5. Sweden

The Swedish case study first provides an overview of aquatic food production, regulatory frameworks, and current issues in the Introduction. The following chapters present 2023 data on production and trade flows, which are then used to analyse the availability of aquatic food in Sweden.

Introduction

This chapter presents an overview of primary aquatic food production and the fish processing industry in Sweden. It also discusses the regulatory and management framework, as well as recent policy developments.

Primary production

The aquatic industry (including the primary sector and processing industry) is a small part of the Swedish economy, with around 1,500 firms and 2,000 employees in 2023. In 2023, the sector contributed 0.06 percent of GDP. The most important sub-sector in terms of the number of firms and value added was the sea fishing sector, with around 930 firms and SEK 940 million in value added. The processing sector was the largest employer, with 1300 employees in 2023. The aquaculture sector had 182 firms and 223 employees, whereas freshwater fisheries had 209 firms and 46 employees.

Figure 5.1 shows the five most important species in Sweden's primary aquatic production. In terms of volume (measured as live weight equivalents, LWE), Swedish fisheries are dominated by pelagic species. In 2023, herring, sprat, sand eel, and mackerel accounted for 82 % of the total production, with herring and sprat making up the majority. Rainbow trout from aquaculture accounted for 5% of the total. Since 2019, herring catches have declined, while no clear trends are evident for the other species.

Figure 5.1: Swedish aquatic production, five major species, tonnes (LWEs), 2019-2023. Sources: SwAM (2020, 2021, 2023), SBA (2024).

Most of the pelagic species are used for feed production. Figure 5.2 shows the most important species from sea fisheries, divided into fish for feed production and fish for human consumption. The share of each species caught for feed production is somewhat uncertain, so the figures should be interpreted with caution (SwAM, 2024a).

Figure 5.2: Swedish aquatic production, fish for consumption and feed production, tonnes (LWE) 2023. Sources: SwAM (2023). Note: Only catches from sea fisheries are included.

Sprat and sandeel are primarily used for feed production, whereas herring is also partially used for human consumption. In 2023, 36 percent of herring catches were estimated to be destined for human consumption. Swedish catches mainly come from the Baltic Sea (53 percent) and the North Sea (43 percent). Most of these catches are landed in foreign ports, primarily in Denmark; in 2023, 74 percent of Swedish catches were landed abroad. Domestic landings are concentrated along the west coast.

Although feed fisheries are important both in terms of volume and value, some species are economically significant despite accounting for only a small share of total catch volume. While statistics on aquaculture production are somewhat uncertain and should therefore be interpreted with caution, aquaculture accounted for 36 percent of the total value of Swedish aquatic production in 2023. The most important aquaculture species was rainbow trout, representing 26 percent of the total value. In addition, nephrops accounted for 11 percent of the value, and northern prawn for 5 percent, making them economically important species as well.

Regulation and management

Swedish fisheries are mainly regulated by the European Union's Common Fisheries Policy. Some minor species, such as vendace, pike perch, and perch, are regulated nationally. For the major species, such as sprat, herring, and sandeel, the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) is specified in EU regulations each year. Sweden usually receives quotas in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea (in EU, Norwegian, and UK waters).

In 2025, the Swedish quota for herring was 28 thousand tonnes (LWE) in the central Baltic Sea and 12 thousand tonnes in the Bothnian Bay. The quota for sprat was 27 thousand tonnes across the Baltic Sea as a whole. Other quotas in the Baltic were minor and included allowances for cod as bycatch, as well as quotas for Atlantic salmon and plaice (European Union, 2024).

In the North Sea, Sweden had several quotas for herring in 2025, including a quota for net fisheries in Skagerrak and Kattegat of 10 thousand tonnes, 4 thousand tonnes of herring in the North Sea, and 3 thousand tonnes of herring in the Norwegian Sea. The blue whiting quota was 16 thousand tonnes, mackerel of approximately 4 thousand tonnes in the North Sea, 11 thousand tonnes of sprat in Skagerrak and Kattegat, and 4 thousand tonnes of sandeel in the North Sea. Quotas are heavily traded between countries in the North Sea, meaning that actual national catches may be of other species than those specified in the original quotas (SwAM, 2025a).

