European Salmon Farmers Switch to Chicken Byproduct Feed
Major European salmon producers are replacing traditional fishmeal with chicken byproducts to reduce costs and carbon emissions amid rising fishmeal prices.
Several of Europe's largest salmon farming companies, including Lerøy Seafood Group, Mowi, Grieg Seafood, and SalMar, have begun incorporating chicken byproducts into their fish feed. The transition is driven by a need for cost reductions and lower carbon emissions, as poultry feed costs less than half the price of traditional fishmeal. This shift follows rising fishmeal prices caused by falling wild fish stocks, increased demand from China, and El Niño-related disruptions to Peruvian anchovy fishing.
Implementation varies by company. SalMar began testing poultry in feed in March, while Grieg Seafood introduced chicken meal and oil in July. Mowi plans to introduce the feed in Norway and Scotland, and Lerøy Seafood Group has introduced the byproducts at all its offshore farms. Jørgen Skeide, a feed manager at Lerøy, stated that poultry meal was the only raw material that met the necessary requirements for their scale of operation.
While salmon farmers in Canada and Chile have used these byproducts for years, European retailers like Tesco and Waitrose previously prohibited the practice. A 2026 study found that consumers in France and the United Kingdom view the practice as unnatural and disgusting. However, retailers are not legally required to list feed ingredients on packaging. The move is expected to increase the value of chicken remains for the British poultry industry.
