Krill Meal Co-Product from Krill Oil Production Market Intelligence: Size, Share and Growth Outlook Through 2035

Market Overview

Size path and co-product positioning

• Brevintel analysis values the market at USD 148 million in 2025 ($148M), rising from USD 158.4 million in 2026 to USD 291 million by 2035 ($291M).
• The 2026–2035 narrative cites a 7% CAGR, while headline cards list 8.5% alongside the $148M and $291M size markers.
• Aker BioMarine Antarctic AS led with over 12% share in 2025; the top five producers collectively held 72%.
• CCAMLR Area 48 catch across Subareas 48.1–48.3 reached 624,918 tonnes in the 2024/25 season, exceeding the 620,000-tonne trigger level.
• Norway accounted for 326,307 tonnes, China for 231,083 tonnes, South Korea for 28,622 tonnes, and Chile for 20,035 tonnes of that catch.
• The trigger breach creates a formal fishery closure effective August 1, 2026, elevating extraction yield and grade recovery as competitive levers.
• Ethanol-based extraction remains an established commercial route for predictable lipid recovery, while low-temperature phase-transition methods have shown meal protein above 60% and residual fat below 2%.
• Rather than acting as an undifferentiated fishmeal substitute, krill meal addresses palatability, pigmentation, lipid delivery, and early-stage nutrition in premium salmonid, shrimp, and marine-finfish feeds.

Value from a constrained harvest

• Brevintel analysis frames the 7% growth outlook as processors extracting more value from limited biomass rather than unconstrained catch expansion.
• The precautionary catch limit under the applicable decision framework is approximately 5.61 million tonnes, but the operational 620,000-tonne trigger level is the binding commercial ceiling.
• Expiry of Conservation Measure 51-07 removed a spatial distribution mechanism for trigger-level catch after renewal negotiations failed.
• Commercial premiums attached to advanced processing, low-fluoride specifications, and bioactive retention are likely to widen as buyers require certified, application-specific ingredients.
• Suppliers with efficient processing and credible sustainability documentation are better positioned when raw-material availability cannot expand with demand.

Market Dynamics

Key drivers

• Aquaculture feed is the volume base at 63.5% of 2025 demand and approximately 6.8% CAGR, reflecting digestible protein with marine phospholipids, astaxanthin, and omega-3 fatty acids.
• In Atlantic salmon diets with high plant-ingredient content, krill products contribute high-quality protein, astaxanthin, and phospholipid-bound EPA and DHA.
• Pet food represented 11.6% of demand in 2025 and is expected to grow at approximately 8.5% CAGR as premium companion-animal diets seek marine proteins.
• The U.S. FDA issued a no-questions letter for Euphausia superba meal in dry adult dog food at up to 3% inclusion, reducing formulation risk for U.S. manufacturers.
• Nutraceutical-grade de-oiled krill meal accounts for approximately 10% of market value and is expected to grow at approximately 9.5% CAGR.
• The EU Novel Foods Union List authorizes Antarctic krill oil lipid extract under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/108 with specified use conditions.
• In the United Kingdom, assessment of krill protein hydrolysate RP1290 specifies at least 85% protein, no more than 1% fat, and no more than 7% ash.
• These regulatory steps reward processors that can deliver tightly controlled protein, residual-fat, sensory, and contaminant specifications.

Key restraints

• CCAMLR trigger-level management for Subareas 48.1–48.4 caps commercial biomass access well below the approximately 5.61 million-tonne precautionary figure.
• When catches approach the 620,000-tonne trigger, processors cannot rely on raw-material volume growth and must prioritize yield, differentiated grades, and higher-priced outlets.
• Norway’s VKM has reported fluoride concentrations typically ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 mg/kg dry matter in krill meal.
• U.S. regulation permits Antarctic krill meal as a color additive in salmonid feed subject to a 2,500 ppm fluoride limit.
• Yellowtail studies show high dietary inclusion of standard krill meal can reduce growth versus low-fluoride material and raise fluoride accumulation in vertebral bone.
• Partial deshelling, enzymatic treatment, and controlled extraction raise costs, limiting commodity-scale adoption while favoring suppliers that meet narrower specifications.
• The principal tension is that the fastest-growing destinations—nutraceuticals and premium pet food—require the most controlled purity, stability, traceability, and fluoride management.

Segmentation Analysis

Product grade

• Feed-grade de-oiled krill meal held 54.6% of market value in 2025 and is expected to expand at approximately 6.2% CAGR for mainstream salmon, shrimp, and finfish feeds.
• Enhanced-specification low-fluoride feed-grade material accounts for approximately 20% of market value and is expected to grow at approximately 7% CAGR.
• High-protein de-oiled krill meal accounts for 35.5% of 2025 market revenue as more complete lipid removal raises protein concentration.
• Salmon and salmonid-optimized sub-grades are expected to grow at approximately 8% CAGR; shrimp and shellfish-optimized products at approximately 7.4% CAGR.
• Human protein supplement base products account for approximately 6% of market value and are expected to grow at approximately 9.2% CAGR.
• Astaxanthin-enriched functional grades account for approximately 4% and are expected to expand at approximately 10% CAGR.
• Nutraceutical-grade material remains the smallest major grade category but the fastest-growing premium pool.