Pelagic fisheries have been managed with a system of transferable quotas since 2009. Demersal fisheries (including quotas for Norway lobster, prawns, haddock, cod, whiting, and saithe) are managed with annual individual quotas, but a system of permanent, transferable quotas has been proposed and is currently under consideration (SwAM, 2024b).

Table 5.1 shows the status of the main stocks fished by Swedish sea fisheries in 2025.

Species/stock	F ≤ F_MSY	SSB ≥ MSY (B_trigger)
Herring: Central Baltic	Good	Not good
Herring: Bothnian Bay	Good	Not good
Sprat: Baltic	Not good	Good
Herring: Skagerrak, Kattegat, Southern Baltic*	Good	Not good
Herring: North-East Atlantic *	Good	Not good
Herring: North Sea, Skagerrak, Kattegat **	Not Good	Good

Table 5.1: Status of the main stocks for Swedish fisheries 2025

* Spring spawning herring.
** Autumn spawning herring.

The central Baltic herring stock and the herring stock in the Bothnian Bay are both below the conservation reference point (B_trigger), which means that measures must be taken to ensure that the stock returns to its most productive level (the Maximum Sustainable Yield) (European Union, 2024). Fishing pressure (F) is still below the reference points that would yield the largest possible catch in the long run (the MSY level) for both stocks (ICES, 2025g, o).

For sprat in the Baltic, biomass remains above the conservation reference point (B_trigger), but the stock has decreased since 2021 (ICES, 2025n). In 2025, fishing pressure (F) was above the reference point, meaning that overfishing was taking place.

Fishing pressure was below the reference point that would provide the largest possible catch in the long run for two of the stocks fished off the west coast of Sweden (in Skagerrak, Kattegat, the Northeast Atlantic, and the Southern Baltic). For one of the stocks (autumn-spawning herring in Skagerrak, Kattegat, Southern Baltic, and North-East Atlantic fishing pressure was above the reference point. The biomass trigger point was, however, exceeded for two of the stocks, whereas one stock still had a biomass that was below the trigger point (ICES, 2025e, h, p).

Historically, cod (not included in Table 1) has been one of the most economically important species in Sweden. Currently, Baltic cod stocks are below biomass reference points, indicating that the stock's reproductive capacity is impaired and that there is a high risk of population collapse. Consequently, the targeted fishery for eastern Baltic cod has been closed since 2019, and for western Baltic cod since 2021 (European Union, 2024).

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Recent policies

Recent policies affecting Swedish fisheries include a temporary extension of the trawl border in the Baltic Sea, implemented in 2025 (SwAM, 2025b) and a trawling ban in marine protected areas, to be introduced in 2026 (Swedish Government, 2025). Proposals for new marine spatial plans and a system of transferable quotas for demersal fisheries were put forward in 2025 and 2024, respectively. Furthermore, the Swedish government’s recent work on its food strategy emphasizes aquatic foods as a key area for enhancing national crisis preparedness.

The proposed changes to marine spatial plans affect all major sea areas within Sweden’s jurisdiction and are driven by the increasing demand for electricity and the need to create better conditions for offshore wind power development. The aim is to triple electricity production (SwAM, 2025c). Challenges related to the coexistence of offshore wind power, fisheries, and aquaculture are therefore expected to become a key issue in the coming years.

The Swedish government's work on a food strategy aims to increase domestic food production, including aquatic food production. For aquatic production, the Swedish Board of Agriculture has recently proposed a target to increase production by 60 percent by 2035 (measured by weight). This is to be achieved by increasing the use of pelagic fish as food rather than feed and by facilitating investments in aquaculture (SBA, 2025a).

