Eurofish Magazine 4 2010

ISSN 1868-5943 July 4 / 2010 C 44346

EUROFISH

MAGAZINE

Eurofish Magazine

July 4 / 2010

www.eurofishmagazine.com

Cover Story Tunamar

Seeking customers in Eastern Europe

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Poland: Greater regionalisation in governance aspired Spain: Consumption of seafood shows marked increase Processing lines: Productive, resource-saving, hygienic FISH INFO network

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C 44346 July 4 / 2010

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ISSN 1868-594

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I n thi s i ssue

European funding plays an important role in Polish industry development Poland – In June Poland became the thirteenth country to join Eurofish, an occasion which is marked by the coverage of Poland in this issue. The feature opens with an interview with Mr Kazimierz Plocke, Secretary of State, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, who shares his thoughts on some of the issues that either impact or have the potential to influence the Polish fisheries sector. Through the coverage it is possible to see the important role played by European funding mechanisms in the development and modernisation of the Polish industry. Read more on page 46 PathogenCombat – An EU-funded project, which brought together scientists and industry from sixteen European states and Australia, PathogenCombat has several research teams working on new and traditional ways to inactivate pathogens that render food unsafe for consumption. The researchers efforts attempted to answer two basic questions, firstly, how reliable are the inactivation steps in combination with growth inhibiting factors such as CO2 enriched atmosphere during packaging?

And secondly, how do pathogens react to the often only sub-lethal treatments? Read about the impact of mild processing techniques on pathogens and how treatment methods often need to be combined to be effective in this article by ­Dr Manfred Klinkhardt on page 12 Spain – The Spanish market for seafood is characterised not only by large volumes but also a wide variety of fish and seafood. Domestic fishery production reached a peak of 1.4 million tonnes in 1975 but has declined steadily since. Per capita fish and seafood consumption has been increasing however as Spaniards become more aware of the health benefits of fish and to sustain this demand imports have climbed from 136,000 tonnes in 1976 to 1.6 million tonnes in 2009. The fish is sold through a well developed system of auctions, wholesale markets, traditional central markets, and finally, the retail system. The fishing fleet as in other parts of Europe has been sharply reduced from about 20,000 vessels in the 80s to 13,000 vessels today. The freshwater aquaculture sector is made up mainly of rainbow trout, which has seen a decline in production due to a combination of factors, in particular, competition with imported whitefish fillets.

Read more on page 20 Fish processing equipment – Fish processing machinery has been evolving steadily over the years. Today there is hardly a task that cannot be performed by a machine, whether it is heading, gutting filleting, pin bone removing, trimming or cutting. Even the removal of delicate internal organs or roe sacs can be safely left to a machine. Equipment manufacturers can combine the machines that perform the various operations into one processing line. This has its advantages, but can also be a drawback for the processor. But there is no denying that machines mean speed and precision, consistent quality, as well as improved hygiene in a processing operation. Read more on page 58 www.eurofishmagazine.com

Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

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Eurofish around

Contents Spain

20 The market for seafood in Spain Consumption of fish and seafood shows marked increase 26 Interview with Rosa Quintana, Minister for the Marine, Government of Galicia Developing a Galician brand for fish and seafood 28 Interview with Juan Manuel Vieites, General Secretary, ANFACO EU Agreement with Pacific States ignores domestic tuna industry concerns 30 Jealsa Rianxeira, S.A. Investing in automation to stay competitive 32 Iberconsa Frozen fish exports to 55 countries 34 Pescanova Group Aquaculture production on two continents 36 Paquito SL Frozen mussels and breaded squid for the European retail sector 38 Peter Taboada Germicidal water to extend the shelf life of fish and seafood

Worldwide Fish News

40 Stolt Sea Farm SA A big fish in a small pond

Argentina

page

64

42 Grupo Tres Mares Rainbow trout products for EU and Russian markets

Australia

page

11

Belgium

page

6, 7, 62

China

page

10

Croatia

page

6

Denmark

page

7

Indonesia

page

62

Italy

page

9

Mexico

page

62

44 Pescados Marcelino Prices for farmed mussels gradually recover

News

Cover Story

Morocco

page

63

6 International News

16 Tunamar seeks customers in Eastern Europe Sashimi-grade tuna for European industry

Norway

page

10

Poland

page

6, 46

Russia

page

9

Projects

Traceability

Spain

page

16, 20

12 PathogenCombat: Reducing food-borne diseases in Europe Inactivation of pathogens by mild processing techniques

56 Experiences from implementation of traceability How to get more information about your fish product

United Kingdom

page

8,10

USA

page

8

Vietnam

page

64

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Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

the world

Contents

Poland 46 Interview with Mr Kazimierz Plocke, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Poland supports moves for greater regionalisation in governance 48 Bone cutters for carp processing Carp bones – threat for consumers and production volumes 50 Trends and possibilities within Baltic sprat processing Development of new sprat products could increase consumption 52 Losos Investments in quality give dividends in strong brand recognition 53 Expansion of the fishing harbour and boat repair facilities in the Port of Jastarnia 54 Sprat fishing in Poland Modernisation results in marked increase in quality aboard fishing vessel 55 North Atlantic Producers Organization Collection of North Atlantic fishing data an important part of NAPO’s actvities 55 Niemodlin fish farm Modernised with the help of EU funds

Processing

Service

58 Processing lines for seafood: productive, resource-saving, hygienic From fish to fillet, from portion to end product

65 Diary Dates 66 Imprint 66 List of Advertisers

Fish Infonetwork News 62 Projects 63 Events

www.eurofishmagazine.com

Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

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[ international news ] Poland becomes the 13th member of EUROFISH Poland became the 13th member of EUROFISH International Organisation when it deposited the Instrument of Ratification at FAO Headquarters in Rome on 21 June 2010. The country signed the Agreement for the Establishment of the International Organisation for the Development of Fisheries in Eastern and Central Europe in January 2009.

Poland joins the other Baltic Sea region states, adding weight to the presence of the Baltic region in EUROFISH. “We warmly welcome Poland as a member of our organisation,” says Carmen Rodriguez Muñoz, Spain,

Poland signing the EUROFISH Agreement at the FAO headquarters in Rome in January 2009. After ratification by the Polish parliament Poland deposited the Instrument of Ratification at FAO Headquarters in Rome in June 2010 formally becoming a member of EUROFISH. From left, Lidia Kacalska-Bienkowska, Fisheries Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Poland; Wojciech Ostrowski, Permanent Representative of Poland to FAO; Kazimierz Florian Plocke, Secretary of State for Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland; Victor Hjort, Eurofish.

Chairperson of the Governing Council of EUROFISH. The organization has emerged as a key player in the post harvest fisheries and aquaculture sector since it was established in 2003 as a successor to the FAO-executed EASTFISH Project. Our role is to promote the fish processing and aquaculture industries in our member countries and to facilitate the development of trade opportunities both among our members, and between them and the rest of Europe, says Ms Muñoz. We work with our partners creating ways to get better value for traditional fisheries and aquaculture products, and disseminating information about new ones. Aina Afanasjeva, director of Eurofish says, “Poland has a highly dynamic processing sector and a significant aquaculture industry and we look forward to developing and executing projects for the mutual benefit of Poland and our other members.”

A special coverage of the Polish fisheries sector in the August 2010 issue of the Eurofish Magazine will mark Poland’s membership of EUROFISH. Eurofish now has 13 member countries. These are Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, and Turkey.

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Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

Brussels: Commission seeks public comment on action plan to reduce seabird catches The European Commission is launching a public consultation to contribute to the proposed European Union action plan to limit the interaction between seabirds and fishing gear. This interaction often results in the death of the birds and at the same time reduces the profitability of the fishing operation. The action plan is based upon the outcome of an assessment carried out by ICES, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, that identified the main areas and the main fisheries that suffer from the problem. These include fisheries in the Mediterranean, North and Baltic seas and off the southwest of Ireland, that use longlines and gill nets. The

Commission also represents the EU on the FAO’s Commission on Fisheries in all matters relating to the international plan of action to reduce the incidence of catches of seabirds on longlines, and has used this experience as well in the formulation of the proposed action plan. By opening the proposal to contributions from the public, the Commission hopes to gather the views of all the stakeholders involved. A study on the social, economic, and environmental impacts of the measures to reduce catches of seabirds in fishing gear will also be commissioned. The action plan will draw on both the study and the public consultation and is scheduled for adoption next year.

Croatia: Offshore mariculture to play a vital role in ensuring future seafood supplies

The third offshore mariculture conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia was organized by Mercator Media and attracted more than 100 participants from 28 countries.

Global per capita consumption of fish has been increasing steadily from an average of 11.5kg during the 1970’s, 12.5kg in the 1980’s to 14.4kg in the 1990’s. Consumption in the 21st century has continued to grow and preliminary figures from the FAO for 2007 and 2008 show a new increase to 17.1kg per capita. At the same time capture

fisheries production has been about 90 million tonnes for each of the last fifteen years and chances of this increasing are remote. The source of growth in fish production is the freshwater and marine aquaculture industry which has been growing at 10% a year for the past 20 years. In 2008 aquaculture production was 53m tonnes, a volwww.eurofishmagazine.com

[ international news ] ume that is expected to increase to almost 120m tonnes by 2020.

However, while the production of fish and seafood from aquaculture is expected to increase in the future, the industry is also facing a number of constraints that hamper growth. At the recently concluded offshore mariculture conference in Croatia delegates heard that one of the main problems is the lack of space for the industry to develop due to competition with other sectors including tour-

ism, energy, as well as the proliferation of marine protected areas.

One possible solution has been to move the industry offshore as has now become mandatory in Turkey. While this increases costs, delegates also heard of the advantages including faster growing times, improved product quality, less environmental impacts and reduced risk of disease outbreaks.

Other speakers at the conference discussed how marine aquaculture could coexist and even mutually benefit from other industries.

Denmark: Import volumes of fish into the EU increased by 20% in 2009 The EU is the world’s largest importer of fish and seafood by a huge margin. According to the FAO, in 2009 while Japan and the US each imported USD13bn dollars worth of fishery products, the figure for the EU was US39.5bn.

Imports into the EU increased from 9bn tonnes in 2008 to 11bn tonnes in 2009. The Organisation for Danish Aquaculture has analysed the trends in imports of fish from Turkey, and pangasius from Viet Nam into the EU-27 over the period 2005

www.eurofishmagazine.com

to 2009, based on data from Eurostat. Looking at European imports of fresh and frozen sea bass and sea bream from Turkey the data shows that imports peaked at about 16,000 tonnes in 2007 but then fell back to just over 14,000 tonnes in 2008 and 2009. Smoked trout imports have stayed stable at about 2000 tonnes from 2007 to 2009, while imports of frozen trout larger than 1 kg hovered around 2,000 tonnes up to 2008 but then jumped to about 5,000 t. Prices of all three

products have stayed broadly stable over the period, with a slight increase for smoked trout and a slight decline for seabass and seabream.

Imports of frozen pangasius fillets into the EU grew explosively from less than 50,000 tonnes in 2005 to

just over 200,000 tonnes in 2008.

The growth in imports of the fish slowed considerably in 2009, but still recorded an increase. Between 2006 and 2008 the price per kilo dropped sharply from EUR2.3 to just over EUR1.8.

Brussels: To eat cheap – move to Macedonia The EU may legally be a single market but food prices range widely across its 27 member states, according to data from Brussels, reports Keith Nuthall on just-food.com. The most recent survey of 500 comparable products by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical agency, shows in 2009 the price of a comparable basket of food and non-alcoholic beverages was more than twice as high in the most expensive EU country than the cheapest. Denmark was nearly 40% above the average.

Ireland, Finland, Luxembourg, Austria, Belgium, Germany and France were between 10% and 30% above the average.

At the other end of the spectrum were the Baltic states - Latvia,

Estonia, and Lithuania - and the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, with price levels between 10% and 30% below the average. Meanwhile, Bulgaria, Romania and Poland saw prices between 30% and 40% below the average. Prices closer to the mean were found in Italy, Cyprus, Sweden and Greece (up to 10% above average), and the UK, the Netherlands, Spain, Slovenia, Malta and Portugal - up to 10% below.

Eurostat also looked outside the EU, and found Norway even more expensive – with its food basket costing 54% more than the EU average. And to eat cheap – move to Macedonia where food prices are 52% below the EU average.

Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

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[ international news ] UK: Vessel stability monitor can reduce the risk of mishaps at sea The results of a study carried out by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch analyzing fishing accidents in the UK between 1992 and 2006 revealed that around 60 per cent of vessel losses at sea are due to foundering or capsizing, and stated that the fatal accident rate for UK fishermen from 1996 to 2005 was 115 times higher than that for the general workforce in the country as a whole.

The results were published at the end of 2008. The study also showed that while the accident rate in other industries has been declining in recent years, there has been no corresponding reduction in the UK fishing ­industry.

Foundering and capsizing are associated with a loss of vessel stability, a parameter that can change due to overloading, poorly designed modifications to the vessel, water ingress, the development of ice on the superstructure, or for other reasons.

A Scotland company, Hook Marine, has developed a device that monitors the stability of the vessel while at sea issuing a warning when a potentially dangerous situation develops. The device, the SeaWise Vessel Stability Monitor, was developed with assistance from Seafish, a public body for the UK seafood sector, and has generated interest in markets in the Netherlands, Ireland, Canada, and the US apart

from the UK, says the company.

The device will be eligible for European Fisheries Fund grant

support for fishermen purchasing and installing the device on their vessels.

US: Pescanova USA CEO joins Global Aquaculture Alliance Board The Global Aquaculture Alliance, a trade association for the promotion of environmentally and socially responsible aquaculture, has developed a range of international standards for the aquaculture industry. Called Best Aquaculture Practices the standards apply to quality, traceability, environmental sustainability, as well as animal and human welfare. Standards have been developed for shrimp, tilapia, and channel catfish farms and shrimp hatcheries. The Alliance is governed by a board of directors

whose members serve two year terms. The most recent addition to the board is Domingo Moreira, the chief executive officer of Pescanova USA. Pescanova Group is a multi-faceted, vertically integrated company based in Spain that has international interests in fishing, aquaculture and frozen foods. Pescanova’s corporate emphasis on sustainability makes Pescanova USA a good fit as a new Governing Member said the GAA in a press release. A graduate of Harvard Business School, Moreira has spent 14 years in the

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Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

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[ international news ] seafood sector. He joined the Pescanova Group with its acquisition of Ladex LLC in 2007. Moreira was the chairman of Ladex, a leading aquaculture company in Central America active in seafood trading in the United States and Europe.

Italy: Fishers hand over driftnets Fishermen in the Italian port of Bagnara Calabra, in the region of Calabria, on the western tip of southern Italy have handed over to the authorities 250 km of driftnets used for the capture of swordfish, reports the marine conservation organization Oceana. While hailing the move Oceana points out drift nets were banned in the EU eight years ago and that other types of illegal drift nets are still being used causing the unnecessary death of numbers of cetaceans and turtles.

Driftnets are a passive gear that can be up to 20 km long and up to 35 m high, and are popular for their ease of use. In Italy two types of driftnets are used, one for the capture of swordfish and the other for albacore and frigate tuna, and despite being handed over in Bagnara Calabra, they are still widely deployed by boats from other ports in Calabria and on Sicily.

Russia: Second Interfish Exhibition to include aquaculture conference The second edition of the Interfish Exhibition will be held in Moscow on 26-29 October 2010. The event will feature a comprehensive programme of conferences, panel discussions with senior officers from the Federal Agency for Fisheries, a business forum, and seminars, alongside a conventional exhibition for the fisheries, aquaculture, and fish processing industries. This year the business forum envisages an open dialogue between representatives from industry, business and research, as well as the administration. Among the most urgent issues on the agenda are: State support to the shipbuilding industry, innovative projects, Andrey Krayniy, the specialized credit, leasing and insurance program, infrastructure, Head of the Federal logistics, as well as international standards. With the expected Fishery Agency of participation of international delegates from both industry and Russia opening the governments the event will encourage the building of relationInterfish Exhibition in ships, and attract domestic and foreign investment flows. The 2009. event is being co-organised by the Federal Agency for Fisheries of the Russian Federation and Staraya Krepost, an event organiser. The involvement of the Federal Agency will ensure a unique insight into the Russian fisheries and aquaculture industries as they exist today and how they are likely to evolve in the future. Further information is available at www.interfish-expo.ru.

