Recent industry discussions demonstrate that an increasing number of blue-food-based biomed ventures are transitioning from innovative ideas to market-ready solutions

Around 24 million tonnes of edible products generated by fisheries and aquaculture are being lost across supply chains every year, according to estimates made by the World Economic Forum (WEF), with the organisation further determining that most of this waste is occurring at the on-land processing stage of the value chain, before these products reach the retail and foodservice sectors. In its report “Investigating Global Aquatic Food Loss and Waste”, WEF also finds that edible-quality waste represents 14.8% of global seafood production and explains that processing losses are largely due to market demands, with higher income nations tending to prefer fillets and other easy-to-cook and consume preparations made from popular species such as salmon, tuna, cod, haddock, and shrimp. By comparison, lower-income countries tend to eat more fresh whole fish.

Recognising this failing, more and more seafood value chains are adjusting their strategies and becoming more innovative in the utilisation of by-products. Underlining this shift at the most recent Responsible Seafood Summit, held in St Andrews, Scotland, towards the end of last year, Iceland Ocean Cluster CEO Alexandra Leeper told delegates it’s the processing stage of the value chain that holds the most as yet untapped potential in terms of obtaining additional nutritional and fiscal value. She also said that from environmental and economic standpoints, the seafood industry can no longer afford to be wasting this value.

Leeper explained that the cluster’s 100% Fish programme, which is built around the principle of not wasting any parts of a fish or shellfish that’s caught or farmed for food, and instead seeks to find the most ideal, value-creating ways to use all secondary-yield materials, including bones, shells, heads, skins and guts.

Not only has this changed the narrative around seafood in Iceland, it has also changed the value and conversations around the value of these products, she said.

The cluster has also ascertained that its success stories underline the fact there’s no “one size fits all” when it comes to full fish utilisation. This, it explains, is largely due to the great difference between species and geographies.