Fish oil is a unique commodity that is known for its high concentration of Omega-3 fatty acids. This health content gives oil use predominantly for use in aquaculture and health supplements. Fish oil is also unique in that it is not produced in isolation. By necessity, fishmeal, or the byproduct fish with the oil taken out, is also produced and is a commodity that is used in animal feeds. While these are all fascinating and worthy of discussion, this commodity chain will focus on how oil goes from belonging to a fish to yellow fish-smelling pills taken by health-conscience consumers.
Figure 1: A broad overview of the steps from the global fishing market to fish oil capsules for human consumption in supplements
Step One: Sourcing
Currently, about 10.5% of fish being caught by global fisheries is used for the production of fish meal and fish oil (The State 2014). However, despite the growing health supplement market, this number is overall shrinking due to less fishmeal and fish oil being used for feeding farm animals (Sheppard 2013).
There are two ways to source fish oil. First, and most commonly, fish oil is produced from small, pelagic fish such as sardines, anchovies, and similar species (Mullon et al. 2009). While any fish could be used for this production, these small fish generally have very high ratios of protein and oil, perfect for creating the twin products of fishmeal and fish oil. These fish are also more undesirable for consumption and often uneconomic to produce and sell in mass quantities without significant value-adding processing (The Production 1986).
Like any fishing, this makes fish oil production highly dependent on external factors such as climate change. One particular factor that concerns many fish oil fisheries is El Niño, the climatic event responsible for shifts in temperature and rainfall (Terazono 2015). This has implications for fish locations throughout the world and has resulted in many bad years for fisheries, driving fishmeal and fish oil prices up (Terazono 2015). In addition, there are ecological risks that must be managed by political and economic structures. For example, overfishing is a major concern and must be maintained by national quotas (Mullon et al. 2009). These quotas, also known as individual transferable quotas (ITQs), have major implications for global prices and trade of these fish products. If ITQs are cut, due to, for instance, El Niño, global fish oil prices will rise, but the fisheries will also bear the effects of less fish, likely resulting in cuts in labor.
The second method is production from fish by-products. While still the minority of for fishmeal and fish oil production, this method is growing in popularity compared to catching fish solely for these by-products (The State 2014). The by-products that go into the production include any offal, such as skin, bones, and guts, of fresh or farmed fish that is cut and processed before being packaged and sent to consumers (Sheppard 2013). However, this method also produces fishmeal and fish oil that has a lower concentration of the valuable proteins and fatty acids, resulting in lower value products (The State 2014).
Fish oil production most commonly starts in the pacific coasts off of South America, Peru being the world’s largest producer and Chile not far behind (Pike et al. 2009). However, in the past few years, fishing has been decreasing for these countries due to the rising ocean temperatures (Terazono 2015). Production is also common in Scandinavian countries, the United States, and Japan. Collectively, these countries account for about two thirds of the world’s fish oil production (Pike et al. 2009).
Step Two: Processing
After being caught, the fish must first be transported to the processing facility. One major concern with transportation is the deterioration of the raw fish. Both bacterial and autolytic, or fat, deterioration are huge concerns that result in less oil and less fish for processing (The Production 1986). In order to prevent this and gain higher yields, there are several methods of preservation, the most common being proper draining and chilling techniques on the fishing vessel itself, followed by chilled land transportation to a processing facility. Chemical preservatives may also be used, Sodium Nitrate being the most prevalent, but these are not overly common due to potential unintended reactions, such as the creation of carcinogens, like Nitrosamines, with contaminants in the water (The Production 1986).
Processing the fish into fishmeal and fish oil is a sophisticated process that requires significant knowledge and equipment. Due to this, fishmeal and oil production tends to be an oligopolistic system with high barriers to entry (Mullon 2009). Also, as a result of this, the processing facilities are generally owned by the fishmeal and oil manufactures and simply buy fresh fish from fisheries and fish offal from other manufacturing plants. In addition, it is important to note that the processing factories are generally located near harbors and other fish processing plants in order to minimize transportation time and losses from spoilage (The Production 1986). However, this also means that pollution regulation can play a large role in the kinds of processes and equipment used for the production of fishmeal and oil.
There are several different ways for separating the oil from the rest of the fish once reaching the processing plant. However, the most popular method for large corporations is the wet pressing method (The Production 1986). This method starts with heating the fish in order to begin removing excess water and liberating the oils from the fish bodies. This is followed by straining and, then, either pressing or centrifuging the resulting sludge (The Production 1986). Pressing is a more fuel efficient choice, while centrifuging is easier, more versatile, and cleaner. At this point, there will be a liquid from the straining and pressing/centrifuging and a solid matter left over.
The liquid matter is centrifuged twice more in two separate centrifuges; once to remove the excess solid matter, which is put in with the rest, and again to separate the oil from excess water, which is evaporated. The final step for the oil is the be “polished”, or strained once more, with the use of hot water to remove any impurities (The Production 1986). The purified oil is then put in storage to be packaged. The solid matter is again strained, milled, dried, antioxidants added, and packaged as fishmeal (The Production 1986). In general, 1 kg of fishmeal will be produced from about 4.5 kg of raw fish and 1kg of fish oil is produced from about 20 kg of raw fish. However, for fish oil, this can vary anywhere from 10-50 kg of raw fish depending on the species and source of the fish (Sheppard 2013).
The oil then needs to be turned into a value-added product to be sold. From the manufacturing plant, the oil is simply put in large containers to be labeled and sold to aquaculture farms or supplement and vitamin companies. However, before sold, it needs to quality tested for impurities, that it meets international standards, and that the oil is the concentration that is claims (The Production 1986). Once it is sold and passed quality testing, more transportation is required to move the fish oil from the fish processing factory to the vitamin processing factory.
