Friend of the Sea leads the way to Omega-3

A total of 76 companies from 23 countries have relied on Friend of the Sea’s assessment to verify the sustainable origin of their products, with the USA, Scandinavia, central Europe and Australia the markets with the highest presence of Friend of the Sea labelled products.

“Fisheries for fish oil are among the major fisheries worldwide, even though only part of it is used for Omega3 production,” said Paolo Bray, director and founder, FoS.

“Responsible producers make sure these fisheries are well managed and reduce their impact on the environment. The same producers are increasingly interested in verifying that their other nutritional products originate from sustainable agricultural practices and are certified according to our newly introduced Friend of the Earth certification,” he added.

In addition, Antarctic krill, menhaden and the Peruvian anchovies’ fisheries and fleets are approved according to FoS sustainability requirements. These are considered among the best managed fisheries, with available historical catch and biomass data, precautionary management and strict enforcement. Small pelagic fisheries have no impact on the seabed and very little by-catch.

Some of the Friend of the Sea certified Omega-3 products originate from selected seafood processing by-cuts or trimmings, thus optimising use of marine resources and avoiding production of waste.