Processing and Value Chain Overview: Sweden

Most Swedish catches from sea fisheries are not processed in Sweden; for example, there are no fishmeal factories in Sweden. Pelagic vessels land fish in Denmark, or herring and sprat from the Baltic is sometimes transported on lorries to Denmark (SBA, 2023). Swedish aquaculture farms process their fish both at stationary facilities at the farms and at facilities in other parts of the country and abroad, where Finland is a common processing destination (European Commission, 2025).

The fish processing industry is spread all over the country, with small businesses along the coast. Most catches landed in Sweden, however, are processed on the south and west coasts. The processing industry also imports a substantial part of its raw material (European Commission, 2025).

In 2023, 315 firms were registered as fish processing companies, of which 166 had fish processing as their main activity. These firms were often small, with the majority (85 percent) having fewer than 10 employees. The total number of employees (full-time equivalents) in fish processing firms was 1 300 in 2023 (European Commission, 2025).

Nearly half of the processing industry's total production costs consist of raw material costs (49 percent in 2023). Whereas smaller firms depend more on local landings, larger firms depend more on imports (mainly from Norway). The economic performance (net profit) was, on average, negative for the Swedish fish processing sector in 2023, with the most negative results for industries with more than 50 employees (European Commission, 2025).

Production and trade flows of Aquatic food: Sweden

In this chapter, we will estimate the amount of aquatic food available in Sweden by examining primary production and trade flows. As in other Nordic countries, we use 2023 for our data. First, we will investigate capture production and aquaculture production used for human consumption. Next, we will investigate trade flows, i.e., imports and exports. In a sensitivity analysis, we will investigate how the availability of aquatic food changes in three different potential scenarios. As above, we will present production in live weight equivalents (LWE). Trade flows are converted to LWE using the EU-mofa database.

Currently, several challenges hinder the production of reliable statistics on Sweden’s trade in aquatic food. For example, data from Statistics Sweden (SCB) show that nearly 40 percent of Sweden’s food exports in 2024 consisted of fish, crustaceans, and molluscs (SBA, 2025b). However, this figure is significantly overestimated, as it includes products that merely pass through Sweden without undergoing any processing—so-called quasi-transit trade. We adjust import and export statistics by removing quasi-transit trade, using additional information from Statistics Sweden (SCB). However, care should be taken when interpreting export data, as quasi-transits are reported only for imports. In addition, we lack information on quasi-imports from different countries, which necessitates the use of assumptions to estimate Swedish trade flows with each of the Nordic countries.

The categories used for the trade data calculations are the 8-digit codes in the CN Nomenclature used by Eurostat. The codes are all 8-digit codes in chapters 03, 1504, 1604, and 1605. Also, the 8-digit codes 05119110, 05119190, 230112000, 23099010 are used.

Production

In 2023, a total of 31 thousand tonnes (LWE) of fish intended for human consumption were caught by Swedish vessels operating at sea. Figure 5.3 illustrates how this catch is distributed across species. Herring was the most important species, with 19 thousand tonnes caught in 2023.

Figure 5.3: Sea catches for consumption in 2023 (tonnes LWE).

In addition to catches from sea fisheries, there are also commercial catches from freshwater fisheries, although catches are small in comparison. Catches from freshwater fisheries amounted to 1,723 tonnes (LWE) in 2023. Catches of pike perch and crayfish dominated, with 480 tonnes of pikeperch and 240 tonnes of crayfish caught in inland lakes. Most catches came from Lake Vänern, Sweden's largest lake (SwAM, 2024a).

The total aquaculture production of fish in 2023 is estimated at 9,700 tonnes in whole live weight, of which 8,500 tonnes (approximately 97 percent) come from 39 facilities in Northern Sweden. Rainbow trout was the dominating species with a production of 8,400 tonnes in 2023. Mussel production amounts to 1,700 tonnes and is produced at 23 facilities in Southern Sweden (SBA, 2024). In total, there were thus approximately 11 thousand tonnes of live weight produce from aquaculture in 2023.

