Here’s a bit about Wiley’s Finest Fish oils. Elsecar Health store stocks their full range, due to the sheer quality yet affordability of their products. Now with a UK base in Blackpool, Wiley’s Finest fish oils can be purchased through independent health store retailers throughout the UK. Here at Elsecar Health store we offer 20% OFF all Wiley’s products when bought online here:
Although most of the world’s Fish Oil is made from Peruvian Anchovy caught off the coast of South America, many brands promote their oils as Norwegian. This typically refers to the country where concentration and refining happens, not the country where the fish is caught and made into oil. Other than Norwegian Cod Liver Oils, Norway does not catch many fish destined for Omega-3 supplements.
FOOD FISHERY VS. REDUCTION FISHERY
Nearly one third of all wild caught fish are not caught for food, but are instead caught to be made into animal feed. This type of fishery is sometimes called a ‘Reduction Fishery’ because the fish are ‘reduced’ to basic commodities. Compare that to a Food Fishery, where fish are caught to be made into Food. Alaska Pollock is a Food Fishery.
- Food Fish are caught, filleted, and then canned or frozen to make human food. Fish meal & Fish Oil can be made from the leftover trimmings (mostly heads and viscera). However, many food fisheries are not very efficiently utilized and the trimmings are ground up and pumped out to sea.
- Reduction Fish are caught and then the entire catch from nose to tail is ground up into fish meal and Fish Oil. Fish meal is the primary product from this industrial feed operation, and Fish Oil is a byproduct. This meal is sold almost exclusively into aquaculture, where it is used to feed farmed fish. The Fish Oil is used in aquaculture feed, in pet foods, or made into dietary supplements.
South American Anchovy is caught off the coast of Peru and Chile; it is the world’s largest reduction fishery and makes up the largest portion of global Fish Oil supply (about 60-65%, depending on the year). The UN’s FAO calls it “the most heavily exploited fish in world history.
RAW FISH OIL NEEDS TO BE PURIFIED & REFINED
- Several major international standards exist for purity of Fish Oil: US / EU Pharmacopeia, California Proposition 65 limits, GOED Voluntary Monograph. These set the limits for minor impurities and toxins such as heavy metals and PCBs. The world’s leading manufacturers meet these demanding requirements for Fish Oil quality.
- Raw Fish Oil has a distinctive strong fishy taste and odor; while not a nasty rotten fish smell, most consumers want fish tastes and odors completely removed from their supplements.