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Sustainable production & social responsibility

Our responsibility

Fish handling with care

The world's population is growing, and the need for nutritious food is increasing. To meet this challenge, we must exploit the ocean's resources safely and sustainably.

Proteins from the sea will play a crucial role in a more climate-friendly diet, but this requires the seafood production to be both more efficient and more gentle.

At Optimar, we develop technology that makes it possible. Our solutions help our customers produce more seafood with less strain. Not only on the environment, but also on the fish and the people who work in the industry.

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Efficient solutions for sustainable growth

Sustainability is not an isolated project in Optimar. It is an integrated part of everything we do:

  • Reducing negative impact through efficient systems that save energy and take better care of the fish
  • Improving positive impact by contributing to better utilization of residual raw materials and increased food safety
  • Developing future-proof solutions for an industry that will grow without unnecessary strain on the ocean's resources and the people who work at sea
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How we work with fish welfare

Good fish welfare is key to sustainable production. Our solutions are developed to ensure gentle handling, minimal stress and optimal quality.

More about fish welfare

Social responsibility

We know that technology is only one part of the picture. Optimar also takes responsibility for the people who are part of the value chain. Those who work in our factories, the crew working on the vessels and the local communities.

Our goal is to be a safe and responsible employer, partner and social actor. We invest in competence, working environment and local initiatives – and we build for the future together with the people who know the sea best.

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Picture of UN SDGs

Sustainability goals we are working on

Responsible business operations, plans, operations and investments are crucial to achieving transformative change through the Sustainable Development Goals.

The UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals provide a framework for achieving the agenda and targets set by UN member states. Together, the Sustainable Development Goals outline what needs to be done to end extreme poverty, combat inequality and injustice, and protect our planet. We have selected four SDGs where we believe we have the greatest impact.

However, focusing primarily on these four goals will also contribute positively to other of the UN’s 17 SDGs.

Read our report for 2024

Highlights from 2024

  • Our focus on animal welfare continued, in collaboration with customers and animal welfare organizations.
  • We successfully introduced our electric stunning machine in growing markets in Asia and increased its availability for small-scale fish farmers.
  • OptiFlush, in combination with OptiLice, proved to be a highly effective method for removing sea lice while improving the welfare of farmed salmon.
  • We introduced new design guidelines focusing on the gentle handling of fish, cleaning, and the use of standardized integrations.
  • We signed a partnership agreement with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) to study and test new technology to further optimize freezer design and energy efficiency.
  • We launched an automated fillet packaging solution for the on-board market.
  • We continued to participate in the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries' CatchID project, which aims to develop a platform for sustainable fishing and reporting.