Eurofish Magazine 3 2019

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RAS to contribute increasingly to farmed ďŹ sh production In Karelia, Russia, ďŹ sh farmers expand into processing activities Serbia: Deploying technology increases trout output is a member of the FISH INFO network

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In this issue

Pelagic POs come together in fishmeal venture Fisheries and aquaculture production in Estonia continues its gently rising trend in most of the subsectors. The distant-water fleet, Baltic Sea trawler fleet, inland water capture fishermen, and aquaculture industries also recorded increases in production, while catches from the coastal fleet showed a slight decline. In some parts of Estonia, Fisheries Local Action Groups which invariably to include representatives from coastal fishermen are implementing projects that will benefit coastal fishers. These include the construction or renovation of ports and the provision of ice that will facilitate the unloading and distribution of fish while improving its quality and shelf life. Fresh locally caught fish is in demand at local supermarkets several of which would like to be able to offer local fish alongside the assortment of imported products. Locally caught pelagic species have now another market in Estonia, as the three pelagic producer organisations have united behind the construction of a new fishmeal and fish oil factory. The idea is to create competition for small pelagic supplies and thereby boost prices. Investors are also showing marked interest in marine aquaculture and together with scientists are conducting experiments to establish the feasibility of such a venture. In short, the signs from the sector are encouraging. Read more on page 26 Fish feeds: Marine aquaculture in Europe which accounts for four fifths of the total farmed fish and seafood production on the continent is dominated by carnivorous species of finfish. These require complex extruded feeds based on fishmeal and fish oil for healthy growth. Fishmeal and fish oil are also used in the production of animal and poultry feed, but some three quarters of the global production of fish oil is an ingredient in fish feeds. Fishmeal and oil are produced from wild stocks of small pelagic fish, volumes of which depend on nature. Other sources are the leftovers from processing operations and discards. Despite the different sources, global production of fish oil has stagnated at about 1m tonnes, which is a constraint on the growth of the aquaculture industry. Fish oil is an important constituent of fish feed because it contains omega-3 fatty acids. However, other sources of these vital fatty acids also exist, such as microalgae, and techniques have now been established that allow the large scale production of algae and the extraction of their omega-3 fatty acids. Read Dr Manfred Klinkhardt’s article on page 21 Increasing seafood consumption in Russia: Consumption of fish and seafood in Russia was 21.5 kg per capita in 2017, a figure the authorities would like to increase. A conference held last year in St. Petersburg brought experts together to share knowledge about consumers’ habits, the products available on the market, the role of mass media, and ways to boost demand. The results of a consumer survey were also presented at the event to give a picture of the average consumer, her preferences, criteria for selecting fish products, frequency of consumption and other details. The results of the study will be taken into consideration by the Russian Federal Agency for Fisheries in its marketing and promotion activities for fish and seafood which will hinge on emphasising Russia’s historic ties with fish and seafood, information and dissemination activities aimed at consumers, and promotion of products in the retail and food service sectors. The archive photograph shows consumers indulging in a fish soup produced at an event promoting the consumption of domesticallyproduced fish. Read more on page 48 Direct sales of fish and seafood is becoming increasingly popular. While the tradition of selling directly from the fishing vessel is an old one in many countries, it appears to be gaining ground in others as the advantages become apparent and technologies such as social media, which are convenient for marketing, and cashless payments, become widespread. The advantages of direct sales are many. Consumers can get the freshest possible product at a price more reasonable than they would find at a retail outlet, while for the fisherman too the price is probably better than that he or she would get from a wholesaler, retailer, or other intermediary. Fish farmers too often have direct sales outlets at or near their premises and often also restaurants where the fish that is cultivated is served. Some farms also have their own processing operations, typically smokehouses, so that they can offer both fresh and processed fish. Some process both their own farmed fish and other fish, some of which may be imported, to be able to offer their customers a wider range of products. Read more on page 50

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Table of News 6 International News

Events

18 Aqua Nor, 21-23 August, Trondheim A packed programme of events 19 RAStech 2019, 13-14 May, Washington, DC Industry predicts major role for RAS in food security

Aquaculture 20 Farmers in Karelia, the centre of Russian trout breeding, invest increasingly in value addition Quality and food safety distinguish trout products

21 New solutions to support sustainable growth in aquaculture Omega-3 fatty acids from microalgae instead of ďŹ sh oil

Estonia 26 The Estonian ďŹ sheries and aquaculture sector A new era of inter PO co-operation 33 Virumaa FLAG brings beneďŹ ts for members and non-members alike Adding value to ďŹ shermen’s catches

36 A ďŹ shmeal and ďŹ sh oil production plant opens in Estonia Cooperation beats competition 39 Nudging consumers to eat more ďŹ sh and seafood Promotions are one way to push fresh ďŹ sh sales 43 Eutrophication in the Baltic Sea complicates the development of marine aquaculture Mussel farming may be the answer

Serbia

45 Fisheries and aquaculture in Serbia

Trade and Markets 48 Russia seeks to promote domestic ďŹ sh consumption Survey yields vital insights in consumer habits

50 Direct sales as an alternative form of distribution for ďŹ shermen and ďŹ sh farmers Convincing beneďŹ ts for suppliers and buyers

55 Closer dialogue with non-EU riparian states is a priority for the Black Sea Advisory Council Forging common ground can be a challenge

Service 57 Diary Dates 58 Imprint, List of Advertisers

Scan the QR code to access the EuroďŹ sh Magazine website (www.euroďŹ shmagazine. com), where you can also sign up to receive the EuroďŹ sh Magazine newsletter.

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Contents

QUALITY IS FARMED

(CC BY-SA 3.0) Map based on https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Location_European_nation_states.svg by Hayden120 and NuclearVacuum

IN TURKEY

Worldwide Fish News Bangladesh

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13

Chile

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17

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13

Denmark

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Ghana

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India

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Italy

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Norway

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Russia

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Spain

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UK

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China

VISIT THE TURKISH DELEGATION HOSTED AT THE EUROFISH BUSINESS PLATFORM AT SEAFOOD EXPO RUSSIA STAND C-15, ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA 10-12 JULY 2019

13, 14, 15

6, 7, 8 Eurofish Magazine 3 / 2019

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[ INTERNATIONAL NEWS ] UK: Seaweed pouches replaced plastic bottles at marathon race will break down naturally in 4-6 weeks. Skipping Rocks Lab creates the pouches, which they have named Ooho from harvested brown seaweed. In its production, the colour, taste, and odour are removed to leave a thin, clear edible skin that will hold the liquid. The brown seaweed grows up to 1 meter per day and requires no fresh water or fertilizer. The company plans to expand its product offerings to shopping nets, heat sealable films, and small packets for non-food products.

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At this year’s London Marathon, runners were given small edible seaweed pods filled with sports drink. The use of seaweed pouches helped reduce more than 20 of plastic bottles used at the event. London Marathon organizers replaced 200,000 plastic bottles with these innovative seaweed pouches. The seaweed bags, produced by Skipping Rocks Lab, can be chewed to release the contained liquid and consumed entirely, or if preferred, the seaweed film can be discarded where it

Edible seaweed-based pods replace 200,000 plastic bottles at the London Marathon.

Russia: Karelia forum discusses ways to develop national aquaculture sector Petrozavodsk, capital of the Republic of Karelia, the leading region for rainbow trout aquaculture in the Russian Federation, hosted the International Trout Forum “Modern Technologies. Security and legal regulation� on 12-13 March 2019. The event was organised by the Government of the Republic of Karelia, the Federal Agency for Fisheries of Russia, and the National Agency for Social Communication, with support from the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation. More than 350 representatives of Russian and international companies and organisations, research and educational institutions, federal and regional administration, local governments, as well as students of Petrozavodsk State University participated in the forum. Vasiliy Sokolov, Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for Fisheries of Russia, reported that aquaculture production in the country surpassed 238 000 tonnes in 2018, a three-fold increase since 2005. The NorthWestern Federal district, where the Forum was held, was the second largest district of Russia after

An international meeting was held in Petrozavodsk, Republic of Karelia in March 2019 to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the local farmed trout sector.

the Southern district with 59Â 500 tonnes of aquaculture production in 2018. Vladimir Labinov, Deputy Prime Minister of the government of the Republic of Karelia and the Minister of Agriculture

and Fisheries of the Republic of Karelia noted the need to reduce administrative barriers if the sector was to develop. The event also discussed the creation of a platform for the exchange of experience and

dialogue between government, the scientific establishment, civil society, and industry. Buoyed by the response to the meeting the organisers have decided to hold the forum annually.

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[ INTERNATIONAL NEWS ] UK: MSC product sales soar in the last financial year Sales of seafood products carrying the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) sustainability logo amounted to approximately €6.8 billion for the financial year to March 2018, an increase of €2.3 billion from the previous financial year according to estimates from the MSC. According to the annual report, the increase in sales were a result of the 912,785 metric tonnes of MSC-labelled products sold and the calculated 40 global average retail mark-up from wholesale values for products containing the MSC eco-label. Volumes of MSC-certified seafood continue to grow. An additional 3,795 companies adopted the MSC logo globally in 2017-18 resulting in 28,250 products with the sustainability label. In the period 2017-2018 10 million metric tonnes of certified global

catch was exceeded, which represents 13 of the total global marine catch. In addition, MSC saw revenue increase by 20 in the financial year to 31 March 2018. MSC aims to certify 30 of global catch by 2030, according to Rupert Howes, the chief executive. MSC certificates for two European fisheries were suspended from March 12, 2019. Independent certifier Bureau Veritas issued a notice of suspension for the South of Brittany purse seine sardine fishery in France and the Spanish Bay of Biscay purse seine sardine fishery based on updated advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES). ICES revised the understanding of the sustainability of the sardine stock

and accordingly advised a reduction in fishing effort. According to ICES the Bay of Biscay sardine stock remains healthy, but the fishing effort is significantly higher than what is consistent with achieving Maximum Sustainable Yield. These issues pose a threat to low trophic level and short-lived species like sardines as their populations experience large fluctuations over short time frames. Spokespersons for the two fisheries said they were disappointed with the notice of suspension, but they understood the need for a strong management plan for the sustainability of the stocks. They reiterated their commitment to work together with fisherman and the science community to ensure the viability of the fishery for future generations. All is not lost for the two

fisheries, they have 90 days from the date of the Notice of Suspension to formulate a corrective action plan. If the fisheries can implement mechanisms which ensure catches are in line with the new advice the notice will be rescinded, and the certification will remain.

25 September 2019

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[ INTERNATIONAL NEWS ] Black Sea countries launch science agenda for sustainable blue growth Cooperation on marine research and innovation in the Black Sea region is receiving a strong boost with the adoption of the Black Sea Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA). The agenda, prepared by researchers and scientists from the region’s major marine research institutes and scientific bodies, aims to make the Black Sea more productive, healthy, resilient, sustainable and better-valued by 2030. It will be the research and

innovation pillar of the Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea, to be agreed at the end of May. Human activities and their impacts like eutrophication, overfishing, and climate change are increasingly affecting the fragile marine ecosystem in the Black Sea. The agenda adopted will address those challenges, while using research and innovation to boost sustainable economic growth from the sea. It also provides a basis to

explore synergies with research activities in other sea basins like the Mediterranean Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean. The process brings together experts from seven Black Sea countries: Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, the Russian Federation, Turkey, Ukraine, and the Republic of Moldova. The European Union has played a key facilitating role: by offering a forum for discussions, bringing the relevant

experts and policymakers to the table, and providing technical guidance. It will continue to support the implementation of SRIA and help scale up regional cooperation through, for instance, Horizon 2020 funding. SRIA builds on the Burgas Vision PaperSearch adopted at the 2018 European Maritime Day in Burgas, Bulgaria and takes into account the results of the research projects carried out in the Black Sea since 2010.

UK: EU states catch more than they should A new study claims that the EU will not reach its 2020 goal of sustainably caught fish, as EU ministers continue allowing catches higher than the recommended limits set by scientists. The New Economics Foundation (NEF), an NGO based in the UK, claims that the 2019 TACs for nearly half of EU commercial fish species were set higher than the scientific advice. They found that 55 TAC’s were set above recommended levels equating to approximately 312,000 tonnes in excess catch. The Northeast Atlantic TACs were on average set 16 above scientific advice, an increase of 9 from 2018. Early negotiations for the Baltic Sea and deep sea TACs are currently set higher than expert advice. NEF found that Sweden was the leading country with a little over 50 of all their TACs set higher than that of scientific advice for the Northeast Atlantic fishing region, with the UK and Ireland following at 24 and 22, respectively. In terms of excess volume, the UK, Denmark, and Ireland were the worst perpetrators with 106,925, 49,914, and

Too many TACs are set higher than the scientific advice, a new study shows.

34,052 tonnes, respectively. The study further explains that this overfishing has resulted in Ireland’s mackerel MSCcertification being suspended,

affecting not only Ireland, but Norway and the Faroe Islands. Finally, the study believes that if EU fishing waters were managed correctly and damaged fishing

stocks were rebuilt, while other stocks were fished at maximum sustainable yield, the full potential of this industry could be reached within one generation.

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[ INTERNATIONAL NEWS ]

An American voyager, Victor Vescovo, has broken the record for the deepest dive ever by descending nearly 11km to the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench, the lowest place in the ocean. The 4-hour dive in the submarine “DSV Limiting Factor�, built specifically to endure the immense pressure of the deep ocean uncovered what looks like four new species of prawn-like crustaceans called amphipods. The dive also saw a spoon worm at about 7,000m depth and and a pink snailfish at 8,000 m. Unfortunately, the dive also uncovered plastic pollution in the form of what the team thinks is a plastic bag and some sweet wrappers on the ocean floor. Confirmation is still ongoing. The 10,927m dive is the third

The Five Deeps Expedition/Atlantic Productions for Discovery Channel

Record breaking dive in PaciďŹ c Ocean ďŹ nds new species and plastic litter

Victor Vescovo has dived deeper than anyone before him, finding new species of amphipods – and plastic trash!

time humans have descended to the deepest point in the ocean preceded only by Canadian

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film-maker James Cameron in 2012 reaching a depth of 10,908 meters and before that by the US

Navy in 1960, reaching a depth of 10,912 meters, beating the record with a mere 15 meters.

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[ INTERNATIONAL NEWS ] Italy hosts aquaculture conference for Black Sea and Mediterranean countries

Some of the speakers and organisers at the Verona aquaculture event.

Aquaculture in Europe and in countries bordering the Mediterranean and Black Seas is an important activity that has grown substantially during the past decades though mostly in Mediterranean and Black Sea riparian countries. Fish farming helps to meet the rising demand for fisheries products and contributes to food security, employment and economic development. In terms of blue growth, aquaculture

constitutes a strategic sector for future sustainable development. This growth was possible thanks to a series of factors, such as improvements in fish feed performance, better control of pathogens, and the evolution of cage and land-based technologies. Political will, regional and international cooperation, and significant investments, both public and private, have also strongly contributed to the sector’s development. In addition,

new market opportunities positively influenced this expansion as well. Growth in the sector is expected to continue in the future and the time is ripe to take stock of the recent progress aquaculture has made to improve the cross-disciplinary cooperation and knowledge sharing that is expected to be critical for aquaculture to fulfil the promise it has shown.

With this in mind, EUROFISH, in collaboration with the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Forestry Policies and Tourism, and the Italian Fish Farmers Association (API), organised an international conference, Aquaculture Today and Tomorrow: Unlock the Potential, in Verona on 16-17 May. The event hosted 22 speakers in 4 sessions covering the

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[ INTERNATIONAL NEWS ] current status and challenges of the aquaculture sector and how to realize its potential. Sustainable aquaculture

practices and innovative solutions were also presented along with how to expand the farmed seafood market. Over

100 participants from 28 countries attended the event which featured a visit to fish farm Agroittica Lombarda, the 3rd

largest caviar producer in the world. The programme and presentations are available at: www.eurofish.dk/att.

Ghana completes common oceans success story January marked the successful completion of the Common Oceans ABNJ Tuna Project’s electronic monitoring pilot program in Ghana. An event was organised by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development of the Republic of Ghana with representatives from all stakeholders including the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) and the Ghana Tuna Association (GTA) participating. As part of

the event, there was a formal transfer of the equipment from the project to the Ghanaian authorities. Starting back in 2015, the aim of the project was to develop an effective implementation process at the national level, so that information generated by the then recently deployed Electronic Monitoring Systems (EMS) was fully utilised for compliance purposes reducing Illegal, Unreported and

Unregulated (IUU) fishing. The project had two parts, firstly, installing the new EMS aboard five tuna purse seine vessels, and secondly, the training of land observers to review the data collected. In the following three years, the entire fleet of 14 vessels was equipped with EMS and the land observers reviewed 94 of the 163 fishing trips undertaken. The successfully completion of this pilot has created greater transparency in the Ghanaian fishing industry.

Five years ago, Ghana was facing the problems of an EU yellow card which was impacting the hugely important tuna industry. Now they have improved transparency and are a leading example globally, says Lauren Spurrier, managing director for oceans at WWF. Both industry and governmental experts are also excited about the success of the EMS, as it allows the important fishing sector to access global markets. Electronic monitoring is set to continue in the Ghanaian tuna fishery.

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[ INTERNATIONAL NEWS ] EMODnet, a European marine data integrator, launched digital maps of beach and seaoor litter

EMODnet’s interactive maps allows you to see the litter around Europe.

