Sustainability

“CRAZY ABOUT OMEGA-3, SERIOUS ABOUT THE SEA”

At Arctic Blue , we’re“crazy about omega-3,” but “serious about the sea.” That’s why we partner with fisheries that take excellent care of the ocean. The certified (and strictly monitored) blue MSC label ensures that fishing is conducted only at a level that keeps fish populations healthy and productive.

In addition, we offer plant-based oil, which is gaining popularity alongside fish oil as a plant-based alternative. More and more people are adopting a plant-based lifestyle, and we’d like to support that. There’s even already algae oil available with a higher content of Omega-3 DHA/EPA than in many fish oils from other brands. We are fully committed to this and already offer 9 different types of algae oil.

What remains is the major advantage of fish oil as a natural product: natural (non-concentrated) oil, such as the cod liver oil we offer, has what is known as a full-spectrum fatty acid profile. This means that the oil contains a diverse array of up to 50 different fatty acids—in exactly the same proportions and quantities as they occur naturally in these wild fish. In other words, it’s an exact reflection. For most of these fatty acids, we don’t even know what their beneficial effects are on our bodies. We see this as an added benefit that fish oil offers compared to the widely praised algae oil (which primarily contains the three fatty acids EPA, DHA, and ALA).

Why is Arctic Blue 's fish oil truly sustainable?

As one of the few brands in Europe, our fish oil is made entirely from fillet trimmings of wild cod from the cold northern seas. This means no fish are caught specifically for this purpose. We make smart use of the trimmings that would otherwise be discarded. Here, we explain why working according to these principles also offers other quality benefits.

Almost all other brands in the Netherlands use fish oil made from anchovies and sardines from South America (Peru), because it's cheaper.

Whole fish (anchovies and sardines) are ground here. The KvW (Keuringsdienst van Waarde) has already done a program on this. Their conclusion was that it takes no fewer than 30 whole anchovies to make a single fish oil capsule. This type of fishing is known as“reduction fisheries.”

And yet these anchovies and sardines are part of the natural food chain for dolphins, seabirds, sea lions, and various species of whales… The KvW viewer was stunned, but little has changed since then. That KvW broadcast did, however, motivate me eight years ago to found Arctic Blue and do things differently. Since then, more than 50,000 Dutch people have switched to Arctic Blue fish oil with the MSC label.

In Norway, I noticed that our fishermen often pass their trade down from father to son. Because they have depended on nature and its healthy fish stocks for centuries, they catch only a small portion of the Norwegian cod for its fillets, so that their children, too, can become fishermen. So, in a sense, they have always worked in accordance with the strict MSC regulations.

The MSC label has been awarded by the respected Milieu Centraal as one of the 10 best and most credible labels in the Netherlands.

I hope I’ve given you some insight into my personal views and considerations: The future is certainly plant-based, but a properly produced MSC-certified fish oil is absolutely sustainable and, from a nutritional standpoint, a perfect product.

Unlike many other fish oils, Arctic Blue guarantees that we do not consume dolphins, seabirds, sea lions, or whales. It also guarantees that fish populations and other marine life are protected and that there are no adverse effects on the local population.