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Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

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[ international news ] Norway: Strong export performance in salmon and whitefish in year to May

UK: New President for the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation

Norwegian exports of seafood have set a new record in the period January to May 2010 when they increased by 16% to NOK19.9bn (EUR2.5bn), reports the Norwegian Seafood Export Council. It is the strong performance by Norwegian salmon and groundfish that has contributed to the increase in exports. Salmon exports at the end of May for the year to date went up by almost 30% to NOK11.1bn compared to the same period last year.

In May alone export values increased by 26% with the average price per kilo of whole fresh salmon increasing by almost NOK5 to NOK39.91. France and Poland are the main importers of Norwegian salmon. Clipfish (salted and dried whitefish) exports are up 14% to NOK1.3bn for the year to May compared to the same period last year. This is the total figure for clipfish made with cod, tusk, ling

Alan Coghill, the Secretary of the Orkney Fisheries Association (OFA), has been elected as the new President of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation by members of the SFF’s Executive Committee at a meeting in Lerwick, Shetland on 24 June. He has been Secretary of the OFA for the last 15 years and has played a key role in representing the interests of fishermen in Orkney and the rest of Scotland. Upon his election Mr Coghill said there were many challenges ahead, including threats from Iceland and the Faroes to increase their mackerel quotas, and the continuing difficulties for the whitefish and prawn sectors in terms of effort control and other restrictions.

These are all issues that must be resolved to ensure that fishing has a sustainable and profitable future.

Mr Coghill replaces Ian Gatt, who decided to step down from the post following his recent appointment as Chief Executive of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association.

and saithe. While exports of cod, tusk, and ling clipfish increased handsomely saithe clipfish recorded a slight decline. Salted fish exports also increased in the January to May period particularly to Portugal where they went up by almost 300% to NOK337m. However, markets in the Netherlands, Italy and France all showed less appetite for salted fish than the previous year. The strong performance by salmon and whitefish exports more than made up for a decline in the exports of the small pelagics, herring and mackerel. Herring exports fell by 11% in value to NOK1.7bn while mackerel exports dropped by NOK129m to NOK472m a decline of 21%. Exports of herring to Russia at NOK512m make it the biggest importer of Norwegian herring, while Russia and Turkey are the biggest importers of mackerel.

Hong Kong: Diversified expands into Asia with seafood show Diversified Business Communications organisers of the European Seafood Exposition in Brussels and the Boston Seafood Show in the US has now set its sights on Asia where it is launching the Asian Seafood Exposition in Hong Kong on 7-9 September 2010. “The high levels of the Asian market’s international seafood consumption and the ease of trade in and out of Hong Kong provide a clear opportunity to introduce an event with a focus on seafood products,” said Mary Larkin, who oversees Diversi-

fied’s global seafood events, SeafoodSource.com, and SeaFood Business as Group Vice President. The event will offer an array of products and services to buyers from the Asian retail and food service sector.

The new event will be launched together with Restaurant and Bar Hong Kong, a show for the hospitality sector. Fish and seafood are popular in Hong Kong. The average person consumes almost 26 kg per year according to the 2005-2007 food consumption survey of Hong Kong, a rate that, according to

Asia Pacific and Hong Kong’s Premier Seafood Trade Event Connecting retail, foodservice, and distribution buyers with suppliers of live, fresh, frozen and packaged seafood products, equipment and services from around the world.

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10 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

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[ international news ] the WWF, has led to a steep decline in local fish stocks. Between 85 and 90% of the seafood consumed in Hong Kong is imported from more than 100 countries. With its new event Diversified will be trying to capitalise on this trade in seafood. Exhibitors will be displaying a range of fresh, packaged, and processed seafood, ready-made

products and industry-related services. The event has already been endorsed by several regional trade associations including from Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Korea and Taiwan. And to add to the attraction entry is free for qualified buyers. For more information about the event please visit www.asianseafoodexpo.com.

Australia: International conference focuses on benefits of seafood for mental health How to avoid an epidemic of mental illness and other brain disorders that experts warn will be the world’s largest single health problem within a decade is a focus of an international conference in Australia later this year. At a recent conference in London researchers described as the world’s foremost authorities in neuroscience and nutrition warned of “unthinkable health, social and fiscal consequences” unless there is increased consumption of DHA, an Omega-3 oil found most abundantly in seafood. Many of these researchers will gather again at the International Seafood & Health Conference (ISHC) in Melbourne in November. ISHC Chairman Mr Roy Palmer said the conference would pursue answers to many of the issues raised at the London event.

One of the major issues discussed would be mental ill health and other brain disorders, which experts forecast will be the top two diseases in the world by 2020. To combat this they have called for a restoration of traditional fish and seafood consumption. Professor Michael Crawford, Director of the Institute of Brain Chemistry & Human Nutrition at London Metropolitan University, and patron of the Melbourne conference, is arguing for what he calls “action at the most fundamental level to circumvent the mental health epidemic facing www.eurofishmagazine.com

our society,” said Mr Palmer. To discuss possible solutions to this looming problem state and federal health and fisheries ministers, and their senior bureaucrats, from Aus-

tralia and elsewhere have been invited to the conference. Mr Palmer added, “at present, the major issue for western nations like Australia is simply lack of recognition by most people about the need to improve their diet with more DHA but, in future, issues of sustainability, supply and food security will come into play. The Melbourne conference comes at a critical time and potentially will have a very significant role in shaping major decisions surrounding nutrition and mental health worldwide over the next decade.”

The Melbourne conference has attracted a top level sponsor in Simplot Australia, the producer of well known brands such as Bird’s

Eye, John West, and Seakist. Mr Callum Elder, Simplot Executive General Manager Quality and Innovation said seafood is one of nature’s most diverse, tasty and healthy foods, with an ever increasing body of scientific evidence clearly demonstrating the health benefits associated with regular consumption. As a member of the Australian Seafood Cooperative Research Centre, the company is funding leading edge clinical research with Australian universities and research centres on the health benefits of seafood with children, and the elderly.

More information about the conference is available at www.seafoodhealthconference.com

Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

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Projects

PathogenCombat: Reducing food-borne diseases in Europe

Inactivation of pathogens by mild processing techniques Today, consumers look for foods that are not only nutritious and healthy but also convenient and safe. The food industry tries to meet these dietary trends with new, mild processing methods. Instead of sterilization and pasteurization a lot of products today undergo mild heat treatments, high pressure, pulsed electric fields or intense light pulses or they are treated with organic acids and chlorine dioxide. But are the foods that are produced in this way microbiologically safe? This question was examined in the context of the European research project PathogenCombat.

O

ur eating habits have undergone fundamental changes during the last decades. Today, foods have to be fresh and healthy, nutritious and vitamin-rich; they should taste authentic, offer a high convenience level but still be as natural as possible. Although traditional processing methods during which

the products were often subjected to high temperatures only partially fulfil these requirements, on the positive side, they are microbiologically safe. The situation is the other way round with some modern processing technologies: although they preserve a lot of the desired product features it is questionable whether they suc-

12 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

ceed in inactivating pathogens sufficiently and thus whether they offer consumers the necessary safety.

One of the research blocks investigated in the context of the European research project PathogenCombat which brought together scientists from 24 universities and

An experiment showed that combining treatments such as intense light pulses, chlorine dioxide, lactic acid and mild heat with modified atmosphere packaging inhibited the growth of L. monocytogenes to different degrees.

institutes, 3 industrial partners and 17 small and middle-sized companies from 16 European states and Australia was devoted to these issues. Under the leadership of Professor Frank Devlieghere from the University of Ghent (Belgium) several research teams worked on identifying appropriate inactivation techniques and inhibiting factors to control the microbial safety of food products through combination of new and currently available processing methods. The research centered around two basic questions: firstly, how reliable are the inactivation steps in combination with growth inhibiting factors such as CO2 enriched atmosphere during packaging? And secondly, how do pathogens react to the often only sub-lethal treatments? Do they perhaps develop survival strategies and resistances under www.eurofishmagazine.com

[ projects ] these stressful conditions and could these constitute a risk that is difficult to calculate? And how can such risks be recognised reliably? As model organisms for their experiments the researchers chose several of the most frequent pathogens that are often the cause of problems in the food industry, among them Escherichia coli, Campylobacter jejuni and Listeria monocytogenes.

Mild treatments can induce only sub-lethal injury to pathogens

potential to produce high-quality foods that are microbiologically safe within the extended shelflife. However, reports of ambiguous findings have led to confusion with regard to data interpretation.

In food safety, or more broadly in food processing terms, all “novel” inactivation technologies (intervention) have to be described in their equivalents to heat sterilization and pasteurization. From the food producer’s point of view, the ideal processing technology would be the one that meets the following requirements:

Over the years, different studies have demonstrated the success and failures of mild processing technologies in the inactivation of initial microbial load in food.

For many of these technologies it was possible to demonstrate their

- Improvement of the shelf life and safety by inactivating enzymes, spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms - No changes in organoleptic and nutritional attributes - No residues left on food

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- Convenient to apply - Cheap - No objections from consumers and legislators Applications of molecular techniques and studies at intracellular level have recently brought new insights, providing evidence of variation in microbial response to sub-lethal treatments. The threat of modified properties of surviving pathogens necessitates evaluation of the microorganisms under such circumstances, and demands that special attention be paid to the effect of variability at single cell level for pathogens with low infective dose.

Almost all treatments that do not cause complete inactivation of microorganisms induce sub-lethal injury to the bacterial cells that are

present. Depending on the type of injury, type of organism and the surrounding environment these injured bacterial cultures have the potential to resuscitate and resume growth under favourable conditions. In addition to the inactivation technologies applied to foods, both microbial growth and survival can be influenced by different intrinsic factors of the food.

This further means that intrinsic factors (water activity, pH, nutrients), alone or combined with the extrinsic factors (modified atmosphere, temperature, humidity), can enhance or inhibit recovery and growth of microbial cells.

The safety and stability of food can thus be improved using an appropriate combination of several factors that will prevent the survival and proliferation of sub-lethally

Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

13

[ projects ] injured cells. These multiple intrinsic factors are part of a dynamic system that changes from the moment of application to the moment of consumption. During this process, each factor plays a role of a different magnitude and this magnitude changes over time.

Modified atmosphere packaging offers additional protection One experiment showed that the growth of L. monocytogenes cells that were treated and injured using intense light pulses, chlorine dioxide lactic acid and mild heat was inhibited in different degrees by the carbon dioxide (CO2) in modified atmospheres. In comparison with non-treated cells the bactericidal effects of chlorine dioxide were strongest, followed by lactic acid, intense light pulses and heat.

Another experiment in which L. monocytogenes cells were partly inactivated with lactic acid, liquid chlorine dioxide and intense light pulses and subsequently stored under increased NaCl concentration and reduced pH values led to similar results. The greatest effect

on growth retardation was observed at every pH for the cultures treated with chlorine dioxide, followed by lactic acid and intense light pulses. The data obtained reveal that the effect of decontamination treatment is not terminated with the end of the treatment procedure. A fraction of sub-lethally injured pathogens undergoes an additional inhibitory effect during the storage period under suboptimal conditions throughout which secondary stress extends the time needed for their recovery and multiplication. Certain stress conditions can even have a supplementary bactericidal effect.

Temperature plays an equally important role. Pathogens like E. coli, for example, are no longer able to multiply and grow at temperatures of below 7°C. Risks arise, however, when this temperature is exceeded during trade. In their experiments the PathogenCombat researchers were able to demonstrate that exceeding this temperature by even just a few degrees was sufficient to allow pathogens which survived sub-lethal decontami-

The ability of C. jejuni cells to survive can be efficiently controlled by the appropriate combination of mild decontamination treatments and storage under O2 containing atmosphere, at low pH and low temperature.

nation treatments to grow again.

Already small differences in temperature had an important influence on the bacterial ability to grow. The results obtained indicate that repair of sub-lethally injured L. monocytogenes and E. coli can be significantly delayed with the appropriate combination of the preservation conditions (temperature, pH and appropriate gas mixture in the packaging) and sub-lethal decontamination treatment inducing a significant

percentage of sub-lethal injury.

The commercialization of food products manufactured using alternative non-thermal technologies requires an understanding of the effect of partial inactivation and injury on the behavior of pathogens under food relevant conditions. The resulting microbial injury is characterized by the capability of a microorganism to return to full viability during a resuscitation process expressing its full potential of virulence.

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14 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

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Pathogens can become resistant to mild treatments A further study examined the ability of C. jejuni to survive when decontamination treatment with lactic acid or chlorine dioxide was coupled with subsequent storage under suboptimal conditions of pH, modified atmosphere and temperature. Despite the wellknown antimicrobial effect of CO2, this atmosphere seems to be less effective for the control of C. jejuni. Their survival was impaired by the presence of O2 in the surrounding atmosphere but dependent on the initial decontamination treatment. Lactic acid treated cultures survived longer than chlorine dioxide treated cultures especially when incubating in O2 containing atmosphere (80% O2/ 20% N2 and air). The results indicate that the initial decontamination step had an important influence on the survival of C. jejuni.

In conclusion the study showed that the ability of C. jejuni cells to survive can be efficiently controlled by the appropriate combination of mild decontamination treatments and storage under O2 containing atmosphere, at low pH and low temperature.

However, mild decontamination treatments only inactivate a proportion of the microbial population so that their application still entails an element of risk. Pathogens with different degrees of injury possibly display different growth, and their virulence profile and their ability to survive can be modified. It is particularly difficult to assess the risk that pathogens might develop resistances through repeated treatment which might then be hard to combat. In order to examine this possibility the PathogenCombat researchers subjected the three pathogens L. monocytogenes, E. coli and C. jejuni sevwww.eurofishmagazine.com

eral times in succession to sublethal treatment with lactic acid, chlorine dioxide and intense light pulses and measured the inactivation rate after each treatment. The results of this study indicate that repetitive inactivation by intense light pulses resulted in decreased inactivation efficacy for both L. monocytogenes and E. coli. C. jejuni cultures contained no culturable cells after 3 repeated cycles.

No “one for all rule” for mild processing in the food industry What seems most important is the fact that treatment with intense light pulses and lactic acid can be surpassed by natural bacterial adaptation strategies allowing for a formation of a resistant population. Since many bacteria possess high genome mutability and therefore might flexibly adapt to disadvantageous conditions it seems reasonable to fear that resistances could develop in response to frequently repeated partial inactivation.

With these findings, PathogenCombat doubtlessly makes a very important contribution to the improvement of food product quality and microbiological safety in the food industry. The initial results after mild inactivation treatments with chlorine dioxide, lactic acid and intense light pulses indicated that there is variability in the level of reduction obtained for different food-borne pathogens. The results also indicated great intrastrain variation for all tested pathogens and tested mild processing treatments. Additionally, individual food product characteristics have a great impact on the level of reduction.

Due to all these factors it is difficult to make a “one for all rule” for the application of mild processing in the food industry.

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cover story

Tunamar seeks customers in Eastern Europe

Sashimi-grade tuna for European industry

Atunes del Maresme SL, based in the port of Cadiz, Spain trades in sashimi-grade tuna sourced from the Atlantic. The company deals in several species of tuna, as well as swordfish, oilfish, mahi mahi, and marlin. A sister company AVTS processes the fish which is imported from West Africa for distribution to several countries in Europe including Spain as both frozen and defrosted product.