At the vitamin processing plant, the fish oil is first homogenized and prepared for encapsulation. The capsules are traditionally made using gelatin that covers the fish oil in the soft-gel capsules that we know today (Huag 2011). The capsules then need to be dried, dehumidified, polished, tested for the correct size dimensions, and, finally, packaged in bottles and sent distributors (Huag 2011).
Step Three: Distribution & Marketing
Fish oil has two primary uses: human health supplements and as supplements for aquaculture production. In addition, the oil has a variety of other uses including leather tanning and the production of soap, glycerol, or even margarine (The Production 1986). About 71% of oil is currently used for aquafeed, 24% for health supplements, and the remaining 5% is for other commercial and industrial uses (Sheppard 2013). However, as they continues to grow in market share, human health supplements are currently the highest value fish oil products. This is due to their increase in popularity and that they require more processing than other fish oil products.
After being bottled and packaged by vitamin companies, fish oil supplements are marketed and distributed. Marketing for these supplements targets the health-conscience consumer.
Fish oil has become as popular as it has due to its high content of Omega-3 fatty acids. This means that the fatty acid is unsaturated and has a Carbon-Carbon double bond three Carbons from the methyl group at the end of the fatty acid chain. Omega-3 fatty acids are considered essential because they are critical for cardiovascular health and because humans can not create these acids without ingesting them. Despite being essential, there are no studies definitively linking the consumption of fish oil with better cardiovascular health (Pike 2010).
This is an example of the wide-reaching effects of nutritionism, as described by Gyorgy Scrinis, in his piece, On the Ideology of Nutritionism. He writes, “Despite the uncertainties, limitations, and contradictions within nutrient-level knowledge, nutritionism is nevertheless characterized by a sustained and confident discourse of precision and control. This discourse implies both a precise understanding of foods, diets, and the body and an ability to precisely control and manipulate them” (Scrinis 2008). Fish oil, like any “good” nutrient, can be seen as very much an extension of a desire to control one’s own health and mortality. By taking a fish oil supplement, a consumer can try to improve their cardiovascular health and, by extension, avoid heart problems.
In addition, there are also health concerns with fish oil. One of the main anti-fish oil narratives is the presence of mercury in the fish. While there is no significant evidence to suggest that this may be the case, it is still powerful rhetoric in the debate of fish oil consumption (Pike 2010).
Appendix and Further Research:
For this project, some of the most helpful sources I found were scholarly articles written on fishmeal and fish oil markets. These articles were found through Google Scholar, Wikipedia references, or were cross referenced with other helpful sources. However, there were several difficulties with this approach. First, most of the articles published on fish oils were strictly focused on their health content rather that their production, and many of the articles that did look at production had a clear pro- or anti-fish oil bias. Yet, I still found a few solid papers, even though some had bias one way or the other.
The other sources that were a huge help were the reports by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. These were great for getting clear, unbiased facts and processes about fishmeal and fish oil production. One report just focused on an overview of modern global fishing, which was great for setting the stage and getting production facts. The other report, while maybe outdated, outlined general procedures used in fishmeal and oil production. This was essential for this report and helped to clarify specific procedures.
Besides these two main places where I found sources, I also found additional sources for specifics not covered in these articles and reports. This included extra research into El Niño’s effect on fishmeal and oil production and how the soft-gel capsules are made for supplements. However, the most difficult part of this project was, by far, narrowing down my research to what was critical and what would be left out. This left many questions including: What external factors go into establishing national fishing quotas (ITQs)? How have the major producing countries become the major players? To what extent does vertical or horizontal integration play a role in this process? Who executes and how does quality testing work? Where does the gelatin in capsules come from? What countries are the major buyers of fish oil? And, maybe most importantly, what does the labor look like at each step of the process? These, and many more, were interesting questions left unanswered due to lack of time and/or easily accessible information. The questions may not be satisfying, but they show the complexity of the supply chain and provide ample opportunities for further research.
Works Cited:
Haug, Ingvild J., Lise B. Sagmo, Daniel Zeiss, Inge C. Olsen, Kurt I. Draget, and Tore Seternes. 2011. “Bioavailability of EPA and DHA Delivered by Gelled Emulsions and Soft Gel Capsules.” European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology 113 (2): 137–45. doi:10.1002/ejlt.201000450.
Mullon, C., J-F. Mittaine, O. ThéBaud, G. PéRon, G. Merino, and M. Barange. 2009. “Modeling the Global Fishmeal and Fish Oil Markets.” Natural Resource Modeling 22 (4): 564–609. doi:10.1111/j.1939-7445.2009.00053.x.
Pike, Ian H., and Andrew Jackson. 2010. “Fish Oil: Production and Use Now and in the Future.” Lipid Technology 22 (3): 59–61. doi:10.1002/lite.201000003.
“The Production of Fish Meal and Oil.” 1986. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Scrinis, Gyorgy. 2008. “On the Ideology of Nutritionism.” Gastronomica: The Journal of Critical Food Studies 8 (1): 39–48. doi:10.1525/gfc.2008.8.1.39.
Shepherd, C. J., and A. J. Jackson. 2013. “Global Fishmeal and Fish-Oil Supply: Inputs, Outputs and Markets.” Journal of Fish Biology 83 (4): 1046–66. doi:10.1111/jfb.12224.
“The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture: Opportunities and Challenges.” 2014. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Terazono, Emiko. 2015. “El Niño Threatens Fishmeal Prices.” Financial Times. November 12.