SwAM (2024c) estimates catch from recreational fisheries (catches not released) at 10,975 tonnes, of which 7,962 tonnes were caught in lakes and rivers and 3 000 tonnes along the coasts. However, the data are uncertain. If all primary production is combined, approximately 56 thousand tonnes (LWE) were produced in Sweden in 2023.

Imports

We estimate that total imports of aquatic food to Sweden in 2023 were approximately 251 thousand tonnes (LWE). We begin by taking a closer look at imports across different product groups (Figure 5.4).

Figure 5.4: Adjusted Swedish imports in 2023, product groups (KN-4), tonnes (LWE).

Figure 5.4 shows that imports of fish fillets are substantial, with nearly 100 thousand tonnes (LWE) imported into Sweden in 2023. In this category, the most common species are cod, salmon, saithe, Alaska pollock, and mackerel. For example, 18 thousand tonnes (LWE) of frozen cod fillets were imported, and 15 thousand tonnes (LWE) of frozen salmon fillets.

The product group “Fish: prepared and preserved” includes, among other things, breaded fish fillets of various kinds. Key species among these processed products are herring, Alaska pollock, tuna, mackerel, and salmon. This includes, for example, herring imported by the Swedish processing industry (so-called “barrel herring”), used to produce pickled herring (SBA, 2023). But there are also substantial imports of fish fillets coated with breadcrumbs or battered with no specification of the species. The calculated live weight equivalent of the prepared and preserved products amounts to 68 thousand tonnes.

Imports of whole fish (fresh/chilled) are also significant, with around 28 thousand tonnes (LWE). A large share of this category consists of salmon, but herring, cod, ling, haddock, and Atlantic halibut are also important. Prepared crustaceans largely consist of packaged shrimp (e.g., loose shrimp in containers weighing less than 2 kg). Other categories include smoked salmon (classified under “dried, salted, and smoked fish”) and frozen cod (under “frozen fish”). The product groups shown as “other fish products” in the chart include various types of mussels, fish oil, and fishmeal.

Table 5.2 shows seafood imports from Nordic countries. Data on adjusted imports from individual countries are not available. However, we assume that quasi-imports originate in Norway, as the Swedish border is a major entry point for Norwegian seafood destined for the EU market. Consequently, all quasi-transits are deducted from imports coming from Norway.

Country	Imports (LWE-tonnes)	Share of imports
Norway	85,735	34%
Denmark	33,354	13%
Iceland	3,304	1%
Finland	655	0,3%
Faroe Islands	509	0,2%
Greenland	3	0,001%
All Nordic countries	123,560	49%
All Other Countries	125,739	51%
Total	249,299*	100%

Table 5.2: Imports of aquatic food to Sweden in 2023. Tonnes, live weight equivalents (fish for consumption).

*Note that this sum does not add up to the total estimated imports that are based on total trade statistics (which is 250 802 LWE-tonnes) presented above. Country-specific and total trade data have been gathered from Statistics Swedens website for this table.

A large share of Swedish seafood imports comes from Norway, accounting for 34 percent, followed by Denmark at 13 percent. Imports from other Nordic countries—namely Iceland, Finland, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland—are comparatively small. Overall, approximately 51 percent of Swedish imports originate from countries outside the Nordic region.

Exports

As Swedish export statistics are also affected by quasi-transits, we remove them from the export statistics. However, adjusted export statistics are more uncertain as mentioned above. As above, we use EU-Mofa data as our primary source for converting to live weight. However, we apply several adjustments that we believe improve the estimates. Fresh and chilled salmon are removed from the exports, as this product is most likely Norwegian salmon destined for the EU market that has not been recorded as a quasi-transit for unknown reasons. Since most herring and sprat are used for feed production, we adjust the EU-Mofa conversion factors for these two species. Sand eel is also omitted from the calculation, as it is known to be used exclusively for fish feed.

In total, Swedish adjusted exports of aquatic food are estimated at 66 thousand tonnes (LWE) in 2023. Exports are thus significantly lower than imports and constitute 26 percent of the latter. Figure 5.5 shows how exports are divided among product groups. When transformed into live weight, prepared and preserved fish become the largest export group. Herring and mackerel are the most common species in this group.

Figure 5.5: Adjusted Swedish exports in 2023, product groups (KN-4), tonnes (LWE).

Also, fresh and chilled fish is exported from Sweden with herring (12,500 tonnes) and rainbow trout from aquaculture (5,000 tonnes) as the most important species. Also, sprat and freshwater fish (most likely pike perch) are exported to some extent.

Since data on exports minus quasi-exports by country are not available to us, we cannot present exact figures for exports to individual countries. Instead, we estimate exports to Nordic countries by subtracting total reported quasi-imports at the 8-digit level from each country’s exports. This approach likely underestimates Swedish exports to each Nordic country but provides a lower bound on their volume.

Country	Exports LWE tonnes (estimate)	Share of exports
Denmark	15,466	24%
Norway	11,549	18%
Finland	5,659	9%
Iceland	76	0%
Faroe Islands	-	0%
Greenland	-	0%
All Nordic countries	32,749	50%
Allt Other countries	33,057	50%
Total	65,806	100%

Table 5.3: Estimated exports of aquatic food from Sweden in 2023. Tonnes (LWE).

Table 3 shows that the Nordic countries are key markets for Swedish exports of aquatic food, accounting for at least 50 percent of these exports. Denmark is the most important export destination; however, the estimate should be interpreted with some caution. Fresh and chilled herring constitutes a major share of exports to Denmark, accounting for 74 percent of the estimated export volume. The share of herring intended for human consumption is assumed to be 0.36. However, there is uncertainty about the amounts of herring used for food and feed (SwAM, 2024a).

Surprisingly, Norway is not only a major source of imported seafood but also an important destination for Swedish aquatic food exports. At least 18 percent of Sweden's aquatic food exports are destined for Norway. Approximately 38 percent of the estimated exports to Norway consist of prepared mackerel fillets. Some exports are sent to Finland, while very small volumes go to Iceland. There are no documented exports from Sweden to the Faroe Islands or Greenland. As exports to Nordic countries are likely underestimated, the results should be interpreted with caution.

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Aquatic food available for consumption in Sweden

In this section, we try to calculate the availability of aquatic food in Sweden. Many figures are uncertain, and availability should not be confused with potential availability during a crisis. But as a starting point for a discussion about self-sufficiency and food safety, it may be informative.

Swedish commercial aquatic food production consists of catches by Swedish sea fisheries (31,000 tonnes in 2023), aquaculture production (11,000 tonnes), and production from inland fisheries (1,700 tonnes). Also, catches from recreational fisheries that are kept (11,000 tonnes) could be added to the production. It should be kept in mind, though, that the exact quantity for recreational fisheries is uncertain. Adding all the posts above, the total production of aquatic food is then approximately 56 thousand tonnes (see Table 5.4).

Table 5.4 presents production, trade, and the amount of aquatic food available for consumption in Sweden in a reference scenario (2023) and three potential scenarios. The second scenario assumes that catches from recreational fisheries are not included in production. The third scenario assumes that the production goal suggested by the Swedish Board of Agriculture is achieved. This could, e.g., be achieved by using all the herring currently used for feed production for food and by increasing aquaculture production by 150 percent. The fourth scenario assumes that trade restrictions (perhaps due to a crisis) will allow Sweden to import only from other Nordic countries. The fifth scenario can be seen as a combination of scenarios 2 and 3, where the trade restrictions are combined with increased production in Sweden that keeps the consumption level at the current consumption level (i.e., at the level of the reference scenario).

Scenario	Production	Imports	Exports	Available for consumption	Self-Sufficiency Rate
1. Reference (2023)	56	251	66	241	23%
2. No recreational fishery	45	251	66	230	19%
3. Suggested goal	90	251	66	274	33%
4. Nordic imports only	56	124	66	114	49%
5. Sustained consumption	183	124	66	241	76%

Table 5.4: Available aquatic food in Sweden, 2023. Thousand tonnes (LWE).

*Available for consumption in Sweden is Production+Imports-Exports. This is not equivalent to the real consumption since storage and waste is not accounted for.

In 2023, consumption in live weight equivalents was approximately 241 thousand tonnes in Sweden. Dividing this figure by the Swedish population gives 23 kg of aquatic food in live-weight equivalents per person in 2023. This is equivalent to approximately 440 grams per person and week. If 300 grams are needed per portion, each Swede would consume 1.5 portions per week. This is close to the estimate of Axelsson and Hornborg (2025), who report that consumption in 2023 was approximately 1.6 portions per person and week. However, it is far below the Nordic nutritional recommendations for eating fish 2.5–3.5 times per week. This is also lower than the rate in 2019 (1.9 portions per week) and lower than the Swedish National Food Agency’s recommendation to eat seafood 2-3 times per week (European Commission, 2025).

If the suggested goal for Swedish aquatic production is achieved (scenario 3), consumption would increase (assuming no substitution of imports) to 274 thousand tonnes, equivalent to 26 kilos of live weight per person (assuming the population does not change). This would increase consumption to approximately 1.7 portions per person and per week (assuming we need 300 g per portion), which is still well below the Nordic nutrient recommendations for aquatic foods.

The fourth scenario reduces imports by approximately 50 percent if a crisis prevents imports from countries outside the Nordic region. This would decrease consumption to an estimated per capita intake of 11 kilos in live weight equivalents, representing a sharp decline and moving further away from the Nordic nutritional recommendations. It would also imply that the average Swede would only consume 0.7 portions of fish per week.

The fifth scenario assumes that Swedish production can offset the decline in imports, allowing consumption to remain at the level of the reference scenario. Production would need to increase by 130 percent, which is significantly higher than the 60 percent target proposed by the Board of Agriculture. Assuming it is difficult to increase catches from sea fisheries, this increase would have to come from two sources. One possibility is to use herring (or possibly sprat) currently allocated to feed production, but the majority of the increase would most likely have to come from aquaculture production.

Summary

The aquatic food sector in Sweden is small in economic terms. In 2023, the sector accounted for approximately 0.06 percent of GDP and comprised around 1,500 firms and 2,000 employees. Primary production is dominated by pelagic fisheries—especially herring and sprat—which together account for more than 80 percent of total catch volume. However, most pelagic fish are used for feed rather than human consumption. Aquaculture contributes a relatively small share of total volume but accounts for more than one-third of total production value, with rainbow trout as the dominant species.

Sweden’s domestic production of aquatic food intended for human consumption in 2023 is estimated at approximately 56 thousand tonnes (live weight equivalents), including sea fisheries, aquaculture, inland fisheries, and retained recreational catches. Despite this production, Sweden is highly dependent on imports. Total imports of aquatic food amounted to roughly 250 thousand tonnes, while exports were about 66 thousand tonnes. As a result, domestic production covered only about 23 percent of total consumption. Per capita consumption was roughly 1.6 portions of aquatic foods per person per week, well below Nordic nutritional recommendations.

The sector operates under the EU Common Fisheries Policy, and several key fish stocks—most notably Baltic herring and cod—are below biological reference points, limiting the potential for increased capture fisheries. Recent policy developments include changes to trawling regulations, proposals for new marine spatial plans, and an increased emphasis on aquatic food within Sweden’s national food strategy. The Swedish Board of Agriculture has proposed increasing aquatic food production by 60 percent by 2035, primarily through greater use of pelagic fish for human consumption and expanded aquaculture.

Scenario analyses indicate that while higher domestic production could moderately improve self-sufficiency, Sweden would remain heavily reliant on imports under normal conditions. In the event of trade restrictions limiting imports to Nordic countries only, consumption would decline substantially unless domestic production increased far beyond the suggested policy targets. Overall, increasing the self-sufficiency of aquatic food in Sweden will likely require significant expansion of aquaculture alongside careful management of marine ecosystems and competing uses of marine space.

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