A

tunes del Maresme SL is the marketing and sales company while AVTS (Added Value Tuna Services) is the processing operation behind it. Both firms are part of the seafood division of ATCO, the August TĂśpfer group, a German company based in Hamburg with interests in both food and non-food items.

when you can get the same thing from Spain, he asks, and we can provide the same service, flying the fish to Moscow or Kiev on

Looking to target fish restaurants in Moscow, Kiev The parent company has experience supplying whitefish to Eastern Europe and Jurgen Smet, the managing director of Atunes del Maresme, is looking to expand the offer to include sashimi-grade tuna from Japan to supply, for example, the high end fish restaurants and sushi bars in Moscow.

Why buy your fish from Japan 16 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

a daily basis. Supporting these sales would be an international sales team with fluency in seven languages including Russian and

Tunamar Company Fact File Tunamar Muelle de Ribera sn Recinto Zona Franca S 11011 Cadiz Spain Tel.: +34 95 62 00 971 Fax: +34 95 62 00 972 info@tunamar.eu www.tunamar.eu Managing director: Mr. Jurgen Smet Activities: Supply of sashimi-grade frozen yellowfin, big eye tuna, swordfish, and some oilfish, mahi mahi, and mako shark from the Atlantic; skipjack from the Pacific,

Product form: Frozen or thawed loins, steaks, fillets, skewers Volumes: Yellowfin tuna 1,500 mt, big eye tuna 800 mt, albacore tuna 300 mt, swordfish 250 mt, (the main swordfish volumes of about 3,000 mt are sold as raw material from the Hamburg office) Turnover Spain: EUR13 million Turnover Hamburg (only seafood department): EUR29 million Total seafood: EUR42 million Markets: Spain, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Austria Employees: 40

The company is based in Cadiz in the south of Spain where it has a 1,000 tonne coldstore maintained at -60 degrees Celsius. The fish from West Africa take only 10 days to arrive in Cadiz.

logistical back up with all exportrelated documentation.

The trading company was set up first, but establishing a processing operation was a logical consequence of developments in the market, says Mr Smet. We used to supply the industry with the raw material in the form of whole gutted fish, but we soon realised that there were quite often periods where we could not get the prices we wanted. While the price level was satisfactory for eight months of the year, for perhaps four months it was too low, and in those four months the volumes traded might be the same as what was traded the other eight months. But because the company had no place to store the fish options were limited and it was, more often than not, forced to accept the offered price. This situation prompted the company to set up a processing factory with its own cold storage that could go to -60 degrees centigrade. The development allowed the company to keep the fish in the cold store if the prices were not right and to bring it on to the market in smaller lots when prices improved. www.eurofishmagazine.com

c over story

Tunamar is looking to export sashimi-grade tuna to the high end fish restaurants and sushi bars in Moscow.

Taiwanese partner with longline sashimi fishing vessels The seafood division of the German parent company has existed since 1964, under the careful su-

www.eurofishmagazine.com

pervision and management of Mr. Dieter Arfs. Â The Hamburg office handles all white fish, but also the trading operations of raw material such as swordfish, moro sharks, marlin, oilfish etc. The Cadiz operation, which started

Defrosted sashimi-grade tuna can be safely used for sashimi and sushi as there is no risk of anisakis.

in 2003, mainly focuses on processed sashimi tuna products.

The company does not own its own vessels, part of a conscious decision made some years ago to stay out of the fishing business, but has a Taiwanese partner that

owns a fleet of sashimi grade longliners. The partner owns a 35% stake in the processing business. The boats fish in the north and the south Atlantic using longlines targeting yellow fin, big eye, and swordfish but catching

Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

17

cover st ory

The temperature in Tunamar trucks for frozen products goes down to -60 degrees Celsius so that the integrity of the cold chain is not compromised. The trucks deliver sashimi-grade tuna to several destinations in Europe.

also some marlin, shark, and oilfish. The fish are gutted and gilled and are blast frozen on board at -60 degrees C. The frozen fish is discharged in West Africa where it is packed to EU specifications and put into a container also at -60 degrees C and sent to Algeciras in Spain and from there by truck to the processing factory in Cadiz. The whole trip normally takes about 10 days to Cadiz including all the customs clearance formalities.

In the factory the fish is kept frozen, and special Japanese machinery is used to skin it, and remove the bones and bloodline.

The frozen fish is processed directly into loins, fillets, or steaks, which are packed in 25 kg car-

tons and sent by truck to markets in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Austria. Most of our product, about 65%, is exported frozen to the industry who defrost it when needed, but the balance we defrost ourselves and sell it to our customers, says Mr Smet.

These are mainly wholesalers or processors who have contracts with the supermarkets. They thaw our fish and supply it when the supermarkets cannot source fresh fish. Being based in Cadiz the company has a special relationship with its national market in Spain which is responsible for 20% of the turnover. We supply supermarkets all over Spain with defrosted loins and fillets. The company has its own brand, Tunamar, under which most of the

frozen product is sold, but it also produces under private label.

Economic crisis clobbers tuna exports The Spanish market has proved to be more resilient for the company in terms of sales than the export market over the last year as the financial and economic crisis has unfolded. “Turnover from Spain increased slightly” says Jurgen Smet, “but profits fell as customers asked for cheaper products, for example with the skin on, or bloodline in.” In contrast exports to all the main markets, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, fell by 20-25% as consumers reined in their spending on high value items. We are not selling a

cheap commodity, says Mr Smet, but a high end product. The advantage with the price level he feels is that the product can be processed in Spain and trucked quickly to anywhere in Europe rather than having to be sent to Asia to be processed with all the costs that involves. The main competition the company faces is from fresh tuna that is flown in from Yemen, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. There are also unscrupulous operators who use additives or other techniques to treat cheap frozen products that are then dumped on the market.

The company also occasionally sends shipments to Japan directly from West Africa when the tuna caught has too high a

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fat content. The meat of very fatty tuna tends to change colour very quickly after it has been defrosted, which makes it less appealing to customers who expect the colour to be red. In addition, European consumers tend to prefer a leaner meat, in contrast to the Japanese. The connection to Japan is going to get stronger soon as Mr Smet has signed an agreement with a Japanese fishing company for Marine Stewardship Council certified skipjack tuna.

The stock is fished in the Pacific with poles and lines and will be landed in Japan and sent to Spain by container at -60 degrees C. In Spain the fish will be developed into a full range of products – loins, steaks, medallions, skewers etc. We wanted this because particularly in northern Europe sustainability is becoming an increasingly important issue and supermarkets are asking their suppliers to comply.

Flexibility, small volumes, processed in Spain For the future Atunes del Maresme wants to continue doing what it does best: supplying Europe with frozen and defrosted fish from the Atlantic.

The company has its own fleet of –60 degrees C trucks that deliver frozen goods to the customers without any interruption of the cold chain, and for smaller quantities it uses dry ice. The defrosted products are supplied in modified atmosphere all over Europe by reefer truck or by airfreight. The importance of defrosted product cannot be underestimated as it is only thawed fish that may be used for sushi or other raw fish preparations as per the law. The EU regulation 83/2004 on raw fish consumption says that the fish should be frozen to avoid anisakis. Even www.eurofishmagazine.com

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My advantages, emphasises Mr Smet, are that I process in Spain, so the product is Spanish, and I do it according to the requirements of my customer. I am also flexible when it comes to volumes, my customers can buy a pallet and then come back later for the next one. They do not have to buy a container of fish.

Finding the raw material has not been a problem for the company despite alarms about fish stocks.

It is true that we have been catching less and less yellowfin, but on the other hand our swordfish catches have been increasing.

However, it cannot be denied that the average size of the fish has been declining. While 8 years ago a yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) was 55 kg on average and a swordfish was 60 kg, today the average weight of the yellowfin is 47 kg and of the swordfish is 53 kg.

MSC-certified Alaskan salmon a possible new product Mr Smet is considering whether to add another MSC-certified product to his portfolio of products sold in Spain. This one is wild salmon from Alaska. This could then to some extent replace the Norwegian salmon, which has become very expensive. He feels, apart from the fat content, the two fish are similar in colour and their skins look alike and since the wild salmon is MSC-certified and a cheaper fish it should find acceptance among his customers. Both Atunes and ATVS have received the MSC chain of custody certification and can store, process and distribute MSC-certified fish.

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The final level of distribution is the retail markets which sell directly to consumers. Here, a fresh produce market with several fishmongers.

spain The market for seafood in Spain

Consumption of fish and seafood shows marked increase The Spanish market for fish products is important not only for its volume but also for its huge diversity. The total market of about 3.15m tonnes can be divided into fresh products (900,000 t), frozen products (1,150,000 t), preserves (650,000 t), aquaculture (350,000 t) and other (100,000 t). Fish and seafood is distributed through a network of auctions, wholesale markets and retail markets.

S

eventy percent of the fresh fish landed by the Spanish fishing fleet is sold through auctions, while the rest is sold from the vessel or through other authorised channels. There are altogether 183 auctions in Spain although some of them have very few transactions. Most of the auctions also have handling, sorting, packaging, and storage activities.

The fish auction at Vigo, one of the world’s biggest fishing ports Marian Vidal Abellás, is responsible for external relations and

communications at the Port of Vigo, Europe’s biggest fishing port. Here, the auction is divided into two huge refrigerated halls, one of 6,000 sq. m for the catches from the high seas and the other of 3,000 sq. m for inshore and some high seas fishing. Just under 89,000 t of fish was auctioned at Vigo in 2009, a small increase (+0.11%) over the previous year, she says.

Altogether a total of almost 700,000 t of fish was handled in 2009, making Vigo the world’s biggest port in terms of fish for human consumption. The port police who assign places along

20 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

the quay to the incoming boats are also in charge of the auctions, while the port authorities are responsible for the hygiene standards in the auction halls.

The boats start coming in from around midnight, says Ms Vidal, and the auctions start at about five in the morning. The boats, local vessels, seiners, long liners, and freezer trawlers, are mainly Spanish though Portuguese and other country’s vessels also come to Vigo. A number of vessels from the smaller ports in the area also land their fish in Vigo as there are more buyers and the prices are better.

At the auction plastic containers filled with iced fish are examined by potential buyers. Small slips of paper identify the species, the country of origin, FAO zone, origin of the fish (farmed or wild), the type of presentation, and the seller. The fish comes from all over the world and the variety is immense though some species dominate. Last year almost 100 species of finfish alone were sold at Vigo out of which blue sharks, megrim, monkfish, and hake were the largest volume individual species. The auctioneer goes from lot to lot using a megaphone to call buyers to attend the auction. The port earns a 3% commission on the auction which goes towards maintaining the facilities, and paying for utilities like water and electricity, says Marian Vidal Abellás. It is not just fresh and frozen wild seafood that is sold but also farmed and even salted cod. The port also has extensive cold storage facilities with a total capacity of 650,000 cubic m and companies can rent space in the port if they want to establish a processing or packaging ­operation.

Elaborate system of wholesale markets Wholesale markets are the next level of distribution and they comprise central wholesale markets (the Mercasa network) located in major urban centres for example Mercamadrid or Mercabilbao; traditional central markets, located in medium or small cities; and the parallel channels, trading seafood products on a wholesale level that bypass the www.eurofishmagazine.com

spain

central wholesale markets. Spain is highly decentralized. Some of the fisheries competences have therefore been transferred to the Autonomous Communities, and they play a decisive role in the definition and implementation of the fisheries policy in close coordination with the Federal Administration. Each of these Autonomous Communities has a competent body for fisheries affairs and has the ability to monitor the market development of fishery and aquaculture products.

The final level of distribution is the retail markets which sell directly to consumers. The most important are the fishmongers, self-service stores, hypermarkets, cooperative shops, supermarkets, as well as fresh produce markets.

The specialist retailers (fishmongers) have an important role to play as they sell a lot of fish to the final consumer. According to Jose Luis Freire Freire, the president of Conxemar, the specialist retailer faces a lot of competition in his business as there are no barriers to entry. Most of the shops are rented so there is no major capital investment. In addition, the work is gruelling as she or he has to buy the fish either directly from the auction or from the wholesale market very early in the morning and bring it back to the shop to sell. However, the specialist retailers usually buy with a weeks credit, but sell for cash, and some make a tidy profit, despite the competition.

Trade flows can be grouped into different channels depending on the number of actors making up the supply chain. These include the direct channel, where the transaction between producer and consumer is done directly; the short channel involving one or two middlemen between the producer and the consumer; www.eurofishmagazine.com

of turnover reached over 50,000 tonnes, the second exceeded 31,000 tonnes and the third group reached almost 21,000 tonnes.

Significant reduction in fishing fleet Dr José Inglesias Estévez is responsible for marine aquaculture at the Vigo centre of the Spanish Institute for Oceanography. He is also coordinating a national project on rearing octopus in captivity.

Jose Luis Freire Freire, the president of Conxemar, an association representing the freezing industry.

and finally the long channel involving more than two middlemen (wholesale at the origin, wholesale at the destination, and

retailer). In Spain of the companies engaged in production and marketing of fresh fish products, the leading company in terms

Seafood supply in Spain 1995-2008 2,500,000 t 2,000,000 t 1,500,000 t 1,000,000 t 500,000 t 0t

■ Supply ■ Production ■ Import ■ Export 1995

1999

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Source: Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs (MARM)

Fish product consumption (in %) by sector and presentation, 2008

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

Total consumption

Social Horeca

Horeca Commercial

Households

Source: MERCASA, La alimentación en España 2009

■ Fresh fish ■ Frozen fish ■ Fresh seafood ■ Frozen seafood ■ Canned fish and seafood

The Spanish fishing fleet has significantly reduced since the mid 80’s when it comprised 19,700 vessels. Today the fleet is made up of around 13,000 vessels, out of which 11,270 fishing boats are allowed to fish in the Spanish fishing grounds (738 seiners, 1,224 trawlers, 93 gill-netters, 386 long liners, and 10,030 belonging to the artisanal segment). Among the 530 vessels working outside the Spanish fishing grounds, there are 36 seiners, 285 trawlers, 72 gill-netters, and 136 long liners. Vessels from Galicia account for 48.3% of all Spanish fishing vessels, followed by Andalusia (15.2%), Catalonia (9.4%), and the Canary Islands (8.5%). In 2008 the fleet’s catches in Spain, (sold fresh) slightly exceeded 474,600 tonnes with a total value of EUR1,070m. These figures reflect a reduction in volume of 2.9% and in value of 2.6% compared with 2007.

Finfish are the main item in the fishing fleet catches at 432,820 tonnes and with a value of EUR788m. In terms of volume molluscs rank second (33,100 tonnes), followed by crustaceans (8,880 tonnes). However, in terms of value crustaceans had a market value of over EUR147m, while molluscs amounted to less than EUR136m. Regarding fish, the main group in terms of value is made up of tuna, albacore and needlefishes (EUR165m and 41,520 tonnes), followed by coastal fish (EUR153m and 34,540 tonnes), cod and hake (EUR124m and just under 68,600 tonnes in volume), herring, ­ sardines

Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

21

spain

Aquaculture production in Spain (tonnes) 2005-2008 2005 Group of species Marine

Sea

Brackish

Total

Inland

TOTAL

Value (´000 €)

Fish Crustaceans Mollusc Seaweeds Total Fish Crustaceans Mollusc Total Fish Crustaceans Mollusc Seaweeds Total Fish Crustaceans Total Fish Crustaceans Mollusc Seaweeds Total

211,365 0.08 103,069 225 314,659 20,392 1,803 10,731 32,927 231,757 1,803 113,801 225 347,587 71,864 6 71,870 303,622 1,809 113,801 225 419,458

2006 Quantity

Value (´000 €)

27,416 0.01 163,058 0.5 190,474 3,315 153 1,473 4,943 30,732 153 164,532 0.5 195,418 26,604 0.3 26,604 57,336 154 164,532 0.5 222,023

2007 Quantity

232,903

31,695

141,237 540 374,681 23,685 2,521 8,355 34,562 256,589 2,521 149,592 540 409,243 76,479 57 76,536 333,069 2,578 149,592 540 485,780

233,498 1.2 265,195 3,274 209 979 4,463 34,970 209 234,478 1 269,659 25,617 25,617 60,587 209 234,478 1.2 295,276

Value (´000 €)

2008 Quantity

247,868 0.6 131,739 694 380,303 25,921 1,294 14,686 41,902 273,790 1,295 146,426 694 422,206 74,297 5.4 74,302 348,087 1,300 146,426 694 496,508

36,802 0.1 214,699 25 251,527 4,021 121 3,074 7,217 40,823 121 217,774 25 258,745 26,246 0.3 26,246 67,070 122 217,774 25 284,992

Value (´000 €) 264,501 11.54 100,760 685 365,959 12,496 1,244 14,165 27,905 276,998 1,255 114,925 685 393,865 68,794 5.4 68,799 345,792 1,261 114,925 685 462,665

Quantity 43,267 0.8 182,579 13 225,861 1,428 111 2,605 4,145 44,696 112 185,184 13 230,007 23,146 0.3 23,146 67,842 113 185,184 13 253,153

Source: Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs (MARM)

and anchovies (EUR79m and 73,850 tonnes), other demersal fish (EUR53m and 55,260 tonnes), flounder, halibut and sole (EUR40m and 9,240 tonnes), sharks and rays (EUR39m and 25,390 tonnes) and other pelagic fish (EUR32m and 87,100 tonnes).

