Friend of the Sea is an international certification programme for products from sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.
76 companies from 23 countries used the assessment to verify the sustainable origin of their products.
The markets with the highest presence of Friend of the Sea labelled products are in the USA, Scandinavia, Central Europe and Australia.
Consumer concerns make environmental sustainability a key topic for the Omega-3 industry.
Certified Omega3 producers verify their suppliers are listed as approved and thus implement sustainable fisheries practices, giving reassurance to their customers.
Paolo Bray, Director and Founder of Friend of the Sea, said: “Fisheries for fish oil are among the major fisheries worldwide, even though only part of it is used for Omega3 production.
“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.”
Some examples of sustainable fish oil fisheries and fleets are Antarctic krill, menhaden and Peruvian anchovies.
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 certified Omega-3 products originate from selected seafood processing by-cuts or trimmings, thus optimising use of marine resources and avoiding production of waste.
