A new EU-funded project is turning waste products from the industry into a series of valuable resources

Seafood is critical to global nutrition and food security, and its consumption is rising each year. However, increasing amounts also end up uneaten. A new report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) published in April 2024 found that 15% of fish and seafood in the food chain goes to waste. According to the report, the biggest sources of food loss and waste come from processing on land and discards from wild-capture fishing.

The size of this problem may be significant, but technology, innovation and collaboration are increasingly providing new strategies to be less wasteful. One such collaboration is an initiative known as the Valorish project, which began in response to the pressing need for sustainable solutions within the EU fishing industry. Its goal is to address the environmental and economic challenges posed by waste and by-products generated throughout the fish value chain, from residue produced during fishing and spoilage losses during distribution, to the processing of fish products.

“This work aims to develop innovative processes based on biotechnology for the sustainable valorisation of waste and by-products in the fishing industry, while producing high-value bio-products like food, food additives or nutraceuticals,” María Cámara, DEC Manager for the Valorish project, told WF. “This is key to achieving a circular economy in bio-based industry value chains. By developing bio-products using residues from the fishing industry, Valorish will enhance the sustainability of natural resource management, and open the door to high-value valorisation pathways instead of conventional ones, aligning with the Waste Framework Directive and the EU Bioeconomy Strategy.”