Other items are less important or are considered as unidentified marine fish.

Prawns and shrimps are the crustaceans with almost EUR92m in terms of value and 4,150 tonnes in terms of volume, followed by clawed lobster and lobster (EUR27m and 1,150 tonnes) and finally crabs and spider crabs (EUR8m and 1,760 tonnes). Of the molluscs, the main species are squid, cuttlefish and octopus, with values of around EUR88m and volumes close to 22,400 tonnes. Clams and cockles rank second (EUR43m and 9,560 tonnes), abalone, periwinkles (EUR2.5m and 350 tonnes)

and scallops (EUR1.5m and 630 tonnes).

Aquaculture production declines compared to last year Aquaculture products production reached about 253,000 tonnes in 2008, valued around EUR492m, which reflects a reduction about

22 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

7% in volume, and 11% in value compared to 2007.In volume, shellfish amount to 76% of all aquaculture production, followed by fish, with 23.5%. The negligible remainder is shared between other shellfish and aquatic plants.

Marine aquaculture production in 2008 reached 230,000 tonnes, of which approximately 185,000 tonnes were molluscs, 44,000

tonnes were fish, 25 tonnes were marine plants and just about 100 kilos were crustaceans. With a production of over 209,000 tonnes Mediterranean mussels were by far the main species, accounting for more than 80% of all marine aquaculture production.

Far behind follow finfish such as sea bream (17,920 tonnes), seabass (7,430 tonnes), turbot (6,840

Main companies in the seafood canned industry

Main companies in the seafood frozen industry

Company name LUIS CALVO SANZ, S,A, FRINSA DEL NOROESTE, S,A, CONSERVAS GARAVILLA, S,A, JEALSA RIANXEIRA, S,A, BERNARDO ALFAGEME, S,A,

Company name PESCANOVA NESTLÉ ESPAÑA UNILEVER FOODS ESPAÑA EUROPASTRY FREIREMAR

UBAGO GROUP MARE, S,L, HIJOS DE CARLOS ALBO, S,A, SALICA INDUSTRIA ALIMENTARIA, S,A COMPRE Y COMPARE, S,A, CONSERVAS DANI, S,A

Sales EUR million 375* 235 220* 210* 102* 92* 85* 73 66* 60*

Source: Alimarket 2008 *these data include business in other sectors,

GRUPO AMASUA INDUSTRIAS CÁRNICAS VILARÓ ULTRACONGELADOS VIRTO DIST. MARISCOS RODRÍGUEZ JOSÉ SÁNCHEZ PEÑATE

Sales EUR million 1,294* 1,278* 592* 320* 270* 242 200* 172 150 132*

Source: Alimarket 2008 *these data include business in other sectors.

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tonnes), bluefin tuna (4,080 tonnes), and molluscs such as oysters (3,210 tonnes) and Japanese scallops (1,390 tonnes).

Rainbow trout make up the main inland aquaculture production with around 23,000 tonnes, representing 97% of the total, while the balance is made up of European eel, sea trout, sturgeon and tench. Despite its domination of the freshwater aquaculture sector, the production of rainbow trout has seen a significant drop in production from 35,000 tonnes to about 20,000 tonnes over the last 5 to 6 years. Luz Arregui, the president of Atrugal, a Galician lobby group and producer organisation for the freshwater trout industry, says that part of the problem lies with the governance of the sector. “We are trying to lobby for better local governance of the sector and have seen some results, but it is a struggle. Atrugal has developed a quality certification scheme and now is trying to improve the biosecurity and operational procedures on its members’ farms by giving them training both at the managerial and the technical staff level. We are also trying to implement a more equitable water tax system.

The way it works currently is patently unfair with some farmers getting very low bills and others getting ridiculously high ones,” she says. Several factors contributed to the drop in overall production. Farmers had environmental problems, with water cuts upstream, the building of hydroelectric dams, as well as tax and market problems, the latter caused by the import of pangasius which seems to have had an impact on trout sales.

Atrugal is fighting back with promotion campaigns designed to make trout fashionable again to win over the crucial 30-40 year www.eurofishmagazine.com

ment and Rural and Marine Affairs) data, during 2009, total imports exceeded 1,578,000 tonnes, worth about EUR4,264m. Exports figures were lower amounting to almost 1,046,000 tonnes, worth about EUR2,239million. Those figures reflect a trade deficit of nearly EUR2m and a coverage rate of around 45%.

All the fish at the Vigo auction is sold within a few hours. Altogether in 2009 about 89,000 tonnes of fish went throught the auction.

segment. Last year the group worked with restaurants to promote trout and met with considerable success. This year they may launch another campaign at Conxemar.

One species of great interest to Spanish consumers and that has so far eluded being reared in captivity is octopus. Dr José Inglesias Estévez who is responsible for marine aquaculture at the Vigo centre of the Spanish Institute for Oceanography says that the problem is getting the larvae to grow to the juvenile stage. On-growing of octopus works well and has been practiced by members of the fishermen’s association that catches octopus in the estuary. They catch octopus at about 500 g and place them in cages that contain sections of plastic tubing in which the octopus live. The octopus are fed on crab and trash fish for a period of four months by which time they reach 4 kg, when they can be harvested. This way a group of about 10 fishermen can grow 3,000 octopus in four months and perhaps 9,000 in a year. But to grow 200,000 octopus you need to rear them in captivity and that is proving to be very difficult as the larvae do not survive until the juvenile stage. A lot of research has been

done into the parameters for the sea cages, density, growth, growth of different sexes, kind of food – crab, fish etc. And there is a lot of interest from the Galician government as well as the federal government. We have also made progress, says Dr Inglesias. Now we can get the larvae to live for up to six weeks, before they perish, but we need to get up to two months to make a breakthrough. The institute also works with other species such as sole and grouper and it was responsible for the commercialisation of turbot, a process that took eight years. It also hosts an important centre for research into red tide, an algal bloom that can have a severe impact on the mussel industry. Another important role of the institute is to supply the European Commission with data on local fish stocks.

Demand met from imports The Spanish production of fisheries and aquaculture products is not enough to meet domestic demand, so imports are a key factor in sustaining the industry.

Import figures for fish products are higher than exports, so the foreign trade balance is clearly negative for Spain. According to MARM (Ministry of the Environ

The main third country suppliers are Morocco, Argentina, Ecuador and China, while from the EU are France, UK and Portugal. Japan, Seychelles, China and Ecuador are the main extra-EU recipients of Spanish seafood products while within the EU France, Italy and Portugal are the main destinations for Spanish exports. Molluscs and frozen fish rank traditionally first and second among imports to Spain while frozen fish, followed by molluscs and canned fish are the main exports.

Consumption rises with growing awareness of health benefits Over the last years fish consumption has increased in Spain playing a significant role in the total expenditure on food and beverages. Health concerns, food security, the gradual joining of women into work and the growing importance of food expenditure outside home have been some of the social issues that have encouraged the increasing demand for fish and seafood. The development has been remarkable during the period 1995-2008 as consumption has increased from about 30 kilos to close to 37 kilos per capita/year.

Fresh products are still the main item in household’s consumption as it almost represents 45% of total fisheries and aquaculture products consumption. However for the HORECA sector frozen products rank first followed by fresh products.

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Trays of fish being auctioned at the port in Vigo, one of Europe’s biggest fishing ports.

Canning industry heavily dependent on tuna The Spanish canning industry is made up of 147 companies (66 in Galicia) providing almost 16,000 jobs (almost 12,000 in Galicia).

The main canned species are tunas, sardine (Sardina pilchardus), Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus), mussels and albacore (Thunnus alalunga).

Imports of Seafood products by presentation in tonnes

Products Live fish Fresh fish Frozen fish Fish fillets Dry fish Crustaceans Molluscs Canned fish Canned crsutaceans and mollusc Fish oil Fish meal TOTAL

2005 2,431 252,491 335,220 144,767 57,070 190,555 399,191 104,580 15,664 28,562 80,733 1,611,263

2006 2,993 247,183 323,781 174,691 55,001 216,313 433,814 128,446 17,340 21,942 64,803 1,686,307

2007 2,894 248,828 353,538 190,007 57,588 218,036 396,631 125,505 20,897 24,442 76,157 1,714,522

2008 2,694 228,446 295,170 194,716 49,487 203,889 377,748 125,156 22,208 23,276 82,970 1,605,759

Source: Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs (MARM)

Exports of Seafood products by presentation in tonnes

Products Live fish Fresh fish Frozen fish Fish fillets Dry fish Crustaceans Molluscs Canned fish Canned crsutaceans and mollusc Fish oil Fish meal TOTAL

2005 8,333 96,018 438,384 59,926 15,919 20,454 140,420 94,239 22,856 4,032 14,190 914,772

2006 7,566 107,995 394,633 55,135 18,224 25,072 161,212 102,861 25,648 5,506 17,238 921,090

2007 7,317 102,529 417,729 49,848 15,631 35,138 165,908 108,852 26,988 4,188 23,574 957,702

2008 7,143 94,267 446,374 44,793 12,659 26,325 160,815 107,633 26,326 4,712 19,040 950,086

Source: Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs (MARM)

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Of the main companies in the seafood canning sector, the leading group, Calvo, recorded sales in 2007 of about 161,000 tonnes, worth EUR420m, while the second reached 135,000 tonnes and EUR302m. The next two canneries have similar production figures, around 125,000 tonnes, but the turnovers are very different at EUR240m and EUR350m. Figures for the fifth processor are 90,000 tonnes and EUR85m.

The canning industry has to constantly innovate to ensure its own future. As the prices of steel have risen the sector is moving to other kinds of packaging including plastic pouches, easy-peel plastic containers, tetra packs, and even glass jars. Tuna is the main raw material used by the canning industry and interest is growing in getting fish from stocks that have been certified as sustainable.

Cans are based both on cooked loins and on raw tuna and Spanish canneries increasingly get frozen pre-cooked loins from suppliers in Latin America or other countries. Canneries are also switching to greater automation in order to reduce their labour costs as this is the only way they will be able to maintain production faciltities in Spain and still compete with www.eurofishmagazine.com

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countries where labour is much cheaper. The sector is also fighting the agreements made with two Asia Pacific countries as it fears that this will just enable a backdoor entry by products from competitor nations in Asia.

The frozen seafood market in Spain is made up of a few large groups, which consist of some of the major companies in the fisheries sector in Spain, together with subsidiaries of major multinational companies. The main operator in the sector has a production volume of about 150,000 tonnes, while the second reaches 60,000 tonnes, the third exceeds 42,000 tonnes and the fourth is about 40,000 tonnes. All these companies act as owners, processors, distributors, wholesalers, importers and exporters In the frozen fish, distribution brands account for 54% in volume and 41.6% in value, while the first non-distribution mark accounts for 43% in volume and 54% in value respectively. This market share means that the second operator with its own brand represents only 1% in volume and 1.2% in value, while the third represents 0.9% and 1.4% respectively. Refer-

Seafood canned industry main species Species Sardine Albacore Tunas Tuna and vegetables Mackerel Mussels Octopus Squids Cockles Clams Razors Others Anchovies Total

2008 27,973 12,350 213,421 3,627 15,434 13,791 2,294 6,143 5,388 2,576 1,217 30,460 12,720 347,390

Volume (tonnes) 2009 Variation (%) 29,400 5.1 13,733 11.2 220,037 3.1 3,277 -9.6 15,573 0.9 14,481 5 2,057 -10.3 5,516 -10.2 6,061 12.5 2,609 1.3 1,063 -12.6 27,627 -9.3 12,745 0.2 354,179 1.9

2008 90,969 98,195 566,667 20,178 62,859 96,557 15,329 22,687 88,265 25,530 18,791 101,571 92,241 1,299,839

Value (EUR ´000) 2009 Variation (%) 92,334 1.5 108,800 10.8 571,200 0.8 18,140 -10.1 63,048 0.3 96,647 3.2 13,566 -11.5 22,052 -2.8 90,913 3 24,713 -3.2 15,897 -15.4 90,804 -10.6 89,843 -2.6 1,300,957 0.09 Source: Anfaco

Spanish Imports of seafood products 2009 Total Third countries Total UE 27 Total Balance

Imports Volume (tonnes) 1,132,315 446,075 1,578,390

Exports Value (‘000 €) 2,933,621 1,330,920 4,264,542

Volume (tonnes) 376,374 669,534 1,045,908

Value (‘000 €) 501,602 1,737,999 2,239,601

Source: Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs (MARM)

Spanish fish and seafood canned products production Volume (tonnes) Value (EUR ´000) Average price (EUR)

2008 347,390 1,299,839 3.74

2009 354,179 1,300,757 3.67

Variation (%) 1.95 0.09 -1.83 Source: Anfaco

ring to frozen breaded seafood products, the distribution brands accounts for 54% of all sales in volume and 43.6% in value while non-distribution marks accounts for 38% and 47% in volume and value ­respectively.

Sebastian Rodriguez

At Carrefour in Vigo the range of species has not changed significantly over the years. This outlet sells 200-300 kg of fish and shellfish a day.

Grouper is another species that is being studied at the Spanish Institute for Oceanography, with a view to cultivating it.

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Interview with Rosa Quintana, Minister for the Marine, Government of Galicia

Developing a Galician brand for fish and seafood

The Galician fishing fleet comprising about 4,900 vessels amounts to 43% of the Spanish fleet. The vast majority of the fleet fishes in the coastal sea while about 130 fish in EU waters and a further 135 are active either in intenational waters or in third country waters. The fleet landed almost 200,000 tonnes of fish and seafood with a value of EUR422m. The autonomous community also supports a large processing industry made up mainly of canning and freezing companies.

Production of cans in Galicia represents about 80% of the total Spanish production and has a value of EUR1bn. The canning sector provides employment to about 12,000 people. The freezing industry has a turnover of EUR2.9bn and employs 8,000 workers. The aquaculture sector is dominated by the production of mussels which amounted to 220,000 tonnes last year.

Production of finfish is mainly turbot and rainbow trout. The administrative responsibility for the fisheries and aquaculture sector falls on Rosa Quintana, Minister for the Marine in the Galician Government. She spoke with Eurofish about the sector in Galicia, a significant contributor to the local economy both financially as well as in terms of employment.

Eurofish: The Galician fisheries industry is an important part of the economy in this autonomous community. What are the prospects for the industry in the current economic climate? What are the kinds of challenges it is facing?

Rosa Quintana: The main problem today is the economic crisis which has had a great impact on the fishing and aquaculture industries. The second challenge relates to both marine and freshwater aquaculture. Over the last four years we have been forced to delay implementing projects due to legal uncertainties regarding problems concerning the environment. Marine aquaculture, mainly the mussel farming sector, has also suffered a delay over the last two years, as a consequence of lack of organization within the sector.

Eurofish: The freshwater aquaculture sector is dominated by trout farming. Production here has suffered a decline of 30-40% over the four to five years. What steps can the government take to remedy this situation?

where labour is cheaper, and in addition we have many more requirements to fulfil in terms of health, safety, and traceability.

