Sustainable Seafood Initiative
The welfare of billions of people and the stability of life on earth depend on healthy oceans. Overfishing has driven numerous species to extinction and ecosystems to the point of collapse. Shifting to plant-based, cultivated, and fermentation-derived seafood is the most tractable way to improve our oceans’ health.
Stay in the loop
Sign up for one or all of our newsletters!
Why alternative seafood
We help empower innovators to create delicious, affordable plant-based, cultivated, and fermentation-derived proteins. We aim to make the sustainable choice the default choice. There is arguably no more urgent product category for this approach than seafood.
Seafood poses unique challenges for innovators, and our Sustainable Seafood Initiative provides targeted research and support to accelerate this sector. Here are some of the factors we believe will make alternative seafood successful.
These benefits create an opportunity for plant-based and cultivated seafood to provide healthier, more ocean-friendly, and ultimately less expensive alternatives to conventional seafood.
Independence from population & geographical constraints
Alternative seafood doesn’t rely on wild population productivity or geographical considerations. Supply chains and raw materials for alternative proteins are significantly less constrained than conventional seafood supply chains, so plant-based and cultivated seafood can be produced consistently.
Manufacturing facilities for plant-based and cultivated seafood don’t need to be located near sensitive, expensive, and overburdened coastal areas. Instead, they can be built where consumer demand is, creating good jobs anywhere.
Highly efficient inputs
We can make alternative seafood products from highly efficient protein sources, such as fungi, with the potential to use byproduct streams and residual biomass from other sources like feedstocks. Essentially, we can make more seafood with fewer natural resources and far less harm to our environment.
Fewer health risks
Fish and shellfish are two of the eight most common food allergens. These top eight allergens cause more than 90% of food allergic reaction episodes in the U.S. Plant-based and fermentation-derived seafood can allow people with allergies to safely enjoy these foods.
Additionally, some people limit seafood consumption because they are concerned about high levels of mercury and other toxins. The FDA advises those who are pregnant or breastfeeding to avoid certain species of fish completely. Alternative seafood also has the potential to substantially limit these risks.
Reduced loss in supply chain
Plant-based products have a longer shelf life and don’t need as much costly refrigerated transportation. They also provide an attractive opportunity for local production in landlocked areas.
Further, the production processes for plant-based, cultivated, and fermentation-derived seafood are more controllable and predictable. This allows for better real-time response to demand and more customized end products that precisely meet consumer needs. We can produce valuable cuts, product formats, and species of seafood products without generating low-value byproduct waste.
Resource
Action paper: An ocean of opportunity
This action paper explores alternative seafood’s role in creating a sustainable, secure, and just food system.
Our grantees
Thanks to our donors, we can offer research grants for high-impact projects to push forward the science of alternative proteins, including several projects focused on seafood. Learn more about the exciting work of our current and past grantees.
CulFish
Multi-omic profiling for cultivated seafood
Conversion of fish fibroblasts to muscle cells
Antinutrient-free plant albumin
Macroalgae and Maillard-derived seafood flavor
Seafood flavors from fungal fermentation
Fish culture microcarrier nutrient delivery
Alternative plant-based seafood flavors
Alternative seafood flavors in storage
Reproducing salmon aroma
Turning mushrooms into fish
Learn about Dr. Olga Lucia Mondragon-Bernal’s research to biomimic fish fillets with fungal proteins at Federal University of Lavras (UFLA).
Low-cost differentiation medium for seafood culture
Learn about Dr. Rees’s research to develop low-cost differentiation media for cultivated seafood at Defined Bioscience.
Differentiation and cell lines for cultivated carp
Learn about Dr. Mukunda Goswami’s research to develop cell lines from carp and characterize their differentiation at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
3D Printing pulses into fish
Learn about Dr. Luciano Paulino Silva’s research on 3D printing whole-cut fish and seafood from pulses at Embrapa.
Previous projects
Developing cell lines for cultivated seafood
Myosatellite lines from Atlantic salmon
Through the GFI grant program, the Kaplan lab is developing myosatellite lines for cultivated Atlantic salmon at Tufts University
Machine learning for fish growth media
Learn about Dr. Reza Ovissipour’s research using machine learning to optimize growth media for fish cells at Virginia Tech.