Increasing concentrations of plastic in our environment are a growing threat to ecosystems and human health. Plastic has been detected in nearly all marine life – from whales to molluscs. In order to fight this threat, there have been calls in international fora such as G7, G20 and the United Nations to bring the many measurements and observations together to create a complete picture. Europe is now leading the way. Authorities and the wider society now have a new tool to help track, map and identify where litter ends up in our seas and oceans and check how it is affecting ocean health. The data and integrated maps on marine litter will allow

people to detect trends for litter on beaches and the seafloor. These maps will also enable society to evaluate the efficiency of reduction measures (bans, taxes, rules, etc.) launched by both the European Commission and Member States, which will address marine litter in general, with two specific types being single use plastics and fishing gear. The production of the maps is based on data from hundreds of data providers and monitoring efforts to gather marine litter information scattered over Europe. The maps show, among others, the spatial and temporal distribution of beach and seafloor litter based on official

monitoring surveys and wider sampling efforts across European countries. The types of litter are also identified, from plastics to glass, wood and metal, and from fishing related items to land-based products such as cigarettes. The first step in the production of the new marine litter maps consisted in collecting and storing beach and seafloor litter data in the EMODnet Chemistry Marine Litter Database, which is the first pan-European Litter Database. A number of processing and harmonisation steps were applied to the data, which is explained in detail in the metadata available for download. Finally, the

harmonised data were processed using a number of data management and computation methods to create the variety of maps. Data collection and processing was a collaborative effort among the consortium and various stakeholders among others the MSFD Technical Group on Marine Litter, Member States, Regional Sea Conventions, EMODnet Chemistry project partners, ICES Database of Trawl Surveys (DATRAS), Joint Research Centre (JRC) and specific EU projects. A more dynamic and tailored set of products is currently under discussion and could be developed in the future phase. To access the marine litter maps, visit www.emodnet-chemistry.eu

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[ INTERNATIONAL NEWS ] Bangladesh bans coastal fishing for more than two months The Bangladesh Fisheries Ministry has banned fishing in coastal areas for 65 days in an attempt to protect its marine populations during breeding season. The ban has been enforced by authorities and is set to run until July 23. Affected fishermen are concerned about how this will affect their livelihoods and their income. Although similar bans have been issued in the Bay of Bengal in the past, this is the first time the ban extends to include small-scale and local fishing boats. The Ministry posted a

message on Facebook saying it wanted to ensure the “safe environment of the fish, including the preservation of fish eggs” during the breeding season. But the statement has left many fishermen worried about the effect the ban will have on their livelihoods, as some rely solely on this income. Fishermen protested in the port city of Chittagong demanding authorities re-think the ban or provide support during its duration.

Seventeenth consecutive year that China is world’s largest exporter of seafood China’s Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister, Han Changfu confirmed that China has remained the world’s largest exporter of aquatic products for 17 consecutive years with exports having exceeded 20 billion US dollars (18 billion EUR). More than 97 percent of products live up to standards according to a market monitoring report, the minister mentioned at a symposium according to ChinaDaily. The country’s fishing industry has maintained rapid growth

accounting for more than 40 percent of the world’s total production and remaining the world’s largest producer for 30 straight years, according to Han. The Minister urged more efforts to focus on the conservation of fishery resources, crack down on illegal fishing, and strengthen aquaculture monitoring to ensure product safety. The country will optimize its fishing ban system covering all types of water bodies and continue the tough battle against pollution.

Algae blooms are killing off salmon in Norway The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries has issued warnings that toxic algae blooms (Chrysochromulina leadbeaterii) are affecting an area of about 450 kilometres of the northern coastline of Norway. More than 10 000 tonnes of farmed salmon have died so far valued at a loss of 620 million NKR

(63 million EUR) and more are expected in the near future. The Directorate is working on possible solutions for farmers including the use of well boats to relocate the fish. The algae is not uncommon in these waters during spring but the sheer size of the blooms are proving mortal to the fish.

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[ INTERNATIONAL NEWS ] Norwegian mackerel quota more than doubles in 2019

New assessment methods raise the stock size estimate increasing the mackerel quota by 450.000 tonnes.

Following a revision in the way mackerel stocks are measured by scientists, the 2019 harvest quota for the Norwegian mackerel fishery more than doubled from the level set late last year.

The International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) assesses stock size and uses this information to advise the European Commission. New calculations have led ICES scientists to raise the stock size estimate

from 2,35 million tonnes to 4,2 million tonnes, enabling a quota increase by 450.000 tonnes to the new level of 770.358 tonnes. In March 2019, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)

revoked its certification of the Norwegian mackerel fishery, and fishermen are hopeful that ICES’s new, larger quota will induce MSC to reinstate the fishery’s certification.

High raw material prices force Danish salted cod producer to close factory Danish processor Boco Seafood, produces salted cod and processes ling, saithe, and Alaska pollock in its two factories, one in Denmark and the other in Portugal. However, Boco Seafood recently announced the closure of its Danish factory, citing high costs of

cod, mostly imported from Norway. The costs of Atlantic and Pacific cod, available from the US, are coming down, the company said, and its Portugal factory will remain open.

salaried workers, the company said. The production facilities will be moved to Portugal, enabling the company to produce the same volumes as before.

The Danish plant closing will affect 25 hourly-paid and

In business for a decade so far, Boco Seafood supplies salted cod

to southern European markets. “The management of the production in Portugal will continuously be Danish, and we will make sure that our customers in the future receive the same high quality as produced so far in the factory in Denmark,� a company press release stated.

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[ INTERNATIONAL NEWS ] Norway’s cod exports up in value, down in volume in 2018 Norwegian cod exports have exceeded $1 billion for the second year in a row, even as volume declined. In 2018, Norway’s exports of cod grew by 6 over 2017, to $110 million. Volume, however, fell by 9 to 186.170 tonnes. A large increase in average unit value, up by 18 to $4,20 per kg in 2018, sustained the rise in export value. The largest product components in Norway’s cod exports were H&G (Headed and Gutted) whole cod, in fresh or frozen forms, which accounted for 32 and 28, respectively, of total export volume. Also important were dried cod (21), cod salted or in brine (12), and frozen cod fillets (6). Almost a third of Norway’s cod exports went to Portugal, mainly dried, cod salted or in brine, valued at $322 million. Denmark was Norway’s second largest market, purchasing $165 million, mostly whole fresh cod. China accounted for $103 million in Norwegian exports, buying mainly whole frozen cod.

Portugal accounts for about a third of the Norwegian cod exports.

Norway: NoďŹ ma leads EU project on low trophic aquaculture Scientists and industry representatives from 16 countries gathered in Tromsø, Norway in the middle of June to launch a new EU-funded project, AquaVitae. The 36 project partners are from European countries as well as Brazil, South Africa, Namibia, and North America. The project’s purpose is to introduce new low trophic species, products and processes in marine aquaculture value chains across the Atlantic. The five chosen value chains include macroalgae, Integrated MultiTrophic Aquaculture (IMTA), echinoderm species (e.g. sea

urchins), shellfish and finfish. IMTA is a process that farms several species together using waste from one species as feed for another.

in existing industries (e.g. shellfish and finfish) and moving towards zero waste and a circular economy in aquaculture

The project is coordinated by Philip James, a senior scientist at Nofima – the Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research. With a total budget of ₏8 million, this is the second largest EU project ever coordinated by Nofima. It will feature 11 case studies with emphasis on developing new products from low-trophic species (e.g. macroalgae and sea urchins), optimising production

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(e.g. IMTA and Biofloc). For more information, write Philip James at philip.james@nofima.no or call +47 481 68Â 263.

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[ INTERNATIONAL NEWS ] Chile: Danish BioMar completes acquisition of Chilean feed factory Danish-owned BioMar is globally one of the most significant feed producers for the aquaculture industry with 14 feed plants and another two under construction. The factories are located across the globe in the major farmed fish producing nations in Asia, Europe, Latin America and soon also in Australia. The company estimates that roughly 20 of the fish farmed in Europe and South and Central America is raised on its feeds. BioMar recently completed the acquisition of the Chilean feed factory, Alitec Pargua, which had been a joint venture with the salmon producer, AquaChile, with each partner having a 50 interest. BIoMar

and AquaChile entered into an acquisition agreement regarding the Alitec Pargua plant following the Chilean company’s acquisition by a local agro-processor last year. The plant represents 10 years of successful collaboration between the two companies, and after the transaction the commercial relationship between BioMar and AquaChile will continue. BioMar announced that the acquisition will increase its flexible production capacity and allow it to meet demand for its high-performance feeds, functional products and services, which it supplies to 80 countries around the world and for 45 species of fish.

Sady Delgado, AquaChile, and Eduardo Hagedorn, BioMar-Alitec Pargua SA. The Alitec Pargua plant is now wholly owned by BioMar.

India: Holograms on Kerala fishing vessels to enhance coastal security Technology is playing an ever greater role in the seafood industry both on land and at sea. Industry 4.0, IoT (internet of things), blockchain, cloud computing, robotics, and artificial intelligence, are among the terms being used today in connection with the seafood industry. Another technology, holography, used to produce

holograms, devices widely used on credit cards to provide authenticity and prevent counterfeiting, is now being deployed to tackle illegal fishing in the Indian state of Kerala. There, the Fisheries Department will install holographic registration plates (HRP) on 300 mechanised fishing vessels in view of emerging challenges to

coastal security and for faster identification of vessels in case of mid-sea emergencies. Nine tenths of the total cost of INR6m (EUR80,000) will be borne by the state. The department is also considering adding GPS and GPRS capabilities to the new registration plates, which will enable the real time monitoring of sea-going vessels. A

microchip with details of the vessel and its crew will also form part of the new system. Apart from increasing the security of legitimate fishermen, the registration plates will also make it easier to identify unregistered fishing vessels. The initiative was welcomed by the industry as a step towards greater security and better data collection.

Spain: Tuna association seeks MSC certification Organización de Productores Asociados de Grandes Atuneros Congeladores (OPAGAC) is an association of nine frozen tuna seiner fishing shipowners. Its fleet, consisting of 47 tuna seiner ships, catches 380,000 tonnes a year, 8 of the global catch, and fishes in the three main oceans in the world - Atlantic, Indian and Pacific. OPAGAC has begun the process of having its fisheries assessed to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard

to have them certified as sustainable. The assessment is the result of a Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) that OPAGAC developed in collaboration with the WWF since 2016, the objective of which is to achieve MSC certification for the 12 stocks targeted by OPAGAC vessels. And it is in line with a commitment made at the 2017 international Our Ocean conference to obtain MSC certificate for all its captures by 2021. A spokesperson

from Lloyd’s Register, the independent certification body carrying out the assessment, said that it was the largest tuna fleet in the world to apply for MSC certification on this scale. Sustainability certificates are becoming increasingly important for access to important seafood markets around the world and OPAGAC’s decision to seek certification is likely to encourage other tuna fleets to consider it as well.

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OPAGAC, a Spanish association of tuna seiners, has started the process of having its fisheries assessed to the MSC sustainable fisheries standard.

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[ EVENTS ] Aqua Nor, 21-23 August, Trondheim

A packed programme of events

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illed the world’s largest exhibition of aquaculture technology Aqua Nor will reflect the growing importance of aquaculture’s contribution to human nutrition, blue growth, and economic opportunities also in remote communities, where often other openings are scarce. Global aquaculture production exceeded 110 million tonnes in 2016 according to the FAO, of which 80m tonnes was food fish, split between finfish, molluscs, and crustaceans, while 30m tonnes was aquatic plants. The double-digit growth seen in the sector in the 80s slipped to single figures in the 80s and has fallen further since then but was still a respectable 5.8 in the period 2001-16, which was faster than any other food production sector.

The core of Norway’s aquaculture sector – salmon In volume terms, global aquaculture’s share of total capture fisheries and aquaculture production (including aquatic plants) has increased steadily from close to nothing in 1991 to 54 in 2017. While 600 species were farmed across the world, production of many of them is marginal. In fact, the FAO records that 90 of global finfish production can be attributed to just 27 species and the 20 most produced species account for 84 of total finfish production. Nor Aqua will take place in Trondheim, a city in Norway, the most important European nation in the

aquaculture sector. Norway’s production, which slightly exceeded that of the EU-28, is based primarily on salmon. The rise of the salmon industry in Norway has spawned a host of ancillary businesses that supply products and services to fish farming companies. Research bodies, financial institutions, environmental organisations, and administrative units have either sprung into existence or now have divisions dedicated to the fish farming sector. This concentration of expertise makes Aqua Nor a magnet for companies both from within Norway and from abroad who are connected with the aquaculture sector. These then will be the visitors, exhibitors, and yes, competitors at the exhibition. For among the highlights of the show is an award for innovation which aims to bring new ideas to the market and another for the environment, which is given for a solution that improves or safeguards the environment. At the last edition of the show the innovation award went to a Scottish company leading to improved sales as well as increased publicity and a greater presence in the industry. For visitors interested in research and innovation Aqua Nor offers the Research Plaza, a forum for the research, innovation and teaching establishment, which will feature 14 institutions this year. The opening of the forum will be signalled by a series of brief academic seminars that will present the latest results from

Snolys.no / The Nor-Fishing Foundation

Since 1979 Aqua Nor has been drawing exhibitors and visitors from all over Europe and beyond who are interested in developments in the aquaculture sector. This year the show will offer a comprehensive programme of activities to the several thousand visitors and exhibitors who are expected to attend.

A part of the exhibition grounds are at the nearby Skansen area in the harbour where all the water-related technology is displayed.

research and innovation projects on salmon lice, fish health, feed resources, market, and social issues. These will be among the several seminars, mini-conferences, presentations, lectures and debates that are planned during the event. For students, potential students or others interested in the status of research, specific projects, collaborations, funding, or advice on writing project proposals, the Research Plaza with representatives from universities, research institutes, the Research Council of Norway, and Innovation Norway, is the place to visit.

Larger hall and wider spread of activities The show takes place in the middle of Trondheim, a convenient distance from all the city’s attractions. Compared to the last edition in 2017 the venue itself

has grown with a new Hall A of 4,500 sq. m and an additional main entrance to reduce queueing. More meeting rooms have been established which can cater both to large conference-type events as well as more intimate meetings with only a few participants. A short walk from the main exhibition site is the Skansen area in the harbour where the water-related technology will be displayed. This area has also increased in size and allows more exhibitors and has a wider range of food and entertainment options than in 2017. The variety of activities that will take place at Aqua Nor ensure that the show has something to offer everyone and will cement its reputation as one of the world’s most important trade fairs for the aquaculture industry. For more information, visit www. aqua-nor.no

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[ EVENTS ] RAStech 2019, 13-14 May, Washington, DC

Industry predicts major role for RAS in food security Aquaculture professionals from 21 countries gathered in Washington, DC, in May for the RAStech 2019 tradeshow and conference. The conference featured two days of RAS-focused education sessions with over 70 speakers from around the world with presentations on shrimp farming in RAS, energy optimization, engineering innovations, feed management, as well as health and disease management in RAS.

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ecirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) and developments in biotechnology will help address the world’s increasing food supply challenges, said Sylvia Wulf, president and CEO of Aquabounty in her keynote address at RAStech 2019, held May 13-14 in Washington, D.C. The company is the developer of a genetically engineered salmon, the first seafood to obtain regulatory approvals from both Canada and the U.S. for commercial production. “We have to be able to steward the environment in a different way moving forward,” Wulf told close to 275 attendees at the conference. Sustainable food production through RAS will enable the farming of fish wherever the consumers are, Wulf said.

Recirculating systems offers benefits in terms of sustainability In 30 years, we will have 2 billion more people to feed, Wulf said. “I believe a hundred per cent of seafood growth is going to come from aquaculture, and RAS is going to become increasingly important.” She described how the company’s fish was specifically designed to operate in a RAS environment. We continue to optimize those growing conditions so that we are recirculating close to 99 per cent of the water, she added. In her address, Wulf enumerated some of the benefits

of RAS production in sustainable aquaculture, including the ability to put RAS facilities close to consumers limiting the environmental impact of food production, and the biosecurity of RAS which reduces the risk for diseases and eliminates the need for antibiotics. Attendees at RAStech generally agree there is thirst for knowledge and information sharing when it comes to RAS. Still in its early stages, but quickly gaining momentum, land-based aquaculture is touted as a significant development in sustainable seafood production. For Australian Scott Parkinson, CEO of Ornatas in Tasmania, RAStech was a fantastic opportunity to connect and engage with like-minded professionals in the RAS industry. Ornatas is developing the world’s first-ever commercial hatchery for tropical rock lobsters. Mr Parkinson and Greg Smith, University of Tasmania associate professor and the director of the ARC Research Hub for Commercial Development of Rock Lobster Systems, were among the international attendees at this year’s RAStech conference.

The future of recirculation aquaculture appears bright Eric Pedersen, president and CEO of Ideal Fish, believes RAS is going

In her keynote address at RAStech 2019, Sylvia Wulf, president and CEO of Aquabounty, spoke about the benefits of recirculation aquaculture systems for the environment.

to grow very rapidly. Ideal Fish grows European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) to harvest size in a 63,000 sq. ft. (5,853 sq. m) stateof-the-art RAS facility in Waterbury, Connecticut in the U.S. RAS is going to be an explosive area of growth in aquaculture, Mr Pedersen told Hatchery International, particularly in the United States where aquaculture is just beginning to get a toehold in the seafood production chain. Having conferences like this that bring professionals from academia, from industry, from finance together to support this industry is going to be an increasingly crucial part of this development, he added.

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For Robin Muzzerall, vicepresident for aquaculture at Icy Waters Arctic Charr in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory in Canada, the conference was an opportunity to learn about RAS technologies. We currently don’t have RAS, he said, so part of the reason for coming here is to educate myself to see what is out there now compared to about five years ago and start making good choices when we speak to designers. RAStech 2020 will be held 2-3 November in South Carolina. For more information visit www. ras-tec.com

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[ AQUACULTURE ] Farmers in Karelia, the centre of Russian trout breeding, invest increasingly in value addition

Quality and food safety distinguish trout products The Republic of Karelia is known as the principle region for cold-water ďŹ sh farming, and especially for rainbow trout. Karelia differs from other regions of the North-Western district of Russia by its natural conditions which include a large number of deep-water reservoirs with high-quality water at the right temperature.

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n 2018, aquaculture companies in Karelia produced a total of 27 200 tonnes of farmed products (up 10 compared to 2017), including 18 200 tonnes of commercial fish (up by 1 to 2017). Rainbow trout represents nearly the entire volumes of farmed fish (99.98), while the rest is represented by European whitefish and sturgeon. In addition, over 13 tonnes

of mussels were farmed in the White Sea.