Eurofish: The aquaculture industry feels that producers abroad are not subject to the same laws as producers here and that imports undermine production here.

What is the administration doing to counter this?

Rosa Quintana, Minister for the Marine, Government of Galicia.

Quintana: This is partly due to the lack of demand for these products. We also have problems competing with producers overseas. We need to have a level playing field where the conditions are the same for what we produce and what we import. It is a fact that labour is cheaper in other countries, but it is also a case of

26 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

identifying our products so that the consumer knows what is produced in Galicia and what comes from outside. Galica has a long manufacturing tradition, but we need to get better at exploiting it.

We need to improve our branding, increase our competitiveness, and export more. However it is difficult to compete with places

Quintana: When farmed products come from outside their quality may not be as high as locally produced seafood, but they are cheaper making it more difficult to promote Galician products. In addition there is a perception among the public that aquaculture is harmful to the environment, although today with modern technology it is possible to farm fish with minimal impact on the environment.

Europe is a major consumer of fish, and if we want to maintain this level of consumption we have to develop our aquaculture sector. In addition, the sector offers the potential of jobs in rural areas where unemployment is www.eurofishmagazine.com

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high and other job opportunities infrequent.

We are working on organizing the sector, as only a sector that pulls together as team can compete.

We are also developing rules and regulations to implement traceability, and are studying the coastline to see where we can safely establish farming sites. We are also examining the estuaries to ensure that aquaculture is compatible with coastal fishing. By making aquaculture more environmentally compatible we hope to reduce the perception among consumers that it is a threat to nature.

Eurofish: The CFP is currently undergoing a process of reform.

As host to the biggest Spanish fleet what suggestions has Galicia put forward on the shape of the reformed CFP? Quintana: We have put forward our proposals after consulting with the stakeholders through an advisory body in the Galician government that represents all sectors. And we have produced a document detailing what we want to make of the policy. We believe that the quota system has

not worked in general and that it is best for the countries to decide quotas. We understand that if a person can move his merchandise from place to place then it should be the same for the fishing industry; the maximum quotas are established by the EU, but there should be an option for two businesses to trade quotas. I believe that the coastal fishing fleet should have a special quota, while the aquaculture sector should be governed by laws that are common to all countries, so that the legal position was the same across the EU. This would increase the acceptance of aquaculture products amongst consumers and lead to a rise in production.Catches from fisheries are stagnating so the only way to maintain the consumption of fish is through aquaculture.

Eurofish: An increasing number of European fisheries are seeking a certificate of sustainability so as not to be locked out of certain markets. Do you see this as important for the Galician fleet?

Quintana: We are aware of the significance of certification and currently our artisanal fisheries

are in the process of being certified to the Marine Stewardship Council standards. With the other fisheries we are working on traceability and on gear selectivity to reduce bycatch, so that ultimately they can also be certified.

Eurofish: A significant percentage of the Spanish production of fish and seafood is done here in Galicia. Are efforts being made by the administration to create a Galician brand?

Quintana: This is a challenge we are facing and we are working on it. We want not only to promote the quality, but all the positive aspects that go with a product made in Galicia. Less than a month ago we organized a seminar about marketing which was attended by producers, farmers, processors, traders, and distributors, to find out where the weakest point was from the moment the product is made to the point where it is sold.

One of the main discussion points was about how similar products can be differentiated in the market. The results from the meeting will be placed on a website where all the participants can analyse what was discussed.

full service in frozen logistics

Eurofish: What are your administration’s priorities over the next 3-4 years?

Quintana: There are three fundamental things we are working on at the moment. One is the preservation of the marine environment. The second is the social area, where we want to enable people working within the fisheries and aquaculture sectors to have a better standard of living. And finally there is an economic aspect, where we want to make it attractive enough for people to continue to work in these areas.

Within this overall framework, we are working on new laws for the fisheries sector that regulate the use of fishing gear. This will have a positive impact on the marine environment, but also increase the earnings of those working in the sector and make it attractive for others to enter the market. In the processing sector we are working to increase the technical innovation and improve the sales and marketing by encouraging all the different elements in the value addition chain – producers, processors, distributors, and traders.

GOOSS

Co-Packing: • cartons: end load and top load • PE pillow bags • PE-vacuum packs / PP-trays • freezing (IQF-beltfreezer)

• 600 meters of quayage • 155.000 m³ of cold storage • 600 m³ of shock freezing space • Import/export clearance

Best Harvest GmbH Axel Dinter Managing Director Cuxhavener Straße 36 · 21762 Otterndorf Phone + 49 (0) 47 51 / 916- 200

Erwin GOOSS GmbH & Co. KG Axel Stahlbuck Managing Director Cuxhavener Straße 36-40 · 21762 Otterndorf Phone + 49 (0) 47 51 / 916- 0

bestharvest@gooss.de · www.best-harvest.de

info@gooss.de · www.gooss.de

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Interview with Juan Manuel Vieites, General Secretary, ANFACO

EU Agreement with Pacific States ignores domestic tuna industry concerns ANFACO, the Spanish Association of Seafood Products Processors, consists of more than 220 companies involved in the processing of fishery and aquaculture products. Juan Manuel Vieites, General Secretary, ANFACO is critical of the EU agreement with the Pacific States as he shares his thoughts on the future of the Spanish canning sector.

Eurofish: What are the future priorities for the Spanish canning industry, how is it going to compete with cheaper producers in other countries?

Juan Manuel Vieites: In the twenty-first century the main priority of the Spanish processing industry for canned fish and seafood is to overcome the future challenges and, therefore, it will seek different opportunities to continue to be a modern and innovative sector that takes into account the new situation in the world economy. It should be noted that the Spanish industry, which is one of the main world player in this sector, together with the rest of the EU industry, are demanding a legal framework more stable and less changing, which would enable the sector to plan and guarantee its investments and future activity. Furthermore, it should be in coordination with all EU policies, notably with the social dimension related to the regions highly dependent on fisheries.

On the other hand, regarding our competitors from third countries, mainly from Southeast Asia, the same rules of competence for all the operators in the sector, both

preferences (GSP) and other Economic Partnership Agreements.

Thus, this sets a risky precedent that could legitimize other countries claiming that the same preferential conditions be applied to them in the future. Despite the fact that the grounds for granting derogation from the rules of origin are related to the development of the fishing sector in the Pacific States and poverty alleviation, it is obvious that the derogation will foster, instead, the development of the fishing sector in third countries.

This is due to the fact that fish from any flag state may be landed in the said countries, with no favorable treatment being given to products coming from Pacific States or under Fishing Agreements with the European Union.

Eurofish: 60% of the Spanish canning industry is dependent on tuna as the raw material. Are steps being taken to diversify production away from tuna, as tuna becomes more difficult to source? Are tuna canners getting more interested in labels that certify that the fish is caught sustainably?

Juan Manuel Vieites, General Secretary, ANFACO, the Spanish Association of Seafood Products Processors. The Spanish canning industry will continue to work to offer a range of high quality, tasty, and innovatively packaged products that benefit consumers’ health.

from the EU and from third countries, have to be established and demanded, to address situations of disequilibrium of the competence and prevent EU market access for those products that do not come from sustainable fishing, and during the manufacture of which the internationally recognized rules about human rights, social, labour, economical and environmental laws, as well EU hygiene and sanitary requirements are not obeyed. Furthermore, all players can compete under equal conditions.

28 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

Also, regarding the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and the Pacific States, we would like to stress the negative impact that the derogation of the rules of origin for products under the tariff headings 1604 and 1605 has on the Community tuna sector, as well as for GSP+ and other ACP States, where the EU industry has invested. The Agreement will apply to Papua New Guinea and Fiji, the only two countries that subscribed to it. Furthermore, this concesion is an unfair advantage over the generalised system of

Vieites: The Spanish canning industry offers the consumers a wide range of evolving products, as proved by the great number of references, more than 100, that our companies have. Spain is the country in the world that has the greatest variety of products and preparations of processed fishery and aquaculture products, thanks to the Research, Development and Innovation, which is promoted by ANFACO and its Technological Center, CECOPESCA. In recent years, our industry worked continuously to add value to fisheries and aquaculture products by processing. To achieve this, our industry has invested heavily in renewal and modernisation of its facilities and promotion of www.eurofishmagazine.com

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Structure of ANFACO’s membership as a percentage

Eurofish: Consumption of canned fish during the last 6 years has been quite stable in spite of the population increase in Spain. What initiatives have been developed to secure the continuous consumption of canned fish products?

Total: > 220 members

5.08 % Packaging

5.08 % Mussels

2.82 % Supporting services

40.11 % Canned fish and seafood

27.12 % Frozen and fresh

0.56 % Preserves

3.39 % Raw material

food safety, quality, traceability, ­research, innovation and technological development, among others. Also, the industry has shown its great capacity to adapt itself to these social changes, developing innovative products that incorporate added value to raw materials that are already excellent on their own.

That said, there is no doubt that ensuring the supply of raw materials such as tuna by being careful in the resources management is an increasingly important factor. Ecocertification is a step to ensure the sustainability of the resource.

Thus, when the consumer buys a fisheries products, he knows that the sustainability is guaranteed based on the FAO criteria. In this regard, we consider that there are more steps to be taken towards the certification of tuna fishing using seine nets. Furthermore, the fee to pay for the use of these eco-certifications should be more reasonable than the one currently being raised, given the considered fisheries.

Eurofish: The metal for producing the cans is becoming more expensive. Are producers moving away www.eurofishmagazine.com

10.73 % Machinery

from traditional metal cans to other forms of packaging?

Vieites: Indeed, in the recent years, the tin metal packaging has become more expensive, which is certainly not good news for the competitiveness of our industry.

The packaging is a key element to boost the innovation in the industrial processing sector of fisheries and aquaculture products. Thus, our sector is continually looking for new opportunities to diversify the packaging and to adapt itself to the new demands of the consumers. Therefore, new products and new packaging are presented each year, such as easy-peel, products in a plastic bags, glass jar or ­tetra-pack.

Eurofish: How has ANFACO made use of the Spanish presidency of the EU to further the interests of its members?

Vieites: ANFACO-CECOPESCA has asked the Spanish Presidency of the EU to adopt measures to defend actively the Spanish processing and trading sector of fisheries and aquaculture products to maintain its current leading position.

In this sense, we have informed that the Spanish industry, notably

5.08 % Fishmeal and fish oil

Source: ANFACO

the tuna industry, determines to continue to develop its business in the territory of the EU. We have also informed the key industry concerns regarding different EU policies. Furthermore, ANFACOCECOPESCA expressed its perception that the European Commission did not take into account the interests of its own tuna industry when it signed the Economic Partnership Agreement with the Pacific States. This Agreement damages seriously the competitiveness and future viability of the EU tuna fleet and tuna processing industry, since improving the EU market access for canned tuna processed in these countries by the major competitors of the EU tuna industry (Thailand, Philippines...) under preferential conditions and even with a derogation of the rules of origin, is unprecedented.

In short, it is necessary that the European Commission ensures the maintenance of their industry, which wants to continue to develop its business in Spain and in the European Union, maintaining the employment and not establishing precedents that may cause serious damage to the EU canning industry.

Vieites: Achieving this level of consumption has meant that the sector makes a great effort in pursuit of excellence to offer consumers a wide range of innovative products that are constantly evolving. Thus, Spain has become the first producer of canned products in the European Union and the second one in the world with a production of 354,179 tonnes, valued at EUR1,300m.The consumption is 6 kg/capita/year, which has been stable in recent years, taking into account the increase of the number of inhabitants in Spain.

Spain has the greatest variety of products and preparations of processed fishery and aquaculture products, where tradition and modernity go hand in hand, providing the consumer with products of the highest quality. It is only possible thanks to continued work whose objective is to add value to fisheries and aquaculture products by processing.

To consolidate this leadership, the sector together with ANFACO-CECOPESCA will continue to promote quality and food safety, research, innovation and technological development, the development of new products and packaging, among others, contributing to the promotion of consumption of canned fish and shellfish by offering consumers products that are adapted to their needs and increasingly healthy and safe. Furthermore, through the promotion, we inform the consumers as well the restaurant sector that canned fish and seafood can be prepared in many ways and help to lead a healthy life.

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Jealsa Rianxeira, S.A.

Investing in automation to stay competitive

The Jealsa Group has interests ranging from canning to fish feed production to electricity generation. Based in Spain, but with operations in Chile, Guatemala, Morocco, the UK, Norway, and Greece, the group has invested abroad to secure its markets and raw material supplies.

T

he Jealsa Group operates in several countries in the world, but the operations in some countries have a bigger role than in others. In Chile, for example, the Jealsa Group company is called Robinson Crusoe.

It produces canned shellfish such as clams, razor clams, and mussels, as well as some canned tuna.

The production is exported to 12 Latin American countries and to Spain. Chile is the only country apart from Spain from which the company exports directly.

duces cans of mussels, sardines, squid, cockles, and salads as well as tuna produced using loins from the Guatemala plant or from other sources. The other plant

in Spain is Jealsa, which was the original plant built 52 years ago by the company founder Jesús Alonso Fernández. Here the company produces canned tuna of

Facilities in Africa, Europe, and Latin America In Latin America the group also has production facilities in Guatemala where it produces tuna loins for export to Spain. The loins are processed at two facilities Escuris and Jealsa. The Escuris plant pro-

Jealsa Rianxeira is based in Spain, and has operations in several countries around the world.

30 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

A variety of canned fish and shellfish is produced under the Rianxeira label.

which 80% is from raw tuna and 20% from loins. In addition, the company owns plants in Morocco where sardines are produced, a plant for cockles in the UK, another in Norway, and another plant producing sardines in Greece.

Spanish plant shows the future The production is mainly in cans but also in pouches and most recently in Tetra Recart containers.

This is a retortable carton-based packaging solution that is designed for products traditionally packaged in cans or pouches.

The Tetra Recart package allows the product to be sterilised inside it giving a shelf stability of up to 24 months and in addition offers several advantages over conventional packaging. These packages are convenient to open, light weight, easy to store due to the regular shape, and are made from renewable resources for low environmental impact.

The Jealsa plant where the Tetra Recart packages are produced is a highly modern and extremely productive plant producing some 25,000 tonnes of tuna. Normally production on this scale would call for 250 employees, at the www.eurofishmagazine.com

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Jealso plant there are just six. The raw material used at the plant is a fish block, that the company produces itself, and which lends itself to the production process.

Juan L Alonso Escuris, the operations manager of the group (and the son of the founder) says that the Tetra Recart plant exemplifies the way the company intends to develop in the future. “This is the only way we can compete with companies in Asia, Africa, America or anywhere else, where labour costs are much lower than they are in Europe, and yet continue to produce in Spain. We are a Spanish company based in a small town, Boiro, where everybody knows everybody else. And it is important for us that we continue to produce here,” says Mr Escuris, “that is also my father’s wish.” He also sees a move away from metal cans into other kinds of packaging including plastic containers, pouches, and cartons, as the price of metal cans has soared.

Production in the group amounts to about 105,000 tonnes of tuna generated partly from loins and the rest from raw tuna, while production of shellfish is about 100,000 tonnes. These figures are however just to give a rough estimate. “The yield of cockles, for example, could be 10% or 20% depending on the year,” cautions Mr Escuris, while the yield of sardines differs absolutely. The markets for these products are mainly in Portugal, France, Spain, Italy and the UK, though the group also sells in the rest of Europe.

Activities not confined to fish and seafood The Jealsa Group has interests in a number of activities which are only peripherally related to their core business of canning.

These include a fishmeal plant in www.eurofishmagazine.com

panies owned by the Jealsa Group.

Jealsa Rianxeira has two plants in Spain, Escuris and Jealsa. Part of the Jealsa plant is used to produce tuna in Tetra Recart packages, an operation that produces 25,000 tonnes of tuna using six people.

