Eurofish Magazine 2 2009 by Eurofish

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08.12.2008

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Seite 1

ISSN 1020-9956 April 2 / 2009 C 44346

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Croatia Inching towards compliance with EU regulations

S E A F O O D PROCESSING E U R O P E

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The Netherlands: Challenging times for marine fisheries Technology: Caviar farmed in Latvia with Russian expertise Krill: Small crustaceans with big potential FISH INFO network

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Frozen seafood specialties

Crustaceans Hamburger Feinfrost GmbH - Frozen Quality Products

Gr. Elbstrasse 158 - 22767 Hamburg Tel.: +49 (40) 39 92 92-0, Fax: +49 (40) 39 92 92 39 E-Mail: info@hafro.de - www.hafro.de

Styropor® ( polystyrene ) compressors SALMON SLICER... worldwide R. MAASS + PARTNER GMBH Röntgenstrasse 12 D-21493 Schwarzenbek Tel.: +49 41 51 / 866 955 Fax: +49 41 51 / 867 188 www.maass-slicers.de

Packaging Ristic AG Am Espen 15, D-90559 Oberferrieden Tel.: 0 91 83 / 40 90, Fax: 0 91 83 / 4 09 49 Web: www.ristic.com, E-Mail: info@ristic.com

Insulated Containers

Salmon slicers

SALMCO Technik GmbH Reinskamp 1 D-22117 Hamburg Tel.: +49-40-713 14 72 Fax : +49-40-712 98 70 Internet: www.salmco.de E-Mail: info@salmco.com

Transport

D-27472 CUXHAVEN Grodener Chaussee 61 Telefon 0 47 21 / 208-0 Telefax 0 47 21 /208-100

Smoked salmon

FRANKFURT / MAIN-AIRPORT Gebäude 456 A, Raum Nr. 3435 Telefon 0 69 / 69 76 76-30 Telefax 0 69 / 69 76 76-50

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C 44346 April 2 / 2009 6 ISSN 1020-995

The fastest way to advertise in Eurofish Magazine Seafood Exposition Visit us at the European Hall 5 / Booth 639 Brussels 28. – 30. April 2009,

Croatia

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s for marine fisherie s: Challenging times The Netherland ise with Russian expert farmed in Latvia Technology: Caviar ial ceans with big potent

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Eckhard Preuß

Aleksandra Petersen, Eurofish Magazine

Marderstieg 7, D-21717 Fredenbeck, Germany Phone +49 (0) 41 49 / 80 20, Fax +49 (0) 41 49 / 72 92 E-Mail: e.preuss@freenet.de

H.C. Andersens Boulevard 44-46, DK-1553 Copenhagen V, Denmark Phone +45 333 777 63, Fax +45 333 777 56 E-Mail: aleksandra.petersen@eurofish.dk

In this Issue

North Atlantic Seafood Forum Business as usual ? North Atlantic Seafood Forum – The North Atlantic Seafood Forum opened on 4 March amidst the resounding shocks of the financial crisis. This forum provided one of the first opportunities to take the pulse of the north Atlantic fishing industry since the collapse of the financial markets and the onset of the recession. With 470 delegates from 20 countries and every link in the coldwater seafood production chain represented, from production to processing, marketing, retail, and finance the event has clearly established itself as the premium event for the sector. Director Jorgen Lund said, “we’re delighted with such a big attendance at a difficult time, proving the usefulness of this unique event – and we have some great ideas for making NASF 2010 even better.” The date of the next Forum is 3-4 March 2010. Page 16 Croatia – Croatia’s natural beauty is staggering. The country’s mountainous interior, extended coastline, and pleasant weather together with its charming town centres and fishing villages have made it a magnet for tourists from all over the world. The Croatian mainland has a coast almost 1,800 km long, but this amounts to just 30% of the total coastline; a further 4,000 km of coastline comes from the roughly 1,200 Croatian islands in the Adriatic, of which 47 are inhabited. According to the 2001 census the biggest, Krk, has about 18,000 inhabitants while the smallest, Sveti Andrija, has just 1! Croatia is also richly endowed with freshwater with 3,650 km of rivers and a further 100 square km of lakes. Page 28 The Netherlands – The production sector is made up of four main sectors in the Netherlands: marine fisheries, the mussel sector, aquaculture and inland fisheries. Marine fisheries are composed of two very different fleet segments. The first fleet, called high sea fisheries, mostly targets small pelagic fish all over the Atlantic (from Norway to West Africa) and is made up of a few (between 10 and 15) very large fishing units. Catches, as is often the case in the small pelagics industry, fluctuate steeply from year to year, and dominate the share of the total Dutch production in volume though not in value. Page 50 Krill – There were once great hopes for krill, the tiny shrimp-like marine crustaceans. Their biomass in the world’s oceans was estimated at over one billion tonnes. That would have enabled commercial utilisation on a large scale. Today, we know that these estimates were exaggerated. And krill will have to be used carefully because the tiny crustaceans play a key role in the ecosystems of the Antarctic. Even if there isn’t a billion tonnes, krill biomass in the Antarctic Ocean is still immense. Recent estimates reckon that there are between 60 and 155 million tonnes of krill in the icy waters of the South Polar Sea. Large swarms can extend over an area of 450 square kilometres (equal to the area of the Pyrenean state Andorra) and have a biomass of two million tonnes. Page 78

Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

Eurofish around

Contents

Croatia

28 Croatian fisheries and aquaculture Inching towards compliance with EU regulations

34 Ribnjacarstvo Poljana Plans to add value to carp and eel-products

37 Kali Tuna One of the earliest tuna farms in the Mediterranean

40 Cenmar joins up with four other companies Going for growth through mergers

44 Adria Octopus Trading in fresh fish not for the faint-hearted

46 Ostrea’s new 7,500 sq. m processing facility All production activities to shift under one roof

48 Lustra manufactures for the local market Keeping Croatian traditions alive

News

6 International News

Lobster

Events

16 North Atlantic Seafood Forum Business as usual for the north east Atlantic industry ?

24 Seafood and Health Conference, London New evidence proves that seafood consumption guarantees good health

74 Part 6 – Lobster from Canada Markets, marketing and consumption

Fisheries

78 Antarctic krill Small crustaceans with big potential

Processing / Technology

80 Mottra Caviar farmed in Latvia with Russian expertise

81 Bastra Gish smoking technology for small trade and industry

82 Sunwell’s Deepchill ice is in use around the world Liquid ice cools rapidly, evenly and effectively

the world

Contents

The Netherlands

83 Multivac New generation of traysealers emphasise sanitary design

84 Handtmann Creative fish products for sustained success

84 Kroma New filleting machine

50 Seafood consumption in the Netherlands increasing Challenging times for Dutch marine fisheries

56 Anova Food launches a new farmed fish called claresse Range of sustainable products

60 Dayseaday opts for air transport and frozen fish Day-fresh from the auction–non-drip onto the plane

64 EcoFutura grows tomatoes with tilapia Horticulture linked with aquaculture

66 Three companies merge to create FishPartners Kennemervis Group changes its structure

68 Sea fish wholesaler Karel Hoeve celebrates silver jubilee Fresh fish from all over the world

70 Rodé Vis starts work in new smokehouse Salmon specialist increases product and packaging variety

72 Varia Vis mainly serves the export market Fresh hand cut plaice fillets

Trade + Markets

Service

85 Glut lowers prices in December Tuna prices slowly recovering

91 Diary Dates

87 Huge increase in exports to Russia and Ukraine Vietnamese pangasius still growing strongly

92 Imprint

92 List of Advertisers

93 Supply Sources

Fish Infonetwork News

88 Member Country News

88 Projects

[ international news ] Denmark: Purpose-built bunkering facility offers a wide range of services

O.W. Icebunker’s tanker Otilia discharging at the company’s new terminal in Fuglefjord, Faroe Islands. The Faroe Islands, an archipelago of 18 islands in the north Atlantic are home to about 50.000 inhabitants. Their closest neighbours are in the Shetland islands some 300 km away, and to reach Denmark, within which the Faroe Islands are a self governing community, is a 1,500 km journey. Such a remote location does however have its advantages, in particular, if you are a supplier of bunkering services. O.W. Icebunker Ltd., owned by O.W. Bunker & Trading Co. one of the worlds largest suppliers and traders of marine fuels, has in coorporation with P/F Faroe Bunkers, established a new purpose-built tank storage facility in Fuglefjord on the Faroe Islands . The new facility which went on stream in August last year can be approached from both north and south, and, according to O.W. Icebunker, is the only point north of 60 deg N, where low sulphur heavy fuel oil can be loaded. It is also the last

Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

stop before entering the North Sea Emission Control Area (ECA), where the sulphur content of fuels oils on board ships is limited to 1.5% by mass unless the vessel has an exhaust gas cleaning system or some other mechanism in place to limit sulphur oxide emissions. The facility seeks to serve east-west liner trades, north-south traffic along the Norwegian coast and the North Atlantic fishing fleet and can offer products ranging from LS and HS IFO 380 cst to marine gas oil. Also available are precisely customized products as the company has the latest in blending equipment and can deliver to any specifications. Fuglefjord´s natural harbour also makes it the finest bunkering port within the Faroes. Sheltered from the open sea, the port is free from rocks and with just a short distance to the berth, it makes for safe bunkering 24/7 all year round. OWI offers service ex-pipe but can also deliver physical supplies offshore by barge. In addition, the port of Fuglefjord offers all services related to the shipping and fishing industry, which makes it an attractive “One Stop Shop” in the middle of the North Atlantic. The new terminal can currently accept vessels of 200 meters loa and with a draft of upto 12 meters. All inquiries should be directed to OW Icebunker´s 24-hour inquiry line +45 7020 4049 or write to owicebunker@owicebunker.com

Norway: Seafood exports up in the first two months of the year The first two months of 2009 have seen substantial increases in the value of Norwegian exports of salmon, trout, herring and mackerel while exports of cod have declined. Export values of salmon reached NOK3bn (EUR338m), an increase due to higher prices, while volumes remained stable. Increases were seen in exports to France, Poland and Sweden, while exports to Denmark and the UK fell. Over the same period exports of trout increased by NOK63m to reach NOK293m. Russia and Japan were the main importers of Norwegian trout. Herring exports jumped almost 25% in value increasing by NOK238m to NOK1.2bn. Here too Russia was the main destination. Exports of cod declined however from NOK1.1bn to NOK900m with salt cod, whole frozen fish, and frozen fillets all decreasing. Salted cod fell both in volumes and in price, while frozen cod sank in price.

[ international news ] USA: Genetically modified salmon approaching market ? Aqua Bounty Technologies headquartered in Waltham, Massachussetts, USA, a biotechnology company focused on the aquaculture industry, is developing genetically modified salmon that grow faster than conventional fish. This development will be of major interest to salmon farmers as it reduces the period that it takes to grow a market sized fish. The fish, according to the company, are bred sterile so that they cannot interbreed with conventional fish. In the United States the Food and Drug Administration which is responsible for regulating the safety of food on the market issued its final guidelines on regulating genetically-engineered animals in January. The Guidelines call for manufactures to demonstrate that the modification does not compromise the health of the animal nor the health of the consumer if the animal is intended as food. With the release of the Guidelines genetically engineered animals can soon be marketed to consumers in the United States and news reports say that Aqua Bounty Technologies which sought approval for its salmon many years ago may soon get the nod from the FDA.

Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

Italy: FAO report calls for better management of shrimp fisheries Some of the major negative environmental and economic impacts of shrimp fisheries such as bycatch, seabed destruction, and overfishing can be mitigated by reducing fishing capacity, states a new FAO report on shrimp fisheries. The report is based on studies of shrimp fisheries in ten countries Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kuwait, Madagascar, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States. Global production of capture and farmed shrimp amounts to some six million tonnes of which 60% enters the international

market. Over 100 countries export shrimp in particular to the biggest markets in the US, EU and Japan. Shrimp fishing is an important source of income to poor families around the world, but it is also responsible for the capture of juveniles of vulnerable, ecologically important, or commercially valuable species, as well as for coastal habitat destruction. Promoting sustainable fishery regimes, reducing capacity and addressing the issue of open access will go a considerable way towards improving the long term prospects of shrimp fisheries.

USA: GAA to develop standards for salmon farming The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA), an international non-profit association, is dedicated to the promotion of responsible aquaculture by developing standards that cover food safety, traceability, animal welfare, community and social welfare, and environmental sustainability. The organisation’s Best Aquaculture Practice (BAP) certification standards have so far been developed for shrimp farms and hatcheries, tilapia farms, and channel catfish farms and processing facilities, and are now being extended to the salmon farming sector. The GAA is currently inviting nominations to serve on the BAP salmon farm technical committee. The

committee will represent a balance of varied stakeholders from regional industry associations, conservation or social justice non-governmental organizations, and academic or regulatory groups and nominees should have with technical expertise in salmon aquaculture and/or experience with current environmental and social issues that relate to salmon farming around the world. The committee will draft standards for salmon farms which will be reviewed by the Standards Oversight Committee before being released for public comment. Nominations can be emailed to BAP committee chairman John Forster, jforster@olypen.com.

Refuel in the Faroes, sheltered from the open sea

New – Physical supply in Fuglefjord There’s a convenient new refueling station at the crossroads of the North Atlantic. OW Faroe Islands is open for business and our supply facility in Fuglefjord lies sheltered from the open sea. It’s your last port of call for heavy fuel before entering the Norwegian Sea—and the last stop for low-sulphur fuel before entering the North Sea SECA. OW Icebunker has the different grades and quantities of marine fuels you need, all backed by our traditional guarantee of quality.

Physical Supply · Global Trading · Risk Management w w w. o w i c e b u n k e r. c o m

[ international news ]

Denmark: Five different salmon processing lines displayed at the Marel Salmon Show 2009 Around 145 visitors from 20 different countries attended the event together with participants from Marel Food Systems departments from all over the world. It

was a unique opportunity to see five different salmon processing lines at work. In total 50 standard machines were on display. An interesting machine was the

updated version of the Intelligent Trimming Machine (ITM). It has been on the market for the last five years and has been continuously improved. The newest

version can be equipped with an extra camera that enables 3D pictures of the single fillet. As a consequence, there are unique trimming possibilities to calculat-

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[ international news ] The Marel Salmon Show gave opportunities to meet and exchange experiences and views with colleagues from all over the world.

and delivery of information to an external enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. The software is modular starting with a basic

ing the most economic cut configuration based on parameters such as weight, shape, and colour grade. The current machine has a processing capacity of 40 fillets per minute, equivalent to 6 conventional trimmers. A complete trimming with an ITM machine needs 5 operators to function: one at the de-heading machine, two at the pre-checking station and two at the post-trimming station. The biggest advantage of this machine is the steady and uniform quality it delivers. With a spare set of knives for the ITM the daily downtime for maintenance is reduced to two minutes when the knives have to be replaced. The ITM machine needs a general service check around twice a year and software problems, if any, can be solved remotely by Marel from Iceland. Most of the ITM- machines are at currently sold in Norway and Chile. Another novelty product was the Innova – intelligent production control systems software which replaces Marel´s MPS, Scanvaegt´s Multiflex and AEW Delfords´s Mercury production software. The software is able to read, monitor and control online all equipment from Marel Food Systems. Furthermore, it enables the management to monitor and optimise all activities from the reception of supplies to dispatch

1979 - 2009

30 YEARS for aquaculture industry

package that is expandable with modules according to demand. Innova handles traceability through out the production and quality assurance inspections can be implemented and related to the traceable batches. If Marel Food Systems could provide Innova modules that also could monitor processing equipment from other vendors

it would be an even stronger software package. The Marel Salmon Show gave the participants opportunities to see live demonstrations of the newest salmon processing equipment, but also to meet and exchange experiences and views with colleagues from the salmon processing industry from all over the world.

2009

AQUA NOR

International Exhibition 18 - 21 August 2009 Trondheim Nor way

AQUA NOR - The important international venue for the aquaculture industry through a period of 30 years. At Aqua Nor 2009 a large number of exhibitors will introduce novelties in the fields of research, technology, fish feed, fish health, training, funding, environmental protection etc. In connection with Aqua Nor, international conferences will discuss progress and challenges in research and aquaculture.

Welcome to Aqua Nor 2009

as exhibitor, visitor or as conference participant. more at: www.nor-fishing.no

CONFERENSE AND ANNUAL MEETING OF THE EUROPEAN ACUACULTURE SOCIETY 14-17 AUGUST 2009 www.easonline.org

INTERNATIONAL AQUACULTURE BIOSECURITY CONFERENCE 17-18 AUGUST 2009 www.iabconference.org

Organizer: The Nor-Fishing Foundation Klostergata 90, NO-7030 Trondheim, Tel +47 73 56 86 40, Fax +47 73 56 86 41, mailbox@nor-fishing.no

Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

[ international news ] Italy: Good management practices to mitigate effects of climate change The latest edition of the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) was released by the FAO at the Committee of Fisheries (COFI) meeting held in Rome on 2-6 March. The new edition highlights the need for authorities to do more to understand and prepare for the impact of climate change on fisheries production. Climate change is already causing changes in distribution patterns of both marine and freshwater species and is affecting the seasonality of biological processes and altering marine and freshwater food webs with unpredictable conequences for fisheries production. For authorities and administrators the good news is that the effects of global warming

can be substantially mitigated if existing guidelines on responsible fisheries, such as those issued by the FAO, were more widely implemented. The report also points out that capture fisheries production will probably increase no further and any future growth in production will come only from aquaculture, which has risen to 47% of all food fish. The reports states that trade in fish and seafood is a global activity involving over 190 countries. The value of global exports in 2006 was USD89.6bn and available data suggest that this figure will rise to USD92bn in 2007. China is the world’s biggest exporter of fish and seafood by a significant

12 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

margin, exporting for a value of USD9bn in 2006 and USD9.3bn in 2007. The main importers of fish and seafood are Japan, the US and the EU which in 2006 accounted

for 72% of the total import value of USD89.6bn. The report is freely available from the FAO website www.fao.org.

Germany: Spurdog and porbeagle sharks proposed for CITES protection Germany will propose that the spurdog or spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) and the porbeagle sharks (Lamna nasus) be included in Annex II of the CITES convention. The two species are highly prized for their meat and fins, and stocks, according to the NGO OCeana, have declined by over 95% for the spurdog and by over 80% for the porbeagle. Annex II of the CITES convention governs species that are at risk of extinction if the trade in the spe-

cies is not strictly regulated. Using a mechanism of export permits trade is limited to levels that are deemed not to jeopardise the survival of the species. As both these sharks are widely traded internationally inclusion on Annex II will have a significant impact. However, the Annex II listing to be proposed by Germany has to be approved by the European Commission before it is presented to the CITES Conference of the Parties in 2010.

Denmark: Multi-phase programme to eradicate VHS Viral Haemorrhagic Septicaemia (VHS) is considered one of the most serious threats to freshwater and marine fish. In 2005 and 2006 the virus indiscriminately infected thousands of individuals from tens of species in the North American Great Lakes killing the majority while sparing some. The virus was first identified in Europe in the 1930s and continues to affect European trout farms. In Denmark the government has plans to eradicate the disease completely and has allocated EUR2.14m (DKK16m) for the purpose to the first phase of

the project. The programme will be co-financed by the European Fisheries Fund. Losses caused by the disease are considerable as the stock is reduced, production is stopped, the remaining fish is sold at lower prices and the farmer has additional expenses in combating the disease. Eliminating the disease altogether will bring benefits to the trout farming industry as much of the production is exported and importers have strict health and sanitary requirements that have to be fulfilled by the Âexporters.

Norway: Third fishery to be MSC certified Domstein Longline Partnersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; fishery has become the first Norwegian cod and haddock fishery and the third Norwegian fishery overall to be certified by the Marine Stewardship Council. The fishery is a partnership between Domstein, located on Maloy, a small fishing village on the west coast of Norway, and Ervik Hav-

fiske, a longline fishing company in Norway that uses only hooks and lines to catch the cod thereby minimising bycatch. The fishery produces some 5,000 tonnes of cod and 5,000 tonnes of haddock and will be available as fillets and loins, fresh and frozen, in Norway, Sweden, UK, the Netherlands, France, Germany and the US.

UK: NSRAC pushes for greater self-regulation The North Sea Regional Advisory Council (NSRAC) whose membership includes Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the UK has heavily criticised a new Control Regulation emerging from the European Commission (EC). The Regulation was described as a top down approach and was condemned for reducing the margin of tolerance for weighing catches from 8% to less than 5%. The NSRAC has called the Regulation too prescriptive with complex rules

which are impossible to understand and are unenforceable. The NSRAC strongly emphasised achieving a â&#x20AC;&#x153;culture of complianceâ&#x20AC;? and the need to involve fishers in designing an effective and equitable system of control at a Symposium on Control and Compliance organised by the NSRAC and the new Community Control Agency in Peterhead in 2008. The Demersal Working Group expressed its concern that these conclusions were not taken on board when formulating the new Regulation.

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[ international news ] Italy: New website on aquaculture in the Gulf area goes live try and validation along with the promotion of the information system at the national, regional and global level.

A new website (www.raisaquaculture.net) has been established by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for the Regional Commission for Fisheries (RECOFI) to facilitate the exchange of aquaculture information in the Gulf area among regional experts and stakeholders, and to promote and develop a sustainable aquaculture industry. RECOFI member countries (Bahrain, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) are responsible for the timely data en-

RAIS is organized and maintained through a regional and national mechanism: (1) a Regional Centre located in Kuwait City is linked to the FAO in Rome and to the RECOFI Secretariat in Cairo, Egypt; and (2) a National Centre in each RECOFI member country under the supervision of an officially nominated RAIS National Coordinator. All authorized users have the right to directly post new information. The system has been conceived to be as user-friendly as possible and allows rapid data entry from the administrators and authorized users and easy data retrieval. Users who want to contribute by submitting new items are kindly requested to contact the RAIS Regional Centre or the RAIS National Coordinators. The addresses are available on the website.

14 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

UK: MSC shifts regional headquarters from Sydney to Tokyo The Marine Stewardship Council has decided to shift its Asia-Pacific regional headquarters from Sydney to Tokyo. Rupert Howes, the MSC chief executive, stated in a letter that the move reflected the growing importance of Northern Asia, and Japan in particular, in terms of the number of fisheries that were at some stage in the MSC certification process. Japan is also the world’s second largest producer and

consumer of seafood and retailers in the country carry some 150 MSC-certified products. Interest in sustainable seafood is projected to increase in northern Asia and demand for certification services will be better served by moving the regional headquarters to Tokyo. However, the office in Australia will be maintained and strengthened and later in the year a small office will be opened in Hong Kong.

USA: Norway tops ranking of fishing nations’ compliance with FAO code A study conducted by a group of researchers from the University of British Columbia, the Federal University of Rio Grande in Brazil, and the WWF Switzerland have analysed fisheries nations’ compliance with the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries developed by the FAO. The article has appeared in the journal Nature. The code provides guidelines for the sustainable and equitable exploitation of fisheries resources, but adoption is voluntary. In their

study the researchers investigated 53 countries who together account for 96% of global capture fisheries. The study focused on the will to comply with the code and also analysed how efficiently the code is actually complied with. In their final ranking Norway was placed first followed by the US, Canada, Australia, and Iceland. The first EU country to be ranked was Denmark in tenth place, after Namibia, South Africa, New Zealand, and Japan.

it us: Please vis ls E Brusse ESE / SP pril 2009 28 - 30 A oth 6155 Hall 4, Bo

SALMCO Technik GmbH Âˇ Hamburg Âˇ Germany Tel.: +49 40 713 14 72 Âˇ E-Mail: info@salmco.com Âˇ Internet: www.salmco.com

events

North Atlantic Seafood Forum

Business as usual for the north east Atlantic industry ?

The North Atlantic Seafood Forum opened on 4 March amidst the resounding shocks of the financial crisis. This forum provided one of the first opportunities to take the pulse of the north Atlantic fishing industry since the collapse of the financial markets and the onset of the recession. With 470 delegates from 20 countries and every link in the coldwater seafood production chain represented, from production to processing, marketing, retail, and finance the event has clearly established itself as the premium event for the sector. Director Jorgen Lund said, “we’re delighted with such a big attendance at a difficult time, proving the usefulness of this unique event – and we have some great ideas for making NASF 2010 even better.” The date of the next Forum is 3-4 March 2010.

he first day was organized as a series of plenary sessions covering the salmon industry and its markets as well as presenting the latest developments in the retail sector. Four parallel seminars were held on the second day. The first focused on fisheries management of several north Atlantic fish stocks and then moved on to consider the pelagic industry in more detail. The second and third seminars focused on company developments in both aquaculture and fisheries and was made up of individ-

ual company presentations. The fourth seminar was dedicated to a Marelife innovation workshop.

Economic crisis offers opportunities as well as threats Participants were welcomed by the conference chair and President of the AIPCE (European Association for Fish processors and Traders) Mr Guus Pastoor. Mr Jørn Krog, Secretary General of the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs, then of-

16 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

ficially opened the conference by outlining his views on the current crisis that he considered as a mixture of threats and opportunities. He pointed out that this crisis was likely to lead to structural changes and would require high adaptation capacity and the development of new ways of thinking. He also reminded participants that responsibility is a prerequisite to economical development, but expressed his confidence in the future of the industry as the potential for seafood is, in his view, unlimited.

The floor was then opened to a session devoted to salmon markets and competition. Dag Sletmo, Head of Research at ABG Sundal Collier presented the outlook for the industry from an investor’s perspective. The main factors affecting the supply side were linked with the disease situation in Chile which will probably lead to a sharp decline in salmon production in 2009. The demand side of the equation seemed to be more unpredictable as the impact of the

[ events ] With 470 delegates from 20 countries and every link in the coldwater seafood production chain represented, from production to processing, marketing, retail, and finance, the North Atlantic Seafood Forum has clearly established itself as the premium event for the sector.

particular thanks to the strengthening of their respective currencies while the US and Russia have shown signs of decline. Demand in the US has fallen despite the strength of the dollar vis à vis the currencies of the major supplying nations while Russian demand

was hit hard by the depreciation of the rouble. All in all, due to the Chilean crisis world harvest of salmon is expected to decline for the first time in 17 years. The impact it will have on the price of salmon will depend on the development in demand which is cur-

rently hard to predict in this very unstable economic environment. Paul Aandahl from the Norwegian Seafood Export Council mentioned that predicting seafood consumption was looking into the future and hence very difficult.

crisis on seafood consumption is uncertain. Sales were reported as stable in volume and growing in value by the Norwegian Seafood Export Council for the first two months of 2009 compared to 2008. So will the reduction of supply lead to higher prices and higher profits for the Norwegian industry or will the rise in price be tempered by lower demand is the question all analysts are pondering currently. Still higher returns would be consistent with profit cycle patterns that have affected the industry over the past 30 years.

Reduced volumes of salmon from Chile may benefit Norway Lars Liabø from Kontali Analyse presented the main trends in terms of production and markets for the salmon industry. In his view Norway in the long run is the only country that could increase production further, the regulatory environment permitting. Chile is experiencing production problems linked with acute diseases outbreaks and hence will experience reduced volumes at least until 2011, while the Faroe Islands are still recovering from their disease problems. Other major producing nations (UK, Canada, Ireland and USA) are not expected to manage large increases in production levels.

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Markets in EU and Japan have been growing despite the crisis, in Grieg-Hjaltland Advert_Sept 08.indd 1

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Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

[ events ] North Atlantic Seafood Forum – The speakers

Bjørn Hersoug, Norwegian College of Fishery Science

Mr Jørn Krog, Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs

Still, over the years, salmon has proved to be a very resilient product able to adapt over the past three decades to many changes in consumption patterns. In his view there is still very much unrealized potential regarding product differentiation provided that salmon products are able to fit into the dominating paradigms of today’s markets ie. health, convenience, quality and environment.

the disease. A medium term solution could be to move part of the industry to other regions to lower production concentration, but this will be hampered by the extremely complex situation regarding licenses and siting that can lead to up to five years delay for the creation of a new fish farm. Prof Hersoug expects therefore the drop in production to be as severe as 30% of total volume and

around 58 million down from 152 million last year. On top of that the average size of fish is very much reduced. This will then lead to a record low harvest in 2009 and probably even 2010 as the sanitary situation remains very unstable and all sites have to be fallowed over the next 18 months.

Seafood consumption on even keel so far

“The impact of the economic crisis remains to be seen as food products and especially fish have proven to be recession resistant commodities.”