Processing fish improves competitiveness Processing of aquaculture products is a very dynamic part of the fish farming industry of Karelia. Large fish farms with significant production volume inevitably come to the idea of

building their own processing facilities. The expansion of processing lines and a focus on products with high added value can significantly improve the competitive edge of enterprises during times of volatile market conditions and enable funds for further investment. At present, there are 63 fish farming companies in Karelia, of which 14 have processing plants. The product

range includes fresh gutted, frozen, smoked, salted, marinated trout, salted trout roe, preserves and other products. Fish farm Kala i Maryapuyta has been farming rainbow trout in the waters of the two largest lakes of northern Karelia, Upper Kuyto and Nyuk, for nearly twenty years. The enterprise’s production is about 2 000 tonnes

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[ AQUACULTURE ] per year, and the production cycle is based on the traditions and practices of Finnish trout farmers. Focus is kept on the proper feeding of rainbow trout, control of its growth, and timely sorting. Trout processing is carried out in facilities with modern equipment, where product safety and control is ensured by a HACCP system. The company is constantly working to expand the range of its products: in addition to the traditional salted trout roe, and smoked and salted trout, the company has started to produce trout in various sauces and ready-to-cook products.

Processing facility built as fish production booms The quality of trout products produced by the fish farm Fedorenko Nikolai Vladimirovich has won medals at

Russian and international exhibitions. At the beginning of its activities in the Kondopoga in 1990, the volume of commercial fish was only 25 tonnes, whereas by 2018 production volume had grown to 1 500 tonnes. Some years ago this entrepreneur opened a fish processing plant equipped with modern technology and a HACCP system. A group of companies called Karelian Fish Plants, which includes Silver Onegi, Parade Plus, Karelian Fish Plants-PM, and Karelian Fish Plants-Korma, farm rainbow trout in the waters of the southern and central parts of Karelia. The companies have processing facilities equipped with modern technologies for cutting, salting, hot- and coldsmoking of trout, freezing, as well as for production of trout caviar and processing of other farmed fish and seafood. Vertical

integration of the group continued with the opening of a fish feed plant in 2017.

of the interest rate on loans for the purchase of domestically produced fish feeds.

The government of the Republic of Karelia has implemented several state support measures aimed at the development of the fisheries and aquaculture industry. In 2018, the regional government supported enterprises with grants for reimbursement of 30 of the cost of purchasing fish processing equipment, creating, reconstructing and upgrading fish breeding activities and specialized lines for production of fish feed, as well as for reimbursement of part of the interest rates on loan agreements for purchase of fish feed and fish stocks. Additional measures in 2019 include the reimbursement of 50 of the cost for preparation of documentation regarding construction of complexes for recirculation aquaculture systems, and the reimbursement of part

Ambitious plans to increase output in Karelia The plan of activities for the development of the aquaculture sector in Karelia in 2017-2020 and subsequent years foresees an increase of production to 35 000 tonnes by 2025. Currently, Karelian aquaculture products are distributed on the national market through wholesale and distribution channels. Intensification of the aquaculture production and development of the fish processing industry will further supply the domestic market and allow regional producers to expand internationally. Ekaterina Tribilustova, EUROFISH, katia.tribilustova@eurofish.dk

New solutions to support sustainable growth in aquaculture

Omega-3 fatty acids from microalgae instead of fish oil Fish oil is not available in sufficient quantities to meet the growing needs of the aquaculture and nutraceutical industries. Although essential omega-3 fatty acids are also to be found in microalgae, production capacity has so far been low. That is now changing, however, and developments in this field are making rapid progress. The first feeds for aquaculture with omega-3 fatty acids from algae are now available on the market.

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uman beings – like fish – have to consume a certain amount of essential, long-chain, polyunsaturated fatty acids with their food every day in order to stay healthy and develop “normally”. The omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are particularly important. These are not produced in the body but

must be obtained from food. Hundreds of scientific studies have revealed that EPA and DHA are of huge importance for the development and health of the brain, eyes and cardiovascular system. With regard to their use in animal and aquaculture feed both of these fatty acids have up to now been obtained almost exclusively

from marine fish oil sources. However, fish oil supply is limited because the available wild fish catches cannot be increased at will and they are also used more for direct human consumption. Global fish oil production is currently stagnant at around one million tonnes a year and is indeed tending to decline. This situation is already endangering the growth

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of aquaculture which uses almost three-quarters of worldwide fish oil production. Significant increases are not to be expected for the time being despite the fact that fish oil producers now also gain raw materials from previously unused reserves such as slaughterhouse waste and bycatches from the fishing sector which were previously discarded

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[ AQUACULTURE ] at sea immediately after the catch. It is estimated that 15 to 20 million tonnes more raw material could be taken from these sources each year. Hopes now also rest on the stocks of mesopelagic fish species which live in the oceans at depths of between 200 and 1,000 metres. Scientists have estimated their biomass at 10,000 million tonnes. If this is correct it would be by far the largest known fish resource. Access to these fish, however (they live at the upper limit of the deep sea) poses enormous risks to oceanic ecosystems because we still know far too little about the mesopelagic fish world to be able to use it sustainably. In spite of this, aquafeed producers are increasingly optimistic about their ability to meet aquaculture’s growing feed requirements. And this confidence is justified: progress made in the large-scale use of microalgae has provided a rewarding and virtually inexhaustible source of the much needed omega-3 fatty acids. Basically, the idea of extracting fatty acids directly from microalgae is not new because the microscopically small algae that float in the light-flooded, near-surface layers of the oceans are themselves

the producers – i.e. the original source – of omega-3 fatty acids. In the course of the marine food chains the fatty acids accumulate successively in zooplankton and then, further on, in the fish. This means that anyone who wants to make use of the valuable fatty acids does not necessarily have to obtain them from fishes because they are also present in algae biomass. The extraction of fatty acids from algae was for a long time only possible in the lab for there were still no suitable technologies and processes available for the largescale production of algae. Added to that was the fact that the upscaling of algae production and the extraction of fatty acids from algae required considerable investments. As long as relatively cheap fish oil from fishing sources was available in sufficient quantities it made no sense to look elsewhere. But things look quite different now. In the face of decreasing supply of fish oil the growing demand for omega-3 fatty acids has clearly strengthened the position of algae oil in the competitive field. And because limited supply already leads to rising prices algae cultures have suddenly become economically viable. From an ecological point of view they have

The high content of long-chain, polyunsaturated fatty acids makes fish oil a valuable component of fish feed but demand exceeds supply.

always had an advantage anyway, because this method of fatty acid production does completely without fish. In other words it preserves fish stocks.

Schizochytrium algae produce DHA from sugar cane residues So what is the situation now? The US company TerraVia, which develops technologies for food, nutrition and special ingredients, has pushed forward microalgae culture and extraction processes for fatty acids so that they are now ready to go into practice on a large scale. To commercialise the innovative technology TerraVia has set up a joint venture with the agribusiness company Bunge Limited, one of whose work areas is the processing of oil and cereal seeds. This collaboration will make it possible to achieve a relevant production size more quickly. In the Brazilian state of SĂŁo Paulo the joint venture operates a production plant for marine microalgae of the genus Schizochytrium. These are cultivated in huge, six-storey high fermentation tanks. The unicellular marine algae produce particularly large amounts of DHA. Their natural habitat is the mangrove forests of tropical coasts. One energysaving advantage of this algae species is that it requires no light because it feeds on organic substances such as dead mangrove leaves. This feature can be put to good use in their culture: within the biofermenter the Schizochytrium algae are “fedâ€? on residues of sugar production from sustainably produced sugar cane. These residues come from a neighbouring sugar factory that is certified by Bonsucro according to sustainability criteria. The energy-rich food pulp seems to be much liked by the microalgae

which are kept under optimal conditions in the biofermenter: It takes only a few days for their biomass to multiply with the result that a certain proportion can be removed regularly. Dried and processed accordingly, this is then used to produce an omega3-rich powder which is marketed under the name AlgaPrime DHA and used as an additive for animal feed, particularly in aquaculture. No genetic engineering tricks are needed to produce this algae-based fatty acid for it grows in a completely natural way. The process can be carried out in almost any location that can supply suitable organic substrates for feeding the algae‌ independent of climatic conditions and other external influences, which enables a stable supply of DHA of constant quality. TerraVia says that AlgaPrime contains 280mg DHA per gram of dry algae mass. If one translates this to the omega-3 fatty acid content of fish then one tonne of AlgaPrime corresponds to nearly forty tonnes of industrial fish! This comparison makes it clear why algae cultures are a real omega-3 fatty acid alternative that can reduce our dependence on fish oil and natural resources. AlgaPrime is produced in a sustainable way, it preserves fish stocks, does no damage to the environment, and contains no harmful substances or heavy metals. Another advantage is that AlgaPrime in powder form can be dosed precisely to the gram and added to animal feed as required. The feed producer BioMar already uses AlgaPrime DHA in some of its products that are used in aquaculture in Norway, Scotland and Chile. Omega-3-rich oil from the microalgae Schizochytrium can now even be used in food. The EU Commission approved its placing on the market in accordance

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[ AQUACULTURE ] with Regulation (EC) No. 258/97 with an implementing decision of the European Parliament and the Council on 14 July 2014.

Evonik and DSM invest USD 200 million in an algae project The supply situation of omega-3 fatty acids is likely to ease further in the near future. In March 2017, Evonik, a leading specialty chemicals company, and Royal DSM, a science-based health, food and materials company, announced

their plan to jointly invest approximately $200 million in a facility for the industrial production of omega-3 fatty acids from natural marine algae. The joint venture, called Veramaris, has its headquarters in the Netherlands but the production facility will be built at Blair (Nebraska) in the United States, in the immediate vicinity of an existing Evonik plant. This provides direct access to the raw materials that are needed for the production of the high-quality, pure omega-3 fatty acids EPA and

DHA. Completion and commissioning of the production facility are scheduled for 2019. Production will initially focus on feeds for salmon aquaculture and pet food. Once the planned production capacity is reached, Veramaris is expected to meet 15 per cent of the annual EPA and DHA needs of the global salmon farming industry. Since the marine algae are produced on land under controlled conditions, salmonid aquaculture now has a sustainable omega-3 source that can be scaled to meet growing demand.

One of the advantages of microalgae is that they can be produced as required in continuous cultures.

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The decision in favour of the 200 million dollar investment, which is shared equally by Evonik and DSM, was preceded by various feasibility studies and tests... not only to examine the demand for omega-3 fatty acids and highly concentrated algae oil products for animal nutrition, but also to test other parameters that are decisive for the cost-effectiveness of production. At an existing DSM plant in Kingstree, South Carolina, USA, the two companies produced omega-3 algae oil in advance in a pilot plant so that the product could be thoroughly tested in practice. In collaboration with feed manufacturer Skretting, for example, the digestibility and absorption of algae oil in the fish body and its influence on the growth and health of salmon and trout were investigated. The results were apparently so convincing that the decision was taken to build the large-scale plant. This positive step was probably also influenced by EU approval which gave the go-ahead for the use of algae oil in animal feed. The highly concentrated algae oil “MicroBalance” consists of more than 50 DHA and EPA and is free of any impurities. According to Evonik and DSM, 1 kg of their EPA- and DHA-rich algae oil replaces approximately 60 kg of wild fish. Both emphasize that process and product development was only possible due to the complementary competencies that Evonik and DSM brought to the cooperation. DSM is a recognized specialist in biotechnology, the culture of algae and other aquatic organisms. The science-based company has particular expertise in life sciences, health, nutrition and materials sciences. Evonik, a creative industrial group from

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[ AQUACULTURE ] advantages during use and enables affordable prices.

Photoautotrophic microalgae usually need a lot of light which necessitates special technical solutions.

Germany, is one of the world’s leading suppliers of specialty chemicals and currently concentrates its activities on the megatrends health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization.

“Fish-free� feeds can safeguard the future of aquaculture In February 2017 two US companies, Heliae and Syndel, announced a partnership for the mass production and distribution of Nymega, a new algaebased DHA-containing component for aquaculture feeds. From its headquarters in Ferndale, Washington, Syndel manufactures and markets a wide range of products specifically designed for fish health and biosafety for the global aquaculture industry. Heliae, an applied life sciences and technology company located on the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona, focuses on the research and development of

algae and other lower organisms. In the announcement of the strategic cooperation it was pointed out that the algae required for Nymega can be produced cheaply. Nymega’s DHA content can be targeted at specific fish species and stages of development which offers particular

The possibility of industrial production of omega-3-rich algaebased products for aquaculture is a long-awaited step and innovation breakthrough in that it makes the vision of salmon farming without fish-based resources a little more realistic. The use of fish meal and fish oil in aquaculture feed is becoming increasingly untenable both ecologically and economically. Their replacement by algaebased EPA and DHA alternatives improves the fish-in-fishout balance of salmon farming and enables aquaculture to continue to grow sustainably. Most experts will agree that the future of aquaculture lies in “fish-free� feed and that algae will play a central role here. This opens up a broad field of activity for science since the characteristics and potentials of this diverse group of organisms has only just been recognised and requires further investigation. It can only pay off: the global aquafeed market was already estimated at more than USD 100 billion in

2017 and continues to grow at annual growth rates of almost 12 per cent!

Algae are not a substitute but an equivalent alternative The biochemical diversity displayed by algae is much greater than that seen in land plants, something which paleobiologists see as an indication of the early evolutionary divergence of algae groups in the history of life on earth. Although macroand microalgae are generally regarded as “plants� they are very different from land plants. This is also reflected in the composition of their components. Some algae species may even be suitable as an alternative to fish meal in fish feeds because they contain a high proportion of high-quality proteins and all essential amino acids. Their value for fish nutrition is estimated to be about as high as that of fishmeal. In addition, some macroalgae such as Laminaria, Undaria and Porphyra as well as certain microalgae also contain significant concentrations of taurine. This organic acid, with which

Algae preparations are now used in feed not only for aquaculture but also for many other animal groups.

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[ AQUACULTURE ]

Spirulina algae are rich in nutrients and vitamins. They are also suitable for direct human consumption, for example in the form of nutraceuticals and even in biscuits.

many people are familiar only as a component of energy drinks, is considered an essential nutrient for carnivorous animals, including fish. Although taurine is not an amino acid in the strictly scientific sense it is usually classified as such. The importance of this substance, which in contrast to algae does not occur in land plants, lies in its ability to maintain organ and cell functions. Taurine stabilizes the fluid balance in cells, has an

antioxidant effect and increases the regularity and strength of heart contractions. Other algae such as Haematococcus, Spirulina or Dunaliella can serve as pigment sources in fish feed because they contain considerable amounts of precursors of astaxanthin and carotenoids. This makes them ideal for applications in salmon and trout farming as well as in the hobby sector because

Human beings, too, need omega-3 fatty acids

Positive health effects proven beyond doubt Clinical studies show that the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA reduce blood lipid levels and have positive effects on arterial function. Since these two fatty acids are particularly abundant in high-fat fish such as herring, mackerel and salmon the health authorities of many industrialized countries recommend eating one to two portions of these fish a week. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) came to the same conclusion. It found that one to two omega-3-rich fish portions per week reduce the risk of premature cardiac death by 36% and total mortality by 17%.

they intensify the colouring of koi carp and other ornamental fish. A lot of algae species already play an important role in aquaculture. It is well known that the addition of microalgae to the rearing tanks of fish larvae (“green water”) has a number of advantages. For example, they prevent larvae from colliding with the walls of the tank, they improve the absorption of live food (zooplankton) because the prey organisms can be fixed more precisely, they increase the nutritional value of the prey and strengthen the digestive function of the larvae and their immune system. There are now dried algae in pasty or pill form, which makes them more practical for use. However, the nutritional and physical properties of such preparations often require adjustments. That is why many hatcheries continue to produce their own requirements of high-quality microalgae in their own cultivation systems. This is expensive and time-consuming but fully justified by the

06_AQUACULTURE (AQ).indd 25

exceptional nutritional value of the algae. Before algae can be used to feed fish they sometimes have to be specially prepared first. Some algae species, for example, produce extracellular polysaccharides that act as binding agents in the feed pellets but at the same time make the absorption of nutrients more difficult. Thick cell walls, such as those found in Chlorella algae, have a similar effect. Some types of algae also contain substances and trace elements that can be indigestible or even harmful. If it is not possible to successfully eliminate these inhibitors, the algae in question may be unsuitable for use in fish feed, despite an excellent nutrient spectrum. Inhibitors can be found in some kelp species that contain phenolic resins and in Laurencia red algae that contain harmful brominated compounds. mk

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The Estonian ďŹ sheries and aquaculture sector

A new era of inter PO co-operation The Estonian ďŹ sheries sector includes a marine ďŹ shery in distant waters, a Baltic Sea ďŹ shery that comprises a coastal and a trawling eet, inland ďŹ sheries, recreational ďŹ sheries, and aquaculture. The Baltic Sea trawling vessels are grouped into three producer organisations that have jointly built a new ďŹ shmeal and ďŹ sh oil plant.

T

he distant water fleet has fishing rights in three areas – Svalbard, the North East Atlantic (NEAFC) and the North West Atlantic (NAFO). Five vessels made up the distant water fleet in 2017. The number of vessels has stayed constant since 2013, but in 2016 the combined power of the fleet’s engines increased by 5.8 to 13,941 kW, while the combined gross tonnage increased by just over 10 to 8,472. The vessels are trawlers using mainly demersal trawls to catch fish and shrimp which are typically processed on board. In 2017, about a third of the total catch came from the NAFO area while the rest came from NEAFC. A decade ago however the situation was reversed with nine tenths of

the catch from NAFO and only 10 from NEAFC. The most important species in terms of catches is northern prawn (Pandalus borealis) which accounted for about half the total catch by the distant water fleet in 2017. Other important species were cod and Atlantic redfishes. Altogether, catches by this fleet amounted to around 15,000 tonnes, the highest figure since 2005.

FLAGs are instrumental in devising development strategies From a socio-economic point of view the distant water fleet stands in marked contrast to Estonia’s Baltic Sea coastal fishing fleet. While the former comprises five vessels

with an average length of 64 m, each with a crew of approximately 20 people with a mean age of 26, the coastal fleet vessels are less than 12 m in length and number about 1,550. Almost 2,000 people are engaged in coastal fishing and their average age is 53. For most coastal fishers, however, fishing is a part-time job carried out only during the season. The Fisheries Information Centre in its publication Estonian Fishery 2017 estimates that for only a tenth of the coastal fishers is fishing the main source of income. Coastal fishers target herring, perch, flounder, garfish, smelt, and the invasive round goby. Catches of herring were by far the largest at roughly 8,100 tonnes in 2018 followed by perch (about

After spending time in Rome and in Brussels Siim Tiidemann, Deputy Secretary General for Fisheries Policy and Foreign Affairs, returned last year to the Ministry of Rural Affairs to assume his current position.

