Turning seafood waste into blue gold

The ocean bioresources are renewable but limited and should therefore be used in a sustainable manner to not jeopardize the future availability. MAREFINE aims to establish a blue biorefinery in Sweden where underutilized marine side streams are valorised into high value products. The maritime industry has been identified as a growth sector in EU as well as in Sweden. There are also strategic plans to develop the fisheries and aquaculture sector into more innovative and resource-efficient value chains. Today, the seafood processing in Sweden is generating 26 000 tonnes of residual raw materials where the majority goes to low-value products – such as feed and biogas – or destruction. For the seafood companies, managing the side streams is often a cost rather than a source for profit. This is an unfortunate situation as the biomass contains a multitude of valuable components that can be used in a wide spectrum of high-value products. Consequently, there is a large untapped potential to use this renewable marine feedstock for the development of more sustainable products for the growing population.