Industry could be forced to consolidate further in Chile The session on the salmon industry concluded with two presentations on the situation of the Chilean industry. Professor Bjørn Hersoug from the Norwegian College of Fishery Science, exposed the basis for the crisis currently experienced by the Chilean industry, as the result of a combination of underlying production, labour, and ecological issues that will lead to a very sharp drop in production. Productivity is declining fast and more than 60 % of the industry is estimated to be affected by the infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) disease . The Chilean industry is a geographically concentrated industry with most of the production happening in a coastal area 300 km long that has favoured the rapid spread of

Lars Liabø, Kontali Analyse Paul Aandahl, Norwegian Seafood Export Council

an increase in production costs which will trigger a new wave of consolidation in the sector. Geir Isaksen, Cermaq CEO, confirmed the gravity of the situation in Chile. The impact of the sanitary crisis has not shown itself yet in the statistics as forced harvests have lead to high production volumes in 2008. Production figures are also closely linked to previous years smolt releases which has lead to a delayed impact of the crisis in terms of production volume. But smolt releases in 2008 were very weak and the total number of fish currently in the pens is

18 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

The afternoon of the first day was dedicated to the development in the European retail sector. Jonathan Banks from AC Nielsen discussed an overview of the trends affecting the European seafood market. For him four mega trends are currently at play in Europe: ethics, health, convenience and indulgence are the main characteristics of demand. The impact of the economic crisis on the seafood sector remains to be seen as food products and especially fish have proven to be recession resistant commodities. So while the general decline of consumer confidence is evident,

Gunnar Domstein, Norway Pelagic

the overall gloom is not yet reflected in seafood consumption data. Marks and Spencer, with Andrew Mallison, was the first of the four invited retailers to give his opinion on the current market. In his view, consumer confidence is clearly down and the future will be determined by seeing how recession proof fish products are. But luxury types of products are likely to be hit first, as growing stocks of Canadian lobsters are already showing. In this climate, Mr Mallison admits that environment concerns have been overshadowed by economic ones for the consumer, but still a recent poll shows that 75% of consumers think it is as important as ever to do business sustainably in times of economic crisis. Marks and Spencer is renowned for its commitment to sustainability and has been careful in neutralizing the impact of its operations on the environment through its strategy called “Plan A”. All environmental efforts carried out under plan A (investments in eco-stores, reduction in unnecessary packaging, optimization of vehicle fleet, rain water usage etc.) have been at least cost neutral and have contributed to shaping the image of Marks and Spencer. Marks and Spencer strategy in these troubled

[ north atlantic seafood forum ]

Frank Asche, University of Stavanger, Norway

Mike Parker, Food Vest Andrew Mallinson, Marks and Spencer

times is to focus on sustainability as a long term goal and to combine this with innovation in terms of products and sales strategies in order to remain close to consumer needs, which is crucial in recessionary times.

Fresh fish sales lower in France, but not in Germany Mr Beaufils from Carrefour presented the developments on the French market where fresh fish sales have been declining lately probably due to a reduction in the food budget of households. Still Mr Beaufils insisted that price was not the only criterion to consider as quality remained as important, hence the efforts by Carrefour to develop its own quality line (“Filière qualité Carrefour”).

ices. Mr Pauly reported that the impact of the financial crisis had not impacted fish consumption in Germany so far, nor did there seem to be major changes in fish consumption habits. The market situation in Norway was presented by Vidar Olsen from Norgesgruppen, the largest Norwegian retailer, who felt that customers nowadays do not want to buy food as a raw material, but want to have meal solution at their disposal. In his view it is the responsibility of the industry to serve the retail sector with new products as processors are often not proactive enough in this field. The panel discussion that ensued after the presentations enabled the audience to question the presenters directly. One of the con-

“Sustainability is indeed reported as an issue difficult to understand for the average customer” Mr Pauly from Globus presented the strategy of his chain on the German market, which consists in offering service and knowledge to its seafood customers. All their stores have fresh fish counters served by especially trained personnel which enables them to offer the highest standards of serv-

clusions arising from the panel was that consumers tend to transfer their responsibility in terms of sustainability to the retailers. Sustainability is indeed reported as an issue difficult to understand for the average customer and they therefore assume that any product presented by the retail com-

Jonathan banks, A.C. Nielsen

Jürgen Pauly, Globus

plies with or should comply with sustainable requirements. On the second day of the forum Eurofish decided to focus its attention on the fisheries management summit that looked at the outlook for resource and supply in the North Atlantic, as well as on the special pelagic industry session.

Norwegian spring spawning herring stock in excellent shape Dr Reidar Thoresen from the Institute of Marine Research, Norway presented the evolution of and interactions between the different stocks in the North East Atlantic over the past 30 years. The main stocks dominating the area were mostly pelagic species of which Norwegian spring spawning herring, blue whiting, North Sea herring, mackerel and capelin stocks are the most important. The interactions between herring and capelin stocks are key to understand developments of these stocks as these two species predate on one another at various stages of their lifecycles. Another key element to understand variations of the different stocks are the changes in sea temperature. Indeed this is a key element in the abundance of copepods (zoo

Reidar Thoresen, Institute of Marine Research, Norway

plankton) which form the basis of the food chain. Temperature variations have been negatively affecting the North Sea herring stocks lately while Norwegian spring spawning stock has thrived to reach a total biomass of around 12 million, making it the largest fish stocks of the oceans. To put this enormous amount of biomass into perspective Dr Thoresen pointed out that this represented a volume equivalent to the weight of half of the population of the USA. To conclude, prospects for the different stocks are positive for Norwegian spring spawning herring, negative for the blue whiting and North Sea herring, stable for mackerel, while capelin stocks are likely to experience a high degree of variation.

Will cod make a reappearance on the Grand Banks? Professor George Rose from Memorial University Newfoundland, Canada, presented the situation regarding fish stocks from the other side of the Atlantic. He reminded the audience of the dramatic collapse of the Grand Banks cod fishery, a collapse probably provoked by excessive fishing pressure applied at a time of poor

Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

[ events ] environmental conditions leading to low cod recruitment. He took this case to remind participants that sustainability is first of all biological as without fish no fishery can survive. These poor environmental conditions have continued to prevail on the Grand Banks for the past ten years which has prevented cod stocks from recovering. But indicators such as temperature and abundance of forage species are all turning positive, so scientists are optimistic that cod could return to the Grand Banks. A further encouraging sign has been the observation of the first large aggregation of spawning cod off the Canadian coast since 1992. This leads to numerous questions for the fishing community. Before their collapse the Grand Banks stocks were the largest cod stocks in the world. What then will be the impact of a revival of this stock on the markets if this happens? What toowill be the impact on the shrimp and snow crab stocks and hence on their fisheries that have thrived since the demise of the cod?

are rising again which is likely to benefit cod stocks, but will have a negative impact on capelin and shrimp stocks. Since 2005 cod has also been reported with increasing frequency in Greenland waters. Dr Asthorson concluded by stressing that while the environment is the underlying factor for fish stocks development, any benefit derived from changes in environmental conditions such as water temperature, would always be far less than the benefit derived from sustainable management and exploitation of fish stocks.

Wild cod production could increase in 2009 The white fish session was opened by Bernt Bodal from American Seafoods, one of the largest catching companies in the US and one where all managers have onboard fishing experience! The outlook for supply, trade and prices of white fish from the North Atlantic was then detailed by Kolbjørn Giskeødegård from Nordea. He mentioned that seafood is recession

“Any benefit derived from changes in environmental conditions would always be far less than the benefit derived from sustainable management” The situation of the stocks around Iceland was detailed by Dr Olafur Asthorson from the Marine Research Institute Iceland. Dr Asthorson confirmed the impact of temperature variations on different fish stocks around Iceland and Greenland since the beginning of the century. As a rule warmer temperature benefited cod stocks while colder temperatures led to a decrease in the abundance of this species in Icelandic waters. But since 1966, when a nearly 30-year-old cold spell ended, temperatures

resistant to some extent but that there are large variations among seafood products. Since people will always need food but not expensive seafood,high end segments are the hardest hit. Regarding species, cod has been experiencing decline in consumption over the past few years. Indeed the impact of the financial crisis on its main markets (Spain, Portugal and UK) combined with high prices have led to poor demand for cod. Demand for salmon and small pelagics has been stable on the contrary. These developments

22 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

“Farmed shrimp and salmon have led the way but pangasius and tilapia are now following in their footsteps.” were reflected in the stocks of whitefish companies faring badly while stocks of salmon and pelagic producers have been going up. The outlook for 2009 could be better for cod with increased production forecast which could lead to lower prices and renewed interest for this very traditional species on the European market. This in a context of growing scepticism towards cheap Asian whitefish imports acting as potential cod substitutes.

Interest in tilapia and pangasius grows Frank Asche from the University of Stavanger then went on to describe the development of Vietnamese products on the EU market. In his view, farmed seafood has only started to impact seafood markets. Shrimp and salmon have led the way but pangasius and tilapia are now following in their footsteps. These two species are the first to target the white fish market directly. This market is the largest seafood market and one that presents a high level of processed products. It is therefore an easy market for new species to penetrate as consumer do not place that much focus on species when it comes down to processed products, especially if these new species enter at the lower end of the market. World production of tilapia is actually higher than pangasius production but a large share of production is consumed locally which reduces the visibility of this species on European markets. On US markets though tilapia is now the third species consumed. The US was forced to find an alternative white fish supply earlier than

the EU as supplies of whitefish were lower there than in the EU. Regarding pangasius, most of the production is very densely concentrated in the Mekong delta, increasing the biological risks. The economic crisis has also affected producers in Viet Nam which means that production levels are likely to drop in 2009. But large aquaculture corporations (from Norway among others) are reported to be showing increasing interest in this production. The knowledge transfer from the salmon industry could help taking the pangasius industry to the next level and may be considered as the next challenge for the aquaculture sector. In the short term, the impact of the economic crisis will probably limit the growth in volumes, but in the medium run the combination of low cost and favourable flesh characteristics can still make pangasius a major player on the market. The threat to pangasius could well come from other new species that offer strong potential for development such as barramundi or cobia.

Pelagic products may be the most recession proof The overview of the pelagic industry and markets was started by Gunnar Domstein CEO of Norway Pelagic, one of the largest producers of pelagic for human consumption in the world. Norway Pelagic mostly concentrates on the Norwegian spring spawning herring stock which has seen its numbers double since 2003. Mr Domstein’s message was up-

[ north atlantic seafood forum ] beat as coupled with this increase in production demand does not seem to falter on the main markets. Russian demand remain strong despite the fact that transactions are now based on cash rather than credit, African demand has never been so good and EU and Japanese demand is reported as stable. The impact of the crisis is therefore not yet felt by the pelagic industry and pelagic fish could well be the most recession proof of seafood products due to their low price, high availability and health Âqualities.

portance of small pelagics for the north Atlantic region, products that may be more recession proof than others due to their low price and healthy reputation. Probably also because the signs for a potential cod recovering in the North Atlantic are good and that

the Norwegian salmon industry is likely to benefit from the Chilean production problems. Last but not least the impact of the economic crisis on the demand for seafood does not seem to have hit major markets yet. Currently the crisis seems to have affected mostly the

high end segments of the markets. Whether this will continue to be the case in the medium term remains to be seen. For the time being at least for the seafood sector sourcing from the North Atlantic it is business nearly as usual. Gilles van de Walle, Eurofish

This analysis was confirmed by Kristin Lien from the Norwegian Seafood Export Council that reported stable if not increasing exports towards the four main markets for Norwegian pelagic products, namely Russia, Ukraine, EU and Nigeria. The outlook for pelagic demand is good in her opinion mostly due to the nutrititive value of pelagic fish combined with the ease with which pelagic products can be adapted to new consumption trends and the benefit of a large traditional consumption base. Ingelill Jacobsen confirmed that the impact of the economic crisis has not yet been felt on the Russian market and demand remains strong as herring is one of the main national dishes. The main uncertainty regarding Russian demand is linked with the financial strength of markets actors (not least, the importers) who will be under increasing pressure with the development of the economic crisis.

Mood at the conference generally optimistic To conclude we can say that the spirits were surprisingly high compared to the gloom that is prevailing in most other industrial sectors. This partly due to the im

Eurofish Magazine 2â&#x20AC;&#x2030;/â&#x20AC;&#x2030;2009

[ events ] Seafood and Health Conference, London

New evidence proves that seafood consumption guarantees good health Eating more fish and shellfish, particularly the latter, would dramatically improve human health – and save literally billions of pounds (sterling) in treating illnesses that could be prevented if diets contained higher levels of seafood.

his was the message emanating from the conference on seafood and health held at the end of January in Fishmongers’ Hall in London. At the conference, a distinguished line up of international experts presented the latest medical evidence proving that increased seafood consumption is directly linked to the prevention and cure of a whole range of life-threatening diseases, plus conditions such as obesity and depression. The audience also heard breaking news which confounds the common perception that the cholesterol in shellfish is harmful, and also highlights the role of seafood in satisfying appetite and therefore combating obesity. ‘This evidence has never been presented before outside academic circles,’ said Maldwin Drummond of the Fishmongers’ Company as he welcomed delegates. Conference delegates were also given the news that the trace elements iodine and selenium, and vitamin D, in fish and shellfish are essential for good health. In fact, after the long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA] and docosahexaenoic acid [DHA]), vitamin D

should be recognized as the next big aid in disease prevention.

Aquaculture is the way to increase global supply of seafood

have shown that DHA given to pregnant women resulted in better brain development in their children, whereas lack of DHA in the diet led to a rise in mental ill health in all age groups.

The use of aquaculture to increase the world’s seafood supply was actively encouraged. ‘There are not enough fish in the world’s oceans to provide the recommended level of EPA and DHA in the diet,’ said Michael Crawford from the

According to Professor Crawford, treating patients with brain disorders costs the British National Health Service (NHS) £77 billion every year. ‘It is bigger [more expensive] than anything else,’ he said, and added that the NHS also

“There are not enough fish in the world’s oceans to provide the recommended level of EPA and DHA in the diet” Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition at London’s Metropolitan University. ‘About 219 million tonnes of fish need to be eaten globally to reach this level, whereas FAO reports annual catches of 94-104 million tonnes, of which a third is fed to animals. ‘We’ve got to think seriously about the “agriculturisation” of the oceans; we’ve got to stop this hunting and gathering nonsense.’ Fish muscle is extremely rich in DHA, Professor Crawford said, and DHA is essential for the brain which is made of fat. Trials

24 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

spends £4 billion a year treating people with obesity, which could be prevented by eating more seafood.

Ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids significant ‘Why wait for disease to develop and then spend millions preventing it?’ asked Bill Lands from Maryland in the USA, who stated that coronary heart disease, one of the biggest causes of death in Western countries, could be prevented if

diets contained the correct ratios of omega-3 to omega-6 highly unsaturated fatty acids. ‘Food [composition] has a direct connection to death,’ Professor Lands said. If the diet contained more omega6 fatty acids – found in seed oils – than omega-3 fatty acids, then it posed a higher risk of causing a heart attack than a diet with more omega-3 than omega-6 fatty acids. ‘The US diet is high in omega-6 highly unsaturated fatty acids, whereas these are low in the Greenland diet [where there is less heart disease]. A high omega6 level means an omega-3 deficit.’ ‘There are wonderful long chain [20 and 22 carbon atom] omega-3 fatty acids in seafood; plants don’t make these long chain fatty acids. Eat more omega-3, less omega-6 fatty acids,’ he recommended. Professor Philip Calder from the Institute of Human Nutrition, School of Medicine, Southampton University, stated that there was now a huge amount of data showing that high fish consumption could lead to a big reduction in human mortality caused by cardio-vascular disease. ‘There have been many studies with long follow up periods which prove this,’ he said. Atherosclerosis, or the build up of fatty deposits on blood vessel walls, was slowed down or limited, then reversed, in just a few months by the ingestion of more omega-3 fatty acids. ‘Omega-3s have a bigger effect than statins [in preventing heart attacks],’ he said, and added that there was a reduction in overall mortality as well as coronary mortality if the diet contained more omega-3 fatty acids.

Multiple health benefits conferred by omega-3s Tom Gilhooly stated that omega-3 fatty acids will cure a whole host of

[ Seafood and Health Conference ] Seafood and Health Conference â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The speakers

Prof William Lands â&#x20AC;&#x201C; College Park, Maryland, USA

Dr Tom Gilhooly â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Essential Health Clinic, Glasgow

illnesses: cardiac disease, depression, arthritis â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;they have none of the side effects of anti-inflammatory drugs such as Ibuprofenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x201C; eczema, and ADHD (behavioural disorders). Dr Gilhooly, who

Bruce Griffin, Reader, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford

set up The Essential Health Clinic in Glasgow, has been in general practice for 20 years. There is a huge amount of scientific evidence emerging about the health benefits of omega-3s, he said, and

Prof Barbara Demeneix, Sarah Keogh â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Consultant Director, Dept RĂŠgulations, Dietician, The Albany DĂŠveloppement et Clinic, Dublin DiversitĂŠ, MusĂŠum National dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Histoire Natural, Paris

added that their use is very safe and natural. He pointed out that statins had adverse side effects such as nerve damage, although they are very effective drugs. Dr Gilhooly prescribes omega-

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[ events ] Depression can be caused by a lack of omega-3 fatty acids in the diet, Dr Gilhooly said. ‘I prescribe capsules containing one gram of EPA and multivitamins and tell them [patients] to come back in four weeks.’ According to Dr Gilhooly, curing cardiac disease and depression are the main benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. ‘Side effects, as caused by some drugs, are replaced by side benefits.’

Dietary cholesterol in shellfish does not cause heart disease Bruce Griffin, reader in the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Surrey University, told the conference delegates that, contrary to popular belief, particularly in the USA, the dietary cholesterol in coldwater prawns has

no connection with cardio-vascular disease. ‘There has been no convincing evidence over 30 years that this is the case,’ he said. He pointed out that the egg industry had done a lot to dispel the misconception that dietary

such as beef and chicken, she said. Dr Lindroos pointed out that obesity, caused by ‘eating more calories than you need’, is a major health problem in Western coun-

“Of the main protein foods, fish has the highest volume, but contains the lowest amount of calories” cholesterol is linked to heart disease. ‘It is still safe to “go to work on an egg” [an old promotional slogan],’ he said. ‘Saturated fats are the main dietary cause of the disease.’ Dr Griffin has carried out the first trial to substantiate the fact that the dietary cholesterol in shellfish – in this case coldwater prawns – is not the cause of heart disease. ‘Dietary cholesterol does not increase the blood cholesterol level.’ He also referred to information published by the Shellfish Association of Great Britain, which itemises the amount of long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids found in different shellfish species. ‘Shellfish is a major source of these long chain fatty acids,’ he said.

Trials show non-oily fish more satisfying than other high protein foods Lean [white, non-oily] fish has a low energy density combined with high protein levels, but is more satisfying than other high protein foods, according to Anna Karin Lindroos, MRC Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory in Cambridge in the UK. Trials showed that it stopped people feeling hungry sooner than other protein foods 26 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

tries. Of the main protein foods, fish has the highest volume, but contains the lowest amount of calories, she said. More people are becoming overweight, particularly in the more developed countries of the world. ‘The USA tops the obesity league table, but in the UK 23% of the population is too fat. Over eating is driven by the agricultural revolution and under exercising is driven by the technological revolution.’

Seafood is a rich source of trace elements Fish and shellfish are exceptional sources of iodine and selenium, according to Barbara Demeneix, director, Department of Regulations, Développement et Diversité, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris. In fact, shellfish are probably the richest source of both trace elements, she said, and recommended eating mussels, oysters, lobster and prawns. Iodine and selenium are needed to make thyroid hormones, and selenium has many other beneficial effects, even acting against cancer. (Margaret Rayman from the University of Surrey, told delegates that selenium works against mercury toxicity, ‘therefore pregnant women don’t need to restrict fish consumption’.)

Thyroid hormone is essential for brain development in the foetus and deficiency during pregnancy can lead to children being born with below average intelligence. Lack of iodine and selenium will have severe and irreversible repercussions on brain development throughout childhood, and will affect brain performance in adults even leading to depression in old age. ‘The social cost of brain retardation is enormous,’ Professor Demeneix said.

“Oil-rich fish is the best dietary source of vitamin D” Vitamin D is traditionally associated with calcium balance and bone health, according to Sarah Keogh, consultant dietician at the Albany Clinic in Dublin. However, deficiency is also linked to hypertension, Type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease and prostate cancer, she said. ‘Increasing vitamin D levels is an area of growing importance in the human diet.’ A recent report in The Daily Telegraph, a leading British newspaper, stated that giving vitamin D supplements to older people could help cut the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Exposure to ultra violet radiation from the sun is the main source of the vitamin, but people in northern countries cannot obtain enough during the winter and therefore must rely on what they eat. ‘Oil-rich fish is the best dietary source of vitamin D, but people also need supplements,’ Ms Keogh told delegates. Professor Crawford said that there was a decline in trace elements in fruit and vegetables, so seafood consumption was even more necessary to obtain sufficient supplies.

[ Seafood and Health Conference ] Health message not reaching its target There was much discussion during the conference about getting the message about how seafood consumption can improve human health across to consumers. ‘There is an enormous gap between the scientific weight of evidence and what is being done to change consumer habits,’ was one speaker’s complaint. ‘People from the seafood industry know the message,’ said Chris Leftwich, Chief Inspector at Billingsgate Market, ‘the job is to get the message out to the public.’ Professor Calder said that while health professionals were not getting the message about the benefits to human health from increased seafood consumption,

they were being ‘bombarded’ by advertising from pharmaceutical companies. Pharmaceutical companies wanted to promote statins as a means of preventing heart disease so the fact that the trials which showed that omega-3 fatty acids were more effective in this were embarrassing for them, Professor Lands told the delegates. Dr Gilhooly said that there was now enough good evidence that increased seafood consumption improved human health to lobby the UK government. ‘Doctors will only follow official guidelines,’ he said. On this topic, it was said that the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) guideline that people should eat two seafood meals a week, one of which should be oily fish, was conservative and the FSA was reviewing this advice.

It was pointed out that the omega3 message is being constantly alluded to in the media. However, taking omega-3s must be easy to do, such as by capsule, ‘then people will do it’.

Seafood can combat the problem of obesity Professor Lands said that disease prevention was not a very profitable activity so the US government won’t take it up. Tim Lang, professor of food policy at London’s City University and an advisor to the UK government, however told delegates that the impact of diet on health was high on the political agenda, particularly with regard to obesity which is deeply troubling government ministers all around the world. ‘Seafood usually gets lost amongst competing foods,’

he said, ‘but there is compelling evidence that it improves human health.’ He also took up the sustainability issue. ‘Why is the UK not investing massively, massively, in the sustainable production of seafood?’ Mussels can be easily farmed and children should be given one meal of mussels at school to provide them with the seafood they need for their health. Professor Demeneix backed this up by saying that 100 grams of mussels provides the daily requirement of both iodine and selenium. The message from the well-attended conference was clear; seafood is essential for good health. But will the message get sufficient support to make people realize Mike Urch this?

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Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

Croatia The Croatian fleet is comprised mainly of smaller boats that are away at sea for usually not longer than a day. In the coastal belt the main method is trawling while in the open sea it is trawling and purse seining.

Croatian fisheries and aquaculture

Inching towards compliance with EU regulations

rivers and a further 100 square km of lakes.

Small coastal vessels dominate fleet

Croatiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s natural beauty is staggering. The countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mountainous interior, extended coastline, and pleasant weather together with its charming town centres and fishing villages have made it a magnet for tourists from all over the world.

he Croatian mainland has a coast almost 1,800 km long, but this amounts to just 30% of the total coastline; a further 4,000 km of coastline comes from the roughly 1,200 Croatian islands in the Adriatic, of which only a fraction are inhabited. According to the 2001 census the biggest, Krk, has about 18,000 inhabitants while the smallest, Sveti Andrija, has just 1! Croatia is also richly endowed with freshwater with 3,650 km of

Tonci BoĹžanic, State Nedo Vrgoc, Institute Secretary for Fisheries of Oceanography and in the Ministry Fisheries. of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Rural Development.

Miro Kucic, President of the Fishing and Fish Processing Association in the Croatian Chamber of Economy.

This geography has wrought the development of an ancient fishing tradition on the coast and the islands that has persisted into the modern age. Well, almost. For the Croatian fishing fleet consists largely of relatively old vessels that remain from the time when all industry was owned by the state. The age, condition, and size of the vessels means they can not put out to sea in poor weather. Some of the vessels particularly those of the tuna fishing fleet have been modernised and installed with newer equipment making them safer to operate as well as improving the quality of the catches, but the smaller vessels with an average

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size of 14 to 15 m, which constitute the main body of the fleet, have not been modernised. Details on the fishing fleet are still partial as Croatia does not yet have a complete and up to date fishing fleet register. According to the Croatian Central Bureau of Statistics in 2007 the fleet included 488 vessels (defined as over 12 m and over 15 GT) with a total tonnage of just under 29,000 GT. FAO data from 2006 suggests that the total fleet numbers some 3,700 vessels that average 66 kW engine power and 11 GT indicating that small coastal vessels dominate the fleet. The difference in number stems from the differences in definition, as in Croatia there is a legal difference between vessels and boats. But when it comes to fishing fleet register, both the vessels and the boats count.

There are about forty small and medium-sized processing companies with less than fifty employees involved in the production of salted and marinated anchovies and sardines.

Port modernisation hindered by local authorities These vessels work on average 120 to 130 days per year typically

making one-day trips when they go out early in the morning to the fishing grounds where they fish for eight to ten hours and return to port. The travel time to and from the fishing grounds typically

takes a further two to thee hours. Vessels are not bound to a port, but often overnight in one port then leave the next morning for the fishing grounds and return with their catch to another port. Vessels from Dalmatia for example will go and fish in the north Adriatic and vice versa. But this only applies for larger, safer vessels, as small units usually stay close to home. However, this lack of a home port for some vessels reduces the ties between fishermen and the local community in a port town or village. As a consequence local authorities, who are often responsible for the port, are reluctant to invest in the facilities and infrastructure that would improve the port, and make it easier to land, store or sell the fish. Instead port authorities prefer to focus on the booming marine

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Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

croatia

Croatian catches of small pelagic fish are also used to feed the farmed tuna.

tourism sector, which has seen an expansion in the number of private yachts and other vessels that berth at Croatian harbours. For the central government that is committed to improving the ports for the benefit of the fishermen this is a knotty problem and one that has slowed down the port modernisation efforts.

Trawling and purse seining widely practised Croatian capture fisheries is a multispecies fishery with more than 200 species in the catch of which 80 to 100 are commercially important. The Croatian fleet is also characterised by the use of many different kinds of gear. According to the fishing law, says Nedo Vrgoc from the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, there are about 55 different kinds of gear used for fishing. The fisheries can be classified into coastal, which includes the channels between the Croatian islands, and the open seas. In the coastal belt the most commonly used fishing method is trawling while in the open seas it is trawling

and purse seining. The important species in terms of volumes are the small pelagics – sardines and anchovies, but catches of demersal fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods are also significant. The most important species are hake (Merluccius merluccius), mullet (Mullus barbatus), Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus), octopus species (Eledone spp.), pandora (Pagellus spp.) and various flatfish. Although not significant in quantity, value-wise there’s one species that holds the top position - Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus). As a proportion of GDP fisheries amounts to about 0.20%, but the sector plays a disproportionate role in the economies in towns and villages along the coast and in the islands where the prosperity of small communities is closely linked to the fishing, fish farming, and fish processing industries. The preponderance of small coastal vessels and the lack of specifically designated landing sites mean that fish is landed at more than 300 locations all along the coast.

30 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

This makes it difficult to accurately monitor the catch and obviously also has an impact on the quality of the statistical data. The lack of adequate landing places with the facilities to store and cool the fish also holds back the development of the market organisation. Currently there is no market organisation similar to that defined in the Common Fisheries Policy, nor are there any producer organisations. Tonci Božanic, State Secretary for Fisheries in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Rural Development says his ministry strongly supports the development of producer organisations, and the process of establishing wholesale markets, which is another step on the path to compliance with EU regulations, has already begun.

