Speaking at the European Maritime Day in Sweden on May 22, Ewos’ CEO Kjell Bjordal argued that farmed seafood supply must reach 120 million metric tons by 2030 if the industry wants to meet the needs of a growing population. The world’s population is set to reach 8.2 people in 2030, up 17 percent from 7 billion today.
Fish is not only the best poised protein to meet this growing demand, the industry is also able to take on this growth by using substitutes for marine feed and by continuing to innovate, Bjordal said.
According to him farmed fish’s efficiency -- its low feed conversion ratio and carbon footprint -- combined with its healthy attributes mean it will be the winner on the global market. “We believe that the market allocates the raw materials to the most efficient production -- and fish, is the winner,” his presentation read. Carnivorous fish are only a drop in the ocean of farmed fish.
Only 3 percent of global farmed fish are carnivorous, and their production is expected to increase at an annual rate of 3.5 percent, reaching 5.2 million metric tons in 2030, up from 2.6 million metric tons in 2010. In contrast non-carnivorous fish production is expected to grow by 4.8 percent to 149 million fish in 2030, up from 57 metric tons in 2010.
“We can expect [the] percentage of non-carnivore fish ‘on feed’ to increase from 50 percent in 2010 to 80 percent in 2030, Bjordal’s presentation says.
Marine proteins are often cited as the main limitation to expanding aquaculture. While marine proteins can “to a large extent be replaced by vegetable proteins, the “only obvious limitation” consists of marine oils, namely the EPA and DHA fatty acids, Bjordal said.
However, here again there is hope. “We now have the technical capability to grow salmon on zero marine raw material,” even though the solution is not commercial viable at this stage, he said.
His comment referred to the industry’s progress in using oil from omega-3 rich algae to replace marine raw material. However, this technique is still relatively expensive compared to using fish oil.
In the future, the industry will look at solutions such as genetically modified vegetable oils, omega-3 producing micro-organisms and “harvesting oceans down the chain” to increase supply of the valuable fatty acids, Bjordal said.
This refers to the possibility of using algae as a potential future substitute for fish oil. Ewos is notably behind a project called CO2Bio which aims to take purified CO2 from the industrial site of Mongstad in Norway to cultivate algae.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In Gia Vien district, tilapia farming—particularly the “duong nghiep” strain—is expanding rapidly and gradually becoming an efficient production model for local farmers. Hatcheries in the area are supplying high-quality, uniform, and disease-free fingerlings, meeting the growing demand for commercial farming.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On the afternoon of March 19, Vice Chairman of the Ca Mau Provincial People’s Committee, Le Van Su, chaired a meeting to address bottlenecks and propose solutions to expand the super-intensive whiteleg shrimp farming model using low water exchange and high biosecurity standards (RAS-IMTA).
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On March 10, 2026, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee issued Decision No. 1377/QD-UBND approving the Aquatic Animal Disease Prevention and Control Plan for the 2026–2030 period. The decision takes effect from the date of signing and replaces previous plans for the 2021–2030 period that had been issued prior to the administrative merger in Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Binh Duong, and Ho Chi Minh City.
(vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Chile imported more than USD 156 million worth of tuna, up 8.1% compared to the previous year and the highest level in the past five years. As the supply structure in this market is rapidly shifting, Vietnamese tuna is facing both opportunities to expand market share and increasing competitive pressure from Thailand, Colombia, and China.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vinh Long Province is stepping up efforts to develop brackish water shrimp farming in a sustainable direction, identifying it as a key sector in its agricultural structure. In 2026, the province aims to reach around 71,300 hectares of shrimp farming, with an output of over 314,000 tons.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Ha Tinh Province is strengthening control over shrimp seed quality to minimize risks for the 2026 spring–summer farming season.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In February 2026, Vietnam’s pangasius exports reached USD 119 million, down slightly 5% year-on-year. However, thanks to strong performance in January, cumulative exports in the first two months of the year still reached USD 331 million, up 28% compared to the same period in 2025. Export activity slowed somewhat in February due to seasonal factors, particularly the Lunar New Year holiday, which disrupted production and shipments at many seafood processing enterprises.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Da Nang is accelerating the development of high-tech shrimp farming toward intensive production, disease control, and improved efficiency. Many shrimp farms have invested in automated environmental monitoring systems, continuously tracking indicators such as pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and salinity, enabling farmers to promptly adjust pond conditions and reduce disease risks.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The year 2025 is considered a turning point for Vietnam’s shrimp seed industry as the sector faces the need for strong transformation in technology, production management, and gradual self-sufficiency in broodstock supply. These factors are seen as key to improving seed quality and strengthening the competitiveness of the shrimp industry amid increasingly demanding market requirements.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In February 2026, Vietnam’s shrimp exports reached nearly USD 310 million, up 17% year-on-year. Cumulatively for the first two months of the year, shrimp export value totaled USD 690 million, an increase of 20% compared with the same period last year. Compared with the 22% growth recorded in January, the pace of increase in February slowed somewhat, reflecting seasonal factors as the Lunar New Year holiday partially disrupted processing and shipment activities. Nevertheless, the nearly 20% growth in the first two months indicates that shrimp orders from Vietnam are maintaining a more positive trend than in the same period last year.
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