The Norwegian producer of pelagic fish products, Pelagia AS is a project partner of the AQUABIOPRO-FIT consortium. We caught up with Product and process developer, Raja Mansingh Rathore, to find out why Pelagia AS chose to be part of the AQUABIOPRO-FIT consortium and how the project will impact the fish industry.

My area of expertise is fish nutrition and the utilization of side streams from aquaculture and fisheries.

Pelagia AS is dealing with fish and fisheries products and we are committed to using 100% of the fish. We know that the side streams from fish processing have much more potential than just being used as raw material for traditional fish meal and fish oil. The full potential of fish-based value-added products has not yet been harnessed. The objectives of AQUABIOPRO-FIT were very much within our company’s interest area.

In terms of product development, a taste- and odor neutral fish protein will open possibilities for a well-accepted marine protein product for the human consumption market segment. Furthermore, we believe that the outcomes of the project will not only give economic benefit to the fisheries/aquaculture industries, but also ecological and environmental benefits by reducing waste. Which in turn, may provide a long-lasting sustainable growth for the industry.

This type of projects takes a 360⁰ approach to the entire problem. Such projects provide us with a consortium of competent partners that investigate economical, scientific/technical, social, environmental and even market related issues linked to the proposal.

The AQUABIOPRO-FIT consortium consists of 3 universities, 1 large company, 3 SMEs, 1 NGO and 4 research institutes from 7 European countries. Find out more about Pelagia and the other AQUABIOPRO-FIT project partners in the links below.