EU accession offers advantages to fisheries sector As an accession country Croatia is working on bringing its legislation into conformity with EU legislation and in the field of fisheries is being supported through a twinning

project with Spain with the objective, among others, “to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Directorate of Fisheries to plan, design and implement a CFP-compliant national fisheries policy.” Accession to the EU is generally considered a good thing. As Mr Božanic says, Croatia has had to bring its legislation into conformity with EU laws which for the fisheries industry has meant an increase in standards, but will also lead to the creation of a market infrastructure that will result in more transparency and better prices. Croatian fishermen should also be able to get higher prices particularly for their demersal catches and with the formation of producer organisations Croatian fishermen will be able to negotiate prices with a wide range of buyers and not be tied to just one as is often the case at present. Another important issue that was pushed by the accession process is satellite-based vessel monitoring. In 2005 Croatia carried out a pilot monitoring scheme with four tuna fishing vessels over 24 m. Since then the scheme has been expanded and by the end of 2009 more than 400 vessels is expected to be equipped with the system, says Mr Božanic.

Some stocks in the Adriatic decline Vessel monitoring is one of several tools being deployed to monitor and control vessels to ensure that they are not operating in an area that is off limits to fisheries, and that they hold the permits to fish in the area. Monitoring vessels is ultimately about reducing illegal fishing, which is a threat to fish stocks. The Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries in Split has been carrying out surveys of stocks in the Adriatic for the last 60 years. It is one of the biggest institutes for fisheries research in the Adriatic. Immediately after

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Catches of Atlantic bluefin tuna

Asia

Africa

in the East Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea in tonnes

Europe

the Second World War and before the onset of bottom trawling the institute carried out its first comprehensive survey of the Adriatic. Because of the circumstances the picture to emerge from the Adriatic at that time was a report from an unexploited sea and it formed the reference for future surveys. Since then the institute has conducted and continues to conduct regular surveys in the Adriatic for both pelagic and demersal species of commercial importance. Dr Vrgoc, who is in charge of demersal monitoring at the institute, says that there have been several major changes in the demersal stock situation compared with the first survey. These include a change in the total biomass index of the sea, and changes in the composition of the demersal community. Many of the large, slow growing species that are indicators of the health of the sea such as sharks and rays have almost disappeared from the open sea. Another indicator, the average size of the individuals of John Dorry (Zeus faber), has reduced from 40 cm when the first survey was carried out to 20 cm today. But, importantly, there are differences in the situation on the eastern and western parts of the Adriatic.

Country Algeria Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Morocco Tunisia China Cyprus Japan Korea, Republic of Taiwan Province of China Turkey Croatia France Greece Ireland Italy Malta Portugal Spain

2003 1,586 753 2,557 791 19 79 3,011 0 445 3,300 1,139 6,507 422 3 4,717 255 63 4,651

2004 1,208 1,299 2,780 2,376 41 105 2,653 700 51 1,075 827 7,032 389 1 4,497 264 27 5,154

2005 1,530 1,090 2,497 3,249 24 149 2,976 1,145 277 990 1,017 9,455 318 1 4,798 346 76 3,780

2006 1,038 1,327 2,386 2,545 0 110 2,452 27 9 806 1,022 8,882 254 2 4,693 263 109 4,722

2007 1,511 0 3,059 2,195 72 1 2,078 276 0 918 820 10,792 285 0 4,621 334 29 5,682

Source: FAO Statistics

Industrial fish production in Croatia in tonnes Frozen fish Dried, salted or non salted fish, pickled fish, exclud. smoked Fish cans Other processed products

Unequal fishing pressure on eastern and western sides of the Adriatic

east catches of demersal species is more or less stable. There are fluctuations from year to year but no clear negative trend, while in the west there is a negative trend especially for indicator species.

There are several reasons for these differences explains Dr Vrgoc. There are physical differences in terms of the hydrography and sedimentology of the two parts and this influences the benthic flora and fauna. However, probably the single most important factor he sees is the impact of fishing pressure. The overall impression of demersal stocks in the Adriatic sea is that they are fully or over exploited, but comparing the eastern and the western sides gives a different picture. In the

Fisheries management in Croatia is aimed at preserving the sustainability of the stock and thereby the activity. A number of measures such as temporal and spatial gear limitations, closed seasons, and minimum landing sizes are deployed to manage the fisheries. Trawling is prohibited within one nautical mile (1.85 km) of the shore (and also two nautical mile from the island in the open sea) and this will be extended to three nautical mile or a depth of 50 m. Bottom trawl fishing is totally for-

2005 4,001

2006 4,318

2007 5,162

2008 4,368

2,161

3,924

3,860

3,723

8,447 70

7,098 45

9,588 88

9,757 72

bidden in about 30% of Croatian territorial waters, and in a further 10% it is forbidden for 100-300 days in the year. Dr Vrgoc states that the aim is to move the bottom trawlers from the inner sea to the open sea as the inner area is an important nursery and spawning ground for a number of species. The coastal fishery should be preserved for the coastal fishing vessels while the bigger vessels are relocated to the open sea. Fishers are obliged to report all catches regardless of the quantities or the species caught. Apart from tuna which is governed by ICCAT Croatia has no system of quotas for species. Fisheries data though improving is still very unreliable, and any trends that may be discernible in the figures

may in fact be due to better data collection. Miro Kucic, president of the Fishing and Fish Processing Association in the Croatian chamber of economy, for one is distinctly unimpressed by the official fisheries data.

Good international scientific collaboration Croatia is actively collaborating with other nations in the Adriatic particularly Italy to compile and share accurate information from the area. The collaboration also facilitates efforts to harmonise regulations and fishery management measures in the different countries. In additional to participating in surveys Croatia is also one of the members of the AdriaMed project, that seeks to improve scientific cooperation as the basis for the management of fisheries in the Adriatic. This was established by the FAO in 1999 to promote cooperation between the countries of the Adriatic. Initially funded by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies, since 2007 it has been funded by the European Commission. Other participating countries are Albania, Italy, Montenegro, and Slovenia. Scientists at the institute collaborate not only with other scientists, but also with their key constituency, the fishermen. The relationship is symbiotic as the scientists collect the information directly from the vessels and after processing it discuss the results with the fishers. In some cases says Dr Vrgoc the data collected by the scientists is supplemented by private data that the fishermen collect themselves which is usually very useful information. I have between six and ten colleagues who are always at sea collecting data directly from the vessels, he says, and without this collabo-

Eurofish Magazine 2â&#x20AC;&#x2030;/â&#x20AC;&#x2030;2009

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ration I may as well close down my laboratory. Before the results of the research are finalised Dr Vrgoc consults with the fishers to ensure that their opinions are also included in the final recommendations. “I am at sea on board a scientific vessel for ten to fifteen days in the year,” he points out, “as opposed to the fishermen who are there for 130 days. The purpose of the exercise would be defeated if there opinions were excluded from the recommendations.” Once the results of the research have been finalised they are presented to the fishermen all over the country.

Main farmed marine species seabass, sea bream, tuna The aquaculture sector is divided into a marine and a smaller freshwater production. Seabass and seabream and bluefin tuna

are the main marine farmed species. Seabass and sea bream farming is hatchery-based where the entire production cycle is controlled. Producers either have their own hatcheries or purchase fingerlings from other hatcheries in Croatia or abroad. Some 70 companies are involved in seabass and sea bream farming (2006) and volumes have been increasing steadily the last six years to reach 4,000 tonnes in 2007 of which seabass amounts to some 65%. Croatian producers are moving into greater value addition, improved branding, and niche products and there has been some degree of consolidation on the market to reap economies of scale. According to Miro Kucic, the long term goal of the industry is to reach a production of 10,000 tonnes and some farms are aiming at hatchery facilities with a production of 40 million juveniles.

Tuna exports highly valued Bluefin tuna fattening is the practise of capturing large tuna placing them in cages and feeding them for a few months before harvesting. This has given rise to tuna farming which is the term used to describe a fattening period for smaller fish that often lasts for in excess of two years. The tuna are captured in the Adriatic by purse seiners and are then transported very slowly in towing cages back to the on-growing site. The fish are transferred to holding cages and fed with small pelgaic fish, but also cuttlefish, or krill. Once they reach the desired size they are harvested and frozen down to -60 degrees on Japanese freezer vessels and shipped back to Japan, which is the destination for 90% of the Croatian farmed tuna. Tuna volumes topped 4,000 tonnes in 2007, but the international body regulating the tuna

Croatian fish production in tonnes Freshwater farming - Carp - Trout - Bighead carp - Catfish - Pike perch - Other Carp farm area Trout farm area Hatcheries production Farming and catch of sea fish and other organisms - total Catch - small pelagic fish - sardine catch - anchovy catch - tuna farming and catch (1997 -2003) - tuna farming ( since 2004) Other fish farming and catch - other fish catch - farming of sea bass and sea bream Cephalopods catch Crustaceans catch Shelfish farming and catch - shelfish farming

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

3,485 1,851 913 10 42 185 484 7,786 4.28 1,396

3,260 1,633 791 7 70 277 482 7,663 4.51 1,141

3,429 1,575 1,075 7 62 265 445 7,809 5.70 1,634

4,335 2,183 1,301 9 40 354 448 6,623 5.77 1,690

5,113 2,312 1,885 14 23 387 492 6,229 5.87 1,480

4,395 1,503 2,031 16 19 257 569 6,036 5.78 1,613

Index 07/06 86.0 65.0 107.7 114.3 82.6 66.4 115.7 96.9 98.5 109.0

29,155

26,181

39,954

44,111

52,037

51,819

99.6

21,728 12,626 3,187 3,971

19,593 12,271 3,341 3,028

4,124 1,624 2,500 560 204 2,539 2,456

3,880 1,457 2,423 488 184 2,036 1,942

26,174 16,357 7,473 4,604 3,777 5,880 2,830 3,000 728 274 3,121 3,000

28,621 16,521 9,504 4,446 3,425 7,623 4,573 3,000 1,094 258 3,090 3,000

31,646 16,950 11,850 7,722 6,700 8,357 4,857 3,450 904 298 4,132 4,000

33,041 16,900 13,200 5,005 4,180 8,893 4,893 3,950 1,621 451 3,633 3,500

104.4 99.7 111.4 64.8 62.4 106.4 100.7 114.5 179.3 151.3 87.9 87.5

Source: DZS (Central bureau of statistics)

32 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

management measures has now reduced the total allowable catch for the fish from 22,000 tonnes in 2009 to 19,950 tonnes in 2010 and subject to an assessment of the stock in 2010 to 18,500 tonnes in 2011. Farming capacity has also been capped.

Carp production stable, trout increasing Freshwater farmed fish is primarily trout and carp, with production of 2,000 tonnes and 1,500 tonnes respectively in 2007. Carp production has been more or less stable the last six years while trout production has risen steadily. Carp is farmed in large ponds where they feed on a mix of the naturally occuring vegetation in the pond as well as grains like corn and barley. The fish are mainly sold live and the Christmas period is when they are most widely consumed. A proportion of the fish is exported to neighbouring countries, Serbia and Bosnia as well as some to Germany. Carp ponds play a role in providing habitats for various kind of birds including some endangered species and some farms offer ecotourism activities that include fishing, and bird watching in attractive surroundings.

Processors expanding range of value-added products The fish processing industry in Croatia has a long history mainly in the production of canned products. The impact of globalisation is however forcing the industry to restructure and move into more value-added products and away from the basic canned items such as sardines. Production has fallen from 15,000 tonnes to 5,000 tonnes and Mr Kucic is not optimistic about the future of the sardine canning sector. Raw material for the processing industry has fo-

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cused largely on the pelagic species, anchovies, sardines, which are processed into salted and marinated products. These have been exported in increasing quantities to markets in Europe. There are about 40 companies, mainly small and medium sized with less than 50 employees, that produce salted and marinated anchovies and sardines, often combining them with olives, cheese or other ingredients. But uncertainty regarding the situation of the stocks and the size of the harvest makes these firms vulnerable to unexpected changes in the supply of raw materials. Pelagic catches are also used as feed for the tuna farming and fattening industry. Fresh or thawed small pelagics, sardines, anchovies, mackerel, and horse mackerel, are shovelled or pumped into the tuna cages. Of the white fish products seabass,

Croatia’s trade in fish and seafood is characterised by the import of cheap small pelagics species such as herring to feed the farmed tuna, a high value export species. Total exports amounted to about 30,000 tonnes in 2008 with a value of USD150m while import volumes were 54,000 tonnes with a value of USD140m.

Seabass and sea bream is typically sold whole fresh on ice but some farmers are now exploring the possibility of smoking fillets.

sea bream, and trout have typically been sold fresh on ice which is still the dominant product form, while carps and other farmed freshwater species are often sold live. Wild

demersal fish is also sold fresh on ice. However, producers are beginning to explore the production of smoked fillets of bass and trout and even carp.

Croatian fisheries and aquaculture is an important part of the coastal economy on the mainland and particularly on the islands. The country’s turbulent past has taken a toll on its progress, but it is now making efforts to catch up and it has several advantages on which to build. These include forward looking aquaculture and processing sectors which are set to increase in importance in the future.

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Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

The carp farm is the main business of the company, but the hope is that the eels will contribute more to the bottomline in the future.

ponds, while if there is too much wind or rain then there is enough space in the hatchery to hold the larvae.

Preference for bigger fish in Bosnia, Serbia

Ribnjacarstvo Poljana

Plans to add value to carp and eel-products

In addition to marine aquaculture of seabass and sea bream as well as the farming or fattening of tuna Croatia also has a sizeable freshwater aquaculture industry focusing on carp and trout, though other species such as pike perch, tench, catfish, grass carp, silver carp, and bighead carp are also farmed. The total tonnage of freshwater fish farmed in 2007 amounted to 4,400 tonnes of which 1,500 tonnes was carp and 2,000 tonnes was trout.

ne of the oldest carp farms in Croatia has been running for almost a century and is owned by the company Ribnjacarstvo Poljana. Here, in a total of 1,200 acres of ponds 600 tonnes of carp (Cyprinus carpio carpio) as well as 150 tonnes of various other fish are farmed per annum. The other species include European catfish, pike, pike perch, bighead carp, silver carp and some tench. The farm controls the whole farming cycle from the eggs to the market-sized fish, the only operation that is currently lacking is processing. An on-site hatchery provides enough larvae for the needs of the farm. The hatchery is essentially a recirculation unit that works for three to three and a half months a year from around

April to July says Krešimir Drašner, the veterinarian on the farm, after that it is disinfected and closed down until the next season. Be-

cause of its large size the hatchery can produce a lot at once and if the weather is good a number of larvae can be released into the

Mr Milan Božic, the director of Ribnjacarstvo Poljana, a one hundredyear-old carp farm.

34 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

In June or July depending on how warm the weather is and just before the yolk sac disappears the larvae are introduced from the hatchery into the 14 smaller ponds. The ponds are fertilised with chicken manure to trigger the growth of the planktonic organisms on which the larvae feed. After a period of about two weeks a paste made of a fine grained mixture of nutrients mixed with water and small pelleted feed containing a high percentage of protein that is manufactured on the farm itself is added to the ponds. Forty or 50 days after the larvae are introduced they weigh three to eight grams and are then transferred to larger ponds of six to ten acres where they over-winter. One-year-old fish are kept for a year in medium-sized ponds and are then transferred to the largest ponds where they grow to market size. It takes three years to achieve a market-sized fish of 2.5 kilos, which is the desired size on markets in Bosnia and Serbia where bigger fish are preferred, in Croatia the company sells fish of one to two kilos. Most of the fish is absorbed by these three markets particularly over the Christmas season when it is traditional to eat carp. Some fish is also sold to Italian and German customers. The largest of these ponds can be up to 200 acres in size. Ponds are

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arranged on a gradient so there is no need to use pumps to drain the water, the water flows out thanks to the force of gravity. The difference in height between the highest and lowest ponds is three meters. Harvesting involves draining the ponds of their water and trapping the fish in nets. The ponds are arranged so that two or three large ponds usually have a smaller pond close by that is at a lower level. Water from the large pond with the fish is drained collecting the fish together in the lowest part of the pond where they can be encircled with a net and heaved out. Nets with different mesh sizes are used, first a 5 x 5 cm mesh for the largest fish, followed by a 2 square cm and finally a 1 square cm. Depending on the pond size it can take up to two weeks to empty a pond.

Poljana Company Fact File Ribnjacarstvo Poljana d.d. Ribnjaci bb HR 43283 Kaniška Iva Croatia Tel.: +385 34 431012 Fax: +385 34 431122 office@ribnjacarstvo-poljana.hr www.ribnjacarstvo-poljana.hr Director: Milan Božic Products: Carp (Cyprinus carpio carpio) 600 tonnes, European

Ponds are highly efficient filtration systems Water from the ponds is allowed to drain back into the river from which it is sourced. Tests done by Poljana on the water as it enters

catfish, pike, pike perch, bighead carp, silver carp, tench, 150 tonnes, eel, 90 tonnes Product form: Live fish Facilities: 1,200 acres of ponds, hatchery, feed factory for pelleted feed, processing facility (upcoming) Markets: Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Italy, Germany, Netherlands Certification: ISO22000 Employees: 50

and as it leaves the farm show that the water is actually cleaner when it leaves the farm than when it enters. The ponds filter everything, says Krešimir Drašner, and besides we use no medicines in the water nor do we spray the ponds. The only time that medicines

may be given to the fish is at the “monthling”stage, when they are roughly one month old, and the one-year-old stage when it can be mixed into the pellets. During later stages of development the fish are fed with whole grains in addition to what they get of natural feed from the ponds. The grain is primarily corn and barley with some wheat for the small fish. Apart from being older and larger than most of the other carp farms in Croatia Poljana also boasts other advantages. The geographical location of the farm is very favourable with the inclined terrain that allows the water to flow through gravity rather than having to be pumped. The natural feed production in the ponds is very good and the carps feed half and half on grains and the natural feed.

Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

croatia

Production is certified to the ISO standard and the company has developed its own breed of carp that bears the company name and is farmed in other parts of the world such as Israel, Hungary and Romania. This particular breed has been certified by the Croatian Chamber of Economy as being a genuine Croatian product which is also a quality stamp for the fish.

Collaboration with Dutch government Five years ago Poljana was selected under a Programme for

ropean companies. In this case an eel farm was set up in Poljana. Under the terms of the agreement the Dutch installed the system, provided part of the feed, the glass eels for the first season and at the end of the grow out period also bought back the grown eels, while Poljana provided the building and is responsible for the dayto-day running of the system. Each year a fresh batch of eels is introduced into the system; the first batch was introduced in 2006. The catch season for glass eels is between November and May and prices have been fluctu-

too high. This has meant that eel farmers, eel fishermen, conservationists, and the industry all depend on glass eels caught from the wild. The pressure on eels is visible in the decrease in the stocks of European eel which have declined to 1% of their level 30 years ago.

Recirculation system for eels Eels mature at radically different rates says Krešimir Drašner, this is partly because males and females naturally grow at different rates

20% is renewed every day. For the glass eels there is a separate water system and biofiltration unit. To keep down costs the company has installed a heat pump which traps the heat from the water that is removed from the system. This brings down the water temperature from 23.5 degrees to 3 degrees centigrade. Another device, an oxygen generator, is used to extract oxygen from the air. This serves as a substitute for liquid oxygen. The advantage is that it is significantly cheaper and more reliable if one does not have a good supplier, though on the other hand, liquid oxygen is of higher purity. The difference however in terms of the effect on the fish is negligible. Mr Drašner also points out a further refinement that the company has devised and installed. This allows the oxygen levels to be regulated not only for all the tanks in the system together, but also for each individual tank depending on the size of the fish, their appetite or other needs.

Processed products the next step

The eel farm has a capacity of 100 tonnes and was built in collaboration with Dutch specialists as part of a Dutch government programme.

Co-operation with Countries in Central and Eastern Europe established by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and its implementing agency EVD. The programme supported the transition of countries in Eastern Europe to a market-oriented and sustainable economy. It encouraged Dutch investment in these countries and promoted trade relationships between the Netherlands and private Eastern Eu-

ating violently. Last season prices varied from EUR500 to EUR650 while this season they have fallen slightly to EUR400 to EUR550, says Mr Drašner and for this farm we need 300 kilos, which is a big investment. The problem is that glass eels are still only available from the wild. Efforts to control eel reproduction have been going on since 1938 and although larvae can be produced in the laboratory mortality levels are still far

36 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

but also because the stock of glass eels is taken directly from nature and are not selected. As a result you can have specimens that grow to market size in 3 years while others take less than a year, while others do not grow at all. Because of this uneven growth in a batch of eels it is necessary to grade them at regular intervals. The system that has been installed recycles 80% of the water, while

Eel mortality in total in one generation is 15-20% over three years which according to Mr Drašner is acceptable. About 5% of the glass eels do not survive the trip to the farm or die shortly after arrival or fail to take to the feed and then die a couple of weeks later. So far there have been no incidents of disease, which is a relief as eel is a new species to be farmed in Croatia and experience is limited. Over the next year Poljana intends to expand into processing some of the fish it produces and will build a processing facility for fillets, smoked, canned and frozen fish. The permit for the plant has already been obtained and so the construction can start at any time.

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Kali Tuna

One of the earliest tuna farms in the Mediterranean The most valuable part of the Croatian fish farming industry is undoubtedly the tuna farming sector which also generates the most in terms of foreign exchange as almost all the tuna farmed or fattened is exported. The practice of growing out or fattening wildcaught specimens has been termed capture-based aquaculture by the FAO, as opposed to hatchery-based aquaculture where the full breeding cycle is controlled.

he town of Kali on the island of Ugljan, a short ferry ride from Zadar, has a long history in the fishing industry. Even today 80% of the population is involved in fishery-related activities and people from Kali have spread to other parts of the world where they have put their knowledge of the sea and fishing techniques to good advantage. For example, in the Australian town of Port Lincoln, the seafood capital of Australia, most of the 200-odd Croatian families settled there are from Kali. One of these families decided however in 1996 to return

Kali Tuna is based in Kali on the island of Ugljan, a short ferry ride from Zadar. The people of Kali have a long tradition in fishing and related activities.

to Kali to establish one of the earliest tuna farms in the Mediterranean. Dino Vidov, who is today the operations manager of Kali Tuna, says the decision to move back was influenced by their Japanese client who initially wanted the Vidovs (joined by their friend and business partner Mr. Santic) to start a tuna farming operation in Italy. Instead they returned to their roots in Kali where they had the advantages of knowing the language, the local culture, and thanks to the fishing tradition on the island, the possibility to hire experienced staff.

Tuna captured in the Adriatic

Dino Vidov, the operations manager at Kali Tuna.

The first year of operations was more like a project with a total of just 30 metric tonnes of tuna. Over the following years the company expanded the number of towing cages and holding Eurofish Magazine 2â&#x20AC;&#x2030;/â&#x20AC;&#x2030;2009

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once or twice a day to observe the fish and keep tabs on feeding behaviour, feed ratios, water temperature and biomass growth. After 12 years of observing the fish the company has a good idea of what the fish should be eating at certain times depending on the water temperature and the size of the fish.

Varied diet of small pelagics

The tuna are fed with a mixture of small pelagic fish such as herring, sardines, mackerel, horse mackerel. The feed is sometimes shovelled into the cages, but is also pumped in, or left in a feeding barge.

cages and the volumes started to rise. Kali Tuna has a fleet of five fishing vessels which capture the tuna in the Adriatic. The vessels are purse seiners which travel out into the Adriatic and when they find a school of tuna they will enclose it with the nets and then wait for the towing vessels to come by and attach themselves to the net of the purse seine vessel. Divers then join the purse seine net with the net of the towing cage through a small door and gently force the fish in to the towing cage. The cage is then towed back to the farm at a speed of 1-2 knots to minimise stress and the accompanying mortality. Because of the slow speed even a short journey can take a long time to complete and to prevent the fish from losing weight they are fed at intervals. Once back at the farm the fish are transferred to holding cages. A school of fish can vary widely,

says Dino Vidov, both in size and in composition. Typically the fish in a school are all about the same size, but schools with fish of varying sizes are not unusual. The size of the fish determines how they are stocked in the towing cages, the bigger fish will not be fed for very long – only a few months – before they are harvested and will therefore not show the same increase in size as the smaller fish. These will be farmed for up to two years before they are harvested and will increases significantly in weight. This has to be taken into account when distributing the fish from the towing to the holding cages so that fewer small fish are placed together in a cage to give them the necessary space to grow. At the same time, says Dino Vidov, we have discovered that we cannot let the density fall too low as that seems to have a negative impact on their feeding.

38 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

Slow tow for low stress For Kali Tuna the fishing grounds in the Adriatic are relatively close by and the towing vessels taxi back and forth between the farm and the fishing vessels. In some countries in the Mediterranean that practise blue fin tuna farming the trip from the fishing vessels back to the farm may take several days, weeks, or even months. During the trip the utmost care is taken to bring the fish back in the best possible condition. Once the fish arrive they are transferred to the holding cages and the feeding starts. Sometimes the fish may require a couple of days to adapt to the new surroundings but usually they start feeding well. The way they feed is a general indicator of their well being and a good sign as to whether they have settled into the new environment. The fish are kept under close surveillance by divers who go down

The feed is typically small pelagic fish such as sardines, herring, mackerel, horse mackerel, but Mr Vidov explains that they like to give the fish a varied diet so as not to let the fish build up too much fat, especially if it is to be sold fresh. Too much fat affects the colour of the fish, which is an important parameter, and shortens its shelf life. The company’s Japanese clients sometimes insist that the fish is also given calamari and krill as this gives the meat a different colour, flavour, and texture. We are constantly experimenting with the feed, trying out different species and different delivery methods to see what works best and what does not work, says Dino Vidov. So, apart from using the local Croatian catch of small pelagics the company also imports herring from Sweden and even sardines from California. Sometimes the feed is shovelled overboard manually, while other times it is pumped through pipes, while at yet other times a half submerged feed cage is used into which frozen blocks of fish are pitched and allowed to thaw over time.

High food conversion ratio Bluefin tuna maintain an unusually high body temperature and because of their constant movement they have a high energy

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demand. As a result only a small percentage of the feed given to the tuna is converted into biomass. The Feed Conversion Ratio is high at 15-20:1 for larger fish and 10-15:1 for smaller specimens. This has raised questions about the sustainability of tuna farming and the pressure it places on stocks of small pelagic fish, and has increased the urgency to develop artificial diets that will improve the feed conversion ratio and ensure a better quality of the final product. However, on the Japanese market which is the destination of 90 percent of the world’s farmed tuna much of the fish is eaten raw. And here there is resistance to the idea of artificial feeds for fear that it will affect the taste and texture of the flesh.

Kali Tuna Company Fact File Kali Tuna d. o. o HR 23272 Kali Croatia Tel.: +385 23 282800 Fax: +385 23 282810 kali-tuna@kali-tuna.hr www.kali-tuna.hr

Illegal fishing threatens the future The bluefin tuna fishery in the Mediterranean is managed by ICCAT, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, which has reduced the Total Allowable Catch in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean from 29,500 tonnes in 2007 to 25,500 tonnes in 2010. However, the ICCAT scientific committee

Operations manager: Dino Vidov Products: Bluefin tuna farmed and fattened Product form: Fresh or frozen Markets: Japan Capacity: 1790 tonnes

believes that reported catches were probably higher than TAC levels in 2007 and that the underreporting of catches is substantial. Its estimates of catches in 2007 are 61,000 tonnes. The ICCAT report 2008-2009 (I) states that the TAC is not respected and that unless fishing is reduced in the near future the stock risks collapsing. For Kali Tuna the reduction in the TAC is not good news but in addi-

tion a limit is being set on farming capacity. For Dino Vidov this seems strange. For one, farming the fish due to the controlled environment is usually a reliable way to monitor numbers, he points out, for another if there is already a quota then as long as we stay within the quota let us decide how long we want to keep the fish and when we want to sell it. By imposing a cap on farming capacity farmers will be forced to sell fish when they approach the ceiling. Most of Kali Tuna’s production goes to Japan either fresh by air or frozen at minus 60 degrees C. Japanese freezer vessels take the fish on board as soon as they are harvested and freeze them down in eight to ten hours after which the vessels sail back to Japan, a trip that lasts 20 to 30 days.

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Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

Each fish is labelled with a pin bearing the company name, a sign of quality, and useful marketing.

Cenmar joins up with four other companies

Going for growth through mergers

around 14 degrees in winter and there is no industry in the area that could compromise the water quality. It takes 18-24 months for the fish to reach market size of 300-400 g, though for the production of fillets bigger fish will be used. Each of the sites has a capacity of some 500 tonnes and production from both sites is brought to a single processing facility in Lamjana to be prepared for distribution. Currently the main product is fresh fish packed on ice in styropore boxes. Each fish is labelled with the company name on a flag pin that functions both as a quality label and a marketing tool.

