Fishmeal And Fishoil Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends And Forecast (2025 - 2030)

Global Fishmeal And Fishoil Market Trends and Insights

Rise in Global Fishmeal and Fish Oil Production Capacity Expansions

Investment in new marine protein facilities is reshaping supply logistics. Pelagia’s Skagen plant and Cooke’s acquisition of Copeinca’s 200,000 metric tons capacity illustrate vertically integrated moves that secure raw fish access and enhance processing efficiency^{[1]Source: Pelagia, “News and Articles About Our Company,” pelagia.com}. Companies deploy automated rendering lines that lift oil recovery and protein concentration, consolidating competitive positions in margin-sensitive feed markets. Geographical diversification of plants mitigates single-region climate risks, especially as El Niño events disrupt anchovy landings. The capacity race signals industry recognition that quota-constrained fisheries favor operators with the scale to optimize limited biomass, reinforcing the premium paid for plant proximity to landing sites.

Growing Demand for High-Protein Aquafeed Formulations

Intensive aquaculture increasingly relies on feeds with 45-50% protein, above legacy 35-40% inputs. Salmon and trout farms using offshore cages and recirculating systems require high energy density to uphold fish-in fish-out ratios, cementing the role of fishmeal in starter and grow-out diets^{[2]Source: BioMar, “Better Sourcing Practice Cuts Emissions,” biomar.com}. Formulators mix marine proteins with soy concentrates, insect meals, and single-cell proteins, yet continue to measure performance against fishmeal benchmarks for digestibility and palatability. The resulting specialization enables suppliers to price premium functional blends that boost feed conversion while reducing total inclusion rates, thereby balancing nutrition with sustainability.

Shift Toward Functional Foods Rich in EPA/DHA Omega-3s

Global consumers link omega-3 intake to cardiovascular and cognitive benefits, fostering a surge in EPA and DHA-fortified products ranging from infant formula to ready-to-drink beverages. Marine-derived oils have superior bioavailability over plant sources, ensuring continued price resilience for pharmaceutical-grade output. Food and supplement brands seek traceable, low-contaminant inputs, elevating demand for highly refined concentrates produced under stringent quality controls. Steady retail uptake insulates top-tier fish oil against feed-driven price swings and provides processors with additional margin streams when feedstock supply tightens.

Regulatory Incentives for By-Product Rendering and Waste Valorization

Circular-economy policies in the European Union and North America award tax credits and grants to processors that convert seafood trimmings into protein meals and oils. Integrated seafood firms leverage these incentives to lower disposal costs while boosting asset utilization. By-product valorization simultaneously diversifies feedstock, reducing reliance on whole fish catch at a time when fishing quotas face public scrutiny. Compliance with waste-reduction mandates bolsters brand reputation and meets customer sustainability criteria, fostering supplier loyalty in premium aquaculture and pet food channels.

Volatile Raw-Fish Landings Linked to El Niño Events

Warmer Pacific currents periodically slash anchovy biomass off Peru and Chile, upending roughly half of global fishmeal output and causing sharp price gyrations. The 2023-2024 El Niño collapsed Peruvian landings before a rebound in January 2025 restored volume, but not before prompting rationing and contract renegotiations. Feed producers cushion volatility with safety stocks or spot substitutions that erode formulation consistency, while importers diversify toward insect and microbial proteins to minimize exposure. Climate unpredictability thus remains the single most disruptive short-term risk to traditional supply chains.

Tightening Quotas on Small Pelagic Fisheries

Fishery regulators increasingly favor precautionary catch limits; the 2025 recommendation for a zero capelin quota in the Barents Sea underscores the trend. Lower total allowable catch means processors compete for scarcer biomass, elevating raw material prices and idling capacity in peak seasons. Plants with high fixed costs and limited by-product access feel margin compression first, accelerating industry consolidation. For buyers, conservative quota outlooks validate shift-away strategies such as enzyme-treated soybean concentrates or insect meals, accelerating demand erosion in commodity-grade fishmeal.

