Mesopelagic Species and Their Potential Contribution to Food and Feed Security—A Case Study from Norway

Abstract

The projected increase in global population will demand a major increase in global food production. There is a need for more biomass from the ocean as future food and feed, preferentially from lower trophic levels. In this study, we estimated the mesopelagic biomass in three Norwegian fjords. We analyzed the nutrient composition in six of the most abundant mesopelagic species and evaluated their potential contribution to food and feed security. The six species make up a large part of the mesopelagic biomass in deep Norwegian fjords. Several of the analyzed mesopelagic species, especially the fish species Benthosema glaciale and Maurolicus muelleri, were nutrient dense, containing a high level of vitamin A1, calcium, selenium, iodine, eicopentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and cetoleic acid. We were able to show that mesopelagic species, whose genus or family are found to be widespread and numerous around the globe, are nutrient dense sources of micronutrients and marine-based ingredients and may contribute significantly to global food and feed security.

Nutrient Composition of Demersal, Pelagic, and Mesopelagic Fish Species Sampled Off the Coast of Bangladesh and Their Potential Contribution to Food and Nutrition Security—The EAF-Nansen Programme

“…Lanternfish have also in previous studies been recognised as a highly attractive source of raw material in fish feed due to their high content of fatty acids, particularly EPA and DHA [ 60 , 61 ]. The two mesopelagic fish species included in this paper presented the highest nutrient content of all sampled species for EPA and DHA, but also for vitamin A 1 , calcium, iodine, and iron, as in accordance with results from Alvheim et al [ 62 ]. The high micronutrient content in these species may also be naturally attributed to the inclusion of various fish parts in the analyses, such as bones, skin, and viscera [ 63 ].…”

Undesirables in Mesopelagic Species and Implications for Food and Feed Safety—Insights from Norwegian Fjords

“…Considering the size of the here investigated species, consumption of whole fish was likely. Small fish consumed whole, including the head, and viscera are part of multiple food cultures [ 52 , 53 ], and the here investigated species have been shown to be nutrient-dense [ 7 ]. The concentrations of Cd were most likely so high, as whole individuals were analyzed.…”

“…All samples were stored frozen at −20 °C until analysis, while samples for lipid analysis were stored frozen at −20 °C until 17 December 2018, and at −80 °C until analysis. A detailed overview of the samples (number of composite samples, specimens per composite samples, and the average length/weight) and images of the species are given in Alvheim et al [ 7 ].…”

“…Due to their extended deep-water zones, Norwegian fjords are a promising habitat for mesopelagic species, and it has been shown that considerable nutrient-dense biomass can be found there. The species variety is rather low, and the biomass consists of mainly six species: two species of mesopelagic fish, the glacier lanternfish ( Benthosema glaciale ), and the silvery lightfish ( Maurolicus muelleri ); the decapod Eusergestes arcticus ; the decapod genus Pasiphaea ; the euphausiid Northern krill ( Meganyctiphanes norvegica ); the scyphozoan helmet jellyfish ( Periphylla periphylla ) [ 7 ]. It has been shown that these species have the potential to contribute to global food and feed security being nutrient-rich with high levels of vitamin A 1 , calcium, selenium, iodine, eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, and cetoleic acid, especially in fish [ 7 ].…”

“…However, more knowledge on the content of undesirables is needed to assess the suitability as food and feed ingredient, especially since some challenges have already been identified, such as high values of cadmium in some fish species [ 7 , 8 , 9 ] and fluoride in Northern krill [ 10 , 11 ] and high amounts of wax esters in B. glaciale [ 9 , 12 ].…”