STORY / PUBLIC SOURCE RECORD
Aquaculture: Growing sustainable seafood with ocean farming
- Published 27 March 2023; updated 21 September 2026; estimated reading time 3 minutes. The article introduces a five-year Institute of Marine Research (IMR) project examining new farmed/harvested marine species, including kelp, bivalves and small fish, and the effects of large-scale production. It says the original article was published by IMR on 30 March 2020 and names Runar Bjørkvik Mæland as author.
- Project manager Antony Philip says roughly half of global biological production occurs in oceans, but ocean food supplies about 2% of people’s daily calories. Researchers Nina Liland and Philip argue current fisheries and aquaculture focus heavily on higher trophic species such as cod, saithe and salmon, while potential may exist lower in the food chain.
- The researchers distinguish algae as primary producers from organisms that consume algae. The project examines low-trophic organisms—including mussels, bristle worms and small fish—as potential fish feed and human food. It aims to study the production chain from ocean to plate for nutrition, food safety and environmental effects.
- One research track assesses whether these species could replace soy in salmon feed. The article says soy cultivation can threaten vulnerable ecosystems and involves long-distance transport, including from Brazil; sustainable marine feed could reduce the environmental footprint of Norwegian farmed salmon. Before judging suitability, researchers plan to measure nutrients, pathogens and toxins, then study absorption by salmon, effects on growth and welfare, and transfer to fish meat. This work is intended to support a life-cycle analysis comparing environmental impacts of salmon feeds.
- Another work package evaluates low-trophic species for direct human consumption, their nutritional value and possible contaminants such as heavy metals. The project includes seven work packages, multiple IMR research groups and partnerships with fish-feed and seafood companies.
- Philip says scientific evidence is needed to guide management and sustainable use of these resources. Contacts linked: Antony Philip and Nina Liland at IMR. Related industry: Aquaculture and fisheries.