1,150 t), smelt (around 300 t), and flounder (some 170 t). Catches of herring and perch between them amount to close to nine tenths of the total. In terms of revenues, however, perch accounted for close to half the total while herring contributed 30. The main types of fishing gear used by coastal fishers are trap nets and gill nets, while seine nets are also used in some areas. Changes, particularly in monitoring, are envisaged for the coastal fishery. Revisions foreseen in the European Control Regulation include the compulsory vessel tracking and electronic reporting systems in the case of small-scale coastal fishing vessels. This could mean the deployment of some equipment on-board the vessel, which would, however, be supported by the EMFF. Estonia is one of the most digitised societies in the world, a fact that also extends to its fisheries sector. Siim Tiidemann, Deputy Secretary General for Fisheries Policy and Foreign Affairs describes a mobile app developed by the Ministry of Rural Affairs that enables small scale fishers to report their catches even before they arrive in port. Although its use is currently not compulsory, the ministry is considering making it so. The post 2020 European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) is expected to offer benefits to small-scale coastal fishing in the form of a higher (than the existing) intervention rate and by reserving certain types of support for small-scale vessels with

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the aim of encouraging sustainable fishing practices. Member States will also be asked to develop a strategy for the sustainable development of the sector with indicators that can be monitored. However, in Estonia there are some reservations both within the administration and among coastal fishers about having a separate strategy for the coastal fleet. The preference is for a single strategy document combined with CommunityLed Local Development (CLLD) efforts for coastal areas as well as for inland fishing. Mr Tiidemann, says that the eight fishing local action groups (FLAGs) that are a result of these CLLD efforts have been effective at drawing up their own strategies for the development of the coastal fishery activities they represent. The Estonian coastline is long and the challenges are different depending on whether it is an island, the mainland, or inland. For example, some areas such as Lake Peipsi have to take Russian

interests into account as well, since the lake is shared between the two countries. The administration has therefore concluded that the FLAGs are in the best position to draw up their own strategies as they are the most familiar with the issues that need to be addressed.

problem and are in favour of more favourable treatment for this segment through advance payments from the EMFF. Among other improvements envisaged in the post 2020 fund are the move from an eligibility approach to a results-based approach meaning a greater focus on reaching objectives and targets rather than on eligibility. In addition, there have been calls to reduce complexity and for a simpler legal framework. Mr Tiidemann says that greater flexibility could, for example, be a system where countries agree with the European Commission what they would like to achieve and then are flexible about the means deployed to achieve these goals. He thinks that instead of identifying areas of support, specific environmental, social, and economic objectives could be defined (along with suitable indicators). This would be a more flexible solution as it would consider the different situations in Member States.

Greater flexibility sought in the post 2020 EMFF For fishermen the projects implemented by the FLAGS have and will contribute to the development of the sector. In the Virumaa FLAG, for example, ports, ice production, and fish processing facilities, are being constructed. For some coastal fishers making investments through the EMFF is complicated by the need for an element of self-financing that is difficult for them to meet. This is a common issue faced by smallscale fishermen across the EU. Member States are aware of the

More flexibility would also mean greater ease of implementation in contrast to the EMFF today which is highly bureaucratic with many rules. Estonia has put together its own agriculture and fisheries strategy for 2030 in which stakeholders identified certain desirable objectives and determined the role of the state as well as that of the sector. Greater flexibility in the way the fund works would enable support for the objectives that Estonia has already identified as desirable. Another development he would welcome is the possibility of letting the state determine the extent of co-financing, depending on whether it is a public or private good, an innovative or environmental project, that is being supported. Projects that have long-term benefits rather than immediate returns, for example, may not attract the interest of the sector unless there is a higher rate of co-financing.

Catches by Estonia’s distant-water fleet (t) 2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

730

907

989

529

2,544

2,031

Shrimps

6,653

5,665

6,651

6,954

7,413

8,019

Atlantic redfish

Atlantic cod

1,573

1,300

1,512

1,656

2,198

3,590

American plaice

226

1,177

537

1,105

1,249

1,690

Greenland halibut

727

1,037

694

1,092

1,142

1,286

Skate

155

246

47

162

304

46

Witch flounder

16

40

22

40

66

31

Atlantic halibut

11

25

22

30

41

44

350

24

342

351

39

347

1

14

1

8

30

36

Yellowtail flounder Wolffishes Roughhead grenadier Atlantic mackerel Others Total

110

136

26

13

23

12

1,367

-

-

-

-

-

36

277

152

88

85

22

11,955

10,849

10,995

12,027

15,134

17,154

. = Data are confidential

Statistics Estonia

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At the ministry there is strong interest in promoting the use of financial instruments (loans, or other instruments, that are repaid) which can be used, for example, in cases where banks are unwilling to lend. Siim Tiidemann would like to see more incentives that would encourage the use of these instruments as they have certain advantages including the fact that they can be recycled – unlike grants.

Several projects have contributed significantly to development of the sector If these changes are implemented there is no doubt that the post 2020 EMFF will play as at least as important a role in the

Baltic Sea catches in Estonia (t) 2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

9,614

10,262

12,038

11,508

10,842

10,437

Coastal eet Trawl eet

44,944

44,365

47,288

48,933

53,634

56,500

Total

54,559

54,627

59,327

60,441

64,477

66,937 Statistics Estonia

development of the fisheries and aquaculture sector as the current fund. Mr Tiidemann is of the opinion that many noteworthy projects have been enabled by the EMFF. Among those he mentions is the renovation of several ports, which stands to benefit local fishermen and their communities. Another is the Open Fishing Port day, which has now been held in spring each year for the last three years. On this day

ports open their gates to visitors and organise a number of activities for children and their families to create awareness about ports and the fishing sector and to demonstrate how fish ends up on the consumer’s plate. Another project he mentions is the construction of a fishmeal and fish oil factory by a consortium comprising all the three pelagic producer organisations in Estonia. By bringing all the three POs

together, the project is a textbook example of how the fund can contribute to the strengthening of the sector. The factory will provide another source of demand for sprat and herring and hopefully lead to an increase in prices, which have suffered as a result of the loss of the Russian market. In 2013 before the Russian embargo the first-sale prices of herring and sprat were 23 cents and 22 cents per kg, respectively,

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while four years later prices averaged 18 cents per kg for each.

Vessels with modern technologies would increase efficiency of the fleet

Estonian Baltic Sea coastal catches (t) 2018 Herring

8,064

Perch

1,137

Smelt

284

Flounder

169

Round goby

119

Vimba

97

Roach

94

Garfish

75

Pike

68

Pike perch

66

Prussian carp

65

Others

199

Total

10,437

Veterinary and Food Board, Ministry of Rural Affairs

Producers Organization, even the latest vessels originate from the 1980s. He would therefore like to see vessels deployed with modern technologies that consider the peculiarities of Estonia’s fishing

grounds, seasons, and port infrastructure. These would then catch the allocated amount of fish with fewer trips thereby reducing costs as well as the number of active vessels in the fleet. Archive photo

The three POs represent about 95 of Estonia’s sprat and herring fishery and together consist of some 30 vessels owned by 20 companies. Fishing vessels are divided into two length categories 12-18 m and 24-40 m. In both categories there has been a drastic reduction in the number of vessels over the decade to 2017, but it has been more severe among the smaller vessels. These decreased from 23 in 2008 to 5 in 2017 a drop of 80 while the number of larger vessels fell by 40 to 25. The larger trawlers are more popular because they are more efficient. The five vessels in the 12-18 m segment caught a total of about 800 tonnes of sprat

and herring, which amounted to 1.5 of the total catch by the trawler fleet. Since 2011, when it was 2,200 tonnes, the combined catch of sprat and herring by this fleet segment has declined steadily. In the larger fleet segment on the other hand the situation looks brighter. The total catch (sprat, herring, other species) has increased fairly steadily since 2012, when it was almost 42,500 tonnes, to close to 53,000 tonnes in 2017. In general, quotas of sprat and herring for the trawl fleet (after exchanges and transfers) after declining precipitously for several years since 2007, have begun to increase slightly again, for herring since 2013 and for sprat since 2016. Quota utilisation is high, generally between 90 and 100. As with many of the national fleets in the Baltic, Estonian vessels are also old. According to Mart Undrest, managing director of the Estonian Fish

Fishing on Lake Peipsi which, together with Lake Vjõrtsjärv, is the basis of an inland fishery for several valuable species.

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Inland fisheries charac- difficult to identify as catches of are caught with both types of net, Danish seines, while for the latterised by low volumes individual species and of the total but while several other valuable ter, trap nets and lines of trap nets and high values tend to fluctuate from one year to species are also caught with trap were the most productive gear. In Inland water fisheries in Estonia have a long history and are important both for the value of the catch and the socio-economic role of the activity. The main inland water bodies that are used for fishing are the connected lakes Peipsi and Lämmijärv and the Lake VĂľrtsjärv. The value of the fishery, which approaches that of the Baltic Sea trawl fishery, comes from the value of the species that inhabit the lakes. Lake VĂľrtsjärv is the second largest lake in Estonia and the largest to lie completely within the country’s borders. Lake Peipsi is larger but straddles the border between Estonia and Russia. The fishery in Lake VĂľrtsjärv targets species such as bream, pikeperch, pike, and eel and smaller quantities of perch, burbot and other species. Since 2011 catches of fish of no value are no longer included in the statistics which has meant that the total catch declined from that year onwards. Catches from 2011 to 2017 averaged 147 tonnes per year. Trends are

the next depending on a variety of environmental and market factors. The state of the ice in winter for example determines the success of the fishery for pike-perch, while a lower bream catch in 2017 compared with the previous year may be attributable to consumers preference for large fish. Thus in April and May when most of the large bream are caught, fish weighing less than a kilo are discarded. Pike catches too are influenced by the water level in the lake as the species needs floodplains suitable for spawning to be sufficiently flooded. The most commonly used fishing gears in Lake Vþrtsjärv are trap nets and gill nets of which the bulk (three fifths or 120 tonnes) of the catch is from trap nets. The two kinds of nets are used at different times of the year, trap nets from late April to midOctober and gill nets from September to early spring the following year. In 2017, the numbers of trap nets and gill nets used in Lake Vþrtsjärv were 323 and 321, respectively. Pikeperch, bream, and pike

nets, the catch by gill nets of other species is negligible. The number of commercial fishing permits for the lake has increased steadily since the 90s. The 27 permits issued in 1995 increased to 56 in 2017 mirroring the development in the sale of fishing rights. Fishers focused on processing and marketing sold all or part of their traditional fishing rights, while others who were getting old also some gave up some of their fishing gear. In Lake Peipsi catches of perch, pikeperch, bream, roach, and pike accounted for over 95 of the catch in 2017. Catches since 2011 have remained more or less stable averaging just over 2,500 tonnes and dominated by the same five species of which pikeperch and perch are the most valuable. The gear used in the lake includes trap nets, gill nets, and Danish seines and fishing is conducted almost throughout the year, in winter, spring, and autumn. Of the two most valuable species, pikeperch and perch, the former was caught mostly using gill nets followed by

general, large meshed (at least 65 mm) gill nets, trap nets, lines of trap nets, and Danish seines were the most productive fishing gears each responsible for about a quarter of the total catch.

Impact of use of ITQs for inland fisheries being studied There are about 100 companies with the right to fish in Lake Peipsi of which only 67 were actually engaged in fishing. The rights of the rest had been leased to other companies. Siim Tiidemann is not sure that leasing the quota to a third party is the best way to treat a public good like this. Some fishermen’s groups on Lake Peipsi are interested in adopting an individual transferable quota (ITQ) system to replace the currently used Olympic method that is used for fishing in Lake Peipsi, whereby fishers try and fish as fast as possible before the quota is filled. This has the disadvantage that catches tend to be concentrated

Inland water catches in Estonia (t) 2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

European perch

Perca uviatllis

920

797

836

1025

682

568

European eel

Anguilla anguilla

15

16

14

14

15

18

Northern pike

Esox lucius

217

188

144

143

134

122

Pike-perch

Sander lucioperca

672

657

462

761

918

736

696

850

784

757

847

754

28

23

19

28

45

41

202

235

229

222

212

208

6

19

11

13

45

307

40

30

47

31

41

25

1

2

2

2

2

5

52

32

27

23

13

371

2850

2848

2573

3019

2954

3154

Freshwater bream

Abramis brama

Burbot

Lota lota

Silver bream / roach

Rutilus rutilus

European cisco/Vendace

Coregonus albula

European river lamprey

Lampetra uviatilis

Orde (Ide)

Leuciscus idus

Others Total

Statistics Estonia

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in a short period resulting in a lot fish of becoming available on the market, which has an impact on the price. To avoid this fishers have to freeze the fish which may also result in a price lower than what they could have got had the fish been fresh. In case of ITQs by-catch could become an issue as there is an incentive to discard rather than land it. With an ITQ system fishers would be able to spread the fishing effort over a longer period and avoid a glut in the market. From the administration’s point of view monitoring an Olympic style fishery is easier as when the quota is fulfilled then the fishery is simply stopped. However, nothing has been decided yet as there are still many open ends such as how to treat the different kinds of gear, whether the number of gears owned by a company should be the considered, or the volume of the catch, as well as other issues. The pros

and cons are still being analysed by the two involved ministries, Rural Affairs and Environment.

Lamprey, a fishery bedevilled by illegal gears Another freshwater species, one that is commercially fished in Estonian rivers, is the river lamprey, a jawless fish that uses a sucker to attach itself to other fish, on which it feeds. While it is caught in almost 30 rivers in Estonia around 70 of the total catch comes from the Narva river alone. In 2017 the total catch amounted to about 41 tonnes of which nearly two thirds (27 tonnes) was from the Narva. Lamprey is a valuable fish popular both in Estonia and in neighbouring countries. Over the last decade the price has increased two and a half times resulting

in a first-sales price that is more than most other species. However, since the volumes are modest the value of the catch in 2017 was only around 200,000 euros. Much of this is earned by fishers on the Narva river for whom it is an important fishery. Catches in 2016 and 2017 were distributed over seven months in the year from August to the following February, but the peak catching period was between September and December. Gears used to catch lamprey are cone traps and lamprey fyke nets with the former numbering some 18,000 in 2017 that were responsible for nine tenths of the catch and the latter 81. Official statistics suggest that the lamprey catch over the last decade has been largely stable, but large numbers of illegal cone traps have been removed particularly from the Narva river.

More and larger investments needed before aquaculture lives up to its potential The aquaculture sector in Estonia produces rainbow trout, sturgeon species, eel, African catfish, perch, and crayfish along with small volumes of other species. Production has hovered around 830 tonnes for the last five years, the bulk of which is rainbow trout. While output from the sector as a whole has been more or less stable, rainbow trout production has increased fairly steadily from 470 tonnes in 2013 to 700 tonnes in 2017. Trends in the production of eel and carp are difficult to ascertain as some of the data is confidential. There are about 58 companies involved in aquaculture production of which 33 produce fish and the rest crayfish. Crayfish production is modest at 800 kg in 2017, but it

In its quest for new markets the Estonian processing sector has actively promoted itself at seafood trade fairs around the world. Here, at the Seafood Expo Global in Brussels, the Estonian pavilion has been a regular feature for years.

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has increased slightly the last three years in a row. Estonian salmonid producers, mainly rainbow trout but also Arctic char farmers, of which there are a few, struggle with the competition from Norwegian salmon. On the other hand, they benefit when the price of salmon goes up. There is currently a degree of interest in farming fish in the Baltic Sea. However, any activity that generates nutrients needs to be compensated by the removal of an equivalent amount to ensure there is no net addition of nutrients to the Baltic Sea, which is already struggling with eutrophication. Pilot studies are looking at the cultivation of mussels and seaweed as ways to mitigate the impact of fish farming in the Baltic. A study

conducted in 2017 analysing the implementation of the Estonian aquaculture development strategy of 2014-20 concluded that the lack of large-scale investments and the limited opportunities for growth were among the reasons that the production goals envisaged in the strategy had not been realised.

Processing industry looks to the Far East for markets The fish processing industry in Estonia is well developed processing domestic catches of herring and sprat as well as imported fish and shellfish mainly for export with a minor proportion sold on the domestic market as

well. Companies, which number altogether about 70, tend to be small with less than 50 employees, but there are also a few large companies employing between 50 and 250 people. Sprat and herring from the Baltic Sea caught by the local fishing vessels are processed into frozen blocks for sale to markets in eastern Europe or to fishmeal and oil factories in the west, as well as to local processors. This trade is likely to be affected now with the completion of a fishmeal and fish oil factory in Estonia that has been built by the fishing vessel owners. The freshwater fishing sector provides high value species, such as pikeperch, pike, and perch which are processed into fillets and exported

fresh or frozen. The processing industry was affected by the ban on imports imposed by Russia in 2014, which forced it to seek new markets elsewhere. Ukraine absorbed some of the fish that would otherwise have gone to Russia, but a weak currency and political instability meant prices were not as high as in Russia. The goal now is to create a consumer market in Ukraine to increase demand for more sophisticated and higher value products from Estonia. Export markets for Estonian processors include Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Moldova, Russia, and Germany, but the industry is now also looking at countries in the Middle East and Far East as potential markets.

Open Fishing Port Day creates awareness among young and old alike

Bringing consumers and ďŹ shermen together The third Estonian Open Fishing Port Day was held on the last Saturday of April. This year, 22 Estonian fishing ports opened their gates to visitors. Entrance was free of charge and each port had its own

programme. Visitors could meet with all kinds of experts related to the fisheries sector from ichthyologists to fish chefs. The ports organised handicraft rooms, workshops, and fish diners. Visitors were entertained with boat rides and music groups, children could participate in fish workshops, experience virtual reality, see the science theatre, and attend lessons in angling. The activities could keep an entire family busy for the whole day. The purpose of the Open Fishing Port Day is to popularise fish consumption, introduce the everyday life of fishing ports, and demonstrate how fish end up on our plates – from the Baltic Sea as well as from inland waterbodies. The average Estonian does not visit fishing ports very often but participating in the Open Fishing Port Day activities may arouse an interest in fisheries – above all among the younger generation. The Open Fishing Port Day gave visitors a chance to purchase and taste fresh fish and fish products, and enter into direct contact with fishermen. This should make access to fresh fish easier for consumers and at the same time give fishermen a chance to directly market their catches.

