Blue food researchers contributed to the Swedish Board of Agriculture's report "The way forward towards more food from Swedish-caught herring and sprat".
Large quantities of herring and sprat are caught by Swedish fishermen, but only a small proportion is used as food in Sweden. The problem is well known, and just over a year ago the Swedish Board of Agriculture was commissioned by the government to identify obstacles and development needs so that a larger proportion of fish caught in Sweden can be landed and processed in Sweden. Their report is now ready, partly with contributions from Blue Food researchers at Chalmers.
Herring and sprat together account for over 80% of the wild caught fish from the sea. A majority of the herring and almost all the sprat caught in Swedish fisheries are landed in Denmark and become fish feed. Of the remaining herring, only half is landed in Sweden, of which 40% becomes fillets and the rest becomes tributaries. Ultimately, less than 10% of the herring, and much less of the sprat, is used for food in Sweden.
The Swedish Board of Agriculture's report describes the current situation, obstacles and possible ways to change the situation so that more residual streams and wild-caught fish can become food in Sweden. From Blue Food, Ingrid Undeland and John Axelsson, researcher and PhD student at Chalmers, have contributed with knowledge base.