Breeding leaner salmon could cut Norwegian industry feed costs by $121 million a year, Nofima study finds
A study by Nofima, NMBU and Mowi Genetics finds that selectively breeding Atlantic salmon for lower body fat could significantly improve feed efficiency, with calculations suggesting potential annual savings of around USD 121 million for the Norwegian salmon industry.
Researchers from Nofima, the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) and Mowi Genetics have found that selectively breeding Atlantic salmon for lower body fat could meaningfully improve feed efficiency and reduce production costs, according to a study published in Genetics Selection Evolution on 18 September 2026.
The study was carried out through NewTechAqua, an EU Horizon 2020-funded project that ran from 2020 to 2024 and focused on testing and developing new solutions for sustainable European aquaculture. It involved 70 groups of fish representing 35 salmon families from the Mowi Genetics breeding programme, with all fish individually tagged, genetically tested and weighing 50 grams at the start of the experiment. The families were kept in small tanks at Nofima's research station in Sunndalsøra over seven weeks, during which researchers measured feed consumption, growth, and energy and protein retention and loss.
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