Saving Seafood

Upcoming fishmeal, fish oil shortages will require swift industry action, Rabobank warns

September 29, 2025 — The global aquaculture sector is heading toward a critical feed supply shortage, with shortages of fishmeal projected as early as 2028 and fish oil scarcity expected to intensify throughout the decade, according to a new RaboResearch report from Rabobank.

Compiled by RaboResearch Seafood Analyst Novel Sharma, the study, titled “Hooked on scarcity: Navigating aquafeed nutrition amid looming marine ingredients shortages,” warns that rising demand for high-value aquaculture species, coupled with stagnant marine ingredient supplies and climate-driven volatility, could destabilize one of the world’s fastest-growing food sectors.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

IFFO surveys find global fishmeal, fish oil production has increased so far in 2025

September 8, 2025 — The latest statistics gathered by IFFO – the Marine Ingredients Organization indicates global fishmeal and fish oil production through July 2025 is ahead of global production in the same period of 2024.

According to IFFO – which gathers survey data from members in Chile, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritius, Norway, the U.K., the U.S., Peru, South Africa, and Spain – global production of fishmeal through July 2025 is roughly 8 percent ahead of the same period of 2024. Fish oil production is also ahead of last year and has increased by around 5 percent.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Cooke Enters Into Agreement for the Acquisition of Copeinca

November 7, 2024 — The following was released by Cooke Inc.:

Cooke Inc. (“Cooke”) and PF Cayman New Holdco Limited have executed a binding share purchase agreement under which a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cooke will indirectly acquire all the outstanding shares of Corporación Pesquera Inca S.A.C. (“Copeinca”) of Peru — one of the world’s largest fishmeal and fish oil producers and exporters.

Copeinca was established in 1994 and has grown to become Peru’s largest fishing company with 2,770 employees, 45 vessels and 8 processing plants that span the north and center coastline of Peru. Copeinca holds the largest anchoveta (Enaraulis ringens) quota in Peru at 15.9% and processes approximately 21% of the country’s total catch for annual production of approximately 200,000 MT of fishmeal and 23,000 MT of fish oil.

Upon completion of the acquisition, Cooke will strengthen its growing marine ingredients business and diversify its geographic and species portfolio.

“There is tremendous compatibility between Cooke and Copeinca, and we’re excited to welcome Copeinca’s dedicated employees to the Cooke family of companies,” said Glenn Cooke, CEO of Cooke. “High quality fishmeal and fish oil are essential animal and human nutritional ingredients. They ensure a safe and wholesome feed supply for the growth and care of animals in several farming groups, including aquaculture. We believe Copeinca will be a major contributor in furthering Cooke’s growth as a leader strengthening global food security.”

Copeinca holds numerous industry certifications that reflect its commitment to food security, health and safety, and environmental sustainability including MarinTrust, Friend of the Sea, ISO 14001, ABE, BASC, GMP+, and HACCP.

“Copeinca and Cooke share a people centric culture focused on building up working waterfronts in rural coastal communities through sustainable fish harvesting and responsible processing. Cooke’s strategic agility and vertically integrated operations will enable Copeinca to remain competitive in an evolving global export market,” said Jose Miguel Tirado, CEO of Copeinca. “Our Peruvian company is thrilled to join the Cooke family of companies. Peru and Canada have a very strong and growing trade and investment relationship thanks to active collaboration between governments under the Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement.

Cooke entered the marine ingredients sector in 2017 with its acquisition of US-based Omega Protein Corporation, a nutritional product company and a leading integrated provider of specialty oils and specialty protein products.

Peru is the second largest export market for Canada in Central and South America, and Canada is the fourth most important export market for Peru in the world.

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in November.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. acted as lead financial advisor to Copeinca, together with Antarctica Advisors International Corp.

About the Cooke family of companies:
Cooke Aquaculture Inc. was established in 1985 by the Cooke family in New Brunswick, Canada. From humble beginnings of one farm site and 5,000 salmon, Cooke Inc. is the largest private family-owned seafood company in the world employing 13,000 people worldwide. The Cooke family of companies operate global aquaculture and wild fishery divisions in 14 countries providing a sustainable seafood source reaching tables all over the world. Cooke’s core purpose is to ‘cultivate the ocean with care, nourish the world, provide for our families, and build stronger communities.

Drop in fish oil production causing aquaculture bottleneck

April 10, 2023 — Despite inflation, raw material prices, logistics costs, and other inputs all increasing significantly in 2022, the aquaculture feed industry increased its production at between 2 and 3 percent in all key supply regions. This was also achieved despite a slight decrease in the year’s total animal feed supply at less than 1.27 billion metric tons (MT), according to Norwegian independent commodity broker Holtermann.

While these financial impacts have continued into 2023, there’s one challenge that stands to have a much greater impact than all the others: the production of EPA and DHA – or eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids, Holtermann CEO Christian Meinich said at the 2023 edition of the North Atlantic Seafood Forum (NASF).

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

IFFO, SFP convene roundtable to improve sustainability of global fishmeal, fish oil sector

June 29, 2022 — Amidst the backdrop of continuing growth in global demand for fishmeal and fish oil products, IFFO, the international trade body that represents the marine ingredients industry, and the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership are advancing the sustainability of the sector through a pre-competitive platform that has engagement from across the sustainable seafood movement.