Spain, which gets its raw material from the groups canning facilties as well as from outside, two cold stores, and even a sizeable electrical co-generation facility. Some of the electricity generated is used by the company itself while the rest is sold on the market. The

heat produced by the electricity generation is used to produce steam that in turn is used to heat the water to cook the tuna. In addition the Group has established four companies that generate wind-based electricity. All these facilities are in fact different com-

Jealsa Rianxeira Company Fact File Jealsa Rianxeira, S.A. Bodión, s/n - 15.930-Boiro - A Coruña Tel: +34 981 845 400 Fax: +34 981 844 551, +34 981 847 077 cliente@rianxeira.com www.rianxeira.com Operations manager: Juan L. Alonso Escuris Products: Canned tuna, canned shellfish (clams, razor clams, mussels, cockles), canned sardines Facilities: Spain, Guatemala, Chile, Morocco, UK, Norway, Greece

Volumes: Approx. 105,000 tonnes of tuna, 100,000 tonnes of other products Markets: Portugal, France, Spain, Italy and the UK, the group also sells in the rest of Europe; Latin America Other interests: Cold stores, electricity generation, fishmeal production Fishing companies: Sant Jago, Albacora (tuna fishing) Sales and marketing companies: Soluco Europe (France), Mare Aperto (Italy) Turnover: EUR374m Employees: 3000

This diversity may be a strength for the company that has helped it to grow steadily over the last 25 years, not in great leaps, but in regular steps that have continued even through the international financial and economic crises. We do not seem to have been affected by the crises, says Mr Escuris, perhaps because the food sector in general was less affected than other parts of the economy, but the last two years have not been different for us than other times.

But there are other longer term changes that could have an impact on the Group’s operations, including the opening up of Europe’s borders and the lowering of tariffs. Despite wanting to remain a Spanish cannery based in Spain the Mr Escuris is acutely aware of the wage differential between Spanish workers and workers in Thailand or Viet Nam. The only way forward is to make our production more efficient so that we can compete, he says, we have to automate, and use less labour to produce at the same level.

Tuna cannery committed to sustainability Tuna is a key raw material for the Group and according to Mr Escuris, for tuna processors “the world is getting more difficult each day.” Jealsa has joined the ISSF, the International Sustainable Seafood Foundation, a global partnership between scientists, the tuna industry and WWF, a conservation organization, as a signal of its commitment to sustainable tuna stocks. ISSF focuses on ensuring that effective conservation and management practices are in place to maintain the health of all tuna stocks. As a member of ISSF Jealsa only buys tuna from fishing companies that fish ­sustainably.

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Squid, Loligo and Illex, is among Iberconsa’s biggest product lines. Last year was a bad year for squid catches not only in Argentina, but also China and Korea.

monkfish which amounts to some 500 tonnes.

Hake, squid, shrimp are the main species

Iberconsa

Frozen fish exports to 55 countries

Iberconsa specialises in the catching, processing, and distribution of a variety of frozen seafood for markets all over the world. The company has fishing vessels that are active in the southern Atlantic supplying processing factories in Argentina and Namibia.

T

oday Iberconsa has 16 vessels fishing in the southern Atlantic, which focus on the hake fishery in Argentina, Namibia and South Africa. In South Africa and Namibia the target is Cape hake, which in South Africa has been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council. Volumes of Cape hake amount to 3,000 tonnes in South Africa and 7,000 tonnes in Namibia. Hake accounts for 90% of the catches in Namibia and South Africa; of the rest, the company has a trawler ­catching

Fernando Lago, international sales director, has overseen the diversification of the company’s portfolio of markets. Today Iberconsa exports to 55 countries in the world.

32 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

In Argentina Argentine hake is the main target, while the second biggest product is squid.

Two jiggers catch Illex off Argentina while two trawlers target Loligo off the Falkland Islands. Shrimp is the third biggest product with two shrimpers targeting pink wild shrimp off Argentina. The catches result in the production of 1,000 tonnes of shrimp frozen on board while a further 1,000 tonnes is produced on land at the processing plant in Rawson, Argentina. The fishery in Argentina also results in catches of red cod, hoki, grenadier, king clip, and some other species including Notothenia, butter fish, and blue whiting.

More than half of the production from Argentina, South Africa and Namibia is exported directly to markets around the world; the Argentinian production facility supplies the Middle East, northern and southern Europe, Russia, China and Japan, with a little also going to Australia. From South Africa and Namibia product is exported to northern Europe, the US, and Australia. The production that is not sold is sent to the company headquarters in Vigo for distribution from there.

Iberconsa is moving to new offices that will include a coldstore with a capacity of 15,000 tonnes as the lease for the current place www.eurofishmagazine.com

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expires. The new space is being built at the premises of Frigalsa Coldstores where Iberconsa has a 50% s­ hareholding.

2009 a poor year for squid While hake is one of the main species for the company Illex is also very important. The company produces 6,000 to 7,000 tonnes of Illex a year if catches are good. This has been far from the case the last couple of years.

The 2009 season was horrible, says Mr Lago, a boat that was making eight to nine trips in 2008, made only one in 2009.

And the problem seemed to be universal with poor catches in New Zealand as well as Korea and China.

The company’s customer base can be organised into three groups; industrial customers, who use the products as raw material, amount to 40-50% of the customer base; food service companies, who buy the more value added products, form 3540%; and the rest goes to the retail sector in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and to some extent in France. Most of the retail sales are private label and are con-

Iberconsa Company Fact File Iberconsa Muelle Comercial de Bouzas 20 Aptdo. 640 36208 Vigo Spain Tel.:+34 986213300 Fax: +34 986204669 iberconsa@iberconsa.es www.iberconsa.es International Sales Director: Fernando Lago Products: Frozen seafood, primar-

centrated on Spanish and Portuguese chains. In addition Iberconsa has its own chain of stores selling frozen food, most of it seafood, but also other frozen products. The shops are called Hiperxel and in Galicia there are 52 of them. Iberconsa also relies considerably on imported products and is an active international trader, buying fillets and the Asian range of surimi and shrimp. Twenty.five percent of our sales are from imports says Mr Lago. The company also sends some of its Loligo and Illex production to China to be reprocessed there – producing rings from Illex or tubes from Loligo – and then sent back to Europe.

ily hake, squid, shrimp, but also a range of other fish and seafood Markets: 55 countries around the world Processing facilities: Argentina, Namibia Vessels: 16 operating in the southern Atlantic Other interests: Coldstores, chain of retail shops Turnover: EUR115m Employees: 150, of which in Spain 60-70

Steady diversification of export market Last year was a difficult year due to the financial crisis with a 35-40% drop in sales in the first three months compared to the same period the year before, but by pushing back hard and offering better prices the company was able to end the year with only a slight difference in the overall result compared to 2008, says Mr Lago. This year has been better, turnover has recovered and growth is better compared to last year and even slightly better than in 2008. The company’s strategy over the last years of diversifying its markets

seems also to have paid off.

When I joined 11 years ago we did 75-80 percent of our sales in Spain, says Mr Lago. That has now come down to 50%. The company today exports to 55 countries and has managed to build up a very balanced portfolio. The increased globalisation of the fisheries trade also means that Spain is no longer the reference for products like squid or hake as it used to be in the past.

If, for example, prices for Illex in China are high then Spain has to follow suit.

Open to new partnerships anywhere in the world The relatively strong position the company finds itself in has fostered ambitions to acquire some assets in Africa and Argentina in order to consolidate the business there.. The company may also strike out into new products as it has done in the past, such as salmon and mussels from Chile, and shrimp from Asia. However, I do not anticipate a move into the chilled fish business, says Mr Lago, diversifying our range of frozen products is more likely or entering into partnerships in other parts of the world.

Iberconda has a chain of retail shops called Hiperxel that sell frozen products, mainly but not exclusively fish and seafood.

The hake is sourced from South Africa, where the fishery is Marine Stewardship Council certified, Argentina, and Namibia.

www.eurofishmagazine.com

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Pescanova Group

Aquaculture production on two continents

The Pescanova Group is Spain’s biggest Spanish fisheries company and one of the largest in the world with interests in fishing, aquaculture, and processing and with production sites all around the globe.

P

escanova’s aquaculture operations are in Spain and Portugal as well in several countries in Latin America. The company concentrates on four species, shrimp, salmon, tilapia, and turbot. Farming activities started in 1985 and for a number of reasons Latin America was selected as the area to start. There was a cultural affinity in terms of language and work ethos, the main markets in the US and Europe were only one and three weeks away respectively, and finally the ingredients for fish feed could be readily sourced in the vicinity; fishmeal and fish oil from Chile and Peru and grains from Argentina and Brazil.

Large scale, vertically integrated shrimp production The first species to be farmed was shrimp P japonicus in the South of

Enrique de Llano Monelos, director of aquaculture operations.

Isaac González Toribio, director of corporate communications.

Spain (and then vannamei), and the company established vertically integrated operations including hatcheries, grow-out ponds, feed plants and processing facilities as well as sales offices. Today shrimp is scientifically farmed in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Ecuador with a yield of about 3040,000 tonnes. Each site offers full traceability at each stage of production and a genetic improvement programme gives faster growth and greater disease resistance.

The Group’s salmon farms are located in Chile in the XI and XII Regions, while the tilapia cultivation is in Pernambuco, on the east coast of Brazil. It is only the turbot farming operations that are located in Europe. Spain and Portugal host grow-out sites and Spain is the site of a hatchery with a production of 10 million fry that supplies both the grow-out sites. Production in Spain is about 3,000 tonnes while in Portugal, where production started last year, the

34 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

Pescanova Group operates in 21 countries with aprox. 3,400 employees.

intention is to reach 7,000 tonnes in the space of four years. Why move to another country rather than expand at the existing site?

According to Enrique de Llano Monelos, the director of aquaculture operations, the site in Portugal had several advantages. The water was in the right temperature range, and the daily temperature variation was only a couple of degrees, the salinity and water quality were good, and the price of the land also played a role. In addition negotiations for the land had to be done with only one person rather than 200, which made it much simpler.

Research collaboration to prevent in-breeding At the turbot hatchery the broodstock were caught 20 years ago from different parts of Europe, from Galicia, Ireland, the Baltic Sea and Norway. In partnership with the University of Santiago the company identified the origins of each fish and its genetic make-up to prevent problems of consanguinity from cropping www.eurofishmagazine.com

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up when selecting fish for desirable traits including faster growth rates, better colour, and greater disease resistance. “The fish are grown on land-based facilities in tanks. We did some trials in the sea,” says Mr Monelos, “at the bottom and in floating cages.” But this fish lives in the sand so a firm base is needed and a net cage did not work. But growing the fish on the ocean floor is expensive, although the fish grow well, as you need specialised people to watch the fish and a lot of equipment for feeding, harvesting, grading etc.

The product is usually sold whole fresh directly the day it is harvested, so it is very fresh. It is exported to a number of countries in Europe including Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Italy, France, and Portugal, but the main markets are in Spain (40% of the production) and Italy (25-30%). “German customers prefer their fish gutted,” says Mr Monelos,” but for the rest it is all whole.”

Kuruma prawn sold live In southern Spain Pescanova also produces about 60 tonnes of Kuruma prawn (Penaeus japonicus). Production is limited because only a single harvest is possible in the south of Spain. In Latin America where tempera-

Pescanova Company Fact File Pescanova S.A. Rua Jose Fernandez Lopez s/n E 36320 Chapela - Pontevedra Spain Tel.: +34 986 818 100 Fax: +34 986 818 417 www.pescanova.es Director of aquaculture operations: Enrique de Llano Monelos

tures are between 25 and 32 degrees it is possible to work all the year around. The product is quite special as it is packed in polystyrene boxes, chilled, and sold live directly to restaurants, delicatessen and to end consumers. Eighty percent of the production is sold at Christmas time. There is no comparison between the Spanish product and the shrimp farmed in Latin America, adds Mr Monelos. One is a delicatessen product, the other is frozen for mass markets in the US and Europe. Local sales in Latin America are nonexistent as the price level is generally too high.

Pescanova is also working with other species such as Dover sole, lemon sole, and Senegalese sole which the company thinks could

Turbot is farmed at two sites, one in Portugal which will reach a production of 7,000 tonnes in four years and the other in Galicia, where production is 3,000 tonnes.

Director of corporate communications: Isaac González Toribio Aquaculture operations: Shrimp (vannamei) farming in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Ecuador (3040,000 tonnes), Salmon farming in Chile, Tilapia in Brazil, Turbot culture in Spain and Portugal (10,000 tonnes by 2012), Kuruma prawn farming in Spain (60 tonnes)

be interesting. “We have also closed the breeding circle for seabass and sea bream,” says Mr Monelos, “but they need to be grown in the Mediterranean and there are already so many countries growing these species that we do not think there is much future there. The tilapia production is being ramped up in Brazil, but that fish in not popular in Spain, while pangasius sells a lot. So we are toying with the idea of going into pangasius production, but investing in a new country is very demanding. You have to know the rules and regulations and then there is the question of the genetic background of the species which will also have to be researched, so there are many issues that would have to be resolved first,” says Mr Monelos.

Recirculation systems used at Chilean operations Recirculation systems are used at the turbot hatchery, and they are also being deployed by the company at its Chilean operations where new regulations prescribe that Salmo salar farmers recirculate the water used for the broodstock and the fish until they reach the smolt stage, when they weigh about 200 g. They can then be released into the sea for ongrowing. These regulations do not apply for Salmo trutta and coho production.

There are two turbot hatcheries about 20 km apart. One produces 3-4 million fries, while the other does 7-8 million. The combined production covers all the requirement of the company. The female broodstock are usually about 3 years old when they start laying eggs. The best period is from about 4 years to about 6 years, though the company keeps them in service for about 5 years. The females at 5-6 kilos are bigger than the males at 2-3 kilos. The hatchery is monitored and controlled electronically, all the parameters, water temperature, oxygen level, pumps etc can be controlled from a central computer.

The turbot faming site in Galicia.

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Paquito SL

Frozen mussels and breaded squid for the European retail sector Paquito started in the in the food marketing business several decades ago when the company founder put the first mussel rafts in the water. Since then the company has extended its mussel farming operations to Chile and has established a squid processing line in Spain where it produces a range of battered and breaded products for sale on the local and international markets.

I

n 1947 Paquito’s founder invested in mussel rafts in order to start the production of fresh mussels.

This was followed by the production of frozen mussels that were exported to many countries in Europe including, Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Turkey, Greece, Russia, and the UK, as well as sold on the domestic market, which was the biggest, absorbing about a quarter of the production.

Expansion of mussel production in Chile By 1994 the company was concentrating exclusively on the production of frozen mussels having discontinued the sale of fresh mussels. However, the price of the raw material was moving upward and the company realised that as a producer of frozen mussels it needed to have cheap raw material that could compete with mussels of other origin.

As Manuel Lopez Outeiral, the

Manuel Lopez Outeiral, the general manager of Paquito, has suffered from a huge increase in squid prices last year.

g­ eneral manager of Paquito says, you need a cheap product in the frozen market otherwise you are out.

This prompted a strategic decision to look at Chile as a source for the raw material. With an investment of about EUR9m the company established a subsidiary in Chile, Chilena de Pescados y Mariscos SA, which is the farming company. The area for growing mussels amounts to 220 ha and the company produces 7,000 to 8,000 tonnes of mussels per year on longlines. This kind of area gives us plenty of room to expand says Mr Outeiral. If we invest the money we can produce up to 30,000 tonnes of mussels at our Chilean site. While the Chilean business was developing the company in 1998 started a new production line for pre-cooked, battered and breaded products based on squid. Production today is about 10,000 tonnes of frozen, battered and breaded squid rings, and shrimp, and other materials. The raw material for this production comes from Peru, China, New Zealand, and sometimes Korea and Russia, but the most important source is Argentina, which is responsible for about half the global supply of squid.

Poor squid catches send prices soaring

Paquito is essentially a mussel farming and processing company. This side of the business is set to expand, though much of the expansion will be in the Chilean operations.

