Salmon on our tables: do we know where it comes from? This August was the most profitable in the history of Norwegian seafood exports, according to the Norwegian Sea Council, a marketing communications organization for the fishery sector in Norway. Scandinavian fish, especially salmon, found a significant market in Poland.
Norway is becoming richer through fisheries
In August 2024, Norway exported seafood worth 14.6 billion NOK, 724 million NOK more than the previous year. This five percent increase in exports can largely be explained by the weakening of the Norwegian currency. However, according to Christian Chramer, the general director of the Norwegian Sea Council, the revenue increase also comes from selling larger quantities of salmon, trout, mackerel, and shrimp. Interest in pollock and trout, however, has decreased from the previous year.
Norway exports fish and seafood to 109 countries worldwide, with Poland, Denmark, and the United States being the main recipients. Exports to the United Kingdom and Germany are also significantly increasing, both in terms of value and quantity. Despite this success, analysts from the Norwegian Sea Council see uncertainty in market trends. The weakening of the Norwegian currency, and thus the prices of imported fish, does not increase demand as expected.
Poles in love with Norwegian salmon
Norwegians exported over 125,000 tons of salmon in August. Poland was the largest recipient. The Polish market also received the most Norwegian herring, although overall sales of this species fell by 9 percent over the year.
According to the 2021 report on the fish market and consumption prepared by the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics – National Research Institute, fish consumption in Poland continues to rise. In 2021, it was 14.2 kg per person per year, 6.4% higher than the previous year. Sea fish, especially Alaska pollock, pollock, and herring, are most popular. Meanwhile, 73% of Poles declare that they buy salmon or salmon products.
The authors of the report The EU Fish Market – edition 2022 explain the overall increase in fish consumption in Europe as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has increased interest in home meals. Forecasts predict that fish consumption will stabilize between 2024 and 2026.
What fish are we really eating?
According to a study commissioned by the MSC company and conducted by the ARC Market and Opinion research agency in May 2022, 29% of Poles buy farmed salmon, 13% buy wild salmon, and 42% do not know the origin of the fish they eat.
Norway is the world’s largest producer of farmed salmon – its annual production reaches 1.2 million tons. Aquaculture is, on the one hand, an important contribution to providing people with a full-value protein source without depleting natural fish resources in the sea; on the other hand, it is an activity with a controversial impact on the environment.
The population of wild salmon in Norwegian waters now numbers only 530,000 pieces. Meanwhile, about 200,000 farmed fish escape from Norwegian farms each year, which crossbreed with wild salmon, disrupting its genetic integrity. On the farms, the most serious problem is infectious diseases, which in 2023 killed almost 17 percent of the entire farmed population. Escapes increase the risk of spreading them in the natural ecosystem.
Given the risk of financial losses caused by the spread of diseases such as infectious salmon anemia (ISA) – also dangerous for rainbow trout – viral pancreatic disease, bacterial kidney disease caused by Renibacterium salmoninarum, and salmon louse infection, farms routinely undergo pharmacological prophylaxis and treatment. Unfortunately, these drugs seep into the natural environment and affect the species living in it.
The question of whether to support the Norwegian fish farming industry by buying their salmon is not simple. As a positive note, the Norwegian Seafood Research Fund is working on methods to make aquaculture more sustainable. The three most promising directions for innovation are the development of new feeds, lowering the development temperature of roe, and recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), which reduce nutrient content and control the presence of harmful bacteria and parasites in the water.