Seabass and sea bream have been farmed in Croatia for about thirty years with production Vertical integration gradually increasing to almost 4,000 tonnes in 2007. One of the oldest companies in Croatia for better control working with these two species is Cenmar. It was established in 1979, just as fish farming Shortly after the company was was starting in the Mediterranean, as a spinoff from the Institute of Fish Technology.

ommercial production of seabass and sea bream started in 1982 with about 100 tonnes of fish and since then growth has been steady if not spectacular. Today production amounts to about 1,000 tonnes of which seabass amounts to around 65% and the rest is sea bream. This proportion varies slightly from year to year though more bass is produced than bream. We started with seabass, explains Krešimir Peroš, the production manager, and sea bream is a more delicate species and production was a little more complicated in the early days. The problems of early larval development have now been solved, but volumes are lower due to the market situation with the enormous production of sea bream in Greece and Turkey.

The company has two farming sites for the fish. One in the Mala Lamjana bay on the island of Ugljan, a brief ferry ride from Zadar, and a second that started in 1991

on the southern part of Pasman island near the island of Kosara about 20 km away. The water is clear with a temperature of 23-25 degrees C in summer and

Ms Almiana Avramovic, marketing manager and Mr Krešimir Peroš, farm manager of Cenmar. The company is moving in to the production of value-added products to serve niche markets.

40 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

established it was decided that vertical integration was the way forward. This would give full control and traceability of the fish along the value chain allowing the company to monitor the production at all stages and better guarantee the quality of the final product. To do this it was necessary first to establish a hatchery which was done in 1982 in the town of Nin about 20 km to the northwest of Zadar. Production at the hatchery covers all the company’s requirement for seabass and bream fry. Cenmar is already the biggest Croatian farmer of seabass and bream however it is surrounded by major producers in Greece and Turkey that produce several times the quantities that Cenmar brings to market. We will never achieve the volumes that are pro-

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Seabass and sea bream are produced at two sites each with a capacity of about 600 tonnes.

duced by some of those companies, says Krešimir Peroš, but we have ambitious plans of our own. After twenty-five years of modest growth the company is planning to merge with three other companies in order to achieve several objectives at once. The merger will place Cenmar at the heart of a conglomerate that will have

a hatchery, production sites, and processing facilities for the production of a variety of different value-added products. We have to bring the cost of production down and we can only do that by increasing the tonnage. Prices on the international market for seabass and bream are currently very low and have been for some

time now. In particular sea bream prices have fallen to EUR2.5 a kilo in some instances. We see a lot of operators from Greece and Turkey who are willing to take almost any price unloading their fish on the market. Their production price is lower than ours, but it is impossible to produce at a price below EUR4.0 per kilo, says

Mr Peroš. The company is therefore planning to focus strongly on value-added production and marketing and with the new structure it has also changed the way the company is organised, with site managers for each site, a hatchery manager, an overall manager of the farm, and a sales and marketing manager.

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will be used to develop a palette of products including fresh, smoked, salted, and value-added products, which will be available from the companys own chain of retail stores in Zadar and Istria as well as the main supermarkets. Marketing these products will include informing consumers about the wide-ranging benefits of consuming fish and the ease with which it can be bought and prepared. Backing up the promotional efforts will be a new Cenmar logo and website that will offer consumers information on the fish, the products, and a range of recipes both simple and complex.

Coastal management plan reduces bureacracy The fish is harvested, graded, packed in styropore boxes on ice and distributed. From the time the fish leaves the water to the time it appears in a shop does not take more than 15 hours.

Domestic market offers marginally better prices Currently our main market is Croatia says Almiana Avramovic, the marketing manager, our production stands at about 1,000 tonnes and this year we may reach 1,500 tonnes of which the majority will be sold on the domestic market. Croatians do not currently eat much fish, which is an opportunity Cenmar is looking to exploit. Fish consumption in Croatia is estimated at about nine kilos per capita, which is well below the EU average of 21.4 kg. The Croatian figure is based on statistics which are not entirely reliable, however it is well established that consumption varies sharply depending on the region. On the islands and along the coast of the mainland the consumption of fish is far higher while inland in the north of the country it is lower. Prices

on the domestic market are also higher than they are abroad and we can control the whole distribution chain better when it is local, says Mr Peroš. And we have a distinct advantage over producers in other countries because our fish will always be fresher. From the time it is harvested to the time it is sold is never more than 15 hours.

42 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

The new company formed by the merger of the other companies is systematically implementing a multi-pronged strategy to increase sales on the domestic market. As a first step Ms Avramovic is carrying out market surveys that will generate intelligence on consumer habits, consumption patterns, product preferences, and pricing. This information

Cenmar Company Fact File Cenmar d.d. Trg Tri Bunara broj 5 HR 23000 Zadar Croatia Tel.: +385 23 254960 Fax: +385 23 250883; +385 23 254 960 cenamar@cenmar.hr www.cenmar.hr Fish farm manager: Mr Krešimir Peroš

Marketing manager: Ms Almiana Avramovic Products: Seabass and sea bream Volume: 1,000-1,500 tonnes per year Farm sites: 2, each with a production of 500-600 tonnes Planned products: Fresh fillets, smoked, marinated, salted fish, value-added products, organic fish

However, our efforts to promote fish consumption need to be complemented by nation-wide campaigns to get Croatians to eat more fish, says Ms Avramovic. In other parts of Europe such as Italy, the UK, and Denmark national authorities are actively involved in promoting the health benefits of fish consumption. Such campaigns are planned, says Petar Pedišic from the Croatian Chamber of Economy, but the government should start to implement them on a regular basis. The government has introduced some measures to simplify the process of starting a fish farm. For example under a pilot scheme for coastal management that has been introduced in Zadar County the coast is divided into zones. Each zone is approved for a certain activity, some exclusively for aquaculture, others for tourism, and yet others for both. Designating the zones in this way reduces some of the paperwork involved in fish farming and the scheme is expected to be extended to the entire Croatian coast.

Josip Zagorac, one of the two directors in Adria Octopus at the bridge of one of his vessels.

Adria Octopus

Trading in fresh fish not for the faint-hearted

Adria Octopus is involved in not one but several fisheries-related activities. Owned by two partners, Josip Zagorac and Ivan Birkic, the company owns three pelagic fishing vessels, has a processing factory, a shop, international trading activities and, in addition, farms about 150 tonnes of seabass and sea bream per year.

e need to be flexible says Josip Zagorac, adding that there are too many “pirhannas” out there, refering to the adversaries waiting to pounce on the unwary businessman. The pelagic fishing activities are the most significant in terms of volumes amounting to about 2,500 tonnes annually. The boats go out in the evening and return the next morning eighteen to twenty days in the month during the season. The season varies with the species, for anchovy it is 1 March to end September, for sardines it is closed from 15 December to 15 January, and for tuna it is 15 April to 15 June. Bad weather and a full moon keep the boats in port. The fish is a mixed bag of anchovies, sardines, mackerel, and horse mackerel

which is kept in refrigerated sea water tanks on board and first needs to be sorted when it comes ashore. The boats are equipped with powerful lamps to attract the fish and once a shoal is found a smaller boat will be released into the water and between the two boats the fish will be surrounded with a net which is then hauled on board. The big vessels have a crew of nine who spend all their time on board for the three weeks when the vessel is out fishing every day. The boats are very well equipped with radars, fish finders, sonars, gps, autopilots and plotters. The equipment is largely Norwegian, but imported from the US where it is cheaper, while the hulls were bought in Romania and built up in Croatia by Adria Octopus workers.

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Dealing in fresh fish offers challenges, thrills In the factory the fish are divided into species and then packaged on ice in styropore boxes each with a net weight of six kilos. I only deal in fresh fish, says Josip Zagorac, it is what I have been doing for twelve years and while it is very challenging I feel it is more rewarding and offers more variety than dealing, for example, with frozen products. Very early each morning, before the boats come in, Mr Zagorac is on the phone to the vessel captains to find out how much they expect to catch of what species. He then calls his customers in Italy, France or Spain to find out the price. The price, however,

is constantly fluctuating depending on the supply and demand, and while Mr Zagorac has a good idea of what the other Croatian vessels are bringing in he has no idea what the Italian, French or Spanish vessels are doing and their catches have a big impact on the price. Everything has to go very fast to be able to sell at the agreed price – the weight has to be calculated, the fish has to be sorted, packaged, sent off in trucks as fast as possible. Even so the trade is a kind of lottery, where prices can hit the floor or the ceiling very suddenly. The fish also has to be punctual about arriving in Italy as from there, for example, from the market in Venice, fish will be despatched to the market in Barcelona at 18.00. If Adria Octopus’ fish does not arrive in time and misses the delivery to Barcelona it has to be written off. The quality is downgraded and it can be used only for fishmeal or fish oil and not for human consumption. But it is the excitement and the challenge of organising everything properly and the potential for very good returns that make this business unique. I would far rather trade in fresh fish than frozen fish or any non-perishable, says Mr Zagorac, on occasion I have even sold the fish without first knowing the price. If a buyer cannot be found for all the fish it is frozen and then can be sold as feed for the tuna industry.

Seabass and seabream for sale in summer The company also farms seabass and sea bream, an activity which offers a more stable income

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Once the fish has been sorted and packaged at the processing plant it has to be transported very quickly to the market in Italy in order to be sold at the agreed price.

The Elizabeth Tri is one of three vessels owned by the company. The hull is from Romania, the equipment from Norway and it was build in Croatia.

stream than the rapidly changing prices in the capture fisheries trade. Volumes amount to about 150 tonnes a year and the fish is sold both within Croatia and to Italy. I only sell in summer says Mr Zagorac for that is when the prices are 25% higher thanks to the tourists. Competition from producers in Turkey and Greece is no threat because Adria Octopus can deliver fresher fish to Italy due to its proximity to the market than Turkey or Greece. If the fish is harvested today then within 12 to 15 hours, at the latest by tomorrow morning or in some cases the same evening the fish can be on the market in Italy, explains Mr Zagorac. Otherwise there is no real difference in the fish, seabass and sea bream are now commodities, where ever they are farmed they are probably derived from the same supplier of fingerlings, the feed is more or less the same, as is the way they are managed. The only real difference is the time it takes to market.

takes three days. When the fry arrive they are transferred from the tanks into towing cages and then very slowly towed to the farm and tranferred to the holding cages.

Processing facilities to expand The seabass is housed in six round offshore cages while the sea bream is in 68 ten m square cages that are equipped with a double layered net to prevent escapes as

sea bream can chew on the net to try and get out. Fry are obtained from a supplier in France and are delivered by trucks equipped with special tanks, a journey that

Seabass and sea bream fry are supplied by a French company in Normandy and transported by truck equipped with special tanks. The journey lasts about three days.

Adria Octopus Company Fact File Adria Octopus d.o.o. Augusta Senoe 9 HR 23212 Tkon Croatia Tel.: +385 23 385 585 Mobile: +385 91 205 0721 and +385 98 273 851 Fax: +385 23 385 585 Directors: Josip Zagorac, Ivan Birkic

Activities: Fish trading, seabass, sea bream farming, fish processing, fishing Products: Small pelagics – anchovies, sardines, mackerel, horse mackerel, seabass, seabream Product form: Fresh fish packed on ice in 6 kg styropore boxes Markets: Croatia, Italy, Spain, France

After harvesting the fish brought to the factory where they are graded into different sizes and then placed in boxes on ice. The processing facilities currently occupy 1,500 square m which is not enough for any further value addition. Mr Zagorac has been looking at the neighbouring plot of land in order to extend his own factory. This would give another 1,000 or 2,000 square meters and allow Adria Octopus to start salting and filleting anchovies as well as filleting and freezing seabass and sea bream. He feels there is no market for fresh fillets in Croatia where people like to see the fish before they buy it in order to ascertain its freshness. For Mr Zagorac the fish farming operations have been something of a mixed blessing partly because of bad experiences with a supplier of fry in the beginning. The fry were of poor quality and mortality was very high so that after investing first in the fry, then for two years in the feed and the labour, at the end of it all instead of 150 tonnes of fish he had seventy. He has now changed the supplier and would like to increase the volumes from 100 to 300 tonnes, but remains to be convinced of the viability of the farming.

Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

Ostrea’s new 7,500 sq. m processing facility

All production activities to shift under one roof

The production of salted anchovy fillets is a Croatian tradition that dates back to the time of the Austro-Hungarian empire when they were considered a delicacy in the capital Vienna. Not much has changed in the way these fillets are produced today, much of the work is still done by hand, and the fish are matured for at least three months before they are processed further.

ne of the biggest companies in Croatia for the manufacture of salted anchovies, Ostrea, is just completing a new processing factory with the support of SAPARD funds that will make it even bigger – from 3,500 tonnes to 5,000 tonnes. Currently located in Benkovac, the company expects to move to its new premises in Stankovci in a couple of months. The facility in Benkovac are rented from government company and the new processing facilities will offer all the advantages of a modern, state-ofthe-art factory that meets and even exceeds all the statutory requirements for hygiene and sanitation. Apart from this the new facility will

consolidate all the company’s activities under one roof with a total of 7,500 square meters of space. Currently Ostrea salts the anchovies at its facilities in Benkovac from where they are sent to a sister company in Albania to be filleted. When the unit at Stankovci comes on-stream the salting and filleting will both be carried out there. In addition a separate building is due to be constructed where the company will store the fish that is maturing.

Processing within 24 hours Production last year (2008) amounted to 3,000 tonnes of

46 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

salted anchovies, recounts Marko Kajmak the commercial director, which was not a good year. In 2007 production was 3,500 tonnes; this year we expect catches to be good and with the new factory we expect production to reach 5,000 tonnes. However, it all depends on the weather and the catches, the capacity at the new factory is much higher but if there is no fish to process then the capacity is irrelevant. In order to ensure a steady supply of raw material the company has agreements with a number of boats in the Croatian fleet to deliver anchovies. The production process starts by immersing the freshly caught fish in

Ostrea is preparing to move from rented facilities in Benkovac to a new factory in Stankovci in a few months.

a 25% brine solution. Any excess fish is stored on ice at refrigeration temperature between zero and four degrees centigrade until it can be processed, but all the fish is processed within 24 hours of arriving in the factory. After 60 to 90 minutes the fish is removed from the solution, headed and gutted, and placed in barrel in layers. Each layer of fish alternates with a layer of salt and a filled barrel weighs 100 kg. The salt is regular table salt with a grain size of 2.5 mm and the ratio of salt to fish in a barrel is 26-35% depending on the final product. After the filled barrel is closed and a weight is placed on the lid to exert some pressure on the fish. The weight serves to squeeze the brine from the fish as well as to flatten the fish and it is important that it is not too heavy nor too light. At Ostrea the starting weight is 100 g per square cm which is gradually decreased as the fish matures.

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While the process seems fairly straightforward a number of factors influence the salting procedure, including the temperature, humidity, fat content of the fish, and what kind of final product is intended. For example in summer the fish is matured for two to three months while in winter the maturation time can double. If the fish is to be processed into fillets in jars, the salt content is 30-40% higher than if it is to be canned.

Production under Italian brands The product at the end of the maturation period can be described as partially cleaned salted anchovies. If these are to be made into filleted anchovies they

Ostrea Company Fact File Ostrea d.o.o. Benkovacke bojne 17 HR 23 420 Benkovac Croatia Tel.: +385 23 682 040 Fax: +385 23 682 012 marko.kajmak@zd.t-com.hr

Commercial director: Marko Kajmak

are sent to the sister company in Albania where they are subject to further processing. This includes cutting the fish into fillets, centrifugation, adding salt, placing the fillets in jars and topping up the jars with sunflower or olive oil to make the final project.

Products: Anchovy fillets, salted anchovies Product forms: Fillets in retail jars, plastic tubs, salted anchovies in plastic tubs Markets: Italy, other EU countries, Croatia, USA, Australia Facilities: New factory of 7,500 square meters of space being completed in Stankovci Employees: 200 to 500

as a Croatian product, because all the materials that go into the production actually come from Croatia, says Marko Kajmak. The value addition that is done in Albania is less than 10% of the value of the final product and therefore it can be classified as Croatian. The filleted anchovies are available in jars of 90, 150, and 700 g as well as 700 g tubs while salted anchovies are are packaged in 5 kg tubs.

The jars will be labelled with the customer’s brand which could be, for example, Rizzoli, or Delicius, if they are intended for export, or Ostrea if they are intended for the Croatian market. Although the final product is assembled in Albania it is labelled

Ostrea’s main production at the moment is filleted anchovies in jars and salted anchovies, but the company is considering other products such as conserves in jars as well as canned fillets. Finding the space for the manufacture of new product lines will not be a problem in the new factory.

S E A F O O D PROCESSING E U R O P E 2009 Stand # 4-5917

Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

Lustra manufactures variety of products based on anchovy, tuna, sardines, and octopus.

Lustra manufactures for the local market

Keeping Croatian traditions alive

A short ferry ride from the Croatian town of Split is the hilly island of Brac, where the main transport hub is the port of Supetar, from where ferries travel to and from Split as well as to other Croatian islands in the Adriatic. Brac is the third largest Croatian island measuring approximately 36 km long by 12 km wide and has a population of about 13,000 people that is divided into no less than eight administrative regions. To the south west of Supetar is the picturesque fishing port of Milna, which hosts a 103-year-old fish processing factory. Today the factory is still functioning – a team of workers produce a variety of products based on anchovy, tuna, sardines, and octopus under the brand name Lustra.

Ms Božena Vidovic, general manager of Lustra.

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ustra is owned by Jeri Peša and Siniša Vrandecic who have rented the old factory from its owner for their production. The port of Milna has historically been a favoured place for fishermen to unload their catches because of its geographic location and today the fish can go straight to the factory a few hundred meters away to be processed. Founded in 2005 Lustra was established to recreate well-known products using traditional raw materials, recipes, and flavours that have been characteristic of the Croatian islands, thereby preserving and promoting some of the richness and diversity of the Croatian food culture.

Specialists in salted anchovies Today there are only two processing factories on Brac, Lustra in Milna and Sardina in Postira where canned sardines are produced. Before the last war there there were about ten factories on the islands, says Božena Vidovic the general manager of Lustra, but today only two are left. The local

Lustra is owned by Jeri Peša and Siniša Vrandecic.

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canning industry in particular has suffered; of the 15 to 16 canneries that dotted the Croatian coast from north to south very few survived the war, due to the pressure from the tourist industry, falling interest from markets, and growing competition from Asian producers. Lustra, however, specialises primarily in salted anchovies and products based on these, and relies on local supplies for most of its raw materials; fish, olives, spices, and wine. These raw materials are used to create the range of Lustra branded products that are sold primarily on the Croatian market through the big retail chains. Ms Vidovic hopes that by selling through the local Croatian branches of the international supermarkets she is also getting a foot in at the door to markets outside Croatia through the supermarkets. If the product does well here it may be that the supermarket will want to stock it in some of their branches in other countries which will be the first step in the creation of an internationally recognised brand, she says. Turning Lustra from one of several names unknown outside the domestic market into an acknowledged Croatian brand is one of her key objectives. And to achieve this she feels the Croatian state has to play a more proactive role. The government has to assist in setting up active producer organisations which will work to market and promote Croatian labels, she feels.

Contract manufacturers for Italian brand Now what is happening is that Croatian producers are contract manufacturing for Spanish and Italian companies, using native knowledge, skill, and expertise yet the outcome is a product with a Spanish or Italian label that is

Filleting the salted anchovies is done manually and is a laborious and time consuming process.

then exported all over the world. Until we can establish our own brands we are nothing more than contract manufacturers even though we too have a long history of fishing and making these salted products, says Ms Vidovic. Lustra too started of with a modest 40tonne production of its own items, but breaking into export markets is a prohibitively expensive and very difficult business and after three years the management accepted that it would have to take the contract manufacturing route. The company entered into a partnership with an Italian company that was selling salted anchvoy fillets to a Spanish customer and started with a plan for 500 tonnes of salted fish. The arrangement between the three partners was such that the Italians pay for the salted fish that comes to the factory to be processed, but all other

costs are taken over by Lustra, including staff costs, financing of the production, and any other raw materials. The Spanish as the final customer have their own quality expert on site monitoring the final product. The first year was not a success. Firstly, there was a shortage of fish, then the fish was too small as the Spanish customer would not accept fish smaller than 45 pieces per kilo and most of the fish was in the range 44 to 45 pieces per kilo. As a result instead of 500 tonnes Lustra only produced 300 tonnes, while all the other costs - of labour etc. stayed the same.

Twin lines of development The problem is that because of its long history in the fish industry the workers are all well quali-

Lustra Company Fact File Lustra d.o.o. HR 21405 Milna-Brac Croatia Tel.: +385 21636349 Fax: +385 21636 237 bozena.vidovic@st.t-com.hr www.lustra.hr

General Manager: Ms Božena Vidovic Products: Salted anchovies, sardines, octopus salad, tuna in oil Product form: Jars of 95 g, 180 g, 600 g, plastic tubs of 1,000 g Volumes: 40 tonnes Markets: Croatia

fied and cannot be employed on contracts that last for less than six months. This can be an advantage because it means they can train other workers with less experience. On the other hand if the fishing season turns out to be poor this can prove to be very expensive. For the time being however Božena Vidovic sees the company developing along two tracks – one for the contract manufacture of salted anchovy fillets under the Spanish or Italian brand name for those markets and the other is the production of traditional final products under the Lustra brand for the local market. The products are distributed throughout Croatia and there is an office in Zagreb, the capital city that supervises the market on the mainland and another in Split. All the guts and heads of the fish are discarded and given to a company that converts the waste into fishmeal. However because of the way the fish is processed the head and guts are actually salt free when they are given to the company while other processors have to pay to first have the salt removed from the waste before it can be made into meal.

New factory on the cards Over the next two years the owners of Lustra plan to build a new factory on a plot situated in the centre of the island which they own. The new factory will represent the latest in hyiene and sanitation standards and its location in the middle of the island will offer some logistical advantages as well. The factory will probably be built with an Italian partner who will provide some of the funding. Once the factory is build and goes on stream a wider range of products will be produced there than is the case currently.

Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

Netherlands Seafood consumption in the Netherlands increasing

Challenging times for Dutch marine fisheries

The production sector is made up of four main sectors in the Netherlands: marine fisheries, the mussel sector, aquaculture and inland fisheries.

arine fisheries are composed of two very different fleet segments. The first fleet, called high sea fisheries, mostly targets small pelagic fish all over the Atlantic (from Norway to West Africa) and is made up of a few (between 10 and 15) very large fishing units. Catches, as is often the case in the small pelagics industry, fluctuate steeply from year to year, and dominate the share of the total Dutch production in volume though not in value.

Marine fisheries under economic and environmental pressure The other main sector of marine fisheries consists of the “cutter” fleet. This segment is defined as the fleet targeting demersal fish that are marketed fresh. This fleet is very diverse in terms of size of fishing units (from 1 to 2,000 horsepower), use of fishing gear (beam trawl, twin rig, Danish seine, shrimps trawls,…) and spe-

50 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

cies targeted (cod, plaice, soles, shrimps, spiny lobster,…). This sector is experiencing a crisis due to a combination of economic and environmental factors. Landings have been gradually decreasing with catches of sole and plaice being hit the hardest. This fleet is also very sensitive to fuel prices which has led to very poor results due to the price hikes of the past few years. Beam trawls have also been subject to criticisms

The combination of fuel prices, environmental scrutiny and declining landings has resulted in a very difficult situation for the “cutter” segment of the Dutch fleet.

from the environmental sector due their impact on the sea floor. This combination of fuel prices, environmental scrutiny and declining landings has resulted in a very difficult situation for this segment of the Dutch fleet. Research is currently going on to reduce the dependency on fuel by trying other types of fishing techniques (fly shooting, Scottish and Danish purse seine, twin rigging..) that also have the advantage of being less prone to environmental criticisms. Another challenge this fleet will have to face in the next few years is certification to the MSC standard. Indeed the Dutch association for food retail (Centraal Bureau Lev-

netherlands

ensmiddelenhandel â&#x20AC;&#x201C; CBL) has declared that all fish products sourced by its members (which include all major Dutch retailers) will have to be MSC or GlobalGAP (aquaculture products) certified by 2011. The brown shrimp fishery and some pelagic fisheries are already in the assessment phase and should not have too many difficulties in reaching certification, while the situation is much more unclear for the segment of the fleet using beamtrawls.

Mussel sector mulls its future The Dutch mussel sector produced 30,000 tonnes in 2007 what represents a clear drop from previous years when production levels would normally range between 40,000 and 70,000 tonnes. Turnover in the sector was also down as the average price rise was not sufficient to compensate for the declining volumes. The turnover of the mussel industry has been declining for the past five years due to a combination of declining volumes and average prices .

Fish products sourced by all the major Dutch retailers will have to Marine Stewardship Council or GlobalGAP (for aquaculture) certified by 2011, putting further pressure on the cutter fleet.

Production in the Dutch mussel sector is characterised by two main activities : - Seed collection - Ongrowing As opposed to most French and Spanish mussel production, mussel seed used by the Dutch industry is collected actively. The juvenile mussels are harvested with dredgers on coastal sandbanks. Ninetyfive percent of the seed originates from the Sea of Wadden (north western Netherlands) and the harvesting season is concentrated between the months October and December.

Research is ongoing with the objective of getting boats to switch to more fuel-efficient ways of fishing such as fly shooting, twin rigging, and Scottish and Danish purse seining

The seed are then relaid or â&#x20AC;&#x153;sownâ&#x20AC;? on ongrowing beds, which are located in areas sheltered from storms and drifts. The total production cycle of a mussel range between 2 to 3 years depending on the size of the harvested seed and the abundance of nutrients in the ongrowing zones. Most of the companies involved in seed collection or ongrowing activities do not take part in the marketing of their product. Their production is sold via direct contracts with processors or via the auction in Yerseke to the highest bidder, but in both cases mussels still have to

transit by the auction in order to register the sale. Ninety percent of the sales take place between the months July and August. The Dutch processing market is dominated by seven major companies, commonly named the â&#x20AC;&#x153;big sevenâ&#x20AC;?. These buyers take care of the processing (cleaning or cooking even if most of the Dutch production is sold fresh), packaging, marketing and distribution of mussels. Some of them have built very strong brands, which is quite rare in the fresh seafood sector where most products are usually sold unbranded. Processors have

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netherlands

also been very dynamic in developing new packaging (vacuum packed among others) that have helped remove some of the inconvenience of buying fresh mussels in dripping plastic bags! The Dutch mussel sector is today confronted with a possible ban on wild seed collection due to the potential impact of active seed harvesting on sea floors. The mussel fishing community still points to the absence of proof concerning the real impact of these activities on the marine environment. The sector even believes these activities enhance natural productivity by relaying the seeds in sheltered areas where ongrowing is optimum as most seeds would otherwise be washed away from the exposed sandbanks of the Wadden Sea. The debate on this issue is very heated in the Netherlands as the ban on active seed collection would threaten the survival of the industry and could lead to the collapse of the entire mussel chain. Alternative solutions to the wild seed collection are currently being researched and some encouraging progress has been made using advanced rope

Dutch eel production now accounts for around 4500 t. The sector is very fragmented with more than 50 companies involved. This equals to average production levels of less than 100t per company which is considered small by EU standards. Only one farmer has a production level higher than 300 t.

The high seas fisheries fleet targets small pelagics all over the Atlantic from Norway to West Africa and comprises a few, very big, vessels.

culture systems. But opinions diverge on the real potential of these techniques in Dutch waters and most operators agree that the sector would still require some amount of active seed collection in order to remain economically viable.

Aquaculture dominated by tilapia, catfish, eel Fish farming in the Netherland is entirely based on recirculation systems. The level of expertise and know how gained since the start of this technologies at the beginning of the nineties is impressive. Dutch fish production remains

relatively small on a EU scale with production levels at around 10 000 t but the sector has experienced a steady growth over the past 10 years. Three species dominate the fish production landscape in the Netherlands: tilapia, catfish and eel. Eel is a very traditional and popular species in the Netherlands. Eel fishing has been practiced for centuries in the country and eel farming originated at the end of the 1970’s. Eel farming is considered the start of commercial fish farming in the Netherlands and

Evolution of landings, turnover and average prices of Dutch mussel production

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 2000/2001 2001/2002 2002/2003 2003/2004 2004/2005 2005/2006 2006/2007 2007/2008

Landings (000 t)

Turnover (mln EUR)

Source : LEI/Productschap Vis

52 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

Average price (EUR/kg)

The catfish farmed in the Netherlands is the African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) which has been produced since the 1980’s. This catfish is a relatively easy

Share of the different products on the Dutch household market 1,80 1,62 1,44 1,26 1,08 0,90 0,72 0,54 0,36 0,18 0,00

Market share (colume product weight)

This sector is therefore very likely to undergo a process of restructuring in the years ahead due to changes in the production environment. Fish meal and oil prices will impact the cost of fish feed further, and restrictions on trade of eels (that has recently been put on annex II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)) will mean supply of glass eel will become increasingly problematic. These two developments will mean that small farmers will not be able to offset increases in input prices by economies of scale and will have to seek partnerships in order to survive.

