of fish meal and fish oil from trimmings 2021

Species Latin name Fish meal Fish oil Country of origin
Blue whiting Micromesistius poutassou -  0,02 % Norway
Capelin Mallotus villosus 0,22 % 0,22 % Iceland
Cod Gadus morhua 0,80 % 0,41 % Denmark, Norway
Herring Clupea harengus 14,21 % 22,81 % Denmark, Iceland, Norway
Mackerel Scomber scombrus 3,44 % 6,27 % Denmark, Iceland, Norway
Plaice Pleuronectes platessa 0,73 % 0,34 % Denmark
Saithe Pollachius virens 0,15 % 0,29 % Denmark, Norway
Sprat Sprattus sprattus 0,20 % 0,31 % Denmark
Other   0,79 % 0,79 % Denmark, Norway
Total   20,54 % 31,46 %  


Origin of fish meal and fish oil from farmed fish

Species Latin name Fish meal Fish oil Country of origin
Farmed salmon* Salmo salar   96,29 % Norway
Farmed trout* Oncorhynchus mykiss 3,71 % Norway

* Fish oil from farmed fish is only included in customer specific feeds