At the 2022 North Atlantic Seafood Forum in Bergen, Norway, on 22 June, stakeholders from the various groups involved with the Global Roundtable on Marine Ingredients – which include Olvea, BioMar, Cargill, Skretting, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, Marin Trust, the Global Seafood Alliance, Nestlé, the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers, and the recently added Marine Stewardship Council – gave an update on the progress the roundtable has made since it was formed in October 2021.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

MarinTrust, GSA sign MoU to meet marine ingredient sustainability goals

November 5, 2021 — The Global Seafood Alliance, formerly Global Aquaculture Alliance; and MarinTrust, formerly IFFO RS; have signed a memorandum of understanding to work together and create an end-to-end assurance program for the global seafood value chain.

The MoU will see the two organizations cooperate on meeting a goal of having 75 percent of the world’s marine ingredients supplies – for products like fishmeal and fish oil – be either certified as sustainable, in an assessment, applying for certification, or a part of the MarinTrust Improver Program by 2025. The two organizations own collectively the MarinTrust Standard for Responsible Supply, MarinTrust Chain of Custody for Responsible Supply, MarinTrust Improver Program, Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) and Best Seafood Practices (BSP) certification programs.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

A diet rich in omega-3 could reduce migraines

July 2, 2021 — A diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids could reduce migraines, a small study suggests.

Researchers found that a diet high in omega-3 – which can be found in supplements and oily fish – could slash persistent headaches by two to four per month.

According to the NHS, a healthy, balanced diet should include at least two portions of fish a week, including one of oily fish. Oily fish – such as salmon and sardines – are particularly high in long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 has been shown to have a beneficial effect on the heart.

The new research, published in the British Medical Journal, involved 182 people (88 per cent of whom were women, with a typical age of 38), who suffered migraines on 5 to 20 days a month.

The women were split into three groups, with the amount of omega-3 fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic acid – EPA, and docosahexaenoic acid – DHA) varying according to the diet, while the omega-6 linoleic acid was also monitored.

One diet increased the amount of EPA and DHA to 1.5g per day and maintained linoleic acid at around 7 per cent of energy intake. A second diet increased EPA and DHA to 1.5g per day and decreased linoleic acid to less than 1.8 per cent of energy, while the other control diet maintained EPA and DHA at less than 150mg per day and linoleic acid at around 7 per cent of energy.

Read the full story at Science Focus

Latest F3 challenge offers USD 300,000 in prizes for aquaculture feed innovators

January 13, 2021 — The F3 Challenge – Carnivore Edition, designed to accelerate the development of fishmeal and fish oil substitutes in aquaculture feed, has officially started, with a USD 100,000 (EUR 82,193) prize available to the winner of each of three categories.

The F3 Challenge, which stands for “fish-free feed,”  launched in November 2015 to encourage the innovation of alternative protein sources for aquaculture fish-feeds. The latest challenge targets three categories – salmonids, shrimp, and other carnivorous species – with the prize awarded to the team that uses the greatest portion of F3 feed in the category at the conclusion of the challenge’s sales period.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Fish food: Feed, fishmeal sectors saw innovation, volatility in 2019

January 6, 2020 — Aquafeed and its components may not always be the highest-profile segment of the seafood industry, but given that feed is typically farmers’ biggest expense, it’s usually a top concern.

Aquaculture’s growth is spurring concerns about the use of forage fish to produce fishmeal and fish oil and encouraging the development of alternative ingredients rich in protein and omega-3 fatty acids. This drove rapid innovation in the feed sector in 2019 as entrepreneurs and established players sought to cash in on the sector’s promise.

Undercurrent News was the first to report on many of these developments, which you can review in our recap below:

January

The fishmeal markets began 2019 on a bearish note as global supplies got a boost amid strong anchovy landings in Peru even though fishmeal stockpiles in China saw lower demand due to an outbreak of African swine fever. Sources told Undercurrent that Peruvian superprime fishmeal prices, ex-warehouse, Shanghai, China, averaged CNY 10,700 per metric ton ($1,566/t) in January, down CNY 1,200/t from mid-October 2018

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

For Your Heart, Eat Fish Or Take Pills? Now There’s A Drug Equal To 8 Salmon Servings

November 25, 2019 — It’s long been known that eating fish — especially cold-water fish such as salmon that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids — is good for heart health.

But, for the millions of Americans who are at high risk of heart disease, eating enough fish to make a difference isn’t likely to be realistic for most.

There’s growing evidence that taking a very high dose of purified fish oil, delivered in a prescription pill, can help prevent heart attacks and strokes among people who have elevated risks. The amount of fish oil in the daily recommended dose of the pill is the equivalent of eating about eight to 10 servings of salmon a day.

In early November, an advisory panel to the FDA voted unanimously to approve expanded use of the prescription drug, Vascepa, which is made from one type of omega-3 fatty acid, called eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA for short. The oil is extracted from sardines and anchovies, and then purified.

Currently, Vascepa is already approved for use in people with very high levels of triglycerides — which is a type of fat in the blood. (You can check your triglycerides as part of a cholesterol screening.)

Read the full story at NPR