36 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

Last year catches of squid failed, particularly in Argentina, but they were also poor in New Zealand and China, with catastrophic results. A number of vessels went bankrupt and the the price of squid shot up from EUR800 a tonne to EUR5,500 a tonne, says Mr Outeiral, and we had to stop production because it does not make sense to buy the raw material at a price that we cannot sell on the market. www.eurofishmagazine.com

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The squid products are an important part of the company’s operations currently contributing some 60% of the turnover.

Normally prices are much more stable, though a year and a half ago they fell to EUR800 a tonne, which is also too low. The average price of the last 10-15 years has been between EUR1,200 and EUR1,500 a tonne. At this price says Mr Outeiral the vessels make money, yet it is also economical for us, and the market is happy with this level so it is a win-win situation.

The squid products are an important part of the company’s operations currently contributing some 60% of the turnover, but Mr Outeiral still considers the company essentially a mussel farmer and processor. I expect more growth in this area, he says, though the expansion will www.eurofishmagazine.com

be in Chile rather than Spain.

We need to find out how we can add greater value to the mussels.

The raw material for squid products comes from Peru, China, New Zealand, and sometimes Korea and Russia, but the most important source is Argentina, which is responsible for about half the global supply of squid.

They are much in demand in Europe and from Chile it is easy to export to the US as there are

Paquito Company Fact File Paquito, S.L. Lg. Careixo s/n, Boiro, POB 16 E 15930 Pontevedra Spain Tel.: +34 981 844050 Fax: +34 981 846800 info@sabordemar.com www.sabordemar.com General Manager: Mr. Manuel Lopez Outeiral Products: Frozen mussels, frozen battered, breaded squid and shrimp products

Volumes: Mussels 7-8,000 tonnes per year in Chile; 3-4,000 tonnes per year in Spain; 8,000 tonnes of breaded products Sites: Mussel farming and processing sites in Spain and Chile, squid processing plant in Spain Markets: Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Turkey, Greece, Russia, and the UK Customers: Metro, Lidl, Carrefour, Intermarché, Netto Employees: Spain, 200; Chile, 250

no tariffs or other barriers, the product goes straight to the market. In Spain we will develop the range of precooked or prefried breaded and battered products using not just squid but also other seafood. The plant in Spain is IFS certified with an in-house laboratory that is responsible for quality control and traceability of the final products both frozen and pre-cooked.The laboratory is equipped to do the physical and chemical control of the raw materials and final product and can analyse for a number of pathogens including, listeria, salmonella, E. coli, and staphylococcus. Once a year the company simulates a recall of its products to verify that its ­systems are working.

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Peter Taboada

Germicidal water to extend the shelf life of fish and seafood Peter Taboada was founded by a naval engineer, Jesús M. Taboada Presedo who began by creating water treatment products for use on naval vessels. This was followed a few years later by the development of desalination plants to remove the salt from seawater. The company has a strong research and development department and collaborates closely with universities and research institutes to develop new products. Currently it has five patents pending for products that were developed in house.

A

s a naval engineer it was natural for Jesús Taboada to first develop products that would find application in the navy. But soon he realized that many of these products

could also be used by industry.

For example, an anti-fouling and anti-scaling system that he developed to protect seawater pipes on naval vessels, could also be used by the oil indus-

try on offshore rigs. Gradually the company started to develop equipment for industry and also moved from producing machinery for use with salt water to machinery that could be used with

Peter Taboada, a company producing a range of water treatment equipment, has developed PetFrost, a machine that produces a germicidal water that can safely extend the shelf life of fish and seafood.

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tap water. Today the company produces a range of equipment that is used in industrial sectors as diverse as green energy, catering, and health.

Close collaboration with research institutions One of the company’s recent inventions is the PetFrost system.

This system produces a germicidal water that can be used to extend the shelf life of fish, meat and vegetables, by eliminating the pathogens that contribute to spoilage of food. The company had originally considered the production of a germicidal ice, but then switched to a germicidal water. Petfrost benefitted from the company’s collaboration with CSIC, a public research institution, that worked with Peter Taboada to carry out the tests to ensure that the Petfrost system conformed to Spanish legislation and that the product posed absolutely no threat to human health. The company carried out a series of tests using hake to demonstrate the efficacy of the product.

Samples of hake were treated with the germicidal water and were left for 17, 14, 12, 8, and 3 days respectively, while in a control experiment the hake samples were not treated with the germicidal water and left for the same numbers of days. The outcome of the tests showed clearly that the samples that had been treated with the germicidal water had a longer shelf life than the control samples. On average the treatment extended the shelf life by three to four days, though in the case of the three oldest samples even this extension in shelf life was not enough to allow the fish to be sold further. All the tests were independently verified. Tests were also www.eurofishmagazine.com

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carried out to assess the impact of the germicidal water on the taste, colour, and texture of the fish. The results showed that the product did not influence these parameters.

PetFrost can also be deployed against the bacteria that are found on the plastic film that is used to wrap products. By spraying the water on the film and leaving it for a certain period the film can be rendered bacteria-free.

The issue the company had to resolve was to find the minimum amount of germicidal water and the minimum time needed to treat the film, that would still be effective against the bacteria. The question is one of cost. The PetFrost water has a price, so the less you use the more economic it is.

The company is now also planning to test how effective the germicidal water is when combined with modified atmosphere packaging. One set of tests has already been carried out, but they were limited in scope and the company is looking to scale up the tests.

We envisage the germicidal ice being used on fishing vessels and then germicidal water being used in the processing plants, which should substantially increase the shelf life of the fish, says Carlos Gómez, the sales manager. In addition the germicidal water can be used to wash down all the machinery in the processing plant, to further eliminate any risk of pathogens.

Ultraviolet and ozone combine to achieve germicidal effect The technology behind the PetFrost system is in the process of being patented and the details are therefore confidential, but Mr Gómez explains that the syswww.eurofishmagazine.com

Technology also of interest to non-food sector So far buyers of the PetFrost system have come mainly from the fish with some from the meat industry, but other sectors including the dairy and the pharmaceutical industry have also bought PetFrost machines. For us the main problem From left, Manuel López Gómez, the PetFrost manager Jesús M. is that potential customers do not Taboada, the founder and president of the company, and Carlos Gómez want to buy a machine because it Pérez, the sales manager. would mean admitting to the presence of pathogens in their value addition chain, says Carlos Gómez. tem uses a combination of ozone it needs to be in physical contact For another we find most of our and an ultraviolet (UV) filter. with the food or the film for a cer- clients want to test the machine Water is treated with a UV filter tain length of time. As a further themselves on their own premises while ozone is introduced into refinement the company is also before they will consider purchasthe air and both elements are considering a system whereby the ing it. PetFrost has only been on then combined in a tank giving water can be recycled after it has the market for two years so far, but the germicidal water. If the wa- been used. the company anticipates that it will ter is of dubious quality it is first be one of their big and important micro-filtered or carbon filtered However, before the water can be products in the future. before passing through the UV used again it has to be filtered and filter. The germicidal ability of ozonated, as the germicidal effect the water can be measured in is not permanent ­– if the germiterms of its redox potential ex- cidal water is used once it cannot pressed in milivolts. The water be used again with being filtered normally used in the fish indus- and mixed with ozone. This is try has a potential of 400 mV. At both an advantage and a disada voltage of 900 mV the water is vantage of the germicidal water. sterile, while at 1,100 mV the wa- The advantage is that there are no ter is germicidal. residues in the treated product, but on the other hand the germiMr Gómez points out that for the cidal water stops working after a germicidal water to be effective period of time.

Taboada Company Fact File Taboada Millarada, 68 - Vilar de Infesta 36815 Redondela (Pontevedra) Spain Tel: +34 986 22 66 22 Fax: +34 986 22 35 70 dcomercial@petertaboada.com www.petertaboada.com Founder and president: Jesús M. Taboada Presedo Sales manager: Carlos Gómez Pérez

PetFrost manager: Manuel López Gómez Products: PetFrost, a system producing germicidal water for use in the fish and seafood sector; water treatment products; desalination plants; de-scaling and de-fouling equipment Employees: 32 of which 7 are in the technical department Customers: Fish and meat processors, dairy industry, pharmaceutical sector

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“Our turbot are like bricks,” says Pablo García, “with a uniform size, shape, colour, and fat content all the year around, which is reassuring for Stolt Sea Farm’s customers.”

may be a small business but if you are one of the top players then it is well worth it.

Stolt Sea Farm SA

A big fish in a small pond Stolt Sea Farm is one of the business divisions of the Stolt-Nielsen group, an international company with Norwegian roots, that has interests in the specialized transport and storage of different cargoes. Stolt Sea Farm focuses on the high tech production of primarily three products, turbot, sole, sturgeon and caviar, which are produced on sites in France, Norway, Portugal, Spain and California.

P

ablo García is the president of the aquaculture division reporting to the board of the parent company Stolt-Nielsen. In a rare interview at the company’s turbot farm in La Coruña, Spain, Mr García expands on the philosophy that underpins the group, a set of values that lead directly back to the founder Jacob StoltNielsen, and which determine the kind of activities the companies in the group get involved in.

Operates in areas that call for specialisation In the case of fish farming Stolt Sea Farm, although a pioneer in salmon farming, decided that a business that has become so commoditised that the only way to survive was to make large volumes at the lowest cost possible, was not the way they wanted to work. By the standard of salmon farms we are a small fish farming

Pablo García, the president of Stolt-Nielsen’s aquaculture division, favours being in specialised businesses where the barriers to entry are high.

company, says Pablo García, but we are leaders in what we do, in turbot, in sole, and in caviar. We want to be in businesses where the barriers to entry are high, the technical requirements are demanding and the production risks are considerable. This means that you need specialized knowledge to run such a business and if you

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know what you are doing you will be successful. The company accumulated experience in the fish farming business, in salmon, where it made a lot of money in the 70s before seeing the writing on the wall and deciding to pull out, but also in halibut, and in tuna. We prefer to be a big fish in a small pond says Mr García, turbot

The turbot is farmed at nine sites, six in Galicia, and one each in Portugal, France, and Norway and production amounts to some 4,000 t per annum. At the La Coruña site rows of covered circular tanks house the turbot. The tanks are specially dimensioned to ensure the flow of water is neither to fast nor too slow to ensure that the water in all parts of the tank is evenly oxygenated with no pockets that have too much or too little oxygen as this does not agree with the fish. All our efforts are designed to find out what the fish can tolerate in terms of density, temperature, oxygen levels, stress etc. and still feed well, grow normally, and stay healthy, says Mr García. It is a question of balancing the risks. For example, water for the farm is pumped from the sea and is then propelled by gravity through the tanks. We invest a lot in systems that pay off only in the long run says Pablo García.

The pumping station for example if the heart of our operations and if anything happens there we will lose all our stock. Accordingly the company installed expensive filtration devices to prevent kelp from clogging up the pumps as the volumes of free floating kelp can be enormous under certain climatic conditions. Other refinements may seem simple enough on the surface but are the result of years of experience. For example the material used to cover the tanks is specially put together to withstand the storms and www.eurofishmagazine.com

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100 kmph winds that would otherwise destroy the covers.

Finding new turbot sites increasingly difficult However, the wind or lack of it is probably secondary when it comes to selecting a site. One of the main barriers to entry is the site itself. Certainly in Europe says Pablo García, finding the 100,000 to 200,000 sq. m along the coast that is needed to establish a farm is becoming virtually impossible.

Turbot being a bottom swimming flat fish is usually farmed on land in tanks rather than in net cages at sea. Besides the main market for turbot is in France and Spain as it is only in these countries that consumers are willing to pay EUR12 a kilo for the fish. So ideally the farm should be located somewhere close to the market.

Farmed turbot does face competition from the wild variety particularly in May and June when the turbot catch from the Atlantic comes in. Farmed and wild turbot taste the same as regular blind

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Stolt Sea Farm Company Fact File Stolt Sea Farm S.A. Punta de los Remedios Lira, Carnota La Coruña 15292 Spain Tel: +34 981 837501 Fax: +34 981 761031 info.ssf@stolt.com www.stolt-nielsen.com President of the aquaculture division: Pablo García Turnover: EUR40m Facilities:

tasting sessions have shown says Mr Pablo García, but farmed retails at a slightly lower price than wild fish. However our customers are industrial buyers not the end consumer, and for them it is more important that the fish are a uniform size, shape, colour, and fat content all the year around.

The fish are sold typically whole round in a variety of sizes, from 500 g to 5 kg, with the smaller fish going mainly to the retail sector and the larger ones to wholesalers

- Turbot farming sites: 6 in Galicia, Spain; 1 each in Portugal, Norway, France - Sole farming sites: 1 each in Galicia, Spain and France - Sturgeon farming sites: 4 in California Production volumes: Turbot 4,000 t, sole 350 t, caviar 12 t, sturgeon 200 t Markets for turbot: Spain, France Product form: Whole round Customers: Wholesalers, retailers

who sell them on to restaurants and hotels. Some of the production is sold as gutted fish or even fillets, but this is a relatively small proportion.

Slow but steady growth and consistent profits Stolt Sea Farms also produces caviar and sturgeon at four sites in California as well as sole. The latter is produced at a site in France that went on stream 18 months

ago and sent its first production to the market this year in March.

For the moment we have no plans to move into any other species but we are open to suggestions. We regularly receive proposals that we study to see if they are viable and if they fit in with our overall strategy, says Pablo García, which has been to run a consistently profitable operation, growing slowly but steadily - and that is the way we want things to run.

You could say we have sacrificed some growth in favour of stability.

This course has proved itself most recently with the financial and economic crisis that brought the price of turbot down from EUR10 per kg in 2007 to EUR5 per kg in 2009. Despite the collapse in prices the company still made money, though less of it, thanks to its cautious approach, which included not taking on debt, rapidly repaying short term loans, and self financing its growth. Of course it helps to be part of a bigger group, adds Pablo García, as this gives us the freedom to recommend management policies that may not be acceptable elsewhere.

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Grupo Tres Mares

Rainbow trout products for EU and Russian markets Grupo Tres Mares is one of the biggest rainbow trout (Onchorhynchus mykiss) producers in Europe with a capacity of 3,500 tonnes per annum. Production last year reached 3,000 tonnes most of which was exported to markets in Europe as frozen, gutted, portion-sized fish. The farm, like many others in the sector, is struggling to compete with imports of cheap whitefish while at the same time complying with the rules and regulations that govern the freshwater aquaculture sector.

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rupo Tres Mares is run by three sisters, the daughters of Roman Arregui del Valle who founded the company 40 years ago. Gloria Arregui is the managing director of the farm, while Carmen Arregui is the commercial director and Luz Arregui, the director of research and development, and fish health. The company has two hatcheries, one at Tres Mares in La Coruña, and the other at Truchas del Umia in Pontevedra. The fish from both sites are on-grown at Tres Mares.

Global Gap certified farm

cesses and inputs including feed, environmental impact, traceability and sustainability that go into the production until the product leaves the farm. While these are important aspects of the certification, Luz Arregui says frankly that they invested in this certification primarily to prevent their products from being excluded from any markets.

With over 95,000 sq. meters of area including the hatchery, 350 ponds and the processing facilities Tres Mares is one of the largest farms in Europe. The facilities include two processing plants, one for frozen products,

As a trout farm the company has taken a decision not to get involved in egg production as it involves keeping broodstock and all the potential problems that go with raising these fish. We are trout growers, says Luz Arregui, and that is what we focus on. The company therefore buys eggs from suppliers in Spain, the UK, or France. We also used to buy fingerlings which we would then on-grow at our sites, but now that we have a Global Gap certification we cannot get fingerlings from any non Global Gap sources. The Global Gap certification is essentially a sustainability certification that covers all the pro42 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

Luz Arregui, the director of research and development, and fish health at Grupo Tres Mares.

one for fresh, that are certified to the IFS (International Food Standard) ensuring a high level

Grupo Tres Mares Company Fact File ProductionCenter: LIRES S/N 15270 CEE A Coruña, Spain Tel: + 34 981 748 004 Fax: +34 981 748 111 tresmares@grupotresmares.com Commercial Office: S.A.Centro de empresas C/Francisco Alonso, nº2 Of. 228660 Boadilla del Monte Madrid, Spain Tel. + 34 916 330 427 / + 34 916 330 585

Fax. +34 916 330 477 comercial@grupotresmares.com www.grupotresmares.com Production: 3,200 tonnes of mainly frozen rainbow trout Product forms: Gutted frozen, IQF frozen fillets, whole fresh, gutted fresh, block frozen Brand: Tres Mares Markets: EU countries, Russia Certifications: Global Gap, IFS Employees: 100 Turnover: EUR9m (2007)

of food safety. The company also has a laboratory where it makes its own vaccines. Called autovaccines, these are usually made in dedicated laboratories which develop a vaccine against the specific strain of a pathogen that is prevalent on a farm. In Tres Mares’ case the on-site laboratory is sophisticated enough to carry out this task, so the company does not have turn to an external facility.