100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0%

1995

Canned

2004

2005

Frozen

Source: GfK pannel/Productschap vis

2006

Fresh

2007

2008

netherlands

species to farm, as it can support high stocking densities and presents low oxygen demands. Thanks to the availability of covered space and waste disposal pits numerous pig farmers decided to join the adventure during the 1980’s. This resulted in overproduction and the market crashed in 1985. The number of companies involved in production went down from 60 in 1985 to 30 in 1987 according to the Institute for Agriculture Economics (Landbouw Ekonomische Instituut (LEI)). Integration has been continuous since that time and there were around 35 companies involved in catfish farming in 2005, for a total production of around 4000t. Average farm size is thus somewhat higher than for eel farming as it is just above 100 t per farm but is still low compared to EU standards. As in eel farming, only a few producers (4) have production levels above 300 t. Tilapia is the third important species in terms of volume farmed in the Netherlands with production levels at around 600 t in 2006. Production levels may have been much higher in 2007 and 2008, but no data is available to confirm this development. Alongside these species that present commercially viable volumes, there are numerous developments happening in the Netherlands regarding new species. Trials are currently underway for pike perch, catfish hybrid species, tropical shrimp, sole, sea bass, barramundi to only cite a few. So even if Dutch aquaculture remains low in terms of volume, it makes it up by its dynamism and can today be considered to be at the forefront of the development of recirculation technologies in the EU.

stocks) and regulatory constraints (quotas, fleet reduction and fishing bans) has gradually led to a reduction of supply from domestic production.

Distribution of Dutch exports by countries of destination (value)

The processing sector thus had to find alternative supply source, first European then worldwide to keep its level of activity. Domestic supply continues to form a major part of the processing supply, but its share has been steadily declining over the past few years.

Belgium 13% France 13% Others

China 3%

Germany 13%

United Kingdom 4% Switzerland 4% Portugal 4%

Italy 13%

Nigeria 4% Spain 11% Source: COMEX

The flat fish processing industry reinvents itself The processing and wholesale sector is a very varied and dynamic sector in the Netherlands. According to a study for the Dutch Institute of Agriculture economy (LEI 2006), this sector was made up of around 300 companies for a total turnover of around EUR2.7 billion a 13% increase since the year 2000. Sixty percent of this activity was generated by SME’s with a turnover of between EUR 5 and

540 million.The degree of concentration of the sector is quite limited with the four main companies representing around 20% of the total turnover. The processing sector in the Netherlands used to be traditionally focused on the main species landed on its shores. Herring, flat fish species (sole, plaice) and shrimps have for a long time formed the basis of the Dutch processing industry. But the influence of the environmental (relocation or diminution of fish

The flat fish processing remains the primary segment of the industry with around 25% of the total turnover of the sector, but results have been stagnating over the past few years. This is mostly linked to the efforts this sector had to dedicate to finding new supply sources and developing their product range in order to compensate for the diminishing domestic supply. The main species used by this segment are traditionally sole and plaice, mostly processed to filets, breaded or frozen products. In order to compensate for the decline in domestic production of these species, new species have been introduced in the product range, namely Alaska plaice (Pleuronectes quadrituberculatus), yellowfin sole (Limanda aspera) or rock sole (Lepidopsetta bilineata) to mention a few. New products such as ready to eat meals, breaded or surimi products are also being added to the product range in order to diversify the activities and reduce the dependency on flat fish species which has proved to be a significant weakness for this segment.

The processing sector has a lot of depth with about 300 companies and a turnover of about EUR2.7bn a 13% increase since 2000.

The share of flat fish species still remains dominant in this sub sector but growth segments are nowadays to be found in the new product range. Some companies even Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

netherlands

Eel, catfish and tilapia dominate farmed fish production, but trial on a number of other species including pike perch, sole and barramundi are also being carried out.

Consumption of seafood by Dutch households has increased consistently since 2003 to reach 56,000 tonnes in 2008

report these new products now currently account for 25% of their turnover from zero five years ago.

focuses on mussels, shrimps and fillets of firewater fish (Nile perch and pangasius mostly). Nigeria and China are the main destination of Dutch exports in terms of volume due to the large quantities of small pelagic species supplied to these markets. But the low unit price of these species explain the much lower importance of these markets in terms of value.

Companies operating in this sector are fully focused on the European market with a preference for southern countries such as Italy and Spain. In 2005, around 85% of the turnover of the sector was drawn from export activities. Major European markets (Germany, France, Spain and Italy) are the main recipients of Dutch exports. Belgium, not a particularly large market nor one very focused on seafood also accounts for an im-

portant share of Dutch trade. This can be explained by the geographic proximity of both countries but also because Belgians are particularly fond of some Dutch products such as fresh mussels (which account for around 30% of value of Dutch exports towards Belgium), brown shrimp or “maatjes”. Italy is a major market for flat fishes and freshwater fish filets (mostly pangasius and Nile perch) as well as tropical shrimps. Exports to Germany are mostly composed of shrimps and fish fillets (both freshwater and marine) while the French demand for Dutch product

The Dutch household market absorbed around 56 000 tonnes

14,00

12,25

10,50

8,75

7,00 5,25

3,50

2 0

Market share of canned products has declined constantly on the Dutch market for the past 10 years.

Evolution of pangasius market share on the fresh and frozen market for household consumption

Production volumes per species in the Netherlands

´000 t

Dutch market, household consumption on the rise

(product weight) of products from fisheries and aquaculture. According to the GfK panel carried out every year in the Netherlands, consumption has been increasing constantly since 2003. The total increase in volume over the period amounts to around 20% representing an annual average growth of close to 4%. Growth in consumption has however slowed down over the past two years to 2% and 1% in 2007 and 2008 respectively.

1,75 1998

1999

Catfish Total

2000

2001

2002

Eels Total

Source: FEAP, Productschap vis and LEI

54 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

2003

2004

Tilapias Total

2005

2006

0,00

2005

2006

Pangasius (fresh) Source : Productschap vis:panel Gfk

2007

Pangasius (forzen)

2008

Evolution of household consumption of fisheries and aquaculture products on the Dutch market (tonnes product weight)

250 perfect slices

60000

tonns product weight

50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0 2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

SourceÂ : pannel GfK/Productschap vis, year 2008 based on projections from figures for 1st half of the year.

The frozen segment that had been constantly growing over the past 4 years showed a slight decline in 2008. This decline would have been even steeper were it not for the dynamism of pangasius sales. The fresh market is growing slowly in line with the developments of the past few years. In the general value-ranking of all species and products â&#x20AC;&#x153;maatjesâ&#x20AC;? (lightly salted raw herring) remains the first product in value on the Dutch market this thanks to the developments in terms of packaging that have enabled an increase in the shelf life of these delicate products while ensuring broader market penetration. Salmon occupies the next places on the list with all its different product forms. As mentioned above the progression of pangasius on the Dutch market, in line with consumption patterns in most European markets, has been impressive. In the course of five years this species has gained a 13% market share of the frozen segment in a period of overall stagnation of this segment on the Dutch market. In the fresh segment where pangasius is sold thawed its market share has climbed to close to 6 %.

The fisheries side of the Dutch seafood sector is currently experiencing a deep economic and environmental crisis that will lead to profound changes in the Dutch production landscape. The aquaculture sector has to confirm its potential and especially show it can reach commercially viable productions in terms of new species. The processing industry will continue to dominate the Dutch seafood sector by the level of activity it represents and will remain a major supplier of the EU seafood markets, continuously finding new source of supply and activities in order to compensate for the decline of domestic production. Dutch household consumption is increasing boosted among others by the development of new packaging technologies that have enabled the revival of traditional products such as â&#x20AC;&#x153;maatjesâ&#x20AC;? and by the fact that Dutch consumers seem to be welcoming new species on their markets, with pangasius leading the bandwagon. Gilles van de Walle, Eurofish

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Anova Food launches a new farmed fish called claresse

Range of sustainable products

Hendrik Colpaert, Heiner Geurden, Willem Huisman: “During the last few years we reworked our complete product range with regard to sustainability because demand for such products is getting higher and higher particularly among food retailers.”

Anova Food from ‘s-Hertogenbosch developed as an importer of Lake Victoria perch but is in the meantime also one of the leading trading companies for pangasius, tilapia, and tuna. They have now entered the aquaculture sector with the new farmed fish ‘claresse’ which is expected to be available on the German market as from autumn.

e want to make the market for every kind of fish that is of significance to Anova. We want to be the company that invests most in sustainability to ensure continuous, long-term business.” That is how manager Willem Huisman describes Anova Food’s philosophy. With sales of about 200 million euros the import and wholesale company from ‘s-Hertogenbosch is in the mean-

time one of the biggest fish companies in The Netherlands. The import of about 50,000 tonnes of fish products every year from countries outside Europe and the organisation of the necessary sales logistics constitute the company’s strengths. Anova Food was one of the first companies to supply fresh and frozen Lake Victoria perch to the European market (as from 1994) and they are today among the

56 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

leading companies in this segment. In Germany, they see themselves as the undisputed market leader. The company claims that nearly half of the Lake Victoria perch traded in Europe passes fresh or frozen through their hands. That is about 250 to 300 tonnes per week. Cargo planes land the fresh fish daily in Holland, Belgium, France and Germany. Anova is one of the few companies that has its own of-

fice and its own staff in Africa and this has paid off in times of crisis, such as in the recent past in Kenya. Despite the political unrest it was still possible to maintain market supplies.

Certificate for Lake Victoria perch “During the last few years we reworked our whole product

netherlands

range with regard to sustainability because demand for such products is getting higher and higher particularly among food retailers”, explains Hendrick Colpaert. Their latest project is a co-operation with a fishermen’s organisation in Bukoba (Tanzania) whose products are to be certified by ‘Naturland’. “Not only ecological aspects, but also socio-economic issues are important. Education and health care of the fishermen’s organisation are taken into account just as much as sustainable handling of the resource”, emphasizes Colpaert who is responsible for marketing and retail business at Anova. The company is currently involved in a pilot phase and hopes to launch the first certified Lake Victoria perch onto the market in autumn.

New farmed fish claresse Anova has further plans for autumn: the introduction of a new farmed fish that bears the name ‘claresse’. This freshwater fish (Heteroclarias spp) is a natural cross-breed of two fishes from the catfish family and it is farmed in Holland. “We have complete control and traceability with regard to feed, farming conditions and processing”, says Heiner Geurden, the Anova sales manager for German-speaking countries. Farming is carried out in two locations in enclosed recirculation systems and plans already exist for three further potential farms which can be realised if market success necessitates. “We need eight months from the egg to the slaughtering stage. The FCR is less than 1” ex-

Anova supports the traditional artisanal fishery for yellowfin and albacore in Indonesia.

plained manager Huisman. The feed conversion rate is stated in relation to the live weight of the fish. A value of less than 1 thus means that less than one kilogram of feed is required to produce one kilogram of live fish weight. The first

Looking for

fishes should be ready for harvesting in autumn. The company plans to increase production to 10,000 tonnes within three years. The research and selection process took four years to obtain a fish

Visit the European Seafood Exposition and get your free copy of the Dutch Import-

seafood

Export Directory 2009/2010 at the stand of the Dutch Fish Marketing Board, Hall 6 stand 1001/1015/1101. This unique direc-

from Holland?

tory consists of a comprehensive survey of the major importers and exporters and gives a clear index of species of fish supplied in six languages.

Meet Dutch importers and exporters at the Holland Pavilion: Participant

Stand location

Koninklijke Prins & Dingemanse

1101-3

A.C.V. B.V

1001-3

Neptunus B.V.

1001-5

Bertus-Dekker Seafood B.V.

1015-2

Noordzee International B.V.

1101-2

Dayseaday Fresh – Dayseaday Frozen

1101-1

Northseafood Holland B.V.

1015-1

Platvis Holland B.V.

1101-4

Visscher Seafood B.V.

1001-2

Dutch Fish Marketing Board

1001/1015/1101

Isolafish B.V.

1001-1

Surf to www.dutchfish.nl for more information on the Dutch participants at the ESE. Dutch Fish Marketing Board P.O. Box 72, 2280 AB Rijswijk, The Netherlands Tel. +31 70 336 96 55, Fax +31 70 395 29 50 e-mail: info@dutchfish.nl www.dutchfish.nl

netherlands

Under the umbrella brand Anova Gourmet the importer has developed a frozen range that is sold via the grocery sector.

that appeals to a broad public. The result is fish meat of a firm consistency and mild flavour without tasting too much of fish. In raw condition the meat has a fine structure and a pink-white colour. It has a clear V-cut that arises when the bones are removed. The fish fillet is available in 100-200 g and 200-400 portions and can be fried, braised or cooked in the oven or grill. Small-scale sales to hotels, restaurants and the retail trade are already underway in Belgium and Holland to test consumer reactions.

Own standards for pangasius and tilapia In order to gain control of the whole production chain from reproduction to the fillet (as is the case for production of claresse) Anova developed two companyowned production standards for pangasius and tilapia: “Trace Panga” and “Trace Tilapia”. These standards stipulate feed composition, pond conditions, stock density, medication, and numerous other parameters. Apart from that, whenever fish-

Anova Company Fact File Anova Food BV Hambakenwetering 15 5231 DD `s-Hertogenbosch Tel.: +31 73 75 02 000 Fax: +31 73 75 02 001 www.anovafood.com Company locations and offices: Vietnam, Indonesia, USA, Kenya, France Business: Import/ export, wholesale Owners/ managers: Constant Mulder, Willem Huisman

Sales territory: Europe Main fish species: Lake Victoria perch, tilapia, pangasius, wild salmon, catfish, claresse, tuna Brands: Anova Customers: Grocery, industry, wholesalers, C&C markets, bulk users Sales: 200 m EUR Export share: 80 % Main export countries: Germany, France, Spain, Italy Trade volume: 50,000 t per year No. employees: 100

58 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

Anova plans to introduce a new farmed fish called ‘claresse’ in autumn. This freshwater fish (Heteroclarias spp) is a natural crossbreed of two fishes from the catfish family and it is farmed in Holland.

es from these programmes are processed, Anova staff members are present in the factories to monitor production. “Our Trace Panga standards are such that our programme is used as a basis for the development of the global GAP standards for the production of pangasius”, we were told – not without some pride. The farmed fish from Vietnam is so important to Anova today that they now run their own office in Ho Chi Minh City. Apart from that, they also have a plant in Holland in which up to 800 tonnes of frozen products are professionally defrosted per month whereby the products are microbiologically controlled and their shelf-life extended.

Support of sustainable tuna fishery Anova has also given thought to the topic of sustainability in the tuna segment. They support the traditional artisanal fishery for yellowfin and albacore in Indonesia. “That means we have succeeded in combining optimal quality with control of sustainability”, explained Hendrick Colpaert. As in other projects the

company had gladly co-operated with NGOs and in this case had together with the WWF developed a new hook that greatly reduced by-catches of turtles. According to Colpaert the fishery is now at the stage of MSC certification and the company expects to be able to offer MSC tuna in just a few months’ time.

New frozen range for the grocery sector Under the umbrella brand Anova Gourmet the importer has developed a frozen food range that is sold via the grocery sector. The products include fillets of tilapia, Lake Victoria perch, tuna, wild salmon, yellowfin sole and pangasius (kebabs, too) in 600-g bags. “Germany is an important market for Anova and accounts for 25% of total sales”, said Heiner Geurden. Anova is expecting demand for the new bag range to be good “because the big chains are today looking for suppliers that can offer socially and environmentally correct products“, says Manager Willem Huisman. “Our sustainable product range meets this nik need.”

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ESE Brussels

2009 28. - 30. April 149 4 h Hall 9 路 Boot

W. van der Zwan & Zn. B.V. Tel. :

+31 (0)70 354 5466

E-mail :

Fax :

+31 (0)70 350 6069

www.wvanderzwan.nl

info@wvanderzwan.nl

Lub Romkes and Jacob van Veen: ”In the European fish trade everyone does everything. We therefore specialise in additional fields – air freight, new customers in Eastern Europe, or a broad range of oysters.“

Dayseaday opts for air transport and frozen fish

Day-fresh from the auction–non-drip onto the plane Dayseaday, a wholesale company for fresh and frozen seafood, is a specialist for air transport of fresh fish – whether to Eastern Europe, Israel, Greece or North America. The frozen segment in particular is enjoying increasing sales volume: following the construction of a new cold storage depot there is now room for 2,000 pallets of products. The company holds MSC certification for both segments.

considerable ensemble of coldstores, production and administration buildings was erected in Schulpengat 9 in Urk over the past years. “Since we extended our cold storage depot by 1,700 square metres in 2006 we have been able to store a total of 2,000 pallets – that is more than one million kilograms of fish” says Lub Romkes, the sales manager for frozen products at Dayseaday. The company trades both fresh and frozen products but the share of frozen products is growing above average. “Three years ago

we were receiving one container per week but in the meantime we get four 40 foot containers with about 80 tonnes every week – over all the different species.” North Sea fish is important for the company, too. This comes from different auctions – including the local auction in Urk which is less than 400 metres away.

Top quality under the brand ’Seataste’ Part of Dayseaday’s growth comes from the business seg-

60 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

ments for those species that are particularly popular: pangasius in different colours, glazings and packagings, tilapia, yellowfin sole and rock sole, shark, tuna and swordfish, surimi sticks and squid tubes. Niche products also play a role. The company has just sold ten tonnes of milkfish (Chanos chanos) from Indonesia. This product is in demand in Indonesian supermarkets in The Netherlands and on ships that call at the port of Rotterdam. Keta salmon (chum) from the Sea of Okhotsk, which was for

a long time only demanded on account of its caviar and mainly canned, is in the meantime of higher commercial significance and so is now in demand as a frozen product, too, and even used for sushi. In order to maintain a strong presence on the important sourcing market Asia, Dayseaday has its own office in China. Exotic species are purchased from the Dalian office where the freight and export documents are also prepared. A further office is now to be opened in Vietnam. Dayseaday established its own brand “Seataste” for top qualities in 2005. “Seataste guarantees that you get la crème de la crème!” is the wholesaler’s advertising slogan. The rest of the product range fulfils high quality standards, too, however. Jacob van Veen: “We only trade one hundred per cent natural products without any additives.”

Air export of fish to Eastern Europe, Israel and USA Dayseaday is specialising increasingly in the fresh fish segment. “All the fish traders here in Europe do the same thing”, says Jacob van Veen, the sales manager for fresh fish, pinpointing the situation. Dayseaday therefore focuses on air exports, especially to Eastern Europe: “There is almost more money in the capitals of Eastern European countries than there is here; numerous millionaires – and they want to eat sole, tuna and oysters.”

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Dayseaday established the brand “Seataste“ for top qualities in 2005. “Seataste guarantees that you get la crème de la crème!” The rest of the product range fulfils high quality standards, too, however.

There are regular flights to the airports in Moscow, Kiev, St. Petersburg, Almaty in Kazakhstan and Bucharest, but also to Tel Aviv, the second largest city in Israel, and to Boston and New York in the USA. During the summer Dayseaday flies goatfishes (barbet rouge) three times a week to the Greek towns of Thessaloniki and Athens. “The local fishermen cannot supply

Dayseaday fillets fresh fish for the whole of Europe: Muscovites want fresh sole, too, and goatfishes are flown to Thessaloniki or Athens in Greece during the summer months for tourists.

the amount of fish demanded by the numerous tourists during these months”, explains Jacob van Veen. The goatfishes are purchased at the Urk auction just 400 metres from the company in the morning and just one hour later they are already at the Amsterdam airport Schiphol. Dayseaday in the meantime dispatches eight to ten tonnes of fresh fish per week as air freight.

New designed or cpl ren/ rebuilt filleting machines for very small fish (25-50 fpk) with cap up to 250 fpm. For sardines; anchovy; anchoveta; horse mackerel; red mullet; Kisu fish sprats and similar very small fish. One year guarantee on all our machines New: SEAC FPM-300 Designation: Rebuilt: ARENCO SFD-300 XS We are specialists in ARENCO and VMK machines Slånbärsvägen 4 SE-386 90 Öland Sweden Phone + 4648535200

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Best smoking chambers for hot and cold smoking

Dayseaday Company Fact File Dayseaday B.V. Schulpengat 9 NL-8321 WC Urk P.O. Box 154 NL-8320 AD Urk Netherlands Tel.: +31 527 – 68 46 84 Fax: +31 527 – 68 59 53 E-mail: info@dayseaday.nl www.dayseaday.nl Business: Wholesaler for fresh and frozen fish Directors: Jelle and Henk van Veen Fresh fish sales: Jacob van

Veen, Henk van Veen, Marnix Westerink, Jonathan Kramer Frozen fish sales: Lub Romkes, K. W. Koffeman, Hendrik van Veen, Jelle van Veen Product range: Over 100 kinds of fish, shellfish, crustaceans and molluscs (fresh and frozen) Customers: C&C markets, wholesalers, restaurants Export: Worldwide No. employees: 40 Founded: 1987 Certificates: HACCP, BRC-B, IFS, USA-FDA-recognition, MSC

Best quality, less costs In addition our offer includes: design of food industry machines, defrosting chambers, processing lines, cutters for fish Contact us for further details. Pruszcz Gdański, ul. Gdyńska 5, Poland Tel./Fax +48 58 682 15 75, Tel. +48 58 682 17 30

www.stawiany.pl

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price of 2.50 €, the ten kilogram pack costs about twice as much as a conventional transport box would. Because the Eastern European customers want to buy all their products from one source – be it sole, mussels, tuna or mahi mahi – Dayseaday puts together fish from Norway, Scotland, France, Indonesia and India in the air freight department.

MSC fish and plaice without using beam trawls

Dayseaday also offers fish from sustainable fisheries: plaice from Urk fishermen who do not use the disputed beam trawls, or fish from MSC certified fisheries. The company has been certified since spring 2008.

Dayseaday’s sales volume is rising particularly in the frozen fish segment. In the meantime four 40 foot containers arrive at the company every week. Since the completion of a new coldstore in 2006 there has been room for 2,000 pallets.

Airfreight packaging made of cardboard, polystyrene and plastic Last year Dayseaday set up its own packing hall for the com-

pany’s airfreight. Because the fish is usually transported as additional freight on passenger flights, non-drip and odourfree packaging is an absolute must. “We use the packaging of

62 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

an English producer. It consists of an outer carton and an inner plastic and polystyrene packaging, and it is cooled using pads”, says Henk van Veen to describe the BEPX airfreight fishbox. At a

Dayseaday will soon be ready to supply fish from sustainable fisheries, too. In spring 2008 both the fresh fish and the frozen department were awarded a Chain of Custody Certificate by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). “The first container with MSC products is already on its way from China and we expect to be able to begin trading some fresh MSC products very soon”, said Jacob van Veen. Plaice from local fishermen who do not use the disputed beam trawls is also on the Dayseaday product list. Although the MSC products are 10 to 15 per cent more expensive than conventional fish, customers seem willing to pay the difference. In the face of limited availability of products from certified fisheries, Van Veen is still rather sceptical, however, about the extent to which it will be possible to satisfy demand. Traditional markets continue to be important to Dayseaday, too, among them Germany and France, and in Scandinavia Denmark, Sweden and Finland. The company also exports to England and Ireland, Italy and Spain, Austria and Switzerland. The subsidiary Veba-Transport takes care of deliveries to large bm areas of Europe.

Please visit us: ESE Brussels 28 - 30 April 2009 Hall 5 路 Booth 624

netherlands

EcoFutura grows tomatoes with tilapia

Horticulture linked with aquaculture

Apart from recycling the water the EcoFutura project also used the carbon dioxide produced by the fish to grow the plants. Usually the carbon dioxide produced by fish is released in to the atmosphere, but here it is captured and used by the plants conferring a double benefit. By using the carbon dioxide to grow the plants the tomato crop benefits and because all the carbon dioxide generated by the fish is used up in this way the entire project is carbon neutral. The temperature in a greenhouse is also good for growing tropical fish, but new greenhouse designs create a heat surplus that can be used to warm the water for the fish, thus saving on energy. The project also showed that even space can be recycled. Space is at a premium in a greenhouse, where productivity is measured in value per square meter. In the EcoFutura project the tilapia were grown under the tomatoes thereby increasing the efficiency of the space used.

The researchers learnt that the main benefit accrued to the fish production which worked out some 10% cheaper than a fish production facility not linked to a greenhouse. However, farming fish in recirculation systems in Europe is a highly competitive business and this was also what the project experienced. However the results were positive enough to attract to the concept another two ideas are currently being discussed; one that combines aquaculture with the growth of roses, and another that links fish growing again with tomatoes. In addition another project on a smaller scale is being implemented at the agricultural college in Zwolle which will be based on tilapia and daisys, an ornamental plant. For Priva, one of the partners in the consortium, the advantage of particpating in the EcoFutura project was to establish whether it was at all feasible to combine fish farming and horticulture. The lessons that have been learned will enable the company to develop expertise in the aquacuture sector which is a relatively new field of business. Priva is primarily a developer of automated climate and process control systems for the horticulture industry as well as for buildings and much experience in water treatment, an area that is of great significance to the recirculated aquaculture industry.

The EcoFutura project was a demonstration project to test new ideas and concepts. It had a two year life cycle and was limited to 600 square meters of space in total. In December 2008 the project

For more information contact: Willem Kemmers Priva, Zijlweg 3 2678 LC De Lier, NL willem.kemmers@priva.nl T +31 174 533 509

With its high population density (484 inhabitants per square km), the Netherlands is one of the world’s most efficient growers of fruits and vegetables. Dutch exports of fruit and vegetables amounted to EUR8.2bn in 2005, and if all agricultural products are considered the Netherlands is the worlds second largest exporter after the US.

ot only in terms of space, but also with regard to other inputs such as water and energy. For years the Dutch have been developing and refining production techniques that have made their greenhouses highly technical installations where every parameter – water, temperature, light, humidity, carbon dioxide, nutrients – is carefully calibrated and controlled by specially designed computers and software. Seeking new ways of improving efficiency, a consortium of Dutch companies, Priva, Groen Agro Control, GreenQ and Aqua-Terra Nova, set up the EcoFutura project in January 2007 to explore the possibility of linking the cultivation of tomatoes with the growing of fish, specifically, Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). This is a warm water species, a native of Africa and widely cultivated in other parts of the world. By linking the cultivation of fish to that of plants and by recycling water, heat, and space the project aimed to ascertain whether fish cultivation could be made more sustainable than it would be as an isolated activity. Growing fish and plants together is a field known as aquaponics. The word is a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics, the soil-less culture of plants. In hydroponic systems a single water system connects the fish and plants so that

By detaching the systems in such cases the drugs or other product will be confined to the crop for which it was intended and will not have any impact on the other.

The EcoFutura project conclusively proved the technical feasibility of growing tomatoes together with tilapia. The fish production worked out to about 10% cheaper than in a standalone setup.

nutrients from the growth of the fish, which would be toxic for the fish if allowed to accumulate are used as fertiliser for the plants. The water, now stripped of its mineral content, is reintroduced to the fish. The EcoFutura system, however, differs from typical aquaponic systems in that the water system that is used for the fish can be disconnected from the vegetables. The quality of vegetables grown in greenhouses is very high and in the EcoFutura project the aim was to produce vegetables without compromising on the quality at all. It was therefore necessary to be able to separate the two types of cultivation from each other in case of situations that demanded the use of medicines or other products in either the fish or the tomatoes.

64 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

was closed down after confirming that the concept was technically feasible. EcoFutura’s economic viability will only be confirmed after the project is scaled up to a commercial level, but the indications are encouraging.

Under the umbrella of the Dutch Kennemervis Group three previously independent companies have merged to form the new company FishPartners which also serves the German market.