Product form

• Solvent extraction remains the principal commercial form because of established throughput and lipid-recovery infrastructure for aquafeed applications.
• Residual-solvent management and thermal exposure can constrain suitability for the highest-value human nutrition outlets.
• Supercritical CO2 and related low-temperature methods can produce defatted meal with more than 60% protein, less than 2% residual fat, and stronger oxidative stability.
• High capital requirements and lower throughput versus mainstream processing limit wider adoption of advanced extraction.
• Rimfrost’s enzymatic hydrolysis process uses low-temperature treatment and reports approximately 30% lower raw-krill use per unit of oil output than conventional processing.
• Two-step chitinase and protease treatment can yield water-soluble proteins, oligopeptides, amino acids, and bioactive carbohydrates.
• Aqueous methods and chromatography-based purification remain relevant where solvent-free or fractionated bioactives justify higher cost.

Application

• Aquaculture feed represented 63.5% of market demand in 2025 and is expected to grow at approximately 6.8% CAGR, with salmonid diets the largest application.
• Shrimp and shellfish feed is the faster-growing aquaculture sub-application where larval nutrition and early-stage survival shape farm economics.
• Pet food accounts for 11.6% of demand and is expected to increase at approximately 8.5% CAGR, rewarding stable supply and controlled specifications.
• Livestock and poultry feed account for approximately 10% of market value and are expected to grow at approximately 5.5% CAGR amid competition from conventional proteins.
• Nutraceuticals and dietary supplements account for approximately 9% and are expected to grow at approximately 9.8% CAGR.
• Agricultural fertilizers, at approximately 4% of demand, provide an outlet for lower-specification material and are expected to grow at approximately 7.2% CAGR.
• Segment economics increasingly hinge on matching extraction route to destination market under a quota-constrained biomass base.

Regional Outlook

Europe and North America

• Europe is the largest regional market, holding approximately 38% share and generating approximately USD 56.2 million in 2025.
• Europe is expected to grow at approximately 6.2% CAGR, supported by salmon aquaculture and mature ingredient regulation.
• Norway combines a major role in Antarctic krill harvesting with a substantial salmon-aquaculture demand base.
• North America accounted for USD 18.33 million, or 12.4%, of market revenue in 2025.
• North American demand is concentrated in premium pet food, dietary supplements, and salmonid feed under FDA and fluoride frameworks.
• The FDA no-questions letter for krill meal in adult dry dog food and the 2,500 ppm fluoride limit for salmonid feed favor application-specific documentation.

Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa

• Asia Pacific accounted for approximately 32% of 2025 market revenue and is projected to expand at approximately 8.8% CAGR.
• China’s 231,083 tonnes of Area 48 catch in 2024/25 underpin growing vertical integration between harvesting, processing, and domestic aquafeed use.
• Industry reporting has described planned Chinese capacity as approximately twice Norway’s planned 2026 capacity.
• Japan remains an important high-specification market because yellowtail fluoride sensitivity supports demand for lower-fluoride grades.
• Latin America accounted for approximately 9% of market value in 2025 and is expected to grow at approximately 5.5% CAGR.
• Pesca Chile S.A. produces approximately 2,500 tonnes of dehydrated krill meal annually for export to China, Canada, and South Korea.
• The Middle East and Africa account for approximately 5% of 2025 market value and are expected to grow at approximately 5% CAGR via aquaculture and distributor-led supply.
• Chile’s real-time streaming monitoring for krill transshipments through October 2026 adds a compliance and traceability dimension to regional supply.

Competitive Landscape

Structure and recent developments

• The market is concentrated, with the top five producers accounting for approximately 72% of combined share and Aker BioMarine Antarctic AS leading with more than 12%.
• In September 2024, Aker BioMarine divested its Feed Ingredients business, including QRILL Aqua, QRILL Pet, the harvesting fleet, and the Uruguay hub, forming Aker QRILL Company.
• Aker BioMarine’s 2024 revenue was USD 199 million, with krill oil revenue increasing 15% year over year after the feed-ingredients separation.
• Aker QRILL Company’s Antarctic Krill Fishery has been MSC certified since June 2010, with certification listed to expire in September 2026.
• Offshore krill production reached 20,091 MT in the second quarter of 2024, up 13% year over year for the QRILL platform.
• Rimfrost AS reported 2024 operating revenue of NOK 141 million, compared with NOK 70 million in 2023, supported by low-temperature enzymatic hydrolysis.
• Jiangsu Sunline’s Shen Lan factory trawler is 115 meters long, accommodates 99 crew, and has freezing capacity of 100 tonnes per day.
• Aker BioMarine acquired Neptune’s krill inventory and intellectual property for USD 34 million in 2017; Neptune’s later financial stress limits current co-product relevance.
• Jeong-Il Corporation’s MSC-certified fishery reported a 2024 catch of 1,159 tonnes; Kitin AS targets operational commencement in 2028.
• Chile’s Supreme Court upheld sanctions against Pesca Chile in November 2025 concerning unauthorized discards of non-target species during Antarctic operations.

Integrated producers

• Aker BioMarine Antarctic AS
• Aker QRILL Company
• Rimfrost AS
• Jiangsu Sunline Deep Sea Fishery Co. Ltd.
• Pesca Chile S.A.
• Liaoning Pelagic Fisheries / Liaoyu Antarctic Krill Tech

Specialty suppliers

• Hestia (Shandong) Biotech Co., Ltd.
• Bioextraction Technology LLC / Best Krill
• Shandong Hailongyuan Bio-Tech Co., Ltd.
• Qingdao Kangjing Marine Biotechnology Co., Ltd.
• Zhongguan Biotechnology (Hunchun) Co., Ltd.
• Guangzhou Beyond Fishery Co., Ltd.
• Jeong-Il Corporation
• Neptune Technologies & Bioressources Inc.
• Kitin AS