Freshly prepared fish is just one of the attractions at the Estonian Open Port Fishing Day, an initiative that aims to inform people about fishing ports and to popularise fish consumption.

The Open Fishing Port Day has proven to be a successful initiative that has attracted an increasing number of visitors each year since its launch in 2017. Approximately 28,000 people participated this year and the event will continue next year too. The 2019 Open Fish Port Day was organised by the Ministry of Rural Affairs and the Fisheries Information Centre and funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund 2014–2020.

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Virumaa FLAG brings benefits for members and non-members alike

Adding value to fishermen’s catches Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAGs) are a manifestation of community-led local development, an approach where local partnerships design and implement an integrated development strategy that is founded on the community’s economic, environmental, and social strengths. These partnerships aim to create employment and new economic opportunities in areas affected by a decline in fisheries activities and are supported by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund as well as other European funds.

T

he Virumaa Fisheries Local Action Group, officially known as Virumaa Rannakalurite Uhing MTU, is one of eight FLAGS established in Estonia. The area of the FLAG is along the northern and north-eastern coasts from where small-scale local fishermen launch their vessels to catch flounder, perch, and

Baltic salmon. In addition, Baltic herring is targeted by off-shore fishermen in the eastern part of the FLAG area. The FLAG has some 80 members including local authorities, fishermen and others involved in the fisheries sector. For the coastal fishermen the FLAG is a way to gain support for efforts to diversify their sources of income,

increase the value of local fisheries products, as well as creating or restoring fishing grounds, and social welfare activities.

Most coastal fishers work only part-time The fisheries sector in Estonia amounts to just 0.5 of GDP, but

it is an important economic and social activity along the coasts and close to inland waters. The area under the Virumaa FLAG has about 240 coastal fishermen (2017) – since 2009, when there were 217, the trend has been slightly increasing. This reflects the development in the number of coastal fishermen in the country as a whole, which

Reili Soppe, manager of the Virumaa FLAG, is part of a fishing family herself.

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facilities are therefore planned at two or three ports where users have shown an interest in contributing to these developments. In Narva in East Viru county, for example, Ms Soppe points to a group of four or five fishers who have formed their own body to develop a centre that will process the catch into valueadded products.

Intense fishing activity for a brief period in spring and early summer

Fred Kaasik, a retired military man, has been fishing for salmon for the last quarter century.

went from 1,671 to 1,950 over the same period. The Virumaa FLAG has a 200 km long coastline stretching from West Viru county to East Viru county. One of the FLAG’s activities has been the construction or renovation of port facilities along this stretch. So far five ports have been supported, says Reili Soppe, the FLAG manager, and support for a further three or four ports is planned. While eight ports along a 200 stretch of coast may seem excessive, the reason is that coastal fishers typically have their nets in the seas surrounding a port. If the catches are small, for the fishermen to either sail or drive several tens of kilometres to unload the fish is not worth it. At Vþsu the FLAG has built a port from scratch with floating docks for the fishermen’s boats, as well as an ice machine. It also boasts a space where fishers can store their gear, and rooms that the fishers use during the season. In addition, there is a seminar room which

is used by the FLAG, and a cafĂŠ that is open in the summer, when tourists come to the area. At another port pumps have been installed so that fishers can pump the fish directly from the vessel into a truck or container. In addition to building ports the FLAG is also committed to helping fishermen add value to their catch themselves. Small processing units would enable fishers to add value to the fish and perhaps vacuum package it for longer shelf life. However, these developments demand not only investments in equipment, but also call for a change in mindset among the beneficiaries, who have to get used to the idea of being not only fishermen but also processors. Many of the fishers are retired people used to a certain way of doing things and new ideas take a little while to get used to. As in all groups some members are more active than others and have ideas, are willing to take initiatives, possess the means to invest, and are comfortable with some level of risk. Processing

The FLAG area has some 240 fishers altogether, of which about 60 are members of the FLAG. However, even non-members can use the facilities established by the FLAG. Of the fishers based in East Viru county most are full time fishers while of those in West Viru county only a few work full time. Part time fishers use the time they are not fishing on various other rural activities such as bee keeping or forestry. The fishing gear used is typically trap nets and gill nets while species targeted are herring, but also river lamprey, whitefish, perch, flounder, wild salmon and trout. The quantities of the latter are small, but the values are high. The average first sale price for both salmon and sea trout averaged close to EUR7 per kg in 2017 more than any other species except for eel. The herring fishery is the biggest in terms of volumes, but the season is compressed in to a two-month window from April to mid-June when the quality of the fish is best. During this 45-60-day period the fishers have to earn enough to support them for the whole year, says Ms Soppe, since after that the water becomes warmer and the quality of the fish deteriorates.

FLAGs provide many unseen advantages Apart from providing infrastructure the Virumaa FLAG also

contributes to closer cooperation among fishers, a notoriously individualistic group. Fishers from East and West Viru counties who often speak different languages (Russian in the east and Estonian in the west) are now collaborating in the FLAG and working towards a common good, says Ms Soppe. As an example she mentions that fishers from two ports sometimes pool catches to achieve the minimum volume that a buyer needs to send a truck to pick up the fish. In the same spirit the FLAG also manages a cross-border cooperation project with a FLAG in Finland which includes regular exchanges between fishers from the two countries which has resulted in some useful personal contacts. Good facilities are also a way of attracting the interest of the younger generation and perhaps motivating them to enter the profession, which is currently dominated by older fishers. The average age of coastal fishers was 53 years in 2017 up from 51 in 2009. The creation of facilities such as a campsite and a conference centre has resulted in an influx of tourists in the summer which in turn has created demand for various products and services that the local community can supply and thereby contributes to the area’s economic development. By bringing together different actors the FLAG also tries to ensure that development is integrated. For example, if a fisherman offers tourists a boat trip, then there ideally should also be a restaurant where the tourists can have a meal. The FLAG is also cooperating with a Leader group to create a route along the coastline in the two counties along which companies from the area will be able to display their products. The Virumaa FLAG also interacts

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with other FLAGs visiting their activities, exchanging information, and discussing ways of improving outcomes. Kristi Ilves from the Ministry of Rural Affairs feels that the FLAGs contribute to integrating the country. The CLLD programme provides

economic support, it fosters the development of an area, but equally importantly, it promotes interaction between people. Ultimately, FLAGs will be able to cope without support, she feels, but it will take time before they are confident enough in their

abilities to manage on their own. In the same vein, infrastructure created by the FLAG may be underutilised from a purely economic point of view, but if considered from a wider development perspective, then there are collateral benefits which

may only be visible in other areas. Cutting the FLAGs cut loose from the support they currently receive, as some both in the Estonian administration and at the European level advocate, may have unforeseen, and probably undesirable, consequences.

Virumaa FLAG renovates Purtse port

Upgrade to the port will improve logistics significantly Yllar Rego is a part-time fisherman who targets herring in May and June and then switches to catching other species such as salmon and whitefish the rest of the year. Herring catches amount to about 300 tonnes per year, all

of it squeezed in to this two-month period in spring. Thanks to the Virumaa FLAG, Purtse port from which he operates will soon get a much-needed upgrade which will include laying concrete over a muddy area next to the pier, thereby allowing fork lifts and trucks easy access to the vessel. The renovation will also result in the construction of a warehouse for nets, flags, and other fishing gear, as well as ice-making and ice storage. The box trap he and his partner use is emptied in to a 12 m vessel which can accommodate about 7.5 tonnes of herring. About an hour away from landing a call is placed so that the customer’s trucks are waiting when the fish comes ashore, and it can be loaded into containers and driven away immediately. As in other parts of the Baltic, seals are a menace for the fishery, eating the fish and damaging nets and other gear. Mr Rego has invested in three seal-scarers, machines which emits sounds under water at a frequency that disturbs the seals. The Norwegian-made equipment comprises a transmitter, a waterproof battery and a structure that anchors everything in place. The entire set-up cost about EUR14,000 per machine, says Mr Rego, half of which was paid for through support. The damage is not eliminated altogether but it is considerably reduced. The problem, he says, is that older seals are sometimes afflicted with deafness, while others swim with their heads above the water. In either case they are not disturbed by the pulses.

Seal-scaring equipment is expensive but worth it. Yllar Reigo and his partner, who fish from Purtse port catching 300 tonnes of herring annually, say that the machine considerably reduces the damage done by seals, but does not eliminate it entirely.

Mr Rego and his partner use a box trap, a net shaped like a T, 80-90 m in length and with a 400 m guiding wall. The net starts at the surface and extends 7-8 m to the bottom. In spring the net is usually placed about a kilometre off shore though it is sometimes placed as far out as 10 km, a matter that is determined by many years of experience. Nets like this are seriously expensive as they must be made by hand, which takes days and demands a certain knowledge that is only passed from one generation of fishers to the next. There are not many people left who know how to build these nets, says Mr Rego, whose partner has learned the skill and who now shares it with young people learning to become fishermen. Putting the net into the water and taking it out again is a 4-5 hour job. The weather in Estonia particularly in spring can be quite mercurial with storms and winds that can damage the gear. As a result the nets are placed in the water and taken out again if the weather is forecast to be unstable. Fishing is brutally hard work, says Mr Rego with feeling. At the end of the season we sleep for three days, our bodies are broken, and we are popping pills against the pain. So why does he do it? “Idiot maybe,” he grins.

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A ďŹ shmeal and ďŹ sh oil production plant opens in Estonia

Cooperation beats competition The Secretariat of EUďŹ shmeal estimates that the total European production of ďŹ shmeal and ďŹ sh oil is approximately 600,000 metric tonnes of ďŹ shmeal and 160,000 t of ďŹ sh oil annually, with a total value of approximately 1,000m euros annually. A new association of Estonian production organisations (POs) has established itself to enter the European market.

T

he three Estonian POs – the Estonian Fish Producers Organisation, the Estonian Trawling Association, and the Estonian Commercial Fishermen Association – have joined forces in the development and construction of a factory that will convert sprat and herring into fishmeal and fish oil for marine fish feed and other purposes. The union of POs has established a company, named the Central Association of Estonian Fish Producers, which owns the factory and the land on which it is situated, giving each PO one-third ownership. According to Mart Undrest, managing director of the Estonian Fish Producers Organisation, the largest of the three POs, cooperation

has been key to the new company’s success. “Each PO has at least five companies, and it has taken a while to get used to each other’s way of working and approach, but the cooperation continues to improve. That’s why the ministry and state have supported this. So, we have the entire sector behind it.� At the moment, Mart Undrest sees no advantage to merging the POs. He recalls that, ten years ago, they competed against each other, resulting in lower prices. Now, he thinks that it is more profitable to sell on the strength of their quality and not out of desperation. Fishmeal is made mostly from wild-caught, small marine fish, but approximately one-third of the

ingredients are the by-products of fish processing for human consumption in the form of heads, viscera, frames, skins, tails, fins, scales, mince, and blood. This source of ingredients increases fishmeal’s sustainability factor. Approximately 60 of the fishmeal produced is used to feed farmed fish.

In a fishmeal factory far, far away The Central Association of Estonian Fish Producers had very specific requirements for the factory’s location. It had to be close to highways, the deep ports, the fishing regions, and ferry connections. They selected a 21,000 m2, (2.1 ha) site on Pakri peninsula

in northwestern Estonia, 5 km north of the port of Paldiski. The nearest house or business is 2.5 km away, because the factory’s odour could have been an issue. The factory’s isolation meant that there were no roads, electricity, and sewage system, all of which had to be included in the plans. Further, a wastewater treatment plant, which was not in the original concept, had to be planned and built. Construction on the EUR10m, 4,500 m2 plant began in February 2017. Mart Undrest says that he continues to be surprised by unforeseen demands and problems that require the plan to be continually adjusted to reality. “We have three shifts, and the learning curve is steep.

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to the factory. They are stored in two 50- m3 silos. The production facilities cannot use frozen fish, but they can use thawed material; fresh by-products and heads and guts change the production parameters. Also, they cannot yet use salmon by-products. Mart Undrest says that a current focus is on balancing the effects of different types of raw material on the production.

Substantial plans to future products

Mart Undrest, managing director of the Estonian Fish Producers Organisation

We know that not everything will go smoothly in the beginning. Now, we are fine tuning.” And he acknowledges that changes and upgrades to increase efficiency are necessary.

A fishmeal production plant is a sophisticated factory that needs staff with the requisite technical background to operate it.

Finding funding to continue The establishment of the plant was supported by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund with up to EUR6m from its 2014– 2020 measure to support joint investments in the processing of fisheries and aquaculture products. The rest of the investment was financed with the association’s own money and loans. To cover the increased costs caused by additions to the original plan, the Central Association of Estonian Fish Producers have had to increase their bank loan limits, owners have put in more money, and funds and foundations have been approached for increased contributions.

A small start – substantial plans In the first phase, two lines with a capacity of 150 t each are in

production. If everything goes well, a third line will be added in the future. The team of 25, with six office staff, should be sufficient if a third line is added. The association will probably use the sales teams of the other organisations or partners. The equipment is from the Danish firm of Haarslev Industries A/S, which also supervised installation of pipes and electricity. During start-up, production has been minimal, but the plan is to process 30–40,000 t of raw material, finally producing 5–6,000 t of fishmeal and 2,500 t of fish oil annually. The factory’s product is not sold as a brand but as a commodity in 1,000 kg bags, which are small compared with the output of large factories, which fill whole vessels. Logistics from the port to the isolated factory have been resolved. The landed fish are pumped directly from the vessel to tank trucks for transport

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In the first phase, production will be limited to fishmeal and oil. Later, other products may be added, such as aquafeed and pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products. A dioxin-cleaning plant for fish oil is also being considered. Because the EU has set limits for the maximum dioxin content of fresh fish, fish oil, and fishmeal, the fish oil producing industry might find it necessary to purify its product. The main problem with dioxins is their unique chemical stability. Once ingested by living organisms, dioxins are stored in the fatty tissues for a long time. Because they accumulate, their concentrations increase as they move up the food chain, exposing top predators and humans to the highest levels of contamination. Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification, applied for in autumn 2018, should be finalised by the end of summer 2019. Estonia, Denmark, Sweden, and Germany are applying together for certification for sprat and main basin herring. For the Estonian producers, certification is less important for markets in the east, but the importance grows as their reach stretches west to the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and possibly beyond. &VSPl TI .BHB[JOF

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Everything starts with raw material Most sprat and herring are caught in the GSAs 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, and 32, all adjacent to Estonia’s coastline. Good, fresh raw material is close at hand. High-quality raw material is as important for this type of production as it is for human consumption. Mart Undrest emphasises that size and even damaged fish are not as essential as freshness. The association has ensured that the supply of raw material is on track. In all, the member companies of the three PO’s, and the vessels they own under other countries’ flags, land approximately 100,000 t per year, a third of which will go to the factory. (The Estonian quota is roughly 65,000 t.) Supply from third parties might also be purchased.

The competition for raw materials The factory will compete for raw material with the market for

human consumption and other such facilities elsewhere, which will keep the price competitive. In the Baltic region, there are currently fishmeal factories in Latvia, Finland, and three in Denmark. A new factory is planned in Latvia. The Danish factories produce approximately 500,000 t per year, using pout, sand eel, and sprat as raw material.

He sees continually changing quotas as an issue that complicates planning. “You have no idea what the sand eel quota is going to be in the North Sea or what kind of blue whiting there is from Norway and Iceland. It is dynamic; it goes from one end to the other. You must be active in pursuing it, because everything starts with the raw material.�

In the end, the fishers will have to choose between providing more for the human consumption market – the traditional course – or sell the fish to the factory, depending on their markets and the price the association can pay. Speaking for the fishers, Mart Undrest sees this as a positive trend: different factories competing for the fish not only in Estonia, but also in other countries, pushing up the first sale prices. “With several thousand tonnes, we are not changing the entire market, but if we take 30 to 40,000 tonnes out of this part of the Baltic that already influences things.�

Fish prices: the higher the better Since the Russian ban on seafood imports from the EU and Norway, Estonia has sought an alternative market for nearly half of their sprat and herring exports. Much of it was redirected to Ukraine, but some also went to Denmark’s mink and fox farms and Sweden, for a variety of purposes including fish feed and animal feed. The Estonian fishmeal factory is “one more leg under the chair,� in Mart Undrest’s words. “The goal should be that the price of

the fish rises, no matter where we sell it from in Estonia. That is what we are working towards.� The Central Association of Estonian Fish Producers have established a solid base in a technologically advanced and environmentally friendly plant, and secured supply and logistics. Both local and international fish feed producers have expressed interest in their products, and discussions are currently underway. They are also in touch with several large brokers, one in Estonia, that deal in commodities, such as oils and animal by-products. Owing to the limits on raw materials and capacity, Estonia will remain a small-to-medium player in this market. But the factory’s owners are full of determination and might find a way to distinguish themselves in the market, through the development of higher value specialty products. William Anthony

Two 50 cubic m silos that receive the fish are the start of the process of deriving fishmeal and oil.

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Nudging consumers to eat more fish and seafood

Promotions are one way to push fresh fish sales The grocery sector in Estonia is served by local as well as international retail chains. Maxima, Prisma, Coop, Rimi, and Selver are among the biggest in terms both of market share and number of stores. Of these Selver and Coop are Estonian, while of the others, Maxima is Lithuanian, Prisma Finnish, and Rimi Swedish.

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etail chains have a high degree of penetration in Estonia and are the destination of choice when shopping for groceries as well as for an increasing number of non-food items. Although it is possible to buy fish from fishmongers, fishermen themselves, or from fish processing establishments that have their own stores, fish and seafood sales are dominated by retail chains particularly in the cities.

Campaign prices for fish attract customers to the stores Maris Rannus, Category Group Manager, says Rimi is one of the leaders in fish retail with almost a quarter of all fish sales in Estonia. Selver, an Estonian chain is responsible for another quarter, while Prisma has 7-8. At Rimi Ms Rannus is frank about what drives fish sales. It is essentially salmon promotions, she says, which are based on three products – whole salmon, salmon fillets, and whole trout. Trout fillets are for some reason not as popular as the other three products. A year ago the promotions used to be every second week, but now that has changed to weekly offers which alternate between whole fish and fillets. The result, she says, has been higher volumes and a growing market share as consumers eat fish more often and purchase

more per shopping trip. The increase in consumption is certainly partly attributable to price. Estonians are cost conscious shoppers, at least when it comes to groceries, and Rimi’s sales data shows that 70 of redfish sales are at the discounted prices. But there are probably other factors at play too. For example, a wider environment that extolls the virtues of eating fish as well as Rimi’s own efforts to nudge consumers towards healthier food choices. These include a health counsellor who talks to customers to create awareness and who

also provides information on the home page about healthful products as well as “health counsellor recommended” signs on certain products.

