The value chain of the white fish industry in Norway: History, current status and possibilities for improvement – A review

Inadequate utilization of available food resources constitutes a major problem regarding the growing population, the increased demand for food and the current need to reduce the global footprint exerted on the planet. Understanding value chains, identifying pressure points and room for improvement using new technological solutions, are important steps to enhance raw material utilization for the individual industries. Marine resources generated from the fish industry is an important part of the Norwegian food production and contributes about 4% to mainland gross domestic product. The most important industries are Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) aquaculture, and wild capture of pelagic fish, cod (Gadus morhua) and saithe (Pollachius virens). Processing to saleable products, mainly fillets, generates large amounts of marine rest raw material. Logistics of aquaculture production and processing allow for close to 100% utilization, while only 44% of the white fish rest raw material is being utilized. Farming of fish close to shore enable processing of rest raw material immediately after slaughter, which is paramount to avoid deterioration. Cod and Saithe are mainly caught at sea by sea trawlers and the coastal fleet, with on-board handling and transportation to shore being hurdles to overcome for processing of rest raw material to high quality products for human consumption and animal feed. This review will focus on the value chain of the white fish industry in Norway, its history, current status and possibilities of improvement to better utilize rest raw material.