Segment Analysis

By Species Type: Premium Salmon Center of Gravity

Salmon and trout captured 43.7% of the fishmeal and fish oil market share in 2024, reflecting the species’ premium retail valuation and strict nutritional demands. Producers operating offshore cages and land-based recirculation systems reinforce reliance on highly digestible marine proteins that achieve low feed conversion ratios, a metric closely watched by certification bodies. The crustacean category is expanding at a 7.9% CAGR as farms adopt intensification protocols that require balanced amino acid inputs and functional additives for disease resistance. The fishmeal and fish oil market size linked to marine fish and carp grows steadily alongside Mediterranean seabass and Asian carp culture, respectively, although these species blend marine inputs with cheaper plant proteins to control feed expense.

Holistic species management drives feed manufacturers to introduce tailored blends that modulate fishmeal inclusion by life stage, ensuring juvenile diets maximize growth while finishing diets optimize fillet quality. Premium segments, such as salmon, are willing to pay sustainability premiums for MarinTrust-certified meals, reinforcing supplier focus on traceability. Crustacean nutritionists increasingly incorporate enzyme-treated meals and emulsifiers that heighten lipid uptake, allowing lower inclusion rates without sacrificing performance. This migration from commodity to functional products supports higher margins and cements the fishmeal and fish oil market as a critical input in value-added seafood supply chains.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Application: Aquaculture Core, Poultry on the Ascent

Aquatic animals consumed 64.8% of total volume in 2024, keeping aquaculture the backbone of demand. Nutritional completeness, palatability, and immune system support position fishmeal as an irreplaceable ingredient, especially for carnivorous species. The poultry sector exhibits the fastest 8.3% CAGR, as feed mixers reintroduce marine proteins to counter volatile soybean costs and improve egg fatty acid profiles. Within premium egg and specialty chicken niches, small fishmeal inclusions enhance product differentiation at retail, sustaining incremental usage gains.

Swine producers adopt fishmeal primarily in breeding and weaning phases, leveraging digestibility to raise litter weight and survival. Pet food maintains low but rising inclusion rates, driven by owner preferences for omega-3-enriched formulas. Cross-species opportunities encourage processors to develop application-specific grades that vary in protein level, lipid content, and particle size. This specialization aligns supply with increasingly segmented customer needs, expanding the fishmeal and fish oil market into higher-margin channels beyond core aquafeed.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

Geography Analysis

Fish Meal and Fish Oil Market in North America

Asia-Pacific held a 52.7% share of the fishmeal and fish oil market in 2024, anchored by China’s dominant aquaculture sector and the region’s extensive feed manufacturing base. Despite a decline in Chinese aquafeed output in 2024, profitability improved as formulators prioritized high-quality inputs over simple volume growth. Vietnam and Indonesia ramped up shrimp and pangasius exports, fueling import demand for premium meal even amid currency volatility. Japan’s investment in land-based salmon projects widens the region’s appetite for pharmaceutical-grade fish oil inputs for functional foods.

South America is the fastest-growing region at 7.3% CAGR through 2030, reflecting both its status as the principal raw material exporter and its expanding domestic aquaculture footprint. Peru’s January 2025 fishmeal production surge after El Niño recovery exemplifies the region’s supply influence. Chile leverages alternative proteins to hedge quota risk while scaling salmon harvests, and Brazil explores marine ingredient use in integrated tilapia farms. Logistics corridors linking Pacific landings to Atlantic consumption markets are under continuous upgrade, reducing freight cost and spoilage risk.

Europe and North America constitute mature but innovation-intensive arenas. Norway imports sizable volumes to support salmon farming, yet accelerates research on enzymatic hydrolyzed trimmings that lower wild-catch dependence. The European Union’s circular-economy mandates stimulate by-product rendering, raising the fishmeal and fish oil market size tied to secondary raw materials. North American pet-food makers capitalize on consumer willingness to pay for traceable omega-3 sources, preserving margin even when feed-grade prices soften. Across both regions, retailers pressure suppliers for third-party sustainability labels, reinforcing market segmentation between certified premium and conventional grades.