The aquafeed company Skretting has imported conflict fishmeal from occupied Western Sahara through its subsidiary in Turkey. In September, Skretting had to remove a false claim about sustainability certification from its website.

The export of fishmeal is one of Morocco’s largest sources of income from the occupied territory. A dozen factories in Western Sahara process fish and by-products into fishmeal, which is then shipped in large quantities to the Turkish port of Güllük. Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW), in September could reveal that Skretting Turkey is among the importers. Skretting Turkey is part of the Dutch group Nutreco, whose sustainability work and certifications are largely managed from Norway.

The production is based on resources belonging to the Saharawi people, but exploited by Morocco – the occupying power.

In September, Skretting Turkey finally deleted a false statement from its website claiming the company was certified under the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) scheme. WSRW raised the matter with the company in June 2025, but only after BAP’s Program Integrity team intervened in September 2025 was the claim removed. BAP certifies fish farms, feed producers, and processing plants — but Skretting Turkey has never held such a certification.

“I am writing to inform you that we have received, investigated, and resolved your case. The listing was removed from Skretting’s website as of 10 September 2025. The entity is not BAP-certified, and no such claim should be made,”
confirmed BAP to WSRW on 10 September.

Skretting Turkey’s website on 9 September 2025:

Skretting Turkey’s website on 11 September 2025:

At the same time, Skretting Turkey continues to claim certification under GLOBALG.A.P.’s Compound Feed Manufacturing standard. In June 2025, GLOBALG.A.P. informed WSRW that it had “immediately started investigating the case after being made aware of it by WSRW.” Asked about the status of that process on 11 September 2025, GLOBALG.A.P. replied that “we continue to take internal steps to effectively address the matter. We kindly ask for your understanding that we cannot share additional details at this point.” Meanwhile, GLOBALG.A.P.’s certificates remain incorrectly registered in the wrong country and have yet to be corrected.

WSRW last reported on Western Sahara fishmeal exports to Turkey in 2021, identifying 17 shipments totalling around 50,500 tonnes. Based on Moroccan government price data, those exports would have been worth roughly USD 64.6 million. Meanwhile, half the Saharawi people - the rightful owners of the resources - remain displaced as refugees in Algeria, excluded from the trade. They have fled the territory following Morocco’s illegal, unjustified and unprovoked invasion and subsequent occupation.

Angeline Tse, Senior Brand & Communications Specialist of Skretting Aquaculture Innovation wrote to WSRW on 14 July 2025: 

“Skretting operates in full compliance with the laws and regulations of the countries in which we are present. We closely monitor the political and diplomatic atmosphere, including on Western Sahara, to ensure we remain in compliance, at all times, with the applicable framework. We’re bound to contractual commitments with our business partners, which requires to respect confidentiality and business sensitive information. That said, Skretting requires all business partners to meet the requirements of the laws and regulations that govern their activities, as well as the Code for Business Partners of Nutreco, our parent company, which includes a supplement for suppliers of marine products. You can find the details of certifications and use of marine ingredients in our global operations on our latest Impact Report 2024.”

Sustainability & Communications Director Jorge Diaz on 5 September confirmed that they will not provide any further responses to WSRW’s questions.

One of the questions asked was why the firm claimed to have a BAP certificate referred for its Skretting Turkey operations. 

WSRW on 5 September 2025 asked Skretting if the company could expand what it means by the statement on its website that it is “essential” for the company “to increase transparency and the traceability of food production along the supply chain". WSRW also questioned how Skretting’s refusal to address issues such as human rights in its supply chain, its reliance on certification schemes, and the sourcing of raw materials could be reconciled with the company’s own claim that transparency and traceability are “essential.” 

Those questions too went unanswered.

In 2019, WSRW documented shipments arriving in Güllük and traced the trucks transporting the cargo to the Turkish company Gumusdoga. 

In 2019, we visited Turkey to investigate the imports. See video below. The shipment we documented was destined for the Turkish company Gümüşdoğa, certified by another certification company that is also prominent in the Norwegian aquaculture sector.