Three companies merge to create FishPartners

Kennemervis Group changes its structure Three Dutch fish companies – Gravis, Muys and Eldoro – have combined their individual strengths under the corporate umbrella “FishPartners”. Up to the end of 2008 the three firms had operated as independent units within the Kennemervis Group which comprises ten firms in six European countries.

ogether the three fish companies operate five plants in The Netherlands: in Spakenburg (2 plants), Urk, Klazienaveen and Enschede. Now they are pooling their resources to bring together expertise and production know-how in segments like buying and selling, logistics and product development. The aim of this co-operation is to be able to react more substantially than before to the fast changing requirements of the market.

Peter Frans Koelewijn, the manager of FishPartners. They were not only aiming at a partnership with the sister companies within the Kennemervis Group, however, but also at partnership with suppliers and customers. “In a world in which not only the complete traceability of a product is vital but where aspects like health and convenience are becoming increasingly important, co-operation within the chain is a prerequisite for success.

“For us, future orientation means co-operating more closely and where possible searching for ways to offer our customers a better product and optimal service.“ This understanding of partnership is also expressed in our name”, says

This pooling of resources will not lead to changes in the three named locations: the aim is to ensure the continuity of specific product and market know-how and to maintain the professional competence of local staff.

66 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

With this approach FishPartners hopes to extend its customer base and deepen business relationships through new products and co-operation options.

Brief description of the companies concerned: Gravis (Spakenburg) is active in international buying, selling and processing of many different kinds of fresh and frozen fish. In the sales sector the company mainly sells to mobile traders and wholesalers, as well as to fishmongers and the processing industry. Gravis also plays a major role in the matje herring market thanks to its connections with the sister company Werner Larsson in Denmark. An important element of

the company is the ultra-modern smokehouse in Urk which is fitted with state-of-the-art equipment. Muys (Spakenburg) is a relatively small but specialised supplier that mainly serves the retail trade. In addition to its function as a supplier of a wide variety of fish, Muys also has a plant in Klazienaveen which produces high-quality, hand-trimmed matje herring. Eldoro (Enschede) has been active for many years on the German market with a range of fish products that is particularly adapted to the expectations and taste of German consumers. The company has also made itself a name as a supplier of high-quality specially marinated products.

Turbot is one of the three most traded fish species. The company mainly sells fresh products, and frozen products are the exception.

Sea fish wholesaler Karel Hoeve celebrates silver jubilee

Fresh fish from all over the world

January marked 25 years of business for the sea fish wholesaler Karel Hoeve from Ijmuiden in Holland. Founded as an import company it is today also an exporter with buyers in the German market, too. The business is expanding and over the past few years Hoeve regularly registered double-digit percentage increases in sales.

he list of supply countries is long. Karel Hoeve imports fish and all kinds of seafood specialities from nearly 20 countries. The company chooses fresh products where possible and only accepts frozen fish if it is hardly available otherwise on the world market. The deliveries arrive in Ijmuiden on the west

coast of Holland by road or air (via Schiphol, Frankfurt and Liège). After control, filleting and order picking they are immediately dispatched to the customer. Salmon, saithe and turbot are the three top products in the range. Other important products are swordfish, tuna and fresh scallops. Chinese mitten crab is in the meantime

68 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

a speciality that has recently become more and more prolific in the Ijsselmeer.

Germany the main export country In Holland, which accounts for about 50% of total sales (2007: 34 m EUR) , Hoeve mainly sells to

Willem Hoeve: ”We offer our complete product range in Germany, too.“

Cash&Carry markets, wholesalers and suppliers to hotels and restaurants. “We offer our complete range in Germany, too”, says Willem Hoeve, who manages the company in its second generation. Sales to Germany, the most important export country, account for 15 to 20 per cent of total business. Spain, Italy and France

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are also important for the export business. Fransis Asselman and Dirk Grunstra are responsible for sales to the German market. Deliveries are mainly made to wholesalers close to the border in the conurbations of the Ruhr region which is about 400 km from Ijmuiden and receives deliveries from Ijmuiden up to four times per week. Karel Hoeve has their own fleet of trucks for these deliveries but uses external carriers for supplies to the south of Germany (three times a week) due to the longer distance. The minimum order level is 250 kg. “We are not the cheapest supplier but we don’t compromise on quality”, is how Hoeve describes the wholesaler’s philosophy. “Only the best is good enough” is also written on the packing crates. Products that do not come up to this requirement do not even start their journey to the customer. And this attitude has proved its worth. According to the owner, during the past few years the company grew at an average rate of between 15 and 17% per year and in the meantime employs 35 people. Hoeve sees the high product turnover – despite the broad spectrum and depth of the range – as an outstanding feanik ture of his company.

The deliveries arrive in Ijmuiden by road. After control, filleting and order picking they are immediately dispatched to the customer.

Karel Hoeve Company Fact File Karel Hoeve Ijmuiden BV Halkade 16 1976 DC Ijmuiden Tel.: +31 255 54 60 60 Fax: +31 255 51 32 60 www.karalhoeve.nl E-mail: info@karelhoeve.nl Business: Import/ export, wholesale Owner/ manager: Willem Hoeve Sales territory: Holland, Germany, Spain, Italy, France

Fransis Asselman (l.) and Dirk Grunstra are responsible for sales to the German market.

Product range: Fresh fish, crustaceans, shellfish, molluscs, marinades, smoked fish Customers: C&C markets, wholesalers, suppliers to hotels and restaurants No. customers: 250-300 Sales: 34 m EUR Export share: 50% Main export countries: Germany, Spain, Italy Founded: 1983 No. employees: 35

Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

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Rodé Vis starts work in new smokehouse

Salmon specialist increases product and packaging variety Rodé has reacted to the increasing concentration and rising demands of their customers with the construction of a new salmon smokehouse. In their location in the Dutch fishing port of Urk, Rodé can now fulfil additional wishes, be it for organic salmon, wild salmon from MSC fisheries, for MAP packaging or small units of up to 100 g in cardboard slipcases.

he trend towards concentration is visible throughout our industry. And Rodé Vis’ new salmon smokehouse is a reaction to customers recruited from wholesalers and national grocery chain stores whose number is diminishing but who are highervolume buyers. “We have to demonstrate that we can serve the big customers, too – that is why we made this investment”, is the reason Manager Tjeerd Hoekstra gives for the company extension in Schulpengat in the industrial area of Urk. The new smokehouse took seven months to build and went into operation in July 2008. It is an attractive two-storey building. The front is silver with bold red and blue demarcation lines. The ‘Zalmrokerij’ has its production area on the ground floor; the administration and social rooms are on the second floor. “The new building means we can easily cope with annual increases of 10 to 20 per cent. We ultimately want to double the 2007 result by 2010 or 2011”, outlined Hoekstra the development target. Daily production at the smokehouse is today about 15 tonnes of finished products.

Rodé Vis manager and sales manager Tjeerd Hoekstra: “We have to demonstrate that we can serve the big customers, too. That is why we invested.“

Only 30 hours from the farm to production The smokehouse is part of the Rodé Vis Group which is specialised in salmon. Tjeerd Hoekstra 70 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

Rodé Vis Company Fact File Rodé Vis B.V. Schulpengat 10 8321 WC Urk P.O. Box 54 8320 AB Urk Netherlands Tel.: +31 527 – 68 53 57 Fax: +31 527 – 68 54 57 E-mail: tjeerd@rodevis.nl www.rodevis.nl Business: Producer of fish and fish products Subsidiaries: Rodé Vis Fresh, Royal Frozen Seafood, Royal Convenience Seafood, Rodé Retail, Holmefjord Lakseprodukter AS

Managers: Albert Dekens (Buying), Tjeerd Hoekstra (Sales) Sales: Elias Bosma, Teunis Kramer Product range: Salmon products (fresh, frozen, smoked, grilled, fried), MSC fish (Alaska pollack, wild Alaska salmon, Pacific halibut, deepwater Cape hake, New Zealand hoki), sea fish, freshwater fish (pike-perch, perch) Brand: Rodé Vis Customers: Wholesalers, food retailers, C&C Main export countries: Benelux, Germany, Great Britain Production volume: 15 t/ day (finished product) Founded: 1988

reckons that this fish species accounts for about 60 per cent of business. The salmon mainly come from Norway but also from Scotland, Ireland, and recently Alaska, too. Whether fresh, smoked, processed to ready-to-eat convenience products or frozen, about six Rodé Vis departments are mainly involved with processing salmon. 95 per cent of the raw materials come from cages owned by their Norwegian partner Bolak, a family business on the west coast of Norway. The close co-operation with Bolaks gives Rodé a freshness advantage over producers that buy via a trader and have their fish loaded in a collection centre. “If we load the salmon directly on the farm on a Monday evening it arrives here on Wednesday morning – that means it takes only 30 hours to get to Holland.” Hoekstra rates the quality of the Bolaks fish highly: firm flesh, low fat content and an attractive dark colour. And the farmer is committed to environmental protection, too. Bolaks uses special cages during the last growth phase of their salmon, for example. Conventional round cages are always left in the water, and algal growth means that they have to be cleaned every two to three months using chemicals. Because the salmon only spend the last two or three months of the grow-out period in these cages the nets can be hauled out of the water

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Tjeerd Hoekstra rates the quality of salmon from the Norwegian producer Bolaks highly: firm flesh, low fat content, and an attractive dark colour. Rodé Vis has also made large-scale investments in the packaging segment. They now offer MAP packaging and salmon in cardboard slipcases, also in small sizes of 50 or 100 g.

and rolled onto a drum after harvesting so that there is no chance for algae to settle on them. The preliminary stages for the smoking process are carried out at Rodé Vis Fresh: here the salmon is filleted and subsequently hand salted. Then, depending on the thickness and fat content of the fillet the fish is left to mature for between 24 and 36 hours before it is cold-smoked at Rodé Vis Smokery. It is then carefully trimmed. The smoke skin is removed very finely by a

machine for the Dutch market, for example.

New: MAP pack and cardboard slipcase The smoked product range of Rodé Vis in the meantime comprises the broad spectrum that can be considered a must in the business sector with the aforementioned big customers. Organic salmon, wild sockeye salmon from MSC-certified fisheries and Scottish salmon are now available in addition to the classic Norwe-

gian salmon in pack sizes of 100 to 500 g and sides of Irish salmon in presentation boxes. Rodé Vis has also invested on a large scale in the packaging sector. MAP packs (200 and 500 g) score higher than vacuum packed products where flavour is concerned and guarantee easier separation of the individual salmon slices. This month Rodé will begin offering salmon in cardboard slipcases, also in small package sizes of 50 or 100 g. Rodé Vis is more than just the smokehouse, however. Rodé Vis

Fresh processes a wide range of fresh fish species such as plaice and sole, which are mainly purchased at the auction in Urk. The subsidiary Royal Convenience Seafood fries, grills or braises salmon portions, for example, for other producers to use as components in ready meals. The target group for these products is company canteens and airline caterers but also food retailers. Royal Frozen Seafood, on the other hand, owns a freezer tunnel for iqf freezing and can store up to 360 tonnes of frozen products. Rodé Retail specialises in freshwater fish – particularly pikeperch and perch from Ijsselmeer and Markermeer.

Daily routes to Benelux and Germany The producer mainly takes care of distribution logistics itself, too. Five refrigerated trucks deliver products every day from all the different company sections to customers in the Benelux countries and Germany – frozen, fresh, and smoked. Smaller quantities of up to a pallet are delivered by a local bm carrier.

Bolaks – Norwegian salmon supplier to Rodé Vis A pioneer of Norwegian salmon farming Rodé Vis buys its Norwegian salmon from one of the pioneers of salmon farming, the Norwegian farming and processing enterprise Bolaks. Three brothers, Egil, Reidar und Trygve Holmefjord, founded the farming company at the end of 1975 and it has remained a family business up to this day. Trained as fishermen, they had already started the farm with the first 50 fishes in 1973. In 1976 they got their first production licence for salmon, trout and rainbow trout, and ten years later Bolaks was producing about one quarter of the roe in

Norway. Today Bolaks holds eight production and one fry licence. The smolts come from Sævareid Fiskeanlegg, one of the biggest hatcheries in Norway with a capacity of five million smolts. Bolaks holds a share in this hatchery. The cages at seven of the currently operating farming locations in the region of Fusa – about 74 kilometres south east of Bergen – hold 16,380 tonnes of Atlantic salmon. Each salmon generation is kept in a different fjord. The fish is proc

essed and packaged at a company-owned plant in Eikelandsosen so that Bolaks controls production from the egg to export and can guarantee complete traceability. 6,900 tonnes of fish were filleted in 2005. The production target is in the meantime 10,000 tonnes. Marketing in Norway itself is carried out in co-operation with Holmefjord Lakseprodukt. The products are exported to worldwide destinations. Under the management of Bjørg Mette Holmefjord Antonsen Bolaks today employs 18 people. Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

About 20 tonnes of fillet are produced and dispatched to customers every week, 90% of it fresh beneath ice.

he situation in the Dutch flatfish industry has for nearly a decade been characterised by falling quotas, lower export volume, and increasing concentration of suppliers. In Urk, the industry’s major location, even one of the biggest processors in the industry got into difficulties at the end of last year. In this environment the company Varia Vis has consistently succeeded in expanding strongly and has in the meantime reached an average sales level of 20 tonnes of filleted fish per week. “Our priority is top quality”, says Sales Manager Frans Lucas Brouwer in explanation of the company’s continued expansion over the past years. In contrast to a lot of its competitors Varia Vis concentrated on uniting all the elements that are of relevance to ultimate product quality under one umbrella. Buying, processing, sales, and sometimes even transport are fully in Varia Vis’ hands, something which cannot be taken for granted in Urk’s flatfish industry whose organisation is largely organised on a division of labour basis.

Varia Vis mainly serves the export market

Fresh hand cut plaice fillets

The Dutch processor Varia Vis has specialised in the production of plaice fillets but also offers other fish species from the North Sea and Ijsselmeer. Customers mainly consist of wholesalers and Cash & Carry markets in Germany, Great Britain, Belgium, France and Switzerland. 72 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

Hand work instead of machines According to Sales Manager Frans Lucas Brouwer Varia Vis is one of the few remaining processors in Urk that still fillets flatfish by hand. In Brouwer’s opinion, what was the norm just ten years ago has in the meantime almost become a thing of the past due to cost pressure. Most companies started using processing lines long ago. As Varia Vis sees it, however, the fillets which emerge

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Frans Lucas Brouwer is equally responsible for buying and selling.

Varia Vis is one of the few remaining processors that still process flatfish by hand. The company fillets to order, not for stock.

from them cannot be compared with the quality of hand cut fish. Varia Vis only fillets to order and not for stock.

product list but the company also offers cod and haddock, anglerfish and redfish, salmon and various other fish species. On request,

Brouwer assures us, the company could in principle offer all fish species because nearly all the local and imported seafood variants

Buyer Brouwer links up to nearly two dozen auctions in Holland, Denmark and Belgium via two different Internet platforms. This enables him to gain an overview of the situation on the plaice market. In addition to price, he is mainly interested in the fishing ground and fishing vessels, since the quality of the raw materials is for Brouwer decisively dependent on origin and on-board handling.

Varia Vis Company Fact File

Germany is main export country Plaice, sole, turbot, and halibut are the top sellers on the Varia Vis

Varia Vis Vliestroom 4 8321 EG Urk Tel.: +31 527-26 00 30 Fax: +31 527-26 04 06 E-mail: info@variavis.nl www.variavis.nl Business: Fresh fish wholesaler Owners: Arie Radewalt, Jacob Strampel, Frans Lucas Brouwer Sales: Frans Lucas Brouwer, Mobile: +31 6 53 29 15 56 Sales territory: Germany, Belgium, Holland, Great Britain

Product range: Plaice, sole, turbot, halibut, cod, redfish, anglerfish, salmon, etc. Customers: Wholesalers, cash & carry markets No. of customers: c. 100 Sales: ca. 5 m EUR Export share: 80% Main export countries: Germany, Great Britain, France, Switzerland Trade volume: 20 tonnes of fillet per week Founded: 2001 No. of employees: 15

were available in the location Urk. Germany is by far the most important sales market for Varia Vis and accounts for over 50 per cent of the company’s total sales of five million euros. Other important export countries are Belgium and Austria, as well as Spain and Italy. Varia Vis mainly supplies to wholesalers in the north and south of Germany and the Ruhr region. The products are packed in accordance with customer requirements, with a wide range of packaging variants between 500 g trays and boxes with 10 kg fish. A certain amount of raw materials is kept permanently available so that customers who order by 13.00 h still get their fish on the following day.

www.fischmagazin.de

is the platform for finding fish, fishproducts and tecnology-suppliers – worldwide.

On this platform you’ll find a complete database with multiple options for searching exactly what you’re looking for. Available 24 / 7 free of charge.

More than 9,000 companies listed !

Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

Part 6 – Lobster from Canada

Markets, marketing and consumption

A lobster is the crowning glory of every festive table – not only a culinary highlight but an eye-catcher, too, thanks to the fact that its shell turns bright red on heating. Lobster is suited not only to boiling but also to poaching, steaming, sautéing, grilling, frying or baking. Animal rights organisations have for years been fighting against the practice of boiling lobsters. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) even claims that eating lobster can cause health problems.

uring the past 200 years lobster made a remarkable career on the east coast of North America. Up to the start of the 19th century lobsters were not very highly valued by the settlers there. Lobster was considered an inferior food which might be eaten during hard times but not otherwise. Lobsters were fed to poultry and pigs, used for

fertilising the fields, or as bait for fishing. Only poor fishermen ate lobster frequently because the fish they caught was too valuable to eat themselves. Members of “better” society would never have thought of eating lobster voluntarily. The price asked for lobster was just as low as its image. This low esteem can also be seen in the fact that rogues and rascals were

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called “lobsters” at that time. During the wars of independence the British Red Coats were also deridingly called “lobsters”. The fundamental change in the lobster’s image did not come about until after 1800 when the towns on the east coast blossomed and an affluent middle class developed which set more

The size of a lobster plays a crucial role in its marketing. Since lobsters are mostly served whole in the live-lobster segment, the animals need to be serving size (as the one on the left). This makes larger animals more difficult to sell almost everywhere.

store by high-quality nutrition. As demand grew and the sales opportunities for lobsters improved, fishermen naturally became more interested in catching lobsters. Today this magnificent crustacean is on the same level as other high-value seafood products such as caviar or oysters.

European lobster market stagnant The two Atlantic lobster species Homarus gammarus and H. americanus are enjoyed in over 50 different countries as an exquisite seafood product. A lot

[ lobster from canada ] of Europeans believe that European lobster has a better flavour although this claim would probably not stand up to serious examination. The dispute as to which is best is probably futile anyway because at 4,000 tonnes per year in 2006, landings of European lobsters are by no means sufficient to cover demand in European countries. Spanish lobster imports alone were more 4,500 tonnes in 2006. Altogether Europe imported about 18,500 t of lobster in all forms from the USA and Canada in 2006.

Fresh live, or better frozen? Particularly in Europe a lot of people believe that boiling is the only way to prepare lobster. In fact, there are many more ways of using this crustacean species in the kitchen. Similar to shrimps, lobster can for example be grilled, poached, sautéed or baked. Lobster tails can be cut into medaillons and used as garnishing or served as hors-d’œuvre. Cut into strips, lobster meat can be used in fish soups, and the shell is a good base for soups, stock or lobster butter. Lobster can even be used for culinary trend dishes such as tempura or fondue chinoise. If lobsters are to be kept live it is important to remember that they are marine creatures and as such not suited to freshwater. Before the lobsters are placed into the tank they should be dipped briefly in salt water. This rinses off any dirt that may be attached to their bodies and reduces the ammonia concentration in the gill cavity which will have risen during transport. These excrements would only pollute the water unnecessarily. Any lobsters that lack vitality and whose tail and claws hang limply should be prepared first because they have the lowest

chance of survival. If there is no possibility for storing the lobsters in a tank they can also be kept for a short time in the refrigerator (preferably in a shallow dish and covered with a damp cloth or paper). Under the right conditions (a cool, damp environment) healthy lobsters can survive about 36 hours out of water. Only live lobsters should be used. Frozen lobster products are practical and mean less work. Their shelf-life is between 9 and 24 months, depending on the product type. Frozen products should never be thawed in warm water or at room temperature because this leads to dehydration and reduces product quality. The frozen lobster should be placed in a dish of cold water and thawed in the refrigerator (defrosting time is about one hour per 250 g product weight). Thawed products must not be refrozen.

Correct preparation of lobster Cooking time depends on the size of the lobster. Bring well salted water (about one tablespoon per litre of water) to the boil and plunge the lobster into the water when it is bubbling. Cooking time starts as from the moment the water begins to boil again after the lobster has been inserted. In North America lobsters are usually well boiled, in Europe slightly less so. Recent recommendations are even to boil lobster until “glassy”. Surprisingly these preferences do not correspond to the cooking times that are stated on both sides of the Atlantic. The American Seafood Institute, for example, names cooking time for a 454 g lobster as 10 minutes (and for every further 113 g 3 minutes more). In Canada cooking time is given as 6-10 minutes for 450 g lobsters and for every additional 450 g 2-3 minutes

more. On no account should lobsters be boiled for longer than 20 minutes, however. Based on Canadian recommendations a 1-kg lobster would thus require 14 to 15 minutes. The European magazine Top Hotel calculates twelve minutes as from insertion of the lobster for the first 500 g and then a further ten minutes for the second 500 g and a further five minutes for additional 500 g. Based on this recommendation a 1-kg lobster would have to boil for about 22 minutes. The cooking times stated on the website www.Lebensmittellexikon.de are similar. Lobster is cooked correctly when the feelers or a leg segment can be plucked off the body easily. Another way to test whether the lobster is cooked is to try and straighten the tail (which is tucked beneath the body). If it is elastic and bounces back the lobster is ready. It should then be immediately

When keeping live lobsters it should be noted that these are marine animals which aren’t suitable to be kept in freshwater. Before the lobsters are set in the tanks they should be dipped shortly in saltwater.

Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

[ lobster from canada ] removed from the hot water and cooled under running cold water (ice water is even better) because otherwise the cooking process will continue in the lobster’s interior. After it is cut apart it is possible to see from the abdominal cavity of females whether the lobster has been cooked correctly. If it has, the roe will have taken on a red colouring. If it was not boiled for long enough the roe is still a black, slightly oily mass. In Canada, the USA and other countries it is not unusual to halve the lobster or cut it into parts and then grill or fry these. To do this the lobster is first killed by pricking it in the head region with a sharp knife (there is a cross on the carapax at this point). This is not allowed, however, in Germany. The regulations there state that lobsters have to be killed first in boiling water (the head should be inserted first) before they can be processed further in any other way. Once the lobsters are dead they can be removed from the water and then poached, cut along their length and grilled, or baked.

Lobsters should be killed quickly and humanely In this context, the question naturally arises as to whether boiling lobsters constitutes cruelty to animals and might even be inhumane, as environmental and animal rights organisations, and above all PETA, repeatedly claim. We neither want, nor are we able, to address this problem exhaustively here, particularly because not even scientists all agree on the issue of whether lobsters can feel pain. The nervous system of crustaceans is relatively underdeveloped. Although it has a small brain-like structure in the head region most of the nerve cells are in ganglia along the nerve tracts

After cooking the lobster, it should immediately be put under cold running water (even better is ice water) to be cooled to prevent the meat from continued cooking.

which are spread throughout the whole length of the body (abdominal marrow). This rather strange form of central nervous system (also called rope-ladder nervous system) can also be found in a similar form in common flies and in earthworms. It is sometimes rather superficially claimed that because lobsters do not have a typical brain they cannot feel pain. (“No brain, no pain”). On the other hand, people who oppose this view are of the opinion that the very fact that lobsters do not have a brain means that they do not have the ability to go into shock when plunged into

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boiling water and so the sensory cells in fact remain sensitive up to the point of physical destruction. So far, however, the objectors have been unable to supply conclusive evidence for this theory. The behaviour of lobsters when they lose limbs or suffer injury is sooner an indication of the fact that they have no sense of pain. Their reactions in boiling water match the typical flight behaviour of lobsters in the sea (sudden flexing of the tail to enable escape backwards). Independent of this, however, it is important to ensure humane

treatment of the lobsters and to make sure they are killed as quickly as possible with as little pain as possible. A lot of scientists believe that killing lobsters in boiling water meets these demands. There have been a number of experiments in which lobsters were stunned before boiling. The use of carbon monoxide – as used for fishes – was not very effective, however (it takes a long time for it to take effect, and the lobsters display strong flight reactions). The use of narcotics involves risks because it cannot be ruled out that the substances penetrate the meat (lobsters have an open “blood circulation system”). The effectiveness of some methods such as holding the lobsters’ heads down or rubbing their shells firmly is rather questionable. But it is possible to place the lobsters in the freezer for several minutes before boiling. This retards the vital functions so that the lobsters are quasi anaesthetized when they are put into the boiling water. In this context, however, it must be pointed out that people give much less thought to frying a chop or grilling a steak – although the slaughtering of a mammal, a cow or a pig is a much more complex and difficult procedure than killing a lobster.

Humane killing of lobsters with Crustastun Already in 1997 researchers from the University of Bristol with the support of the British Humane Slaughter Association and the Fund for Animal Welfare began developing a device for the humane killing of crustaceans. Due to the biological peculiarities of crustaceans (no brain, thick shell) this was a real challenge. The outcome of their efforts was the ‘Crustastun’, a small box in which

[ lobster from canada ] - A 675 g lobster has a meat yield of up to 230 g (34%)

lobsters, shrimps and other crustaceans can be killed or at least stunned for a few minutes using low-voltage current of about 3.5 amps. They are stunned for long enough to guarantee insensitivity to pain when cut apart, boiled or placed on the grill. The lobsters allegedly do not shed their legs and claws under the influence of current, and the meat quality is not affected.

Product features of lobsters In contrast to contrary assertions lobster is very low-fat (the fat more often comes from the melted butter which consumers like to pour over lobster meat in North America). Lobster contains 20 times less saturated fats than beef and 13 times less than chicken breast without the skin. The cholesterol content is also lower than in beef and poultry. Lobster

Nutritional analysis based on 100 g cooked lobster meat Energy Protein Fat Cholesterol Sodium Potassium

The lobster provides a variety of different frozen and chilled convenience products.

contains a lot of vitamin A, B12 and E as well as a lot of calcium, zinc and phosphorus. When planning a meal with lobster it is best to calculate 450 to 675 g lobster per person (male lobsters have larger claws and so contain slightly more meat).

Although portion-size lobsters are currently fashionable it is better to use larger lobsters because – in relation to their weight – they contain a higher proportion of meat: - A 450 g lobster has a meat yield of up to 140 g (31%)

Value 389 kJ (93 kcal) 15.2-21 g 0.6-1 g 72-93 mg 380-590 mg 150-352 mg

In contrast to mussels, consumption of lobster does not bear any risk from red tide toxins. The digestive system of the lobster allegedly works like a filter that effectively withholds toxins. However, this attribute reduces the enjoyment of the liver pancreas organ: the liver, which is easy to recognise due to its greenish colour should only be eaten if one can be absolutely certain that it does not contain any toxins.

How to crack a lobster

1. Break the large claws from the lower joint with a slight twist. Hold on to the large claw piece with one hand and with the other hand pull the small claw piece outwards in a smooth movement. This will also pull out the bit of cartilage that is inside the meat of the claw. 2. Use nut-crackers, a hammer or another suitable instrument (e.g. the back of a heavy knife) to crack open the large claw piece. To do this place the claw upright on the work surface (the small, already broken off claw half should face upwards). Hit the thick end of the claw with the stable knife blade so that a crack appears in the shell. Break off the piece that was hit and pull the claw meat out of the shell

with a smooth movement. To get the meat out of the knuckle pull on the two ends of the joint with medium force.

5. Take the carapace off the body (the shell pieces of the carcass can be used for making delicious lobster butter or lobster sauce).

3. To remove the tail, bend the lobster backwards until there is a slight crack and then separate the tail from the head/ chest piece with a strong twist.

6. Open the remaining body and remove the gristly stomach (which is to be found directly behind the eyes). Very tender muscle meat is to be found at the points at which the legs are attached. The thin legs only contain small pieces of meat but they are tender and tasty. Separate the legs from the body with a twist and, using the back of a knife, press lightly until the shell breaks but the meat is not squashed. Pull out the meat using a lobster fork (it is also possible to simply suck the meat out of the legs).

4. Using a fork push the tail meat forwards in one piece or using kitchen scissors cut the shell on the lower side along the outer edges. Remove and throw away the unpalatable black intestine (also incorrectly called “vein”) which runs along the whole length of the tail.

Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

[ fisheries ] Antarctic krill

Small crustaceans with big potential

There were once great hopes for krill, the tiny shrimp-like marine crustaceans. Their biomass in the world’s oceans was estimated at over one billion tonnes. That would have enabled commercial utilisation on a large scale. Today, we know that these estimates were exaggerated. And krill will have to be used carefully because the tiny crustaceans play a key role in the ecosystems of the Antarctic.

ven if there isn’t a billion tonnes, krill biomass in the Antarctic Ocean is still immense. Recent estimates reckon that there are between 60 and 155 million tonnes of krill in the icy waters of the South Polar Sea. Large swarms can extend over an area of 450 square kilometres (equal to the area of the Pyrenean state Andorra) and have a biomass of two million tonnes. In these swarms the crustaceans crowd tightly together, sometimes with several thousand krill grouped together on the sea’s surface in just one cubic metre so that the water looks red from above. And the krill concentrations lower down are also often so dense that they reflect the echo of acoustic detectors. The distribution area of Antarctic krill alone covers an area of more than 35 million square kilometres. Krill biomass in the world’s oceans is probably bigger than that of any other multi-cellular animal species on earth. The name krill is used for about 85 crustacean species, most of which measure between 8 and 70 mm and weigh up to 2 grams. They live for a maximum of six years. Most krill species have about a dozen light organs in the eye stalks and on their bodies. These irradiate an intensive blue-green light (bioluminescence) which helps to keep

the krill together in the swarm. They are classified in the family Euphausiidae whose most frequent and best-known members are the species Euphausia superba and E. crystallorophias. The huge krill swarms found in Antarctic waters mainly contain E. superba. They are about 6 cm long and mainly feed on phytoplankton, microscopically small suspended algae that often develop immense blooms during the Polar summers when the sun shines for 24 hours a day. With the help of its feather-like legs Superba can filter these microalgae very efficiently out of the water. Krill spend most of the day in deeper water layers, usually between 500 and 1,000 m, only rising to the surface at night to eat plankton. This daily rhythm of vertical migrations between different water depths is also known from marine fish species such as herring. Superba does not only feed by filtering, however. During the Antarctic winters the krill swarms withdraw beneath the Antarctic ice pack, on the one hand for reasons of protection for they can hide there from predators in the hollows, crevices and crannies, and on the other hand to feed on the algae that grow on the underside of the ice. Superba is also equipped to eat periphyton particles. This nutritional flex-

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ibility is probably one of the reasons behind the tiny crustaceans’ endurance. Due to the species’ mass development krill is an important part of the food network in Antarctic waters. Krill does not only serve as a source of food for the fishes and birds that live there but also as a high-energy food for baleen whales. Already the Norwegian name “krill” points to the immense significance of these tiny crustaceans: it translates as “whale feed”. In the Antarctic, krill plays a similar role to that of herring in northern waters because there is otherwise no swarmforming mass fish species in the Antarctic.

Decline of Antarctic ice sheet impacts krill stock Krill does not only have an ecological function in the Antarctic food chain. According to recent studies it could also be of significance for global climate. Krill carries large quantities of carbon that is contained in the phytoplankton on the water surface into the depths of the ocean and thereby separates the material cycle between the atmosphere and the sea. On their nightly trips to the surface for feeding, the tiny crustaceans still their hunger and then glide back down into the depths of the ocean like a parachute. And it is

there that they excrete their digestive residues with the result that the combined carbon sinks to the sea bed. If bacteria decomposed the microalgae in the upper water layers the carbon could enter the atmosphere again. Because krill parachutes to the bottom prior to excreting, the carbon is sunk reliably in the depths of the ocean. The total quantity of carbon that is disposed of in this way is thought to be of significance to world climate: according to researchers’ calculations it is about equal to the CO2 emissions of 35 million cars. On the other hand, long-term changes such as global warming or ozone depletion could also have a detrimental effect on krill. The ice belt in the Antarctic is decisive for the survival of a lot of crustaceans during the winter. The further the ice extends the larger is the area on which feed can grow and the more opportunities there are for the crustaceans to hide. A maximum ice area thus creates the best conditions for the krill’s successful reproduction during the Antarctic summer. Through the rise in surface temperature of the sea the total area of the polar ice belt is reduced and this could prove to be a disadvantage for krill stocks in the long term. Added to this is the increasing size of the “ozone hole” at both poles which diminishes the natural protection against UV rays. Particularly the UV-B rays could be of harm to krill in the upper water layers and may increase their mortality rate.

Hardly any commercial krill fishery at present International interest in a commercial utilisation of krill is relatively low and has fallen strongly compared to the 1980s. At the beginning of the 80s between 450,000 and 530,000 tonnes of krill were fished annually in the

[ antarctic krill ] Antarctic region, mainly by the Soviet Union where the krill fishery was strongly subsidized at that time. But already by the mid-90s the catch volume had “returned to normal” at 95,000 to 120,000 tonnes per year. It has remained at that level up to this day. There are various reasons for this drop in interest in krill. One decisive factor is the withdrawal of subsidies. The krill fishery is an extreme and long-distance fishery and it is accordingly expensive. It is carried out in one of the most remote regions of the world and is only profitable under certain conditions. A major problem from the early years of krill fishing (in 1973 Japan reported for the first time a catch volume of 59 t) seems in the meantime to have been solved. Due to the fishing method which used narrow-mesh nets a lot of krill were squashed and damaged when they arrived on board and were thus not suitable for use. Krill is very rich in protein and even intact ones decompose rapidly and have to be processed within just a few hours of the catch. In the meantime there are more careful fishing methods and highly efficient fishing and processing vessels that have the technologies and capacities to process the krill quickly and in a high quality. This increases the danger that the krill fishing fleets could now expand to make more intensive used of the last big resource that the world’s oceans has to offer. Already now the Euphausia superba fishery is one of the biggest crustacean fisheries worldwide with the following main participants: South Korea (2006: 43,031 t), Japan (32,711 t), Ukraine (15,206 t), Norway (9,228 t) and Poland (5,332 t. At present only a relatively small share of the krill catch is used for human consumption, mostly in the form of frozen tail meat. To produce this, raw or

cooked krill tails are machine peeled on board the fishing vessel and subsequently block frozen. Krill meat is very nutritious, has a mild flavour rather like that of lobster, and is rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. The pure meat is suitable for almost any foods that are based on raw materials in small pieces, e.g. salads, soups, starters and wraps, as well as in finger food recipes. In the past it was possible to get krill meat in cans in Japan but these are presumably no longer pro-

Omega 3 fatty acids, and phospholipids which are indispensable for the formation and function of the brain. If we are to believe the advertising brochures of various drug producers, krill oil can be of help in arthritic disorders, knee and back pain, menopause symptoms, high cholesterol levels, depression, burn-out syndrome, and many other diseases besides. Apparently some of these positive effects have even been proved in clinical studies. There are also lucrative markets for products like

By carrying carbon from the surface of the Antarctic ocean into its depths krill could play a significant role in global climate. Fisheries for krill need therefore to proceed with caution.

duced today. To make up, “Antarctic Krill Concentrate” is now available on the Japanese market. This food supplement is made of peeled, freezer dried krill meat.

Krill for foods, pharmaceuticals and aquaculture feed For the future, there seem to be particularly good chances for krill in the field of pharmaceutical products. For example, krill contain highly active proteolytic enzymes which offer numerous possibilities for pharmaceutical applications. The spectrum ranges from the treatment of intervertebral disk disease to the healing of necrotic wounds. Krill oil is said to be capable of performing almost miracles! It contains considerable amounts of cell protective antioxidants, anti-inflammatory

International agreement on krill stock management

chitin and chitosan which are produced from the crustacean shells. These are used in the cosmetics industry, in metallurgy and pharmacy, for example. Chitosan can be used to build up people’s resistance and regulate cholesterol level. Apart from that it also has an antibacterial effect which accelerates cell renewal and slows down aging processes. Even if demand for these kinds of side products is still not all that high, it still serves to make the krill fishery more profitable. Something which is much more promising at present, however, is the use of Antarctic krill for the production of feed for the aquaculture industry, particularly salmon farming. Fish production in aquaculture has been growing rapidly for years, with the result that demand for high-quality feed has risen, too.

Fishmeal and fish oil production has remained constant for years, however, so that it is necessary to search for suitable alternatives. Krill would definitely be an excellent source of feed for fish and crustaceans for it is energy-rich and contains a lot of highly digestible proteins and essential amino acids. Apart from that, krill has high concentrations of Omega 3 fatty acids and natural pigments which are very important particularly in salmon farming. Something that makes krill even more interesting is its low level of heavy metals and toxins. In contrast to a lot of other regions of the world’s oceans the Antarctic waters are still largely free from harmful substances such as PCB, dioxin, etc. Krill would thus be an almost ideal raw material for aquafeed. Demand for krill could thus increase in the near future and with it the pressure from fisheries on the Antarctic stocks.

The krill catch is still well below its potential, however. Experts presume that about 10% of the available biomass could be removed without harming other krill consumers such as whales, penguins and sea birds. With an assumed biomass of 60 to 155 million tonnes of krill that would be 6 to 15.5 million tonnes. With annual catches currently ranging between 95,000 and 120,000 tonnes we are still a long way from that, however. In spite of this, warnings are already audible that local ecosystems are threatened: The fishery mainly concentrated on regions in which krill forms particularly dense swarms which also attract whales and other krill predators. This would have to be taken more strongly into account in krill fishery management than has so far been the case.

Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

Mottra’s pure natural caviar is sold in jars of 28 g, 56 g and 90 g

use it is as clean as mineral water. During the first three years the old farm was modernised and the first fish were sold on the local market. In 2008 the company moved into the production of caviar.

Caviar from two kinds of sturgeon

processing / technology Mottra

Caviar farmed in Latvia with Russian expertise

aviar, the unfertilised roe of sturgeon, has long been considered a delicacy in many parts of the world. Sturgeon are native to countries in Central Asia, Russia, Eastern Europe, and North America and in many of these countries the production and trade of roe and sturgeon meat was a thriving industry providing jobs and security to many. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 brought much social and economic turmoil not only to Russia, but to all the republics that used to constitute the Soviet Union and many of the management and control structures that existed before were no longer enforced. As a result sturgeons were no longer protected and fell prey to rampant poaching that decimated stocks particularly in what used to be the most productive area for the fish, the Caspian Basin. As it became apparent that sturgeon stocks were seriously endangered the international community placed global trade in all species of stur-

geon under the control of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) in 1998. With trade in wild caviar and sturgeon meat strictly restricted companies in many countries embarked on programmes to farm the sturgeon and extract the roe. In 2002 a Russian Latvian joint venture called Mottra was established near Riga on an old trout farm with a to-

tal volume of 4,200 cubic meters. This volume is spread over different tanks that vary in size from 0.2 to 330 cubic meters. Mottra started out as a producer of fish – tilapia, catfish, and sturgeon. The water for the system is pumped from 150 m down in the ground guaranteeing a very pure water. However the water is further purified when it arrives at the surface to eliminate even the slightest risk to the stock. As a result, by the time the water is put to

The total volume on the farm is 4,200 cubic meters spread over tanks that vary from 0.2 to 330 cubic meters.

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Due to the Russian component of the joint venture the company sought expertise in Astrakhan bringing back the some experts and technology to ensure the highest quality of the caviar. The owners were also keen that the production should be completely scientific and as far as possible environmentally sustainable. Mottra farms two kinds of sturgeon, sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus) and osetra (Acipenser baerii). The sterlet grows to a maximum length of 125 cm and has a maximum recorded weight of 16.5 kg, while the osetra can grow up to 235 cm and has been known to weigh 115 kg. For the caviar production the sterlet needs to be 7 years old and osetra 15 years old in nature before they are mature enough to produce a good quantity of roe. Osetra caviar has a 2 mm grain with a colour that varies from light grey brown to deepest black. The typical flavour is nutty. Although all the caviar comes from the same species some manufacturers select the biggest grains of caviar and sell them as a premium product. Albino sturgeon produce a golden caviar that was once upon a time was reserved exclusively for the Shah of Iran, and was therefore also called Shah or Imperial caviar. Mottra also stocks a few of these albino fish.

technology Pure natural product Sturgeon roe can grow extremely large and weigh up to 12 percent of the body weight. However for the best quality the eggs need to be removed before they reach their full maturity. The time at which the eggs are removed also influences the colour of the caviar. The closer to maturity the darker the colour. At Mottra the fish are moved into special tanks where they are prepared for the striping. During this period the fish are checked regularly with ultrasound to make sure they are progressing as they should. Once they are judged ready to spawn they are removed to a room where the roe is massaged out of the fish. The caviar is then washed in water, mixed with the correct proportion of salt and then packed in jars and refrigerated. Nothing else is added to the product, nor is anything, but high quality fish feed from reputed suppliers given to the fish. In 2008/2009 global export quotas of caviar from wild Acipenser gueldenstaedtii caviar amount to 32.5 tonnes and for wild Acipenser ruthenus to just 300 kg. FAO figures state that global production of caviar in 2006 amounted to just 76 tonnes of which Iran was responsible for 32 tonnes. As long as such small quantities of the delicacy are produced Mottra should have no trouble charging up to EUR1,000 per kg for their product. For futher information please contact: Laminas, Katlakalns, Kekavas pag., Rigas raj., Latvia Tel.: +371 67148023 info@mottra.lv www.mottra.lv

Bastra

Gish smoking technology for small trade and industry

he product lines “Classic Line” and “Industrial” from Bayha & Strackbein offer food processors economical and environmentally friendly systems specially designed for fish processing in small- and large-scale enterprises. Bastramat universal cooking and smoking plants offer a large number of functions in one installation thereby enabling versatile and economical usage in many production processes. The plants can be operated using any of three smoke generation methods: smoke from wood chips, friction smoke or liquid smoke. They are all enclosed systems that do not release any noteworthy emissions during the smoking phase.

barrier-free so that the trolleys can easily be pushed in. There is a range of available options to enable individual design of the installations, e.g. cooling facilities for cold smoking and maturing processes, horizontal alternate air circulation for lying products, a catalytic exhaust air cleaner, or an automatic door opener using air cylinders. Depending on which model is chosen there are also various different heating methods available: electricity, gas, oil, low- and high-pressure steam heating.

The programme controls were specially developed for Bastra installations and are characterised by user-friendly handling and flexibility. Digital technology ensures precision and exact adherence to set values. Up to 99 different programmes can be created and stored. The automatic programme start and a documentation option in accordance with HACCP, including all the necessary software, guarantee round the clock operation. Touch screen controls allow the display of all programme functions on the monitor screen. The individual processing stages are entered via a touch screen, too.

The chambers are self-supporting stainless steel constructions with fully automatic smoke and air flap control, electronic ambient and core temperature regulation, moisture regulation, and automatic fresh air inlet. The smoking process is controlled by multi-stage air circulation via specially designed high-performance fan wheels and even transfer of the smoke through nozzles. The size of the fan wheels ensures good, even air circulation within the chamber with a low number of revolutions per minute. The systems have corrugated steel pipework connecting all additional and accessory facilities, e.g. for cleaning and moisturising. The interior of the one- and two-trolley chamber is steam-tight and fully insulated all round. This insulation makes a substantial contribution to reducing heating energy consumption. The smoking chambers are

There is a wide choice of options for modification of the plants to individual requirements.

Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

technology

Sunwell’s Deepchill ice is in use around the world

Liquid ice cools rapidly, evenly and effectively

homogenous mixture of a brine or freshwater with millions of ice crystals is a superior cooling and preservation medium, says Dr. Ming-Jian Wang, Technical Sales Manager at Sunwell, the Canadian company that pioneered the development of this technology. Called Deepchill (a registered trademark) it has been successfully used for fish chilling, storage and transportation of different fish products onboard the fishing vessel, the barge, at the farm, or inside the processing plant around the world. Studies of efficacy of this product when used with various fish species such as shrimp, mussel, salmon, tuna and yellowtail reveal that it maintains the freshness of the fish throughout the cold chain, ensures premium quality product, long shelf life and high yields.

farmed fish, such as yellow tail, amberjack and red sea bream is processed. The ice slurry in various consistencies is incorporated into its entire process to keep product consistently cold and fresh. In the system that makes the slurry from seawater, the salinity of the product can be automatically controlled, so there is no danger of subcooled temperatures damaging the product.

Salinity can be automatically controlled

The fish are then conveyed to the secondary processing room, where they fall into a bag containing a slurry to maintain their temperature prior to filleting. The fillets are dried with a cold air blast then conveyed

In the Hiketa Fish Processing Centre of the Kagawa Fishery Union in Japan as much as 1,000 mt of fresh

At the plant live fish from the farms are quick-killed then rapidly prechilled in large bags, using an ice and water mixture with a lower ice fraction to maintain their freshness prior to processing. These bags are delivered to the primary processing room where the fish are gutted, cut and cleaned.

Yellowtail preserved in a liquid slurry that maintains the freshness and quality of the fish prior to filleting. 82 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

to the packing room. In the packing room, the fillets are vacuumbagged, checked by a metal detector, weighed, boxed and finally packed with a higher ice fraction slurry or dry crystals to keep the product cold and fresh until it reaches the customers. Mr Ikuhiro Hattori, Chief Administration Officer of Kagawa Fishery Union, “Using slurry ice with its superior cooling effect and stable ice storage temperature, we can deliver the fresh and delicious taste of the production region to consumers.” Mr Masayoshi Yoneda, General Manager of the Centre, comments further, ‘We’ve been satisfied with the operating result of the Deepchill system not only in chilling performance but also in saving time and manpower for processing.”

Liquid ice penetrates every nook and corner Mussel processing and packing is another application that relies on

the ice slurry from Sunwell. Prince Edward Aqua Farms Inc. on Prince Edward Island, Canada incorporated an ice-slurry production system into its existing processing facilities in late 2005. The system produces as much as five tons of dry ice, or almost 10 tons of slurry ice per day. The ice mixture with an ice fraction of 50-60% is automatically pumped to four separate locations at the facility. At the first two locations the slurry is discharged into 1-ton bulk containers holding 800-900lbs of mussels packed in the mesh bags. The slurry ice is used to pack these mussels and ship them fresh to markets across North America. Jerry Bidgood, General Manager of the company, says, “The flake ice system required a lot of manual labour; ice had to be shoveled into every box and vat. Ice on the bottom, middle and top. This was OK but it melted quickly and didn’t cool all the product quickly. The new system gave us an automatic method for icing that got in between every mussel in every bag, ensuring fast cooling of the entire product.” The mussels are cooled down to just above 0°C. “The slurry is sprayed into each container and penetrates to

Fresh salmon preserved in a slurry before being further processed.

technology

the bottom of the container, cooling all the individual mussels very quickly”, says Bidgood. “Comments from our customers are extremely positive, and they don’t wish to go back with flake ice.” A third discharge location is found in a chill room and is used for packing mussels in waxed boxes of 50, 25 or 10-pound configurations. Mesh bags of mussels are placed into the boxes and Deepchill is discharged over and around the bags. Again, the Deepchill flows into every space and crevice to provide ultimate contact cooling. The final discharge station is also located in the chill room, over 45 m away from where the slurry is generated. It is used for packing both, the bulk containers and the waxed boxes, as well as supplying a re-icing station to maintain mussels that are packed on non-shipping days.

Customers satisfied with the product This ice lasts longer as it can be packed more densely in mussel boxes and containers. Bidgood notes, “Our customers tell us they can get 10 to 12 days shelf life with our mussels in Deepchill ice. The consistently superior quality product helps gaining repeat orders. As a result of growing business, the company purchased another ice generator in 2008. The ice has seen service in the salmon industry in Norway, Chile, Canada and Australia. For example, Patagonia Salmon Farming SA of Chile implemented total quality control process based on the ice. Live salmon is shipped from the harvesting plants to the processing factory and deposited in receiving ponds. The fish are then pumped directly to the factory, into a prechilling tank approximately 28m3 in size, containing Deepchill slurry with a low ice fraction. In this tank,

the fish rapidly cools from 14 °C down- to approximately 2 to 3 °C, but remains alive. Using liquid ice as a replacement for CO2 results in little stress on the fish. The salmon are removed from this tank, cut and then placed into a bleed-out tank. This tank also contains Deepchill to continue cooling and preserving the fish as it passes through this part of the process. The final stage is the gutting and filleting of the fish. The salmon is kept in bags full of slurry ice until it can be filleted, thereby maintaining the freshest, highest-quality salmon possible. Managing director Hans Kossmann acknowledges, “Integrating this icing system into our entire process at the plant has improved our quality significantly.”

Latest ice systems can be controlled over the Internet Continuous innovation allows Sunwell to stay ahead of it’s competition in the fish farming and processing industries. One of its latest variable-state ice systems delivered to a salmon processor in Australia includes a sophisticated computer based automatic monitoring and diagnostic package. A dedicated human-machine-interface with a touch panel allows operators to easily monitor and record the operating parameters of the ice system, while office personnel can easily track the status of the system’s operations online, and even change the system settings. For more information, contact: Dr. Ming-Jian Wang Technical Sales Manager Sunwell Technologies Inc. 180 Caster Avenue Woodbridge, Ontario Canada L4L 5Y7 Tel: +1 905 856-0400 Fax: +1 905 856-1935 wang@sunwell.com

Multivac

New generation of traysealers emphasise sanitary design

he new generation of traysealers from Multivac as represented by the T 700 brings with it an unprecedented degree of food safety and hygiene. The machine was conceived to conform to the strict hygiene requirements as laid down in DIN EN 1672-2 and ISO 14159 and the related requirements

of the machine. This has meant that surfaces slope to allow run off, hoses and tubes are dispensed with as far as possible, or, where indispensable, have been routed through frames or separated by spacers. Spaces that allow the accumulation of grime or liquids have been minimised both outside and inside the machine

Multivac’s T700 control features include a swiveling TFT touch display, interfaces for the line connection and external communication, and full traceability of packaging processes. of US standard NSF/ANSI/3-A 14159. Key requirements set by these standards include the ability to clean down to a microbiological level, easy access for inspection, maintenance and cleaning, the avoidance of dead spaces, and design measures to prevent the accumulation of liquids. These standards necessitated a largely new design in this new generation of traysealers that addressed both the exterior as well as the interior

and removable panels and belts enable the machine to be washed down thoroughly. In addition to the emphasis on hygiene the machine is also designed to minimise energy consumption for example by using efficient motors and optimising the consumption of compressed air. The entire packaging process uses state of the art technology so that the machine can be used for a variety of applications including very delicate products or even liquids.

Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

technology

Handtmann

Kroma

Creative fish New products for filleting sustained success machine

andtmann engineering has set itself the challenge to support producers in adapting to the ever changing market conditions. This company creates individual technological solutions that producers can use to penetrate new market segments with innovative products, while promising the same degree of cost efficiency as standard processing equipment. Handtmann know-how translates into attractive

VF 600 vacuum fillers are superior central control elements in complex system solutions and highly compatible basic modules in automated production processes. They enable constant filling pressure and precise portioning accuracy which are absolute prerequisites for uniformly high product quality. The company will be demonstrating how they go about these challenges at the 2009 ESE/ SPE in Brussels. At their stand spe-

he Danish equipment manufacturer Kroma A/S, well known for its gutting machines, will launch a filleting machine for round fish at Seafood Processing Europe in Brussels at the end of April. The machine is currently designed for trout but will also fillet seabass and sea bream in the future. The machine can process fish from 150 g to 1,500 g in size with a simple series of

The filleting machine is equipped with a suction device that will vacuum the guts out of the fish once the abdominal cavity has been slit open. Any stones or other hard objects that could damage the filleting knives are also removed by the suction device. Brushes remove any kidney blood before the fish reaches the filleting knives to prevent contamination of the fillet. The leftovers from the filleting

The VF600, one of Handtmanns recent developments in the production of fish burgers and cakes, will be on display at the SPE in Brussels this year. and contemporary style products that at the same time ensures diversity in texture and appearance of the product range. Fish sticks, sausages, balls, burgers, paté, delicatessen salads are only some of the products that can be manufactured through Handtmann machinery. Handtmann has specialized overtime in filling, portioning, separating, dosing and forming technologies. Handtmann filling technology lays the foundations for maximum productivity. One of its star equipment, the

cialists from the industry will be able to view some of the process solutions they have recently developed, such as fish cakes and burgers production lines demonstrated by a VF 600 with forming device and flattening belt. Visitors will also be able to examine, taste or simply be inspired by numerous different fish products that have been manufactured on Handtmann production lines. Transformation of individual product ideas into a profitable reality,– this is how Handtmann wants to help the industry. More at the SPE Brussels in Hall 4, Stand 6251!

84 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

The new filleting machine from Kroma can fillet round fish at a speed of up to 150 fish per minute.

adjustments and is equipped with a heading unit which will remove the head and the tail of the fish before it enters the filleting machine. There is provision for two operators to introduce the fish into the heading unit and the machine operates at a speed of up to 150 fish per minute depending on the size of the fish.

operation including heads, tails, and the fish bone are also removed by vacuum from the machine keeping the processing area clear of waste material. The filleting knife can be easily adjusted or replaced with another knife if necessary and the machine can be fitted with knives of different sizes.

trade + ma rkets

New EU regulations designed to prevent IUU fishing that enter in force from 2010 will have significant impact on tuna trade.

declined reaching USD 1 100/ tonne at the end of December 2008. Meanwhile the catch of tuna in all major oceans continued below average. Tuna purse seiner owners are discussing a possible 30 day stop of fishing sometime during the first quarter of 2009 in order to reduce supply and to help the market to recover. This would be in addition to the restrictions on fishing being imposed by the Western and Central Pacific Tuna Commission commencing July 2009.

