What did your dinner eat for breakfast?

This report highlights the fishing behind the farming of salmon and shrimp, the effects of forage fish production and the conditions in this production.

Many of the world’s fish stocks have declined as a consequence of heavy fishing pressure and unsustainable fishing methods. In many places catches have even stagnated and declined. To feed a growing population, and meet an increasing demand for fish and shellfish, aquaculture (fish and shellfish farming) has started to play an increasingly prominent role in fish production. Every year, 25-30 million tons of fish are turned into fishmeal that is used as feed in aquaculture. These farms are described by the fish industry, among others, as a solution to the problems of depletion of fish stocks and supply of fish products.

In the report Do you know what your dinner ate for breakfast? Swedwatch and Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) has highlighted the hidden fishing behind the farming of salmon and shrimp shedding light on the effects of forage fish production and examining the conditions in this production. The focus lays on the Swedish supply of farmed salmon and giant prawns, as these are the two farmed fish and shellfish products mostly imported to Sweden.

As the large players in the food retail trade already have some awareness of the problems associated with fishing for feed, this report focuses on farmed prawns and salmon consumed in restaurants. In addition, around a quarter of the Swedish food consumption takes place in restaurants, and it is therefore important to include these in work aimed at reducing the environmental impact of our food.

Made in collaboration with: Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC)