This part of the report provides a detailed description of the aquatic food systems in each Nordic country. Each national chapter follows a common structure, covering primary production (capture fisheries and aquaculture), processing capacity, trade flows, and the estimated availability of aquatic foods for consumption. The chapters also outline key challenges and opportunities relevant to food security and preparedness.
Together, these country profiles provide a harmonised and comparable overview of the Nordic aquatic food system. Part 1 includes both the national descriptions and the Nordic synthesis, which integrates findings across countries.
The following sections describe the data sources, methodological approach, and limitations that apply across all chapters in Part 1. These common elements ensure comparability between countries and underpin the Nordic‑wide analysis presented in the synthesis.
Data, methods, and limitations
Estimating the aquatic food available for consumption
Aquatic food available for consumption is estimated using a harmonized approach across all Nordic countries. The indicator reflects what is theoretically available for consumption, not what is actually eaten. Storage losses, waste, re‑exports, unreported landings, and other irregularities may influence what is ultimately consumed.
All quantities are converted to live weight equivalents to allow comparison across species, product forms, and countries. Availability is calculated as:
Available for consumption = total catches – industrial catches for feed production + aquaculture production + imports – exports
Trade flows for human consumption are derived from HS Chapters 03 and 16, while products used for reduction (fishmeal and fish oil) are captured under HS 1504, 23, and 05. These codes cover the main product groups relevant to both consumption and industrial uses.