Figure 4.

Graphical illustration of the provision of the dietary lipids EPA + DHA to the population from the mesopelagic biomass observed during Cruises 1–4, together with estimates of biomass in the Northeast Atlantic and globally. The units of measurement are represented by the letters M, G, and k, which correspond to million, giga, and kilo, in that order. Consequently, Mt, Gt, and kt refer to million tons, giga tons, and kilo tons, respectively. The arrows reflect the conversion from the biomass into an average content of EPA + DHA and the size of the population that would meet the yearly recommendations of 250 mg EPA + DHA. The dashed rectangles in green, pink, and red represent these outcomes under three different scenarios, according to oil recovery rates set at 27%, 90%, and 100%, respectively. These assumptions were made based on the lowest and highest oil recovery rates reported in Table 5, and a full recovery scenario. This means that the oil obtained from the biomass would represent 27% of the total lipid content, 90%, or the same amount as in the raw material. Based on this premise, an average content of 202 mg/g of oil (derived from Cruises 1–4) was used to calculate the average EPA + DHA provided by the three different biomasses and oil recovery rates. Reprinted with permission from BioRender.com [2024].