3D fiber scaffolds for shrimp
Learn about Dr. Nataraja Yadavalli’s research to develop edible nanofiber scaffolds for Pacific white shrimp at CytoNest.
Algae scaffolds for cultivated fish
Learn about Dr. Frederico Ferreira’s research to develop scaffolds for cultivated fish from algae and plant materials at University of Lisbon.
Texturizing seaweed proteins
Learn about Dr. Yoav Livney’s work at The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology texturizing seaweed proteins for plant-based seafood.
GFI-funded seafood research publications
Explore published research on alternative seafood funded by our research grants program.
Find research funding
If you are a scientist interested in alternative seafood, we would love to explore ways to work together! Firstly we recommend signing up for our alternative protein research directory and our newsletter, The Grazer. These resources provide access to exciting news, information, and funding opportunities that you may be interested in.
Funding opportunities can also be found in our research funding database and thanks to support from philanthropic partners, we also provide research funding opportunities through our field catalyst program. Our calls for this program focus on several specific technical topics each year and may include topics specific to seafood and others that apply to multiple product categories.
The science of alternative seafood
Bringing tasty and sustainable plant-based, cultivated, and fermentation-derived seafood products to market at scale will require several scientific advances. We help track the current state of the science, high-priority research ideas with the potential to move the field forward, and how researchers can access the research tools they need to make it all happen.
Resource
Expanding access to cell lines
Limited access to cell lines is a significant challenge for cultivated meat research. GFI is working to expand access and support the development of new cell lines.
Aggregating seafood data
Our open-access seafood databases aggregate information about the properties and impacts of conventionally produced seafood to accelerate the development and commercialization of alternative seafood. A deep understanding of the molecular and structural signatures that define consumer experiences—like taste, aroma, and texture—is critical for developing alternative seafood products that replicate these sensory experiences. We also need to understand the impacts of different types of conventional seafood production so we can target our efforts toward the highest-impact areas, and we need to understand what products are likely to be viable from a market perspective.
We have worked to compile existing research in a user-friendly format with a tool called Phylogenetic Index of Seafood CharactEriStics (PISCES). This tool contains available research for over 250 marine species, including cell lines, curated research papers, genome sequences, taxonomies, nutrition profiles, and greenhouse gas footprints.
PISCES is integrated with our Archetype Library for Alternative Seafood (ATLAS), which presents data on an archetype level (defined as food-relevant categories such as salmon or shrimp) to help users prioritize groups of species for alternative seafood based on environmental impact, human health, animal welfare, and market size.
Resource
Aggregating data for alternative seafood
Use our open-access databases to explore how scientific taxonomies and evolutionary relationships map onto culinary categories of seafood.
Resource
Omega-3 ingredient use in alternative meat and seafood products
Discover our report summarizing 2023 survey results on omega-3 ingredient use and future plant-based meat and seafood production needs.
Deep dives
Learn about the science of alternative seafood and the challenges that must be addressed for commercial production.
Cultivated seafood cell culture media
Although aquatic animal cell lines have been successfully cultured, the field is in its infancy compared to terrestrial vertebrate cell culture, and these cells’ needs may be substantially different. Learn more about cell culture media used in cultivated seafood production.
Cultivated seafood scaffolding
The fundamental challenge in developing scaffolds for cultivated seafood is the same as for cultivated terrestrial meat. However, species differences in tissue architecture need to be considered. Learn about scaffolding materials and methods for cultivated seafood.
Cultivated meat & seafood end products
Cultivated meat and seafood end products will have a lot in common with conventional meat. They also present opportunities for innovation and open-access research. Learn more about cultivated end products, with considerations specific to seafood discussed throughout.
Plant-based meat and seafood end-product formulation and manufacturing
Learn more about crop-derived macromolecular ingredients, their applications in plant-based meat and seafood formulations, and protein texturization techniques.