Extensive assortment of fish and seafood is important for image At Selver, the tactics to persuade consumers to adopt healthier lifestyles including increasing their consumption of fish and seafood are somewhat different. Two years ago Selver decided to do their own seafood counters, says

Maris Rannus, Category Group Manager, Rimi Eesti Food AS

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Katrin Riisalu, Purchasing Director, which since then have a much wider variety of fresh and processed fish and seafood products on display including a number of high value items such as scallops, shrimp, and tuna apart from the more commonly available redfish and whitefish species. The change was partly from a desire to spruceup the company’s image as a retailer for the upper end of the market. Offering a wide variety of fish and seafood products was in keeping with this image, says Ms Riisalu, who over the last year (2018) has seen increases in sales

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Norway and Denmark are key suppliers

Katrin Riisalu, Purchasing Director, Selver AS

of redfish (80), whitefish (30) and seafood (24) compared with the year before. Selver has fish counters in 50 of its 53 stores, where customers can have the fish cut the way they want. Selver also makes many of its own fish products, such as salted or marinated fish, which are also sold at the fish counters. Selver Gourmet

is a line of products that are high quality, free of additives, often organic, and more expensive than similar products not sold under the brand. By promoting the brand customers are encouraged to move their lifestyles in a direction that is both healthier for themselves and for the environment.

Salmon on promotion at Rimi for EUR7 per kg for whole fish.

While all supermarkets have experienced growth in the category, it is often different products that are driving this growth. At Prisma consumption of fresh fish has remained relatively stable over the last few years, says TĂľnis Tomingas, but there has been an increase in the consumption of seafood, processed products like smoked fish, and caviar. On the other hand, consumption of salted fish and fish fingers as well as fish fillets and burgers has decreased. Fresh salmon and trout as well as Atlantic and Baltic herring are long standing consumer favourites, and this does not appear to be changing. Since the beginning of the year Prisma has abandoned the practice of selling fish on campaigns, preferring instead to offer customers a daily selection of fresh fish and fish products using an everydaylow-prices concept.

Considering Estonia’s geographic location it is not surprising that Norway is an important supplier of fish sending 7,800 t to Estonia in 2018. The overwhelming majority (80) of this was salmon. Part of this goes to supermarkets, while the rest is used by the fish processing industry, which includes some big companies supplying international markets. Denmark too is an important supplier sending 2,400 t of seafood products in 2018 dominated by salmon, trout, mackerel and shellfish. At Rimi the tender for the fish is given a week in advance of when the fish is to be sold. The bids from partners are evaluated, a supplier is chosen, and the fish is delivered directly from the farms. Norway and Denmark are the main suppliers of fish, while seafood is sourced from China and Viet Nam, but the volumes are small. Fish used to be a “destinationâ€? (where the supermarket aims to be best in its class) at Rimi, which meant a wide selection of fish and seafood including fairly exotic items like squid and octopus, but we discovered that too much was being left unsold, says Ms Rannus, so today it is a “supportingâ€? category with a smaller selection that is sure to be sold. At Selver too there have been changes in the sourcing strategy compared with four years ago when salmon was sold mainly on promotion with a campaign every couple of months. This would require a large volume of fish that the company would source directly from the producers. Today, however, sales are continuous and since the daily volumes are smaller, the fish is obtained from wholesalers. Selling fresh Estonian fish is more complicated. For one thing,

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Social and environmental responsibility are increasingly important for retail chains

A ready-to-cook meal based on cod is one of an impressive assortment of products available at a Rimi store.

most of it is wild which means volumes, quality and price are all influenced by unpredictable factors such as the weather, which makes planning difficult. For another, customers tend to be fickle – they say they want locallysourced fish, but when it is available, they don’t buy it. At Rimi,

Estonian fish is some 13 of fresh fish sales. Prisma and Selver too offer Estonian fish, both marine species such as sprat, herring, and flounder and freshwater fish like carp, pikeperch and eel. The species on offer depends on the season and the volumes tend to be modest.

As in most countries, supermarkets are the most consumer-facing sector in Estonia accounting for about 40 of all retail sales, according to Swedbank. This makes them simultaneously both powerful and vulnerable. Powerful, because they are in a unique position to influence customers steering them towards, for example, more or less socially or environmentally desirable choices. On the other hand, they are vulnerable to pressure from groups, such as NGOs, with their own agendas. In the past these groups have forced supermarkets particularly in western countries into taking action, for example, on sustainable sourcing, but today supermarkets tend to be proactive, developing their own policies

regarding fair trade, global warming, or labour standards. Senior staff are made responsible for implementation of these policies which are often developed together with NGOs for greater heft and credibility. Environmental and social responsibility is becoming increasingly important in Estonia, but Ms Riisalu feels that even though awareness is growing among customers it is still not enough to trump price and quality. Being owned by Sweden’s ICA, for Rimi social responsibility is a big deal. We have won awards for it, says Maris Rannus, and together with our parent company we expect to have all our fish and seafood products certified to environmental and social standards by 2020. As part of this drive, Rimi will phase out batteryfarmed eggs and products made from them by 2025. Reducing

Marinated, salted, and smoked products are some of the fish and seafood items on sale at Selver.

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food they sell is entirely legitimate irrespective of where it is sourced from. This also means they are largely indifferent to international sustainability labels such as MSC or Global GAP.

Bring food waste down to an acceptable level

to bring their own or buy a nonplastic carry bag. Customers too do not always put their money where their mouths are, saying one thing, for example, about the importance of the environment, but in actual fact buying a product that is less environmentally friendly than the alternative.

Supermarkets are also implementing initiatives to reduce food waste. Fresh fish that is unsold after a day might be cooked and sold at the hot food counter provided it is within the expiry date. The price may also be lowered on a product that approaches its best-before date. Another way is to “merchandiseâ€? stocks that need to be sold, by placing them in a special display giving them extra prominence. Food that is approaching the expiry date can also be donated to food banks. The best way to prevent waste is to only order what can be sold, to aim for out-of-stock rather than over stock and at Rimi artifical intelligence is being used to this end. The system takes into account factors that affect inventory such as salary days, the weather, holidays, prices and other criteria and then orders when it sees that supplies are running low. These methods helped Rimi reduce waste by 0.2 last year.

At Prisma, which is a member of Finland’s biggest retail organisation, S Group, sourcing is based on the parent company’s responsible sourcing guidelines which prohibit the use of fish from critically endangered, vulnerable or over-fished stocks, and fish caught with environmentally irresponsible fishing methods. Fish have to come from legitimate catches or farming operations that conform to all EU legislation. Customers generally trust their supermarkets to ensure that the fish and sea-

Supermarkets are in the unenviable position of having to reduce food waste, implement responsible sourcing policies, and decrease their carbon footprint, while at the same time providing their customers with a wide assortment of high quality, healthful food at reasonable prices, and their shareholders with an acceptable return on their investment. Those that successfully manage this juggling act can surely look forward to a long and prosperous future.

In keeping with its image of an upmarket retail chain Selver offers a wide variety of fish and seafood fresh, processed, and prepared.

the use of plastic bags as well as plastic packaging is another area of improvement. Customers are driving some of these initiatives, but it is the supermarkets who have to find workable solutions. A decade ago Rimi doubled the price of plastic carry bags and made paper bags cheaper, a step that reduced the sales of plastic bags but did not eliminate it. Another area is the thin bags customers use when buying unwrapped fruit and vegetables. In March this year a trial charge of 20 cents per bag was introduced. The preliminary assessment of the trial was positive, but the final results are still awaited. One idea may be the use of bags made of biodegradable plastic, which are being used in some supermarkets in other countries. Sometimes, attempts at being environmentally friendly generates mutual

contradictions which complicate finding an answer. Plastic packaging may not be good for the environment, but without it food spoils more rapidly so more is wasted, which is also environmentally questionable. Open counters where customers can fill up their own containers reduce the need for packaging, but food waste (or shrink, in the jargon) is biggest here, thanks to short expiry dates, so that whatever is not sold is discarded. Selver faces similar issues with packaging, namely, that eliminating plastic packaging results in more food waste, while more environmentally friendly materials may make the product too expensive for people to buy. But we are moving forward one step at a time, says Ms Riisalu. Plastic have been removed from the checkout counters, so customers either have

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Eutrophication in the Baltic Sea complicates the development of marine aquaculture

Mussel farming may be the answer Interest in farming fish in the sea is growing in Estonia but there are challenges to be overcome before the activity can really take off.

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stonia has a modest production of farmed fish that has, however, been growing fairly steadily. From around 385 tonnes (not counting eel and carp) in 2008, output from aquaculture has increased to 870 tonnes in 2017 with some hiccups along the way, according to data from Statistics Estonia. This corresponds to an average growth rate of 8.4 per annum. For data protection reasons figures for the production of farmed carp and farmed eel are not included in the 2017 data. Rainbow trout accounts for 80 of the production; other species include eel, common carp, sturgeon, African catfish and crayfish. The Veterinary and Food Board recognised 55 farms in 2017 of which 30 produced fish and the rest crayfish, production of which amounted to 800 kg. Apart from the production of farmed fish for commercial purposes by private companies, there is also a state-run production for a restocking programme at the Põlula Fish Farm, a division of the State Forest Management Centre. At the fish farm, various species of fish are bred for release into the wild at different maturities. Salmon has been bred here since its founding in 1994. In 2017, juvenile salmon (180,000), sea trout (2,500), European whitefish (7,000), European eel (318,000), and crayfish (3,500) were released in to Estonia’s natural water bodies.

Countries around the Baltic are committed to reducing nutrient inflows Aquaculture as it is currently practiced in Estonia is land-based, but interest in marine farming is growing as technologies develop. However, there are issues that constrain the development of this field as Dr Georg Martin from the Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu points out. For one, the lack of experience with marine farming in Estonia, where only a few isolated projects have been carried out. For another, the Baltic Sea is eutrophic, a significant problem caused by an excess of nutrients. The issue is being addressed – countries around the Baltic have committed to reducing their inputs – but farming fish, which would be a source rather than a sink for nutrients, would be a step in the wrong direction. This is the contradiction that researchers at the institute are trying to find a way round, the increasing interest in marine aquaculture on the one hand and the need to remove nutrients generated by this activity or prevent their production, on the other. Rivers are the main source of nutrients in the Baltic Sea, which has some 500 cubic km of fresh water from rivers (and net precipitation) entering it from the north and the east. The source of the nutrients is a combination of agriculture, industry, and municipalities as well as atmospheric depositions. Thanks to a regular reporting

process, scientists have a good idea of the extent of the different countries’ contributions to the nutrient loads in the Baltic. The HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan includes a nutrient reduction scheme which allocates reductions in nutrient inputs to the individual Baltic countries. The trend since 1995 for both nitrogen and phosphorus is one of falling inputs, but further reductions are still needed to reach the targets set for a clean Baltic Sea.

Legacy nutrients should also be dealt with With this background, starting a business such as fish farming that will add to the problem is an issue in itself. The situation is further complicated by the presence of legacy nutrients, says

Dr Georg Martin, Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu

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Dr Jonne Kotta also from the Estonian Marine Institute, which are present in the sediment of the Baltic Sea as a result of decades of pollution. Reducing the inputs alone is not enough, he adds, measures are required to remove the nutrients from the system, because the Baltic Sea is so enclosed and the water exchange so limited. A potential solution may be to cultivate blue mussels in the Baltic Sea as the technology to do this now makes it commercially feasible, which it was not 10 or even 5 years ago. The Baltic Blue Growth project, which has partners from six Baltic countries including research bodies (among them the University of Tartu), municipal authorities and private companies, is in fact dedicated to the removal of nutrients from the Baltic Sea

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ESTONIA

Project develops tools to help mussel farmers and other Baltic Sea users

Dr Jonne Kotta, Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu

Region by farming and harvesting blue mussels. The project is based on using different cultivation techniques at six mussel farms in different parts of the Baltic Sea each with its own environmental conditions. It exploits the fact that mussels take up nutrients through their food intake and can thus contribute to improving water quality. At the same time the project suggests commercially viable business models that create a market for the harvested mussels. The mussel farms in Denmark, Germany, and Sweden that are involved in the project are running well, says Dr Kotta, with the two farms in Sweden in particular showing a growth in yields despite salinity constraints. Analysis of the commercial viability of the farms

revealed promising results with regard to the price of mussels that could be expected. There are still challenges to be resolved however, such as the products that can be developed from the mussels. In the western part of the Baltic the mussels are larger and can be used for human consumption which allows them to be sold for a higher price. In the eastern Baltic, although productivity is high, the mussels are smaller and too fragile for human consumption and so are better used for feed. So far they have been tested as an ingredient in feeds for fish, poultry and pork, but there is still some way to go. The idea ultimately would be to replace imported fish and soya meal with a product derived from mussels.

Baltic Blue Growth Lead partner: Region Ă–stergĂśtland, Sweden Project partners: Mussel producers, public authorities, policy makers, research institutions and network organisations from six Baltic countries Budget: EUR4.7m Co-ďŹ nanced by: Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme Duration: March 2016 to March 2019 Portal developed: Operational Decision Support System (ODSS) http://www.sea.ee/bbg-odss/Map/MapMain

In support of mussel farming the Baltic Blue Growth project has also developed a new tool called the Operational Decision Support System (ODSS) that provides mussel farmers and other stakeholders from across the region with data that can contribute to management decisions and facilitate contacts between the different users of the sea. The system allows the sharing and analysis of environmental data related to mussel farming and includes a spatial modelling application that shows the areas where the potential for nutrient removal is highest and thus where mussel cultivation will most effectively decrease the nutrient content in the water. It supports administrations, the industry, and other stakeholders in achieving the desired environmental, economic, and social objectives of mussel farming. The “Plan your farm� facility, which is also part of the ODSS, allows the user to draw a hypothetical farm area on a map of the Baltic Sea and get the environmental and mussel production data of that area including physical environment, existing human pressure, biomass yield, and extent of potential nutrient removal.

Mussels have a minor impact on the environment Mussels’ abilities to remove nutrients from the water makes farming them a potential way of compensating for nutrients added to the environment from fish cultivation. However, mussels too have an impact on their surroundings chiefly through bio-deposition, the accumulation of organic waste matter

generated by the mussels. To assess the environmental impact of mussels, all the water quality parameters at all Baltic Sea mussel farms were monitored in 2017 and 2018 from June to October. The results, as presented by Juris Aigars from the Latvian Institute of Aquatic Technology at a Baltic Blue Growth conference in April 2019, were that the environmental impacts of mussel farms were negligible. Moreover, mussels are not the only organisms that can be used to remove nutrients. At the Estonian Marine Institute Dr Tiine Paalme is working with macroalgae. Her work focuses on using macroalgae in food and in cosmetics, but they could potentially also be used as a sink for nutrients. The challenge is to generate the biomass and then to find a profitable use for it. While additional research is desirable and is likely to take place particularly if there are further innovation calls or programmes at the EU level, there are also other factors, such as regulation, that play a role in how fast this research can proceed. Getting permits to place structures in the water takes patience and persistence. In addition, there are larger political questions regarding the relative roles of agriculture and aquaculture in relation to food production, the creation of nutrients, and financial support for the two sectors. Mussel farming has the potential to remove nutrients from the Baltic Sea either as a standalone activity or in connection with the farming of fish. Either way, an integrated operation, in which mussels are produced, converted into a valueadded product, and sold profitably on the market, will attract the interest of investors, contribute to innovative blue growth, and promote the reduction of nutrients in the Baltic Sea.

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SERBIA

Fisheries and aquaculture in Serbia Freshwater species are king in this landlocked country, where farmers in the lowlands raise carp and those in the colder mountain regions produce trout. Despite the exibility provided by post-Yugoslavia privatisation, however, Serbia’s ďŹ sh farms still must rely on Mother Nature for the necessary water supplies to keep themselves aoat.

S

Employment in the fisheries sector is 1 780, which is 5 of total employment in the combined agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishery sectors. While still low by European standards, per capita fish consumption in Serbia has doubled in the last 15 years. Per capita consumption is now 4.3 kilograms of fresh and frozen fish and 1.3 kilograms of canned fish. Of the total quantity of fish consumed, only onethird is domestically sourced (caught or farmed in rivers, lakes,

and canals) and two-thirds is imported. In Serbia, there are many hundreds of rivers and streams, totaling 65 980 km in length. Of these the three largest, the Danube, Tisa, and Sava, are navigable by commercial vessels. Serbian rivers flow into the basins of the Black, Adriatic, and Aegean seas; the Black Sea basin occupies the largest area in Serbia, covering 92 of the total area of the country. Besides rivers as fishery resources, two natural lakes,

PalicĚ and LudoĹĄko, are important, and there are many manmade lakes.

The fishery sector is declining as more species are protected About 100 fish species inhabit Serbian aquatic ecosystems. According to the Law on Protection and Sustainable Use of the Fish Stock (“Official Gazette of Republic of Serbia, No. 128/14 and 95/18) the fish stocks in Serbian waters are state-owned. Of the total number

Z Markovic

erbia is a landlocked country, located on the Balkan Peninsula. Its surface area is 88 361 km2, and the country has 7.1 million inhabitants. Nominal GDP in 2018 amounted $42.37 billion, or $ 6 052 per capita. The combined fishery and aquaculture sectors represent a small segment of the Serbian economy: the gross value added (GVA) of the agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishery sectors in national GVA is only 9.7, and the GVA share of the fishery sector alone is even smaller, at 0.1.

Selective fish breeding is carried out at the Faculty of Agriculture in Belgrade.

SERBIA

Z Markovic

The number of commercial fishermen has declined in recent years. From a high of 667 in 2009, the number nearly halved to 398 in 2017, corresponding to a decline in catch from a high of 5 384 tonnes in 2011 to a low of 2 208 tonnes in 2017. The average commercial fishing enterprise is small-scale. Serbian fishermen take about 200 trips per year, in small boats (average length 4 meters).

