Eurofish carried out a study and information trip to Sweden’s epicenter in fishing, aquaculture and seafood industry – Bohuslän. A road trip starting in Orust, up to Smögen and ending in Strömstad provided the opportunity to visit and talk with both innovative start-ups and major international players in the processing industry. Here you will find traditional coastal fishing, algae and mussel farming, world-leading oyster hatcheries, land-based fish farming and a well-developed processing industry.
What they all have in common is that they testify to the enormous potential that exists in the waters of the Skagerack, which would benefit from an expanded international knowledge exchange and network. This would naturally benefit the entire Swedish industry in fishing and aquaculture.

Eurofish contributes to the development of fisheries and aquaculture in Europe. It does this by publishing marketing and industry related information in the Eurofish Magazine, and on the organisation’s website, as well as by organising conferences, workshops, seminars, and business-to-business meetings. Eurofish also implements a variety of projects in the fields of fisheries, aquaculture, markets, and trade. Eurofish has in-depth knowledge of the fisheries and aquaculture sector in Europe and neighbouring countries, and an extensive network in the region. Eurofish is a non-profit organisation that uses its revenues on activities for the benefit of its member countries.

The key objectives of Eurofish are to:
– Contribute to the sustainable development of the fisheries and aquaculture sector.
– Promote trade of high quality, value-added fishery products.
– Facilitate the transfer of information and knowledge.

By the way, you can read an article about the Swedish Signal Crayfish in Eurofish Magazine Issue 1 2026 (January/February). Per Pettersson from SIC was also a speaker at the Eurofish main conference in Tallinn 2025, which had the theme Invasive Species.

The first stop was on Orust with a visit to Sweden Pelagic and Musselfeed. The region also includes Scanfjord, Sweden’s largest mussel farmer, blue mussels that are grown on ropes in Bohuslän.
Sweden Pelagic was established in 1991 in the new premises in Ellös on Orust and thus began its development towards large-scale and efficient herring production. Since then, we have specialized in the preparation and marinating/seasoning of pelagic fish – primarily herring and sprat. In our factory in Ellös on Orust, we sort, fillet, season and pack the herring according to desired preferences. The process results in a unique product quality that lives on year after year.

Musselfeed specializes in transforming blue mussels into sustainable products, including nutrient-rich powders for food and feed applications and mussel shells for various purposes. Our innovative process provides high-quality protein sources and contributes to environmental sustainability by improving coastal water quality through mussel cultivation. Musselfeed offers solutions with significantly lower climate impact by replacing traditional protein sources with mussel-based products.

In Smögen-Kungshamn we began by visiting the Sotenäs Symbioscentrum. Their goal is to bring people together to create innovation, entrepreneurship, education and employment. At Sotenäs Municipality, they work with industrial and social symbiosis, to promote a circular economy.

Renahav is the heart of the Industrial Symbiosis and creates the conditions for surrounding industry to operate and develop together. Neighboring Renahav is Smögenlax, with permission to establish a land-based fish farm of 6,000 tons. Groundwork is underway and the farm with a proprietary, highly resource-efficient RAS technology will be established in two stages, 2,000+4,000 tons.

On Fiskareföreningen Norden-Smögens nät Sixten talks about the glory days of fishing in Smögen. Fiskareföreningen Norden is a fisherman-owned association on Smögen that has been active since 1937, primarily in the service of fishing. Today, it is the largest of the few remaining trawl tying factories in Sweden. The gear is manufactured with the guiding principle of ensuring sustainable fishing.

Marenor is a leading seafood producer in the Nordic market. Marenor delivers products in the Nordic region, the rest of Europe and further afield. A stone’s throw away you will find Lerøy, a world-leading seafood company with roots dating back to 1899. Core activities are salmon and trout production, whitefish fishing, further processing, product development, marketing, sales and distribution of seafood.

Last stop on the border with Norway is in Strömstad. A one-hour boat ride takes us out to the Koster Islands and Ostrea Aquaculture. Their business idea is to cultivate the world’s most sought-after oyster, the flat oyster Ostrea edulis, on a large scale on the Bohus coast. The core of Ostrea Aquaculture’s operations is the Hatchery, its own production facility where oyster fry are grown in a controlled environment. The continued production from fry to fully grown marketable oysters – a time span of approximately three years – takes place in basket farms in the marine environment where clean oceanic seawater enters Kosterfjorden via a deep channel from the North Sea. This creates uniquely favorable conditions.

Nordic Seafarm also has its algae processing plant in Strömstad. The Algae farm, Sweden’s largest, is located on ropes outside Grebbestad.

Swedish fishing industry and aquaculture can develop strongly in European network

It is not easy to sum up all the impressions of what Bohuslän has to offer. But one thing everyone agrees on is that the Swedish fishing and aquaculture industry has incredible potential. In these times with a need for increased food preparedness – both increased primary production and increased processing industry – Sweden benefits from an international network like Eurofish.