New IUU regulations for EU

Glut lowers prices in December

Tuna prices slowly recovering

The price of tuna reached new lows in December. Buyers disappeared as they waited for signs that the market has stabilized. Other buyers reneged on confirmed purchase contracts sighting inability to open letters of credit or simply lack of funds. Cargoes diverted from confirmed sales artificially increased the available supply in an already oversupplied market.

he price of yellowfin round thus reached EUR 1 300/ tonne in Spain and skipjack seemed to bottom at EUR 850/

tonnes in that important market. Loin prices were also lower. By the beginning of January the price of skipjack in the benchmark Bang-

kok market had bottomed out at below USD 800/tonnes and then rebounded to USD 900/tonnes. The price of skipjack in Ecuador

On 29 September the EU Council of Ministers passed the new regulation to control illegal, unregulated and unrecorded fishing, and to prevent IUU products from being sold on the EU market. From 1 January 2010, imports of fishery products from outside the EC (except freshwater and aquaculture products, and some bivalves) should be accompanied by a catch document which certifies that the consignment was caught in compliance with the laws of the flag state of the catching vessel. Flag states will be obliged to make arrangements for verification of catch certificates, and ensure that consignments are traceable to the vessel of origin through transhipment and processing. The impact of this measure on tuna trade will be significant, and still a lot of administrative problems have to be sorted out before the beginning of 2010. Tuna is considered a staple food in EU countries, and an item to buy

Eurofish Magazine 2â&#x20AC;&#x2030;/â&#x20AC;&#x2030;2009

trad e + m a r k e t s

Canned tuna imports

Germany in 1,000 tonnes

Ecuador Philippines Thailand Indonesia Seychelles Papua NG France Netherlands Ghana Mauritius Others Total

2004 13,7 19,1 5,5 3,4 0,3 8,4 8,1 0,3 0,2 1,5 20,9 81,4

Italy in 1,000 tonnes

Jan-Dec 2005 2006 14,6 15,8 20,3 23,4 11,5 18,1 7,0 6,0 6,6 6,7 9,6 4,4 5,7 2,2 3,5 0,2 0,4 1,4 0,2 0,6 4,9 8,0 84,3 86,8

2007 22,0 24,1 11,9 8,1 2,1 5,7 1,1 0,4 1,3 1,6 7,8 86,0

Jan-Sep 2007 2008 14,2 19,7 19,8 13,8 10,9 6,3 6,8 5,2 1,1 4,0 5,1 1,1 0,8 0,7 0,2 0,1 1,1 0,1 1,6 0,0 5,9 5,2 67,5 56,1 Source: Globefish

Canned tuna imports: France in 1,000 tonnes

Cote d’Ivoire Spain Seychelles Ecuador Madagascar Thailand Ghana Italy Senegal Others Total

2004 33,7 18,6 14,7 * 12,9 * 5,1 7,3 4,9 9,9 107,1

Jan-Dec 2005 2006 21,6 22,9 21,8 22,2 11,3 14,7 7,2 9,1 14,7 15,4 * 8,9 6,5 5,1 8,0 8,9 4,3 1,1 15,2 12,2 110,6 120,4

2007 27,0 19,9 13,6 10,1 10,9 6,1 5,2 3,5 1,7 8,3 106,3

Jan-Sep 2007 2008 23,8 23,8 16,8 15,2 10,1 10,3 9,3 7,2 8,9 6,8 5,6 4,4 4,0 4,2 3,0 2,3 1,4 0,7 6,6 6,6 89,5 81,5 Source: Globefish AN 11030

Canned tuna imports UK in 1,000 tonnes

Mauritius Ghana Philippines Thailand Seychelles Indonesia Maldives Others Total

2004 29,5 22,1 6,2 13,1 29,5 3,1 4,1 24,6 132,2

Jan-Dec 2005 2006 24,39 25,9 20,2 16,4 9,7 10,0 15,9 16,9 28,8 32,0 2,8 0,9 4,6 1,9 25,7 24,6 132,6 128,6

2007 27,8 16,8 13,9 14,9 23,9 1,7 2,2 29,3 130,5

Jan-Sep 2007 2008 19,0 18,4 13,3 16,8 9,9 15,6 13,0 11,2 17,9 9,4 1,3 1,0 1,9 0,8 22,4 30,3 98,6 103,5 Source: Globefish AN 11050

in moments of financial turmoil. Prices of canned tuna have gone up strongly in recent months, but consumer interest seems not

to have influenced by these price hikes. As consumers look more carefully at their food bill in general, more supermarkets’ labels

86 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

Jan-Dec Spain Colombia Cote d’Ivoire Seychelles France Portugal Others Total

2004 36,1 6,4 14,0 4,6 6,1 2,6 4,3 74,1

2005 37,0 7,0 8,9 7,0 4,6 2,8 4,2 71,5

2006 36,7 5,0 9,1 6,9 3,4 2,6 5,8 69,5

2007 39,7 6,6 10,0 3,9 5,3 2,4 9,0 76,9 Source: Globefish

will be bought at the expense of traditional trade brands. Canned tuna imports into the EU were more or less stable in 2008, with some ups and downs experienced by single countries. Thailand experienced a significant decline in the export of its canned tuna products to the EU. Imports of Thai canned tuna declined by 42% on the German market, 22% on the UK market and 12% on the French market. This decline was caused by high prices of the Thai product compared to countries which are able to sell under zero tariffs to the EU market. In fact, countries such as Ecuador, Ghana, and Seychelles performed positively during the 2008 period. In addition to the duty advantage, these countries had access to lower priced raw material than Thailand in the course of 2008. UK is by far the main canned tuna importing country in the EU, with over 130 000 tonnes imported every year. In 2008, imports continued to grow and reached 103 000 tonnes in the first nine months of the year, some 5% ahead of the corresponding 2007 figure. While Mauritius was able to maintain its top position, Ghana and the Philippines showed impressive growth in the period

under review. Total imports in 2008 are likely to exceed 135 000 tonnes. French canned tuna imports continued to decline. In the first nine months of 2008, some 10% less canned tuna was imported than in the same period of 2007. While Côte d’Ivoire managed to keep its canned tuna exports stable, helped by relatively low raw material prices, other main exporters reported substantial cuts in their shipments.

Outlook bleak Landings have been less than average in all major fishing areas. Therefore the rapid decline in the market price has been attributed to lack of confidence on the part of the buyers. At the moment, there seems to prevail the idea of higher prices in view of extremely low landings. However, the present financial crisis does not leave much margins for upward price adjustments. Canned tuna prices which had soared during the first half of 2008, moved downwards in the second half of 2008. However, they are still quite high on the ten years average as the price graph shows. Helga Josupeit, FAO Globefish

Huge increase in exports to Russia and Ukraine

pangasius producers to agree upon a floor price to avoid unfair competition, while ensuring hygienic practices. Recently, many aquaculture processing companies in the Cuu Long Delta have invested in upgrading their infrastructure and expanding their production.

Vietnamese pangasius still growing strongly

Vietnamexported nearly 550 000 tonnes of tra and basa pangasius (commonly called pangasius) in the first ten months of 2008, for a value of USD 1.24 billion. Pangasius exports increased by 53% in value and 75% in quantity over the same period of 2007. At these rates, pangasius recorded the highest growth rate of any aquaculture product exported by Vietnam. The country is earning average revenue of USD 150 million from pangasius exports a month and total 2008 exports are expected to be USD 1.5 billion.

hese forecasts should be reasonable, as new markets such as Russia, the Middle East and some Asian countries have demonstrated a growing demand for pangasius imported from Vietnam. Russia is by far the main importing country of pangasius from Vietnam, representing alone some 20% of total exports. This country reported a 191% growth in imports of pangasius from Vietnam in the first ten months of 2008. Ukraine is second major outlet for Vietnamese pangasius, with 13% of total imports. Ukraine imports of pangasius grew even stronger than the ones of Russia: from 20 000 tonnes in Jan-Oct 2007 to 70 000 tonnes in Jan-Oct 2008. Egypt also expanded as one of the main outlets for this commodity. The EU is the main common market for pangasius from Viet nam, with about one third of imports in both quantity and value terms. Spain is the biggest market, growing by 8%. Demand for pangasius from the European market usually increases every year starting at the end of September.

Imports of pangasius are up 90% into Germany in the first six months of 2008 compared to 2007. The species is being used in more ways by German companies, including the organic range as well as introducing some highend smoked products. In October 2008, a consumer journal enquiry found several problems with pangasius products in German supermarkets. The impact of this study on German pangasius consumption has still to be seen.

Pangasius exports from Vietnam in tonnes

Jan-Oct 2007

Jan-Oct 2008

144,182

189,744

Russia

36,043

104,994

Ukraine

19,802

69,761

Asean

27,959

28,882

China & HK

15,347

15,408

USA

18,036

20,092

Mexico

11,033

20,058

Egypt

4,377

20,482

Others

38,447

80,649

Total

315,226

550,070

Clouds on the horizon Despite this phenomenal growth rates, there is also some critics to be heard. On the one hand, the Vietnamese industry suffers from missing storage space. At present, Vietnamese traders have to sell at whatever price, so they are unable to wait for higher prices. In order to increase the present coldstorage capacity to some 10 000 tonnes, 1.1-1.5 million EUR would be needed, difficult to mobilize in the present difficult financial situation. In addition to upgrading infrastructure, aquaculture companies have invested in widening their

material areas. They signed contracts with local farmers to supply them with food and breeding fish to guarantee their supply. Price cuts are to the expense of quality. Huge price competition result in an overuse of glazing and additives. This will result in declining quality and in the long in consumer dissatisfaction. As for all other major seafood items, importers will start to control more the quality offered, and establish good working relationships with trustworthy companies in Vietnam. There will a shake out of the industry in the coming year. The Vietnamese government animates

The US catfish market is growing quite impressively. In the first nine months of 2008, some 37 000 tonnes were imported, 25% more than in the same period of last year. Vietnam accounts for about half of this quantity, while China reported strong increase in its catfish supplies to the US market, after the tough controls enforced last year. At present China accounts for about 27% of total US catfish imports.

2009 year of change Vietnamese pangasius producers have to improve their quality and their business practices, in order to maintain their markets in Europe. Overall, 2009 will be an important year for the industry, moving from a booming industry into a more mature phase. The occasional quality problems, as the ones listed by the German journal will lead to more consumer resistance. The low price alone will not be able to maintain the EU market. Helga Josupeit, FAO Globefish

Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

Fish Infonetwork News

Aina Afanasjeva takes over as Director of EUROFISH from 1 May 2009 Aina Afanasjeva joins Euro fish from a position in the European Commission, DG Maritime Affairs and Fish eries, where since 2005 she has been managing the implementation of EU structural funds pro grammes in the fisheries sector in different Mem ber States. Before that, for Aina Afanasjeva nine years she was Deputy Director of the Latvian fisheries administration. Among her major tasks were the negotiations on trade in fisheries products, preparation of Latvia’s accession to the EU, as well as representation of national interests in various EU institutions.

Member Country News

Infosa holds annual Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) Meeting in Windhoek Infosa held its annual Technical Advisory Committee Meeting for 2009 from 23 to 25 February 2009 at the Infosa office in Windhoek. The committee meeting were attended by representatives from

activities implemented in 2008/09 and reviewed the workplan and budget for the financial year 2009/10. Development of aquaculture in southern Africa was an area of special focus and Infosa’s

Aina Afanasjeva has a long record of international relations (WTO, FAO and the EU) and she was one of the key national representatives contributing to the FAO EASTFISH project and the establishment of its successor, Eurofish. Aina Afanasjeva’s educational background is in commodities and trade in food products, the technology of fish products and she has a masters’ degree in food chemistry. In Aina Afanasjeva’s view Eurofish, since its establishment in 2002, has become a well established regional organisation for the post-harvest fisheries and aquaculture sectors, with twelve participating countries across eastern and western Europe, inside the European Community and outside. “One of the main challenges for Eurofish in the coming years,” she says, “is to take into consideration the interest of all Eurofish member countries and to meet the expectations of the fish eries and aquaculture sectors in the region with their differ ent needs, especially in facilitating trade relations and ways to get better value for fisheries and aquaculture products, as well as promoting traditional and new fisheries products.” Having experienced the process of bringing her home coun try into the EU, she sees a strong role for Eurofish in continu ing the work in central and eastern European countries of promoting fish processing and fish farming, of identifying trade and market opportunities, and of assisting industry to adapt to international market, quality, and food safety standards. Aina Afanasjeva adds, “I am encouraged by the support of Eurofish member countries and also by the new countries that we look forward to welcoming soon in the Organisation.” 88 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

Representatives from the Infosa Technical Advisory Commeettee focused on the development of aquaculture in Southern Africa.

Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The regional representative of the FAO was present for the opening session. The committee took note of the various

workplan for 2009/10 reflect this concern. Infosa has already held courses for practitioners of small scale aquaculture in Nambia, and the organisation been called upon to develop a strategic plan for the development of small scale aquaculture in Mozambique.

Projects

Eurofish to identify Nordic Baltic co-operation opportunities within fisheries and aquaculture The Nordic-Baltic co-operation between the five Nordic and three Baltic countries was established in 2004 at the level of senior government officials. Eurofish plays a role in the development of closer contacts between

the countries in the region as its membership includes both Nordic and Baltic countries. This year, on behalf of the Nordic and the Baltic States - Committee of Senior Officials (NB8-CSO), Eurofish is developing a survey

Fish Infonetwork News that will explore opportunities for Nordic Baltic co-operation in the field of fisheries and aquaculture that are not already covered by existing EU or other programmes. The survey aims firstly to identify the areas within this field that would benefit from Nordic-

The Fish Infonetwork ( FIN )

Baltic co-operation, secondly it will develop ideas on how this co-operation will be implemented, and finally it will also detail the benefits that would accrue to the Nordic and Baltic sides of the partnership. The results of the survey are expected to be analysed and written into a report by April 2009.

The FIN consists of 7 independent partner organizations. They cover all aspects of post-harvest fisheries and aquaculture. With more than 50 governments support ing the network, which also has strong links to the private sector, the activities are truly international. The FIN pages, which are a regular feature in the four network magazines – Infofish International, Infopesca Internacional, Eurofish Magazine, and Infosamak Magazine – present the FIN-wide spectrum of activities, showing actions and results. The FIN has more than 80 full-time staff and works with more than one hundred international experts in all fields of fisheries. Through its link from FAO Globefish to the FAO Fisheries Department, it also has access to the latest information and knowledge on fisheries policy and management issues worldwide. FIN executes donor projects, prepares market research for private companies, and organizes training courses on marketing and quality assurance. All seven services offer different possibilities for co-operation with the private sector, institutes, government offices and donors.

Workshop on harmonising quality and traceability standards for scallop trade The final workshop of the AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) project “Harmonising Quality and Traceability Standards for Pecten Trade in Asia Pa-

n Globefish Fishery Industries Division FAO Viale delle Terme di Caracalla I 00100 Rome, Italy Tel.: (+39) 06 5705 6313/5059 Fax: (+39) 06 5705 5188 globefish@fao.org www.globefish.org Partners: Seafood Services Australia, De partment of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada; Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Denmark; European Commission (DG FISH); OFIMER, France; Norwegian Seafood Export Council; Ministero de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, Spain; National Marine Fisher ies Service, Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, USA; VASEP, Viet Nam

nam, Brunei Darussalam, Thailand, Malaysia and Philippines (Zone 4); and France, Spain, Italy, UK, Germany and Belgium (Zone 5).

n Infopesca Casilla de Correo 7086 Julio Herrea y Obes 1296 11200 Montevideo, Uruguay Tel.: (+598) 2 9028701/2 Fax: (+598) 2 9030501 infopesc@adinet.com.uy www.infopesca.org Member Countries: Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Uruguay, Venezuela

Group photo of participants at the workshop on quality and traceability standards for scallops, that was organised by INFOFISH in Lima, Peru.

cific Region” (FWG 04/2008) was held in Lima, Peru, 15 – 17 December 2008. During the workshop, consultants presented the findings of their studies on scallop production and trade in various countries. The countries covered were: Canada, USA, Mexico, Peru and Chile (grouped under Zone 1); Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Singapore (Zone 2); PR China, Japan, Rep Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Russia (Zone 3); Viet-

n Infopeche Tour C -19éme étage, Cité Administrative, Abidjan 01, Cote d‘Ivoire Tel.: (+225) 228980 / 215775 Fax: (+225) 218054 infopech@africaonline.co.ci www.globefish.org/index.php?id=1113

n Infosa Southern African suboffice of Infopeche P.O. Box 23523, Kenya House Robert Mugabe Avenue, 4th Floor Windhoek, Namibia Tel: (+264) 61 279430 Fax: (+264) 61 279434 infosadc@mweb.com.na www.infosa.org.na Member Countries: Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Sey chelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe n Eurofish H.C. Andersens Boulevard 44 - 46 DK-1553 Copenhagen V, Denmark Tel: (+45) 333 777 55 Fax: (+45) 333 777 56 info@eurofish.dk, www.eurofish.dk Member Countries: Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Romania, Spain, Turkey,

n Infofish Menara Olympia, Level 2 8 Jalan Raja Chulan Kuala Lumpur 50200, Malaysia Tel.: (+603) 20783466 Fax: (+603) 2078 6804 infish@po.jaring.my www.infofish.org Member Countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Maldives, Malaysia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand

A guideline proposal on harmonising quality and traceability standards for scallop trade in the Asia Pacific region was prepared at the end of the workshop. The workshop was chaired by Jorge Zuzunaga, Director General of Aquaculture, Peru and Project Overseer. INFOFISH, represented by Tarlochan Singh, Chief, Technical Advisory Services, presented the findings for Zone 2 and also gave a presentation on the global trade in bivalves.

Member Countries: Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Gabon, Gam bia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo

n Infoyu Room 203, Bldg 18, Maizidian Street, Chaoyang District Beijing 100026, P.R. China Tel.: (+86) 10 64195140 Fax: (+86) 10 64195141 infoyu@agri.gov.cn www.globefish.org/index.php?id=2074 Member Countries: China n Infosamak 71 Boulevard Rahal Meskini B.P. 16243 Casablanca, Morocco Tel.: (+212) 22540856 Fax: (+212) 22540855 infosamak@onp.co.ma www.infosamak.org Member Countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Yemen

Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

Fish Infonetwork News

Workshops on domestic markets in Uruguay, Mexico, and Belize

Infofish programme for fisheries officers on fish marketing

In the framework of FAO’s project TCP/RLA/3111 (Improvement of the domestic markets for fish and fishery products in Latin America

A familiarisation programme on the compilation of the Fish Market Information System was organised by Infofish for seven fisheries officers, four from Indonesia and three from Thailand in Kuala Lumpur from 5-9 Janu-

tic and regional consumption of fish and seafood, and to improve the marketing conditions to assure quality in the different stag-

as well as group discussions. Apart from the briefings at Infofish covering the activities of Infofishwith a focus on the fish marketing information system, the participants also visited other related agencies in Malay-

Participants at the Infopesca – organized workshop to promote consumption of fish and seafood in Mexico.

and the Caribbean) Infopesca organised three workshops during the months of December and February in Uruguay, Mexico and Belize. The objective of this project is to promote the domes-

es of the value chain. More than 100 people participated in these three events, which took place in Punta del Este (Uruguay), México City (Mexico) and Belize City (Belize).

Regional WTO workshop for CEE countries Eurofish and FAO are organizing a regional workshop for Central and Eastern European countries with the title “The WTO and Fisheries. Impact of the WTO agreements and current WTO negotiations on the fisheries sector”. The workshop

will be held on 17-19 March 2009 in Sofia, Bulgaria. About 35 representatives from 28 different countries in Central, Eastern and Western Europe are expected to participate. The speakers will be from the WTO, the FAO and Eurofish.

Infofish introduces the fish market information system of fisheries officers from Indonesia and Thailand.

ary 2009. The 5-day programme for the Indonesian officers was part of FAO’s project on Fish Market Information System for Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, Indonesia (GSP/INS/078/SPA) funded by the Spanish government. The training programme consisted of briefings, field visits and practical sessions

sia such as the Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (LKIM), the Malaysian External Trade Development (Matrade) Centre, and the Fishermen Association of Perak. Field visits were conducted to the Kuala Lumpur wholesale fish market, retail markets, and the fishing port in Lumut, Perak.

www.fischmagazin.de

is the platform for finding fish, fishproducts and tecnology-suppliers – worldwide.

On this platform you’ll find a complete database with multiple options for searching exactly what you’re looking for. Available 24 / 7 free of charge.

More than 9,000 companies listed ! 90 Eurofish Magazine 2 / 2009

Diary Dates

April 2-4 April, 2009 Seoul Seafood Show Seoul, Korea Tel.: +82-2-6000-2800 Fax: +82-2-6000-2805 3s@seoulseafood.com www.seoulseafood.com

Fax: +1 207 842 5505 customerservice@divcom.com www.euroseafood.com May 14-16 May 2009 Fisning’09 Glasgow, UK Tel.: +44 20 7650 1024 Fax: +44 20 7650 1050 karl.coppack@intrafish.com www.fishingexpo.co.uk

17-20 April, 2009 Slow Fish Genoa, Italy Tel.: +39 010 53911 Fax :+39 010 5391270 fierage@fiera.ge.it www.slowfish.it

25-29 May 2009 World Aquaculture 2009 Veracruz, Mexico Tel.: +1 760 751 5005 Fax: +1 760 751 5003 worldaqua@aol.com www.was.org

21-22 April, 2009 Scottish Aquaculture: A sustainable future Edinburgh, Scotland, UK Tel.: +44(0)1350 727 484 Fax: +44(0)1350 727 484 symposium@sarf.org.uk www.sarf.org.uk

18-21 August 2009 Aqua Nor 2009 Trondheim, Norway Tel.: +47 73 56 86 40 mailbox@nor-fishing.no www.aqua-nor.com September 15-18 September, 2009 3rd Joint Trans-Atlantic Fisheries Technology Conference (TAFT) Copenhagen, Denmark Tel.: +45 45 25 25 75 jej@aqua.dtu.dk

27 April, 2009 2nd European Tuna Conference Brussels, Belgium Tel.: +31 162 430520 Fax: +31 162 430525 support@ europeantunaconference.com www. europeantunaconference.com

June 2-4 June 2009 Seafood Russia 2009 Moscow, Russia Tel.: +44 208 387 3200 Fax: +44 208 387 3201 jon.irwin@eme-uk.com www.seafood-russia.ru

16-18 June 2009 Polfish 2009 Gdansk, Poland Tel.: +48 58 554 9362 Fax: +48 58 554 9117 Juszkiewicz@mtgsa.com.pl www.polfishfair.pl August 14-17 August, 2009 Aquaculture Europe 2009

16-19 September, 2009 Aqua Farming International Exhibition 2009 Vigo, Spain Tel.: +44 1329 820495 Mrybak-rendell@ worldtradeexhibitions.com www.aquafarminginternational.com

October 6-8 October, 2009 Conxemar Vigo, Spain Tel.: +34 986 433 351 Fax: +34 986 221 174 conxemar@conxemar.com www.conxemar.com 7-9 October 2009 DanFish International 2009 Aalborg, Denmark Tel.: +45 9935 5555 Fax: +45 9935 5555 ehe@akkc.dk www.danfish.com

27-29 May, 2009 Fish Expo Faroes Torshavn, Faroe Islands Tel.: +298 30 80 30 Fax: +298 30 80 31 xpro@xpro.fo www.fex.fo

21-24 April 2009 Sinaval – Eurofishing Bilbao, Spain Tel.: +34 94 404 00 00 Fax: +34 94 404 00 01 Visisinaval@bec.eu www.sinaval.eu

28-30 April, 2009 European Seafood Exposition 2009 Brussels, Belgium Tel.: +1 207 842 5504

Trondheim, Norway Tel.: +32 59 323859 Fax: +32 59 321005 ae2009@aquaculture.cc www.easonline.org

15-18 September 2009 World Food Moscow 2009 Moscow, Russia Tel.: +7 495 935 7350 Fax: +7 495 935 7351 worldfood@ite-expo.ru www.world-food.ru

10-14 October 2009 Anuga Cologne, Germany Tel: +49 221 821 2214 Fax: +49 221 821 3410 www.anuga.com 12-14 October 2009 Dubai Internacional Seafood Expo 2009 Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel.: +971 4 298 7730 Fax: +971 4 298 7886 orangex@emirates.net.ae www.orangefairs.com

17-21 September, 2009 World Fishing Exhibition Vigo 2009 Vigo, Spain Tel.: +34 986 447485 Fax: +34 986 437689 marcarneiro@ worldfishing-exhibition.com

November 12-14 November, 2009 Expo Pesca 2009 Lima, Peru Tel.: +511 344 4386 Fax: +511 344 4389 thais@amauta.rcp.net.pe www.thaiscorp.com/ expopesca_new

A d d y o u r e v e n t t o w w w. e u r o f i s h . d k

List of Adve rtisers Name of Company Imprint Publishing House

AB Seac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Fachpresse Verlag Michael Steinert An der Alster 21 D-20099 Hamburg Germany Phone +49 (0) 40 / 24 84 54-0 Fax +49 (0) 40 / 280 37 88

Joint publishers & managing editors

Alba Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Aqua Nor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Atlantic Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Michael Steinert, Victor Hjort

Editorial office Copenhagen

Bayha & Strackbein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Behnan Thomas (bt) H.C. Andersens Boulevard 44-46 DK-1553 Copenhagen V Denmark Phone +45 333 777 55 behnan.thomas@eurofish.dk

Editorial office Hamburg

Carnitech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Cretel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Emperor Aquatics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

André Nikolaus (nik) Phone +49 (0) 40 / 24 84 54-17 andre.nikolaus@snfachpresse.de

Fessmann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Geoeye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Björn Marnau (bm) Phone +49 (0) 40 / 24 84 54-15 bjoern.marnau@snfachpresse.de Editorial office Delbrück

Gewürzmühle Nesse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Dr. Manfred Klinkhardt (mk) Redaktionsbüro Delbrück Franz-Stock-Straße 23 D-33129 Delbrück Germany Phone +49 (0) 52 50 / 93 34 16 manfred.klinkhardt@web.de

Editorial board

Grieg Seafood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Handtmann, Albert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Back cover Holländisches Fischbüro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Grimur Valdimarsson, Martin Gill, Wolfgang Krone, Michael New, Lahsen Ababouch

Layout

Page

Sven Mohr-Eggert (responsible), Lukas Tarapata Matthias Hellmuth, Norbert Lützow, Sebastian Krebs E-Mail: sven.mohr@snfachpresse.de

Illari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Inter Fresh Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Kloosterboer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Translation

Yvonne Bulmer

Advertising

Eckhard Preuß Marderstieg 7 D-21717 Fredenbeck Germany Phone +49 (0) 41 49 / 80 20 Fax +49 (0) 41 49 / 72 92 e.preuss@freenet.de

Laschinger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inner cover

Aleksandra Petersen Eurofish Magazine H.C. Andersens Boulevard 44-46 DK-1553 Copenhagen V Denmark Phone +45 333 777 63 Fax +45 333 777 56 aleksandra.petersen@eurofish.dk

Metalquimia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Frequency

Maass + Partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Marine Foods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Movinox SRL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 O.W. Icebunker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 / 35 Oscar Somme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

6 issues per year

Subscription details

Peruza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Price: EUR 85,– To subscribe visit www.eurofish.dk or send an email to info@eurofish.dk

Polfish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Unless otherwise stated, the copyright for articles in this magazine is vested in the publisher. Articles may not be reproduced without written permission from the copyright holders. Advertising rates and data available on request. The publishers cannot be held responsible for the nonap pearance of the magazine in cases beyond their control such as strikes, shortage of paper or similar circumstances. ISSN 1020-9956

Rahbekfisk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Salmco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Seafood Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Sealane Cold Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Sia Salas Zivis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Order your free trial Fax: +45 333 777 56 E-mail: info@eurofish.dk

Stawiany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

The Fish Publishing House

Sunwell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Szegedfish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Neue Website

April 2 / 2009 C 44346

Neue Website

www.fischmagazin.de

3 / 2009

www.fischmagazin.de

april 2009

TK-Fisch Convenience Fisch Magazin a l S p e z i

C10152E

Fischmagazin

Magazin für TK-Seafood, Chilled Food, Convenience

n n n Fachpresse Verlag hamburg

ISSN 1020-9956

Geert Kramer

Vemag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bound Insert 19 / 20

Frits de Munnik

Noordzee International Türkische Zuchtware aus holländischer Veredelung

Extra Heft

Seite 10

Die Fachzeitschrift für die gesamte Fischwirtschaft

W. van der Zwan & Zn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Croatia

World Trade Fairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Inching towards compliance with EU regulations

The Netherlands: Challenging times for marine fisheries

Sven Braasch

Hans-Joachim Holtermann

Birte Holtermann

Technology: Caviar farmed in Latvia with Russian expertise Krill: Small crustaceans with big potential FISH INFO network

Eurofish Magazine

Friedrich Wilhelm Lübbert Geschäftsführung erweitert und verjüngt

FischMagazin

Seite 26

www.eurofish.dk

www.fischmagazin.de

n n n n n n n n n n Supply sources n n n n n n n n n n Can opening machines

Frozen seafood specialties

Crustaceans Hamburger Feinfrost GmbH - Frozen Quality Products

Gr. Elbstrasse 158 - 22767 Hamburg Tel.: +49 (40) 39 92 92-0, Fax: +49 (40) 39 92 92 39 E-Mail: info@hafro.de - www.hafro.de

Packaging Ristic AG Am Espen 15, D-90559 Oberferrieden Tel.: 0 91 83 / 40 90, Fax: 0 91 83 / 4 09 49 Web: www.ristic.com, E-Mail: info@ristic.com

Insulated Containers

Salmon slicers

SALMCO Technik GmbH Reinskamp 1 D-22117 Hamburg Tel.: +49-40-713 14 72 Fax : +49-40-712 98 70 Internet: www.salmco.de E-Mail: info@salmco.com

Transport

D-27472 CUXHAVEN Grodener Chaussee 61 Telefon 0 47 21 / 208-0 Telefax 0 47 21 /208-100

Smoked salmon

FRANKFURT / MAIN-AIRPORT Gebäude 456 A, Raum Nr. 3435 Telefon 0 69 / 69 76 76-30 Telefax 0 69 / 69 76 76-50

Wire ropes

C 44346 April 2 / 2009 6 ISSN 1020-995

The fastest way to advertise in Eurofish Magazine Seafood Exposition Visit us at the European Hall 5 / Booth 639 Brussels 28. – 30. April 2009,

Croatia

e rds complianc Inching towa ations with EU regul

s for marine fisherie s: Challenging times The Netherland ise with Russian expert farmed in Latvia Technology: Caviar ial ceans with big potent

Krill: Small crusta

ork FISH INFO netw

Eckhard Preuß

Aleksandra Petersen, Eurofish Magazine

Marderstieg 7, D-21717 Fredenbeck, Germany Phone +49 (0) 41 49 / 80 20, Fax +49 (0) 41 49 / 72 92 E-Mail: e.preuss@freenet.de

H.C. Andersens Boulevard 44-46, DK-1553 Copenhagen V, Denmark Phone +45 333 777 63, Fax +45 333 777 56 E-Mail: aleksandra.petersen@eurofish.dk

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