Explore alternative seafood literature
Want to dive into the literature on alternative seafood, but not sure where to start? Our list is a curated set of academic papers and other resources to help get you started.
Research ideas
We identify, prioritize, promote, and track the most promising solutions to accelerate the alternative protein industry. Tap into our solutions work to discover ideas for research projects, find inspiration for new commercial ventures and products, and explore ecosystem-level interventions to support the industry as a whole.
-
Cultivated
-
Fermentation
-
Plant-Based
Consumer and sensory research to guide alternative fish R&D
Consumer and sensory research can help companies and academic researchers better understand seafood consumers’ needs and desires. Understanding consumers’ needs will allow alternative fish researchers to ask and prioritize the…
-
Cultivated
Cell line development from food-relevant aquatic species
A lack of publicly-available cell lines from relevant species and cell types continues to be a challenge for the field of cultivated seafood. Addressing this challenge will require further investigation…
-
Cultivated
-
Fermentation
Cultivated, fermentation-derived, or hybrid surimi
There has been little publicly announced R&D and commercial effort to develop cultivated, fermentation-derived, or hybrid surimi. Compared to other meat products, surimi is likely to be by far one…
-
Cultivated
Promoting stemness and proliferation in fish cell cultures
Efficient and cost-effective cultivated fish production will require precise optimization to encourage fast proliferation and highly efficient use of inputs while preventing premature differentiation. A variety of strategies can be…
-
Cultivated
-
Fermentation
-
Plant-Based
Life Cycle Assessment for alternative seafood relative to conventional fishing and aquaculture
To date, no robust environmental assessments have been conducted to compare alternative seafood to its conventional counterparts. An open-access, quantitative analysis of the relative environmental impacts of alternative seafood will…
-
Cultivated
Incorporating omega-3s into cultivated seafood
Cultivated seafood will need to be supplemented with long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids to be nutritionally equivalent or superior to conventional seafood. However, how these compounds can best be incorporated…
-
Fermentation
-
Plant-Based
Affordable animal-free omega-3 ingredients for alternative seafood and other alternative protein applications
In order to appeal to health-conscious consumers, alternative seafood products should contain similar omega-3 fatty acids, especially DHA and EPA, content to conventional seafood. Animal-free omega-3 ingredients can be expensive…
-
Fermentation
Novel methods for long-chain omega-3 fatty acid production
As the alternative seafood industry scales up, a low-cost and abundant source of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids will become necessary. Several means of producing these compounds have been investigated…
-
Cultivated
-
Fermentation
-
Plant-Based
Preventing oxidation of omega-3 fatty acids before and after addition to alternative seafood products
Deeper fundamental knowledge of the causes and prevention of oxidation of omega-3 fatty acids before, during, and after addition to alternative seafood products is needed to improve their nutritional and…
-
Cultivated
Understanding uptake and interconversion of omega-3 fatty acids by cultivated fish cells
Although fish are one of the best dietary sources of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (FAs), these compounds are mostly bioaccumulated from a fish’s diet rather than synthesized de novo. Consistent…
-
Cultivated
Scaffolding development for culinary and biomechanical requirements of cultivated seafood
A number of published studies have focused on scaffolds for cultivated meat (see Related Efforts) yet, to our knowledge, no studies have specifically attempted to formulate scaffolds for fish or…
-
Cultivated
“Rainbow roll 2.0” showcase for cultivated seafood
Given the nascent market for cultivated meats, especially for cultivated seafood, a “Rainbow Roll 2.0” product could be an attractive market-entry commercial product.
-
Cultivated
-
Fermentation
-
Plant-Based
Decision matrix for seafood target species selection
Creating an online, open-access decision matrix tool that ranks popular seafood-relevant species against each other based on several criteria such as market size, per-unit price, sustainability of conventional production practices,…
Featured resources
Consumer attitudes toward alternative seafood
Alternative seafood is a clear market opportunity. To date, little research has been conducted in this area. To fill this gap and strengthen the alternative seafood innovation ecosystem, GFI partnered…
A global perspective on alternative seafood
Explore a first-of-its-kind survey showing what would motivate consumers in Singapore, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea to leave fish in the sea and choose plant-based or cultivated seafood instead.
