A total of 39 organizations from both West Africa and Norway have called on the Norwegian government to ban the use of fish oil sourced from West Africa in the nation's salmon farms.

The salmon sector is understood to require the extraction of nearly 2 million metric tons of fish annually around the world for use as feed, either in the form of fishmeal or fish oil.

A big chunk of this comes from Northwest Africa, a region facing acute food insecurity. According to these groups, the fish used to make the oil could have provided up to 4m people in the region with a year's supply of protein.

Over the past decade, the number of fishmeal and fish oil factories in West Africa producing raw material for aquaculture purposes has risen from five to 49, with Mauritania, in particular, a major source of production. All four of Mowi, Skretting, Cargill and BioMar Group source fish oil from the region, the campaign stated.

The letter's signatories, which include the NGOs Naturvenforbundet and Oceana and the Environmental Protection Association of Norway, note that Norway's development policy prioritizes food security and famine in Sub-Saharan Africa, goals which they say are at odds with the fish oil industry.

In addition to banning the sourcing of fish oil from West Africa, signatories also urge for greater transparency within supply chains, including full disclosure of source fisheries.

"The Norwegian salmon industry is gobbling up fish from some of the world’s most food insecure regions, decimating fish populations, devastating livelihoods and driving malnutrition," wrote Carina Millstone, executive director of environmental campaign group Feedback Global. "The Norwegian government must take rapid action now to regulate its extractive salmon industry and prevent further destruction."