At the 2026 North Atlantic Seafood Forum (NASF), aquaculture feed is given significant prominence, moving beyond its former status as a niche technical topic. Aquafeed features prominently throughout the programme, reflecting its growing importance as a strategic tool for sustainability, profitability and growth within our industry.
Each year, in the first week of March, more than 1000 chief executives, experts, investors and analysts gather in Bergen, Norway, for a three-day conference. The city of Bergen has been a centre of seafood activity since 1360 and many leading seafood companies continue to base their headquarters there. This reflects a strong connection between history, research and future innovation.
Aquafeed as a Performance Driver
NASF’s Aquafeed Summit demonstrates how aquaculture feed has evolved into a strategic driver for production rather than simply a technical input. Feed is presented as a means to improve feed conversion efficiency, adapt performance to different production environments and support fish health under increasingly complex farming conditions.
This reflects a wider trend, whereby modern aquafeed development focuses as much on optimising nutritional systems and sharing best practices as it does on introducing new ingredients. Delegates examine how data on nutrition, farm performance and markets can be translated into actionable insights to improve efficiency, fish health and economic performance.
Rethinking Aquafeed Ingredients
The conference also places significant emphasis on alternative feed ingredients. Discussions around algae, insects and other novel protein sources highlight an industry seeking scalable solutions to long-term supply constraints.
The industry is moving away from reliance on a limited range of marine ingredients towards more diversified portfolios of proteins and oils, while recognising that meaningful impact depends on the successful and routine application of these ingredients at the farm level.