Carp and trout dominate the aquaculture sector

Harvesting carp in winter. Carp is usually produced in polyculture with several other species such as grass carp, bighead carp, silver carp and predatory species like pike, and European catfish.

of fish species, 63 are under certain protection measures: 34 species are classified as “strictly protected� and 29 species are “protected.�

(Arystichthys nobilis), white bighead (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), barbel (Barbus barbus), Volga pikeperch (Stizostedion volgensis), white grasscarp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), asp (Aspius aspius), orfe (Leuciscus idus), nase (Chondrostoma nasus) and burbot (Lota lota). Z Markovic

Among the fish inhabiting Serbian waters 52 species are caught in recreational and

commercial fisheries. The most economically important species include: sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus), carp (Cyprinus carpio), wells (Silurus glanis), pikeperch (Sander lucioperca), northern pike (Esox lucius), bream (Abramis brama), Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio), gray bighead

As in many European countries, aquaculture in Serbia is quite old. The earliest records originate from 1860, when the first fish farm was established in Serbia’s northern province of Vojvodina. The beginnings of contemporary aquaculture in Vojvodina are linked with the establishment of the oldest and biggest fish farm in Serbia, the fish farm EcĚŒka, in 1894 when a regulation on White Lake (Belo Jezero), was completed. After the break-up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s when former Yugoslavian countries gained independence, Serbia as an independent state saw the development of private entrepreneurship. Privatization of fish farms started in 2003. Today Serbia’s fish farms are privately owned. The Veterinary Directorate, which helps regulate the sector, reports 142 registered fish farms (66 trout farms,74 carp farms, and 2 for Danube sturgeon). The total area under fish farms is between 7 117 ha (in 2017) and 8 704 ha (in 2012). The largest surface area for fish farms, approximately 98  of the country’s total, is in Vojvodina.

Rainbow trout (pictured) and carp are the most commonly produced species in Serbia accounting for 90% of the farmed fish production of 5,100 tonnes in 2017.

From all the grown species, carp and rainbow trout make 90 of consumable fish produced. In recent years, according to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, production has varied

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SERBIA

Z Markovic

between 5 070 t (in 2017) and 8 195 t (in 2010). Carp is the species that is farmed the most (about 70). Semi-intensive production systems are used in carp ponds, although very rarely (5 of farm capacity) carp is produced with intensive systems. In all trout farms intensive production systems (cages and RAS) are applied.

Many species farmed together in polyculture Farm grown fish species are: carp (Cyprinus carpio), bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis), silver carp/white bighead (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), wels catfish (Silurus glanis), zander/ pike-perch (Sander /Stizostedion lucioperca), Northern pike (Esox lucius), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and in smaller capacities: brown trout (Salmo trutta m. fario), Danube Sturgeon (Acipenser queldenstaedti), as well as greyling (Thymallus thymallus), Danube salmon/ huchen (Hucho hucho) and freshwater bream (Abramis brama) fry for the purposes of river and lake stocking. Nearly all of the farm surface area in Serbia are carp farms, in the lowland part of Vojvodina. Some farms are very large: the largest 25 farms account for 85 of all carp farm surface area, and the top six farms are each larger than 500 ha in size. More than half (58) of the water supply to farms comes from the rivers, 39 from irrigation and drainage canals and 4 from wells. Semi-intensive systems in carp

Trout farms are located in the mountains and rely on water from springs and rivers, which can sometimes fail.

production in Serbia are based on the combination of natural food (zooplankton and bottom fauna) and additional feed (cereals and compound feed, extruded and pelleted). As noted, extensive production in carp ponds is almost non-existent, apart from occasional lack of running capital that causes the absence of feeding. Intensive systems are usually applied in fry production in small fish ponds, where the production reaches 5 000 to 10 000 kg/ha, using aerators and compound feed.

of cereals with compound and extruded feed in semi-intensive carp farming system. Production increased on warm-water farms through 2010 when 7 322 tonnes of consumable fish was produced. Subsequently, there was a slight production decline in the period 2011 – 2016, and then a sharper, more severe drop in 2017.

Cold water (trout) farms and fish production Trout farms are located in the mountain regions of Western, Eastern, and South Serbia, where river waters are cold. The total surface area of trout farms is small compared to carp, only approximately 6.2 ha. There are only a few farms where species such as brown trout, greyling and huchen are cultured, and only in small quantities. Production in the period 2009 to 2017 varied between a low of 736 tonnes (in 2014) and a peak of 949 tonnes (in 2015).

Carp is usually produced in polyculture with accompanying species; a farm can produce including bighead carp, silver carp/white bighead, and grass carp, along with predatory fish such as wels catfish, pike-perch and northern pike. In the early years of privatized Serbian aquaculture, production increased as a result of improved fish farm management and, from 2005, more frequent replacement

Aquaculture production in Serbia (t) Year

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Warm water ďŹ sh

6 560

7 322

6 833

6 853

5 080

6 432

6 438

6 081

4 148

Cold water ďŹ sh

880

873

796

808

856

736

949

797

922

Source: Statistical OfďŹ ce of the Republic of Serbia

Variations in production are primarily the consequence of drought. For example, the year 2012 was very dry, when the flow of waters for the supply to trout farms was minimal. Despite the fact that intensive farming systems are applied, a very small amount of fish per cubic meter is produced on these farms (from 12 to 20 kg/m3 water, on average). This is because many trout farms operate with only part of their constructed capacity, which tends to increase fish farm dependence on spring and river capacity for water supplies. However, in the last decade systems for water aeration with oxygen are increasingly used. This enables steadier production and higher productivity (up to 50 kg/m3 water), significantly higher than the average in Serbia. Unlike feed for carp, which is obtained only from Serbian factories, feed used in trout fish farms is usually imported. Zoran MarkovicĚ and Vesna PoleksicĚ (both of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade) and Mirko NovakovicĚ (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Serbia).

[ TRADE AND MARKETS ] Russia seeks to promote domestic ďŹ sh consumption

Survey yields vital insights in consumer habits A survey to elucidate consumers’ attitudes to ďŹ sh and seafood products revealed an interesting and sometimes contradictory set of preferences. Russians are well aware of the beneďŹ ts of consuming ďŹ sh and seafood, but ďŹ nd it difďŹ cult to actually buy and eat it, something the authorities are keen to change.

The Russian Federal Agency for Fisheries has developed a strategy to promote the consumption and sale of fish and seafood that includes highlighting Russia’s cultural ties to these products (archive photo).

In 2017, consumption of fish and seafood products in Russia was at 21.5 kg per capita (live weight equivalent), according to research carried out by the All-Russian Association of Fish Breeders, Entrepreneurs and Exporters (VARPE). The market size was estimated at more than 3 million tonnes of fisheries products. Herring was the leading species with 2.81 kg per capita consumption, followed by salmon

species (2.73 kg per capita), Alaska pollock (2.59 kg per capita), cod (2 kg per capita) and mackerel (1.9 kg per capita). These 5 top species make up 12 kg per capita or more than 56 of all fish and seafood products in the country. Consumption of squid, shrimp and crab was about 0.6, 0.25 and 0.14 kg per capita, respectively, representing about 5 of the total fish and seafood consumption in the country.

To gain a better understanding of habits, preferences and expectations of Russian consumers regarding fisheries products, VARPE and Russia Public Opinion Research Center (VTSIOM) carried out a consumer survey in August 2018. The results of the consumer survey indicated the attitude of consumers to fish products, how they choose them, how often do they buy them, the most important criteria when

choosing fish products, and other details. When choosing between meat, fish and poultry, Russian consumers more often prefer meat, while fish is second. Men have a clear preference for meat products, while women choose meat and fish products equally frequently. Senior consumers put fish products first, whereas for young consumers

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[ TRADE AND MARKETS ] below 25 years fish products are given the lowest priority. “Meat eaters” live mostly in the North Caucasian Federal District, the Ural Federal District and the Far Eastern Federal District, while citizens of the North Western Federal District value fish equally with meat. Russian consumers generally have a common perception of fish products: the majority of the respondents (76) perceives fish as healthy product, which is necessary for healthy diet and regards it as favourite product (60). Nearly half the respondents (49) indicated fish as an alternative source of protein and a dietary product low in calories (42). However, only 30 of the respondents stated fish as a product which is frequently consumed by their families, while nearly half the respondents (48) expressed that it is a product they would like to eat more frequently.

Consumers have an accurate idea of how much fish they eat Overall, Russian consumers have a realistic opinion about the recommended norms and their actual consumption of fish products. The majority recognises the necessity of fish consumption and agrees that their current consumption level is below the recommended level (which is 21-22 kg per capita, according to the Ministry of Health of Russia). This is most recognised by women with children. Perceptions about the necessary consumption frequency is almost aligned with factual consumption: 47 of the respondents believe that fish products have to be consumed several times a week, and 44 of the respondents consume fish product with this frequency.

Domestic consumer demand for fish products is considered high; 81 of the respondents stated that they bought fish products at least once a month, including 33 of the respondents who bought fish products approximately once a week or more, 23 of the respondents who bought it several times a month and 25 of the respondents who bought it once a month. About 27 of the respondents admitted that bought fish products more infrequently due to financial issues, 11 stated that they started to buy fish products more often and 60 of consumers did not change the frequency of the purchases of fish products. Consumers who buy fish products most often live in the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia (90 at least once a month and 41 at least once a week), while the respondents who buy fish products most seldom reside in the South Federal District (73 and 32, respectively).

Appearance and freshness determine whether consumers buy fish or not Regarding the criteria for choosing fish products, appearance is the most important criteria for Russian consumers (54), followed by quality/freshness (49), best before date (43) and price (42). According to the respondents, among the factors which limit fish consumption were product affordability (37) and products of good quality which are difficult to find (35). Among younger consumers (18-24 years old) 13 limited their fish consumption because they felt fish was toxic and that it smelled. Difficulty in preparation was

mentioned by 7 of the respondents. Less than half the respondents stated their preferences for marine fish products (42), a minor share of the respondents had a preference for freshwater fish products (16), while the rest did not have any special preference. Freshwater fish is most frequently chosen by the respondents residing in rural area. Nearly 74 of the Russian consumers have their favourite ways of preparing fish. Fried fish was the most preferred option, followed by baked fish. Salted and lightly salted fish, fish salads and fish soup were among other favourite fish dishes, as well as fish cakes and smoked fish. An analysis of socio-demographic characteristics of Russian consumers revealed four clusters, including ”fish fans”, who love fish products and buy them frequently; ”aesthetical consumers”, who like fish products, but think it is difficult to find fish products of high quality, therefore they buy fish products less frequently than they would like; ”rational consumers”, who buy fish products moderately because of healthy attributes and do not want to buy fish more frequently, and ”indifferent consumers”, who eat fish rather frequently, but do not regard it as a special or important product. The cluster analysis identified the geographic location of the consumer clusters. “Fish fans” reside mostly in the Volga Federal District (30), North-western Federal District (28) and the Northern District (27), but also in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The lowest share of “fish fans” was observed among consumers living in the Far Eastern Federal District and among consumers below the age of 25 years.

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Ambitious plans to promote fish consumption In order to boost consumption and sales of fisheries products on the domestic market, a series of marketing activities have been included in the strategy developed by the Russian Federal Agency for Fisheries. The overall marketing approach will highlight Russia’s historic and cultural ties with fish and seafood. A new element is the brand “Russian Fish,” which aims to popularise fish consumption, inform and educate existing Russian consumers and attract new ones. Special focus is placed on promotion of fish products with high value-addition in the retail and food service sectors, online sales, and though other channels. Looking beyond the domestic market, the Russian fisheries industry prioritises exports. According to the strategy, the export value of Russian fish and seafood products is to increase by 200 in the period 2018-2030. “The Russian Federation has an excellent starting position for the promotion of domestically produced fish products”, said Ilya Shestakov, Russia’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Head of the Federal Agency for Fishery. ”The geography of the country and the variety of fish species allow at least 10 geographical names with a special attractive range of fish and seafood, including Murmansk cod, Kamchatka crab, Black Sea plaice, Caspian sturgeon among others”. Local brands should be united under one managing center which helps to promote and increase the value of Russian fish around the world. Ekaterina Tribilustova, ekaterina. tribilustova@eurofish.dk

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[ TRADE AND MARKETS ] Direct sales as an alternative form of distribution for ďŹ shermen and ďŹ sh farmers

Convincing beneďŹ ts for suppliers and buyers A lot of primary food producers try to sell part of their products directly to consumers and thereby circumvent other forms of trade. What has long been common practice for agricultural products is now becoming increasingly popular for ďŹ sh and seafood, too. This marketing principle has advantages for both parties: the producers get better prices and the customers get optimal freshness.

W

hen at around 4 p.m. the “petits bateauxâ€? return to the port of Le Guilvinec on the French Atlantic coast and the fishermen unload their freshly caught fish or langoustines they are already eagerly awaited at the quayside by locals, restaurant operators and tourists. Fish that is not snapped up immediately can be seen shortly afterwards in one of the harbour fish shops, for example “La MarĂŠe du Jourâ€?, where crowds of customers are also already waiting. Three and a half hours further northeast by car in Cancale a good half dozen colourful stalls have been set up next to the town’s beach. That is where local oyster farmers offer their specialities. It would be hard to get “creuses de Cancaleâ€? fresher, or for that matter at a lower price, than here. Fresh fish sales straight from the fishing boat are also popular along the German Baltic coast. Anyone who wants to buy freshly caught cod or herring directly from the fisherman in the harbour of Wismar has to be an early riser: the town’s remaining fishermen usually land their day’s catch around breakfast time. And a lot of German trout producers, too, sell their fish directly to their customers. This sales channel is in the meantime practically indispensable from an economic point of view. Almost all

producers offer their products in farm shops or at weekly markets, both fresh and processed – mainly hot smoked. Some trout farmers even have their own snack stands or fish restaurants. Direct sales are more lucrative than supplying to wholesalers and retailers. And they enable even smaller enterprises with relatively low production volumes to stay in business. There are various ways of carrying out direct sales: fresh fish can be sold from the fishing vessel, from a stall in the harbour, from a farm shop next to the fish pond, or at weekly markets, where many regional producers sell their products. Some producers even offer fish and seafood products on the internet. All these forms of direct sales have long been an integral part of the retail landscape and are greatly appreciated by consumers. Even longstanding supermarket customers who collect their weekly food requirements in a time-saving “one-stop-shopping� process gladly make use of this form of trade. Buying fish directly from the producer has the charm of something special, of authenticity, and often even a certain entertainment value, too. People who buy their fish from a fisherman or fish farmer can be sure that they are getting an absolutely fresh product and can

In the port of Le Guilvinec on the French Atlantic coast locals and tourists wait daily at the quayside to buy freshly caught fish directly from the fishing boat.

at the same time enjoy the satisfying feeling that they have bought locally, seasonally, fairly and sustainably. An additional motive for many of them is probably the price benefit because fish purchased directly from the producer is usually less expensive that that bought at the service counter of the supermarket.

Direct sales increase company earnings However, buying directly from the supplier sometimes demands a certain flexibility from the customer. Whereas when buying from a trout or carp farmer a customer can be pretty sure that they

will actually get the fish they want, there are various imponderables when buying directly from a fisherman. For example, the desired fish might not be available at all. Seasonal factors, closed seasons or various unexpected circumstances can influence a fisherman’s daily catch, or wind and weather can even prevent him from putting out to sea at all. In many fishing locations it’s possible to gain information about the day’s offers via web portals. Immediately after the catch, but at the latest on the journey back to the port, the fisherman will inform potential customers in advance via SMS what he has caught that day. This advance information

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[ TRADE AND MARKETS ]

Langoustines are particularly popular in Le Guilvinec; they soon move from the fishermen’s boxes into the customers’ bags.

makes it easier for potential fish buyers to plan their menu besides increasing anticipation and preventing disappointments. In agriculture the search for alternative ways to generate additional income began as early as the 1980s. Direct sales of raw food products along with other products from the farm’s own processing facilities very quickly proved to be a good means of increasing income and securing jobs in structurally weak rural areas. High-quality regional products are particularly appealing to price- and health-conscious buyers, who are often even willing to travel long distances for these special offers. In principle, the direct sales concepts devised by fisheries and aquaculture companies are precisely targeted at this market niche and thus meet the high expectations of a rapidly growing group of consumers. Of course, these sales efforts are not entirely altruistic because (like farmers) fishermen and pond operators also have to meet the challenge of gaining the maximum economic yield from their catch or the fish they produce.

From fisherman to consumer without intermediaries Direct sales (sometimes called direct marketing or self-marketing) in the narrower sense means the sale of one’s own products directly to end consumers without making use of intermediaries such as trading or processing companies. As described above the supplier can use various distribution and sales channels for this purpose: sale from the fishing vessel, farm shops, weekly markets, mobile sales stands, delivery services or via the internet. A further distribution channel is via supply to external farm shops which can in this way broaden their product range, or to selected retailers, regional catering and bulk consumer businesses. This is also regarded as direct marketing but since it requires an intermediate step before the products reach the end consumer it is referred to as “direct marketing in the broader sense”. Choosing a direct sales option demands consideration of numerous factors as well as operational and individual requirements.

These will include the location and size of the business, the population density and purchasing power in the region, the local supply situation and competitive field, the time required for necessary transport routes, as well as the necessary investment and personnel costs. The fisherman’s commitment as well as, more generally, his personal abilities and talents, will also play an important role. A certain entrepreneurial skill is necessary, a good antenna for picking up nutritional trends, and the courage to take risks. That, too, can be very helpful when leaving traditional marketing channels or opening up new sales opportunities.

Buying from the producer is a real alternative for shoppers Direct sales enable primary producers to achieve higher sales and more attractive profits than is possible using traditional distribution methods, selling to wholesalers, intermediaries and retailers. However, for this to work the producer has to manage his business well and must be able to offer an attractive assortment. Particularly helpful in the start-up

Whereas fishermen only offer fish from their own catches when selling fresh fish at the quayside, farm shops of some aquaculture businesses now also buy additional products from external suppliers to round off their own range. This can enable better use of existing processing capacity besides enhancing the range for customers. (If you smoke your own trout anyway, you can also add mackerel, salmon or halibut to the smoke.) Like any sales channel, however, selling directly to the end con-

This shop in the port of Le Guilvinec practices an unusual sales concept because customers can take the fresh fish out of the crates themselves.