Climate benefits of accelerating global production of alternative seafood
This white paper explores how plant-based and cultivated seafood could fill the growing seafood supply gap while mitigating climate change.
The biodiversity benefits of alternative seafood
This paper explores how plant-based and cultivated seafood could fill the growing supply gap while minimizing impacts on biodiversity.
Differentiation and Maturation of Muscle and Fat Cells in Cultivated Seafood: Lessons from Developmental Biology
This 2023 review paper, co-authored by our team of scientists, explores the current understanding of the pathways involved in the differentiation and maturation of aquatic animal cells and the implications for cultivated seafood.
State of the Industry Reports
Explore our comprehensive State of the Industry Reports, which provide insights into the rapidly evolving alternative protein landscape. Starting in 2022, these reports have included insights into both alternative meat and seafood.
State of the Industry Report: Alternative seafood
Our report explored the global alternative seafood industry’s commercial landscape and shared the latest on investment, sales data, and consumer insights in 2021.
Consumer insights
Understand alternative protein consumer segments, demographics, adoption, motivations, and perceptions.
Alternative protein company database
Explore the landscape of plant-based, cultivated, and fermentation companies including consumer brands, manufacturers, and ingredients companies.
Page
GFIdeas Community
Learn from and network with experts in alternative protein. GFIdeas is a community for entrepreneurs, scientists, students, and subject matter experts.
Upcoming events
Fish & CHIPS (Collaborative Huddle for Ideation and Problem Solving) is a virtual event series where cultivated seafood innovators get together to discuss their current challenges and brainstorm solutions. We hold these events three times per year, usually in March, August, and November. If you’re actively working on anything to do with cultivated seafood—whether in academia, industry, policy, or otherwise—and would like to have open conversations to help shape the future of this industry, please consider joining us!
We also host regular webinars, workshops, and other events, including our Science of Alt Protein webinar series where leading researchers present their work, our Business of Alt Protein webinar series focused on industry challenges, and more. Upcoming events with a specific connection to seafood are listed below, or you can check out the full list of events.
Watch past webinars
The latest in sustainable seafood
An ocean of opportunity for alt proteins
Explore the latest food innovations using seaweed, algae, and other aquatic plants.
Exploring cultivated meat and seafood to support national security
Pepin Andrew Tuma, GFI Legislative Director, sits down with Justin Kolbeck, Co-founder and CEO at Wildtype.
Rational optimism for the future of alternative seafood
Increased access to omega-3s is a must to scale the alt seafood industry.
Shifting toward an Earth-friendly food system
Alternative proteins can address the twin crises of climate and biodiversity.
A boost for the blue economy: The essentialism of alternative seafood
Scaling plant-based and cultivated seafood could help satisfy growing global demand while creating resilient jobs and livelihoods that minimize the climate and biodiversity impacts of seafood consumption. If you’re seeking…
Navigating uncharted waters: mapping the future of cultivated seafood
Scaling the cultivated fish industry remains challenging. GFI is collaborating with researchers to address that.
Let’s solve it together: preserving our world’s oceans and waterways with the help of alternative seafood
GFI’s Senior Corporate Engagement Specialist reflects on a conversation with chef and owner of Fishtown Seafood and the future of alternative seafood.
Global perspectives: what do consumers think about alternative seafood around the world?
Comparing new consumer research from Japan, Thailand, Singapore, and South Korea to the U.S.
Our collaborators
Our Sustainable Seafood Initiative is a proud Mission Blue Partner. Led by legendary oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle, Mission Blue works to ignite public support for a global network of marine protected areas. Former GFI Director of Science & Technology Liz Specht sat down with Dr. Earle for a fireside chat to discuss the unique challenges and opportunities for plant-based and cultivated seafood.
Support our work
Our Sustainable Seafood Initiative and all of GFI’s research grants are made possible thanks to our global family of generous donors. Philanthropic support is vital to our mission. Connect with us today to discuss how you can help fuel this transformative work.
