The purpose of Blue Food - Centre for future seafood, is to harness the enormous potential that exists in the production of nutritious food from Swedish waters and thus make Sweden a leading producer of sustainable seafood.

In the second period, from 2024 to 2027 inclusive, Blue Food is working on the vision:

We will

Through research and knowledge dissemination, we will create better conditions for seafood production and increase understanding of seafood. The research focuses on increased food production from wild-caught fish and sustainable cultivation of algae, fish and other edible animals in circular systems. We will develop smart process methods to transform complex raw materials into new food ingredients and products.

The research will delve into consumer attitudes and the impact of seafood on our health, as well as the environmental impact of seafood production and animal health and welfare in farming systems. Blue Food also focuses on administrative barriers and planning of water and coastal zones.

Our objectives

Blue Food has seven impact targets with 2020 as the starting point:

1. Swedish aquaculture will double by 2030 and increase tenfold by 2040, in terms of volume or value.
2. The number of species in seafood production and consumption will double by 2030 and increase tenfold by 2040.
3. At least 20% (2030) and 50% (2040) more of wild-caught small-scale pelagic fish and seafood residues will be used for human consumption instead of animal feed.
4. 20 healthy and sustainably produced seafood innovations to be introduced to the market by 2030 and at least double that by 2040.
5. Sweden will produce enough seafood for the entire population to follow the current advice of eating seafood 2 to 3 times a week, while building resilience in seafood production to cope with potential crises.
6. The share of domestically produced seafood consumed in Sweden will increase to 38% in 2030 and to 60% in 2040.
7. The number of jobs in the Swedish seafood sector and related industries will increase by 5 000 new jobs by 2030 and 20 000 by 2040.

The impact objectives are supported by overarching objectives:

• Training a new generation of seafood experts and stakeholders.
• Significantly improved collaboration between and within industry, academia, government and society.
• Scientific assessments of environmental and socio-economic sustainability and vulnerability to support a sustainable transition and resilient growth of the blue food sector in Sweden.
• Co-creation in adaptive governance, integrating science-policy-society and legal research interfaces to improve governance, address barriers, evaluate legal changes and propose improvements in the regulatory framework.
• Development of integrated monitoring systems, dynamic process models and validation of multiple uses of marine areas to harness the potential of AI and digitalization to promote sustainable aquaculture practices.
• Biological and technological research and development in all types of aquaculture to support a diversified, sustainable and robust growth of the Swedish aquaculture sector where the health and welfare of the organisms is a priority. Increase integration between small-scale fisheries and aquaculture.
• Improved understanding of wild aquatic resources in Sweden by assessing the potential for, and ecological impacts of, utilization of new and underutilized species, and exploring restorative aquaculture as a way to increase ecosystem productivity.
• Higher integration of landed aquatic biomass (e.g. small pelagic fish, lake fish, mussels, processing oyster streams) into the food system, and significantly improved understanding of how processing affects nutrients and potentially toxic compounds in different seafood products, including their (bio)availability and link to health effects.
• Exploration and documentation of psychological mechanisms and sensory experiences that enable or hinder seafood consumption, as well as market-related contradictions that prevent market expansion of existing and new seafood products.

We are

Blue Food is the largest investment to date in Swedish seafood. The center was made possible by a grant of SEK 48 million from the Swedish Research Council Formas during the first four-year period. This was supplemented by additional funding from Region Västra Götaland and co-financing from the participating parties, mainly in kind. For the second four-year period, Blå mat has received an additional SEK 40 million from Formas, which is also supplemented this time with other funding.

Behind the formation of the centre is a national collection of research and innovation actors, regions, municipalities, organizations and a large number of companies.

The initiative includes actors from the entire seafood value chain, from primary production in the form of sustainable aquaculture systems and underutilized wild fish species, through process and product development and the production of healthy, Swedish seafood to the food trade.

Frequently asked questions about Blue Food

Frequently asked questions about seafood

Blue Mat Consortium

External parties