AbstractIn fish meal produced industrially and in the laboratory from mackerel (Scomber scomber), herring (Clupea harengus), Norway pout (Boreogadus esmarkii) and capelin (Mallotus villosus), the following trace elements have been determined: cadmium, zinc, lead, copper, iron and cobalt, and, in the lipid phase extracted from the meals: selenium, arsenic, bromine, zinc, iron and copper. In addition phosphorus was determined. The results show that the level of zinc, lead and iron is higher in the industrially produced meals compared to those produced in the laboratory. Assuming that the zinc to cadmium ratio occurring naturally in seawater is about 100 to one, then the results indicate that zinc seems to be enriched relative to cadmium in the fish meal. Besides the elements arsenic, bromine, selenium and phosphorus which are present in the lipid phase as organic compounds, zinc, iron and cobalt are also present. These are probably complexed bound by the phospholipids. The selenium detected in the lipid phase (0.3 to 3 parts/million) shows that the organic lipid‐soluble selenium compounds do not decompose during the production of the fish meal.