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phase is a network of reliable customers who buy the company’s products quite frequently or regularly. The growing popularity of this sales form among customers proves that there is great interest in direct sales, especially in the fish sector. When shopping, many customers like to take the opportunity to find out more about the origin of the fish, fishing methods or conditions in the aquaculture business and they can do this best in a personal conversation with the producer. The preferred preparation methods of the fish on offer and recipe tips are also always a welcome topic.

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[ TRADE AND MARKETS ] sumer does not only have advantages but also some disadvantages. One of the biggest advantages of direct selling is probably the fact that the supplier has control over the marketing process at every phase and can influence it himself accordingly. With the appropriate customer frequency high sales can thus be achieved in a relatively short period of time, which immediately benefits the business in full. In order to achieve this, however, it has to be accepted that people from outside the company – usually with their own vehicles – can come onto the company premises at all times, something which can disrupt normal business processes. In order to limit the risk of the introduction of fish diseases the fish farm should be well secured and fenced in. A fisherman, on the other hand, hardly needs any additional equipment to sell fish from his fishing boat which reduces the investment costs. Scales for determining the weight of the fish and suitable packaging materials are usually sufficient. Apart from setting up a farm shop, offering fish at weekly markets is probably the most costly and time-consuming option because it requires a suitably refrigerated sales stand and a transport vehicle. In addition, there are often barriers for new entrants to particularly rewarding markets and these can be as high as the stand fees. For smaller enterprises it can also be difficult that the owner is absent from the company during the sales period at the weekly market. Of course it is in principle possible to hire an additional sales assistant but the necessary costs often eat up the hoped-for profit.

Consumer expectations must never be disappointed From whichever angle one views the situation it is hardly possible to find a generally valid, optimal

Tourists are eager to buy at the Cancale stalls where prices range between 4.50 and 6 euros for a dozen fresh oysters.

Large trout farms often increase the value of their products by further processing, and some also offer their products as snacks.

solution for direct sales. Despite the problems mentioned above, market stalls can be very worthwhile if the offer is right and the market is visited frequently by customers who are really willing to buy. Farm shops, on the other hand, require less effort – apart from the investment required to set up the shop. A family member who has the necessary time and lives close-by can often take on the task of serving the customers. But it is still necessary to come up with something to attract customers to the farm and into the shop, especially in sparsely populated areas with poor transport connections. The advertising effort can be correspondingly high and it will

only pay off if the product range offered meets the customer’s expectations. Although supplementing the product range with additionally purchased products contributes to increasing attractiveness, it also puts pressure on the supplier to sell the goods as quickly as possible because freshness is an absolute must where direct sales are concerned, perhaps the most important sales argument that customers expect. However, this pressure is offset by the enormous freedom the supplier has in pricing his product range. In the farm shop, fish products are rarely under direct price or competitive pressure because the nearest fish supplier is often

quite a long way off. Nevertheless, calculating prices should of course be performed with a sense of proportion if the customer is to come back again. Today, upmarket restaurants like to buy their raw materials in the region and if possible directly from the producer. On the surface this seems to be quite lucrative and direct sales of fish can also benefit the supplier. However, deliveries to this customer group can involve quite a lot of effort, something which is often overlooked. The order quantities of restaurants fluctuate and delivery is usually expected at short notice. Direct sales to restaurants

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[ TRADE AND MARKETS ]

Enjoying a grilled or smoked trout directly on the farm premises is a particularly attractive direct sales method and very popular with customers.

are therefore only worthwhile if the restaurant is nearby or the delivery is paid for separately. Direct sales to large-scale caterers and canteen kitchens can be just as difficult. These customers usually order larger quantities and also well in advance, because the menus are often fixed weeks in advance. However, in the case of large batches they usually expect calibrated and ready-to-cook goods, which not every direct seller can afford. In their search for new customers, many suppliers have high hopes of selling fish via the internet, overlooking the fact that this route can also be costly and no less difficult. The internet has the reputation of being a modern, convenient, stress-free and time-saving supply channel for almost all products, and this increasingly also applies to fresh fish and other fish products. However, it is really only convenient for the buyers because the supplier has numerous obligations and risks that arise from this sales option. For example, the additional costs for packaging and shipping are borne by the supplier and he must also bear the costs if the customer is of the opinion that a fish product does not come up to the expected quality standard. In addition, there is work involved in setting

up and maintaining the website: everything that is advertised there should actually be available. Internet buyers are often pricesensitive and compare the offers and prices of different suppliers meticulously before placing an order. In case of doubt, it is better not to rely on the loyalty of such customers; even a price difference of a few cents can make them turn their backs. Anyone who disappoints a new customer will soon lose him again anyway.

Legal regulations must be observed Direct sales, too, must of course comply with existing legislation on fisheries and aquaculture products and this can sometimes be difficult for small artisanal fisheries producers for organisational and logistical reasons. That is why inspectors responsible for monitoring direct fish sales from the fishing boat often turn a blind eye to the labelling obligation demanded by the current Food Information Regulation (LMIV-VO (EU) No. 1169/2011). This attitude should not be hoped for with regard to the EU ‘Hygiene Package’, however, which focuses on Regulations (EC) No. 852/2004 and (EC) No 853/2004, as these consumer protection provisions

Smoked carp and salmon pieces, catfish “schinken”, and pickled salmon: the variety offered for direct sale is not limited to fresh fish.

are strictly controlled everywhere. According to this, every direct seller is fully responsible for ensuring that his products are manufactured, processed, packaged, stored and transported under appropriate hygiene conditions. This can be an enormous challenge on a vessel that has just entered port from its fishing trip, even if the rather vague wording “appropriate” hygiene conditions still leaves the inspectors room for interpretation. Which small fishing boat, for example, has washbasins for cleaning hands or fish and how many fishermen change their working clothes before selling fish to private customers at the quayside?

Knowledge of food hygiene is essential Direct sellers of fish are generally regarded as registered food business operators. However, food law approval is only required for direct sales if the operators sell their fish products to wholesalers or abroad. Legislation differentiates according to the quantity and processing status of fish products and imposes graduated obligations on direct sellers. If small quantities of primary products are sold directly to consumers or restaurants within a radius of

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100 km no special registration or approval is required. “Small quantities” in the sense of the hygiene package means quantities that are customary in households in the case of direct supply to the final consumer. In the case of supply to retailers or restaurants the wording refers to quantities corresponding to a daily sales volume of the establishment. The term “primary production” covers farming and catching, slaughtering, bleeding, gutting and cleaning, removal of fins and refrigeration of fish products. When supplying larger quantities from primary production to final consumers or restaurants of Regulation (EC) 852/2004 must be observed too. This demands, for example, that the direct marketing establishment must register with the responsible administrative authority before the start of the sale. In addition, the applicant is required to have comprehensive expertise in food hygiene, and this must be demonstrated to the authority. People who have completed vocational training, such as a fisherman or fish farmer, are presumed to have the appropriate specialist knowledge without having to undergo an additional examination. mk

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GUEST PAGES

Closer dialogue with non-EU riparian states is a priority for the Black Sea Advisory Council

Forging common ground can be a challenge Yordan Gospodinov has led the Black Sea Advisory Council (BlSAC) since the end of 2018. The Advisory Councils are stakeholder-led organisations with a membership that includes ďŹ shermen’s representatives as well as those of other groups affected by the Common Fisheries Policy such as environmental and consumer groups. These organisations provide the European Commission and Member States with recommendations on ďŹ shery management issues, for example, on socio-economics, conservation, or regionalisation. BlSAC represents the two EU Member States, Bulgaria and Romania, that are Black Sea riparian countries. Mr Gospodinov, a native of Bulgaria, speaks here about some of the issues facing an organisation that represents two of the six countries surrounding the Black Sea. The Black Sea Advisory Council (BlSAC) represents the interests of the Bulgarian and Romanian fisheries sectors as well as those of NGOs from these countries. However, there are a further four riparian countries, whose interest in the Black Sea also have an impact on Bulgarian and Romanian fisheries. What mechanisms exist for BlSAC to cooperate with these other countries? BlSAC was established in 2015, and each year it carries out its own work programme, which is approved by DG MARE. We are a non-profit organization of social value and support the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy in the Black Sea. An important step in our policy is the future approach in determining the Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and turbot quotas in Black Sea. For us, a fact of great importance is that the rest of the four countries carry out fishing activities in the Black Sea, with significantly greater quantity than the catches of Bulgaria and Romania altogether. It is important to note that the resource is common and everyone has to take care of it and preserve it, by complying with fishing norms

Yordan Gospodinov, Chairperson of the Black Sea Advisory Council

and responsibilities that guarantee the sustainability of the sector. BlSAC will keep facilitating regionalisation and cooperation between the riparian states and maintain close cooperation with the European Commission and GFCM in this regard. Anthropogenic pollution in the Black Sea is a cause of serious concern because of its impact on the environment in general and fisheries in particular. Does the BlSAC have a role to play in

trying to reduce the extent of the problem? What methods can it adopt to bring about change? BlSAC organized a round table in 2018 regarding the pollution and marine litter. We issued recommendations to the municipalities and the respective organizations that could directly facilitate the reduction of pollution and collection of litter. Furthermore, during the meetings of the Working Groups of BlSAC, a number of topics were discussed concerning

the pollution of the Black Sea and the sustainable use of the marine resources. BlSAC formulated several recommendations whose aim was to achieve better management and improved measures for preventing and reducing the pollution of marine litter. These recommendations were sent to the national authorities in Romania and Bulgaria, as well as to DG MARE. Moreover, this year we will make a number of presentations to raise awareness among BlSAC members.

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The Sofia Declaration also calls for the development of a culture of compliance and the elimination of IUU fishing in the Black Sea. Although EU catches in the Black Sea are modest, what steps are the state administrations taking towards achieving these objectives and how can it encourage other Black Sea riparian countries to contribute? The elimination of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Black Sea is an important topic, and BlSAC is a witness of the efforts that the state administrations are making when it comes to fisheries control in Bulgaria and Romania in order to deal with this issue. The control of surveillance, reporting, landing and first sale are a great part of the control of fishing vessels over 12 metres length, and of those under 12 metres that have gained fishing turbot quotas or are catching other species. With regard to the fishing done by the other members of the Black Sea basin, there is a greater need for dialogue between the state administrations on both regional and European level so that their participation and input is encouraged to achieve the best exploitation of the common resource and adherence to rules, which should be imposed collectively. This is not an easy process, but it is after all a challenge for a start in leading a dialogue and searching for an agreement. Given the fact that there are European rules and norms laid down, BlSAC could be invited to such meetings for a statement and an opinion. An active role for BlSAC that aims at regional and multilateral cooperation, as well as at pursuit of dialogue with the other countries from the Black Sea basin, could contribute to narrowing the gap between positions, for example, on conservational measures.

Changes in climate patterns have an impact on the distribution of fish. Is this something that can be seen in the Black Sea? Can a change in distribution patterns have a negative impact on EU fishermen and their livelihoods? What can be done to mitigate these effects? The observed climate changes have led to a change in the Black Sea species. The composition and spread of fish stocks are affected and fishermen have to adapt their activities in order to have certainty. This fact could increase their operational costs and influence their income. The efforts for mitigating the climate patterns change have to be global, as this issue has no regard to borders. New species have emerged, such as rapana whelk that has adapted to the environment for a few decades and took over the local bivalve species that serve as a food to this common whelk. The bivalves act as a natural filter of the sea and feed off phytoplankton. The greatly decreased population of some bivalve species, due to their eradication by the veined rapa whelk (Rapana venosa), sometimes leads to excessive growth of plankton population. In this manner, the plentiful development of phytoplankton and the absence of shells could result in a certain deficit in the oxygen levels, and in turn, this could lead to other consequences for some fish species in the Black Sea. The careful and extensive study of the species and their mutual dependence, such as symbiosis or antagonism, is needed in order to determine which species prevail and how they influence the population of other species. Aquaculture is reckoned to be the source of all future growth in seafood production as output from capture fisheries is

expected to more or less stagnate at its current level. How do you see the development of EU aquaculture in the Black Sea? Aquaculture could turn out to be a very important part of the fisheries sector in the Black Sea. It is a fact that the constantly increasing global population leads to higher consumption of fish and other marine organisms. The purity of marine waters along the Bulgarian and Romanian coasts has improved in the last couple of years, which is due to the increased control of waste water, its purification and discharge, which contributes to the quality of aquaculture products. It is expected that the number of aquaculture farms along the coast will increase. The EU funds allocated for the development of aquaculture in both the past and current programme periods contribute to this development. I consider this a sustainable trend, as in the future an extension of the existing farms and establishment of new ones is due. I also expect an increase in the production of different seafood products, and not just mussels, reflecting the current tendency in Bulgaria and Romania. Under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, EU Member States are required to develop strategies that achieve “GES (Good Environmental Status)“ in their marine waters by 2020. GES is determined using 11 criteria (biodiversity, healthy commercial fish stocks, low impact of non-indigenous species, environmental contamination within safe limits etc.). Achieving GES is also one of the objectives of the BlSAC. As 2020 approaches how close are Bulgaria and Romania to achieving this status and what remains to be done?

11_GUEST PAGES (GP).indd 55

In Bulgaria, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive is transposed to national legislation via the decree for environmental protection in marine waters. Furthermore, the Advisory and Coordinating Council (ACC) was formed, whose aim is the environmental protection of the marine waters of the Black Sea. ACC is an authority of the Council of Ministers for the management, coordination and control of the implementation of the marine strategy and a programme of measures for achieving Good Environmental Status (GES) of the marine waters. The Council of Ministers adopted the marine strategy of the Republic of Bulgaria and the programme of measures for maintaining or reaching good environmental status of the marine environment. The programme of measures is to be implemented between 2016 and 2021. The Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) and the Black Sea Commission (BSC) are other international bodies dedicated to the economic development of the Black Sea region and the protection of the Black Sea against pollution. Is there an agreement between these two institutions and the BlSAC regarding cooperation in areas of mutual interest, such as fisheries, aquaculture, or pollution in the Black Sea? Have there been any concrete outcomes from this cooperation? At the moment there are no official agreements between these international bodies and BlSAC. Here I should note that we would depend on the Memorandum of Understanding with GFCM. This gives us the opportunity to participate in common forums with these organizations, organized by GFCM or the EC. My view is that we have to work with all the organizations

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and institutions, which can contribute to the development of the region and the sector. The post-2020 EMFF (as well as the GFCM mid-term strategy) lays special emphasis on the EU coastal fishery due to its disproportionate social, environmental, and economic impact compared with other fleet segments. The bulk of the Romanian and Bulgarian fleets is made up of vessels in this segment (6-12 m). EU Member States are expected to draw up a strategy for the sustainable development of this fishery. What should be the main priorities for these two fleets? The main priorities should concern: Information campaigns among the small-scale fisheries

for the methods of collection of data on catches; fight against IUU fishing; improvement of the small-scale fisheries; usage and implementation of good European practices for catching deepsea species; implementation of specific rules for fishing in the Black Sea and for using gears and nets typical for the Black Sea; the perspectives of blue growth for the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea; guaranteeing the conditions for mooring, unloading, classification, packaging, labelling (which is proof of traceability), showcase, sale and storage of fish; facilitating the process of catch realisation; establishing of producer organisations; building capacity. You became chairman of the BlSAC at the end of 2018.

What are your visions for the organisation, how do you see it developing in the future, and what are your priorities for the three years of your term? What are your criteria for a successful chairmanship? I have serious ambitions to build upon the work of BlSAC. For this purpose, the experience, views, knowledge and wishes of the organizations that are members of BlSAC will be invaluable. The collective decisions taken by the Working Groups and the Executive Committee should reflect as many of the stakeholders as possible. Working actively with the GFCM, EC, and Member States, and ensuring that BlSAC prepares and issues quality recommendations are also priorities.

Permanent cooperation with EFCA and other Advisory Councils (such as MED-AC) is also one of my ambitions. Furthermore, I hope to increase the co-operation with research institutes, so that BlSAC can draw on scientific opinions from different sources. I will strive for greater awareness of BlSAC activities through the regular publication of information on the webpage (https:// www.blsaceu.eu), our Facebook page (https://www.facebook. com/blsaceu/), and through higher levels of activity overall in the media about BlSAC and its significance for the Black Sea. Distilling the views of all sections of the sector in to recommendations for the EC and Member States would be an important measure of the success of my chairmanship.

Bulgaria and Romania are the EU members among the six Black Sea riparian countries. To ensure the sustainable exploitation of common resources there is a need for greater dialogue at the regional level, says Yordan Gospodinov. XXX FVSPlTINBHB[JOF DPN

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DIARY DATES

10-12 July 2019 Global Fisheries Forum & Seafood Expo St. Petersburg, Russia Tel.: +7 906 731 92 79 reklama@rusfishexpo.com www.rusfishexpo.ru

9-11 October 2019 DanFish International Aalborg, Denmark Tel.: +45 99 35 55 18 ehe@akkc.dk www.danfish.com 25-27 September 2019 Expoalimentaria Lima, Peru Tel.: +51 1 618 3333 spulache@adexperu.org.pe www.expoalimentariaperu.com

20-23 August 2019 Aqua Nor Trondheim Tel.: +47 73 56 86 40 mailbox@nor-fishing.no www.aqua-nor.no

1-3 October 2019 Conxemar Vigo, Spain Tel.: +34 986 433 351 conxemar@conxemar.com www.conxemar.com

7-10 October 2019 Aquaculture Europe Berlin, Germany mario@marevent.com www.marevent.com

3-5 September 2019 Seafood Expo Asia Wanchai, Hong Kong Tel.: +1 207 842 55 04 customerservice@divcom.com www.seafoodexpo.com

14 November 2019 International Cold Water Prawn Forum St Jonn’s, Canada Tel.: + 45 40 79 10 11 icwpf@gemba.dk icwpf.com

9-11 February 2020 fish international Bremen, Germany Tel.: +49 421 3505 264 wedell@messe-bremen.de www.fishinternational.com

12-15 November 2019 Prodexpo - Belarus Minsk, Belarus Tel.: +375 29 887 22 90 prodexpo@belexpo.by www.prodexpo.by

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 M a g a z i n e . c o m

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