- By-products are becoming the primary source for global fishmeal and fish oil production, says IFFO.
- Globally, by-products now account for 35% of fishmeal and 57% of fish oil production, with this share expected to rise further.
- Asia is leading the shift, with 44% of fishmeal and 74% of fish oil output coming from by-products.
IFFO market research director Enrico Bachis highlighted this shift at the IFFO China Summit, held in Shanghai on 10 to 11 June.
He highlighted that by-products were growing in importance within the marine ingredients industry.
Globally, by-products accounted for 35 per cent of fishmeal production while 57 per cent of fish oil was derived from by-products.
“Already today we can say that most of the fish oil comes from by-products, which is quite a result,” said Bachis.
The change marks a significant turning point for the sector, which has historically relied heavily on wild-caught small pelagic species such as anchovy and sardine.
Increasingly, however, producers are recovering value from processing waste streams.
“The amount of by-products used has been growing over time, and nowadays we can safely say that there’s a 60-40 split. So, 60 per cent of total production comes from whole fish, and 40 per cent comes from by-products,” said Bachis.
The shift is expected to accelerate further, driven by both technological and structural factors within the seafood industry.
“We think that this trend will continue, so we will have more and more by-products available over time. That is easily explained by the development of technology, but also by the fact that aquaculture is growing and aquaculture will be providing more by-products in the future for the production of marine ingredients,” said Bachis.
Asia leading the shift
Bachis highlighted how Asia was at the forefront of this shift, with significantly higher reliance on by-products compared to global averages.
According to him, proportionally more fishmeal in Asia came from by-products at 44 per cent, while around 74 per cent of fish oil output was from by-products.
“This is a very important source of raw material in this part of the world,” he said.
“Asia actually relies more on by-products and some species, so it is normal that this part of the world is more resilient in terms of raw material availability. The amount of raw material coming into Asia is different from what we see worldwide.”
For instance, pangasius off-cuts play a key role in this process, producing significant amounts of oil.
By reducing dependence on wild fisheries, the industry is also mitigating supply volatility while unlocking new growth potential tied to aquaculture expansion.
Reliance on imports continues
However, Bachis noted that Asia has an annual supply gap of about 1.2 million metric tonnes for fishmeal and around 80,000 metric tonnes for fish oil used in aquafeed and direct human consumption.
Despite its use of by-products, Asia will continue to rely on imports to meet local marine ingredient demand for the time being.
In 2025, global fishmeal production reached approximately 5.7 million tonnes, while fish oil production totalled about 1.14 million tonnes.
Asia had a strong year as well, accounting for roughly 35 per cent of global fishmeal and fish oil production.
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