Portion-sized trout in different sizes A trout farm can specialize in different products, explains Ms Arregui. This could be related to the type of product, whether fresh or frozen, pink or white flesh, large or small fish, We specialise in the production of frozen, white, portion-sized trout, which we produce in large volumes, says Ms Arregui. This specialization enables the company to export its fish to 18 countries in Europe including to markets that have their own domestic production such as the UK, France and Germany. On the Spanish market the demand is mainly for fresh trout and the company supplies fresh fillets, but this forms a relatively modest proportion of sales as 70-80% of the production is frozen and exported. Portion-sized trout vary in size depending on the market; typically this is 250350 g, but some countries prefer smaller fish of 200 g while others will only accept fish between 320 and 340 g.

Fresh and salt water mixture keeps parasites at bay Tres Mares is currently not recirculating any of the water it uses for the production. The farm draws 3.5 cubic m a second from the ground and, as it is l­ocated www.eurofishmagazine.com

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With over 95,000 sq. meters of area including the hatchery, 350 ponds and the processing facilities Tres Mares is one of the largest farms in Europe.

close to the sea, a further one cubic m a second of salt water.

The addition of salt water is not so much to cut down on the consumption of fresh water as to use it as a natural treatment method for certain parasites.

Most freshwater parasites cannot tolerate salt water and vice versa. In case of an infestation with saltwater parasites we can switch to pure freshwater and get rid of the problem, thus reducing the need to treat the fish with chemicals. Recirculation systems here are not as common as they are in countries like Denmark, says Ms Arregui.

For one thing the temperatures here are higher both in summer and winter and this might have disease implications. Water is recirculated but usually only when there is a shortage of fresh water. Under such circumstances the farm may filter the water using settling ponds and drum filters and add oxygen before re-using the water, but the treatment process will not include bio-filters. The trick is to know what the fish can handle in terms of changes in salinity and temperatures without having an impact on its well-being. Now with 20 years of experience the www.eurofishmagazine.com

The in-house laboratory develops and produces vaccines specific to the pathogens that may appear on the farm.

A wide range of fresh and frozen product forms are available under the Tres Mares brand.

company has been able to work out precisely how to ensure the fish thrives.

Stiff competition from imports Today, however, it is not enough to know how to grow fish. Spanish trout farmers have seen a drastic drop in production from 35,000 tonnes to 20,000 tonnes of trout over the course of the last five to six years. Over the same period imports of pangasius have increased from virtu-

ally nothing to 45,000 tonnes. Ms Arregui acknowledges that the competition is here to stay, but is bitter that the rules seem to be skewed so heavily against local aquaculture producers who have to comply with a heavy burden in terms of regulation and taxation. It is as if the authorities are actually not at all interested in having a European aquaculture production sector, despite all the talk about how important aquaculture is not only to secure the supply of fish, but also as a sector with a social and economic role to play in remote rural areas where there are few other forms of employment.

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Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

43

Freshly harvested and cooked Galician mussels. The red colour is desirable among some buyers.

Pescados Marcelino

Prices for farmed mussels gradually recover Pescados Marcelino is a family-run business farming and processing mussels. The company grows about 1,800 tonnes of mussels a year on rafts in an estuary in the southern part of Galicia. Mussels prices have been at their lowest levels for 10 years recently but are gradually climbing again.

T

he Galician mussel industry produced some 220,000 tonnes of mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis ) in 2008, making Spain the largest producer of mussels in the world after China.

Mussel cultivation from rafts Mussels are typically farmed from rafts from which lines are hung into the water. The culture starts with the collection of the mussel seed either from natural beds or from collector ropes that are made from old fish nets suspended from the rafts in March and April. Once the farmers have collected the mussel seed it will be attached to the ropes within 24 hours. This is either done manually or with a machine which uses

a mesh to secure the seed to the rope. The mesh dissolves with a few days by which time the mussels have attached themselves.

The amount of seed per meter of rope varies from 1.5 to 1.75 kg, giving an average rope weight of 14 kg.

The rafts are typically 27 m long and 20 m wide and are usually not bigger though they can be smaller. A raft of this size supports around 500 ropes each about 12 m in length. The rafts are supported by floats and are kept in position with the help of

chains attached to a concrete anchor. The number of chains varies depending on how exposed the site is and how much boat traffic there is in the area. The company Pescado Marcelino has 20 rafts in the Ria de Aldan (the Aldan estuary) and produces 1,800 tonnes of mussels, getting a yield of roughly 100 tonnes of mussels from each of its rafts. “Most of our rafts are in the open sea,” says Crisanto Marcelino Canosa, who, together with his brother Ramon, owns the company. “Placing the rafts in the open sea ensures that you get mussels of the best size and quality.”

The mussels take 9-10 months to reach harvest size. During this period the mussels are thinned to prevent the mussels from falling off in bad weather as well as to ensure uniform growth. Thinning is usually after 5-6 months when the mussels have reached half size. The ropes are lifted by a crane into the boat and the mussels are removed and graded.

The mussels from the original rope are re-attached to 2-4 new ropes with the help of a cotton mesh and returned to the water.

The thinning operation is repeated before harvesting if the mussels grow rapidly and risk getting detached from the ropes in rough weather. The second thinning operation is also necessary for a uniform size of mussel at harvest.

Deep discounts on mussel prices Crisanto Marcelino Canosa, director of Pescados Marcelino, runs the company togther with his brother Ramon.

44 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

The main harvest period is from September to January as that is when the meat content is www.eurofishmagazine.com

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h­ ighest. A rope covered in mussels may weigh 200 kg in June and the same rope will weigh 350 kg in December as the meat in the mussel has increased. At harvest the ropes bearing the mussels are lifted on to the boat with a crane and the mussels are removed and graded depending on the number of pieces per kilo, starting at 40, and going on to 2530, 30-35 while the big ones are 18 pieces per kilo. The smallest mussels are re-attached to ropes and returned to the water to allow them to grow further.

The crisis in Spain has had an impact on mussel prices, says Mr Marcelino. For every 20 tonnes of mussels that a client buys we throw in 8 tonnes for free. Most of the harvest is intended for the canning industry but the company has also established its own mussel processing factory where it cooks and packs or freezes mussels as well as produces canned mussels. The factory however takes only about 10% of the mussel production from the farm, the rest is sourced from outside. This is a conscious decision in order to keep the two businesses independent of each other.

Switch from volumes to value The Aldan estuary is in the southern part of Galicia and mussel farming here is different from in north Galicia says Mr Marcelino. The geographical conditions are somewhat different and the culture amongst the farmers also varies. In the north the farms tend to be smaller with fewer rafts and with less of a tradition of canning the mussels then there is in the south.

Mr Marcelino’s production has been increasing over the years www.eurofishmagazine.com

Every 30-40 centimeters a wooden or plastic peg is inserted into the rope to prevent the clumps of mussesl from sliding off.

but the number of rafts has stayed the same. The authorities are not licensing further rafts in the bay so further increases in production will mean either investing in rafts in another area or buying existing rafts in this bay.

Cooked mussel meat is either packaged by the company or sold to other canning factories.

Pescados Marcelino Company Fact File Pescados Marcelino Av. Jose Grana 27 – Aldan 36945 Cangas (Pontevedra) Spain Tel.: +34 986 391003 Fax: +34 986 391293 pescadosmarcelino@ pescadosmarcelino.com www.pescadosmarcelino.com Director: Crisanto Marcelino Canosa

Activities: Mussel farming and processing Volumes: 1,800 tonnes of farmed mussels per year, processing factory has a capacity of 20 tonnes of mussels per day Products: Fresh mussel, canned mussels, frozen mussels, vacuum packed half shell, mussel meat in different packaging

Prices however have just started to increase again after having been at their lowest level in 10 years, so it is unlikely that he will expand the farm just now. The processing factory can handle 20 tonnes of raw mussels a day.

As they come in the mussels are washed and cleaned, graded, and finally cooked.

The mussel meat is then sorted into large, medium, and small and is either canned by the company itself or sold further to be canned by another factory. Initially Pescados Marcelino’s processing operation was focused on volumes, but it has now switched to a different model where it processes less, but concentrates on greater value ­addition.

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Poland

Interview with Mr Kazimierz Plocke, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

Poland supports moves for greater regionalisation in governance Poland signed the Eurofish Agreement in January 2009 and went on to ratify it May 2010.

The final step in the process of becoming a member of Eurofish was when the instrument of ratification was formally deposited with the FAO in Rome in June 2010. Welcoming Poland as the latest member of the organisation Eurofish interviewed Mr Kazimierz Plocke, Secretary of State, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to get his thoughts on a range of subjects including the reform of the CFP, the economic crisis, and the Polish Presidency of the EU Council in 2011.

Eurofish: Europe is starting to recover from the worst international economic and financial crisis in decades. How has it affected the fisheries and aquaculture sector in Poland?

Kazimierz Plocke: The economic crisis did not have a significant impact on the fisheries sector in Poland. In 2009 we faced a decrease in imports, mainly from Asia. However, the overall production and exports have actually increased.

In 2009, the value of exports surpassed the value of imports by about EUR12m. We experienced this positive balance in fisheries trade due to increasing catches of national fleets (mainly in pelagic species: 47% by Baltic fleet and 250% by long distance fleet) and depreciation of Polish zloty. Overall, the fisheries-related businesses have proven their strength in tough global conditions. It bodes well for the future; we expect stabilisation and growth in the years to come.

Eurofish: The CFP is one of the oldest EU policies. The current policy is the result of the 2002 reform. In 2008, the Commission began a re-

view of the CFP and in April 2009, it began a public consultation on the future of the CFP, with a Green Paper. What are Poland’s priorities in terms of the reform of the CFP; what aspects of the CFP does Poland want to see changed, and which elements of the existing policy does Poland wish to retain and why?

Plocke: The Union’s Common Fisheries Policy needs an in-depth reform, so that we give our sector a sustainable long-term future. Indeed, some aspects need profound change, while some cornerstones of the policy, such as relative stability principle, should remain untouched. We also think that the idea to do away with funds for capacity reduction is not necessarily a good one. Through such ambitious programmes, the new EU Baltic Member States have shown that these funds can be very effective if one has a real political will to deal with the problem of overcapacity – something that also seems necessary in other regions of the Union. Poland has done a lot to deal with overcapacity in its own backyard by reducing the Baltic fleet by almost 50% (expressed in gross tonnage/GT).

46 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

Perhaps the most important area for a change is one of the decisionmaking process. EU fisheries policy requires a verification of management system to retain credibility.

We support a move towards a more regionalized governance and increased role for fishers and scientists within it. Regionalisation must give local communities a real influence on decisions which affect them. Within the new architecture, we need to pay a lot of attention to the link between regional processes and decision-making bodies in Brussels. Regional setups, comprising administrations, fishers and scientists, should work out technical recommendations that would be binding in principle for Brussels-based committees. Moreover, the fisheries policy should have a stronger multiannual dimension – we must further strengthen the instrument of longterm plans for key stocks to assure more stability for our fishers.

We also need a change in the way the common market is organized.

The role of producer organisations should be strengthened, the price mechanisms – more adjusted to

regional conditions and specifics.

The new edition of fisheries fund should be as ambitious as the policy changes that are intended, with special attention given to territorial cohesion principle, which must be retained for the benefit of local fishing communities, often suffering after the necessary reduction of overcapacity. The remaining fleet should have good possibilities to modernize with the use of EU cofinancing. We also think that fleet management in EU waters should be more stringent than for global fleets, which face global competition. Thus, we will enable our long-distance sector to adapt flexibly to use Union’s historical rights ­worldwide.

Eurofish: Cooperation in the Baltic Sea region is an important way of tackling cross-country problems like pollution and illegal fishing. What are Polish priorities for the development of fisheries in the Baltic Sea region in the framework of the EU Baltic Sea strategy?

Plocke: As I said before, regionalisation is key to achieving the goals of the CFP reform. Such issues as discards, for example, can only be properly addressed at a regional level, with due attention to all the detailed technical dimensions of this difficult problem. We are satisfied with the way these discussions are progressing in the Baltic region and I am grateful to our Swedish colleagues for launching the Baltfish initiative, which can potentially serve as a blueprint for other EU regions.

As to our priorities for the Baltic fisheries in the years to come: we want to continue restructuring and modernizing our Baltic fleet, with special attention to the cod segment which has been severely reduced since accession. Our p­ elagic www.eurofishmagazine.com

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fisheries need modernization to successfully face tough competition and realize their potential in providing prime-quality fish to the market. All this must come in full compliance with CFP rules – so tough controls are here to stay and improve further. We need to watch very closely the status of our stocks: the decline in sprat and herring must be closely looked at and urgently addressed. The rebuilt Eastern cod stock must be fished sustainably to keep its good biological status, as now confirmed by ICES and environmental organizations.

Eurofish: The Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) and the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) are key tools in delivering Common Fisheries Policy objectives. Which have been the main priority areas and achievements, including investments, in Poland financed by these two programmes?

Plocke: The arrival of European funds has served as a catalyst in deep changes that Poland’s fisheries sector needed. FIFG allocation (201,8 m €) has been fully utilized.

One of the key priorities was dealing with overcapacity, which was one of the main goals of the FIFG. It was successfully achieved with almost 50% reduction (expressed in GT) of the Baltic fleet between 2004 and 2008. This painful process was assisted with a range of socioeconomic measures. A number of investments in processing and aquaculture have brought about high added value to these sectors, which are now very competitive in EU and global context. A number of ports have been modernized to provide better working conditions on land and improve quality of fish products placed on the market. We are optimistic about Axis 4 of the EFF, which has met a great interest of local fishing communities – both marine and inland. This instrument is key in facilitating self-organization www.eurofishmagazine.com

Mr Kazimierz Plocke, Secretary of State, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

of the sector, which we consider as a very positive development.

There is a cause for concern, however, as regards the investments in fleet modernization. Contrary to other Member States, Poland did not have possibility to use EU funds for new boats (this possibility was not available beyond 2004) or use more favorable modernization terms that applied in the past. Current conditions for modernization investments are overly stringent and sometimes not in line with reality of modernizing a vessel that is 30 or 40 years old. The availability of free gross tonnage for certain kind of modernizations poses a particular problem – the 4% of extra GTs that can be retrieved from permanent cessation does not meet the needs of our fleet. We hope that this situation will improve through reform of the CFP. Eurofish: Unreported catches primarily of cod has been an issue for the Polish fisheries administration in the past. What measures have been taken to tackle this problem and what effect have they had?

Plocke: Since very first days in the office, my government has taken this situation very seriously. We have instantly started negotiations with European Commission to find solutions to the problem at hand.

A resulting package was strictly implemented: we have strengthened our control and inspection service (more than 20 new posts), purchased the necessary equipment, including IT improvements and patrol vessels used solely for inspection purposes. Better planning and risk analysis have been assured. We have also intensively communicated with the sector to assure that they see the benefits of improved controls, in terms of i.a. higher credibility of their products in the market. As a rule, all the landings of cod in excess of 750 kg are now inspected. To conclude: this problem has been solved for good and has nothing to do with current reality on the ground.

Eurofish: On 1 July 2011, Poland assumes the presidency of the EU Council. What are the priorities for the Polish presidency in the field of fisheries and aquaculture?

Plocke: Poland is the one to start the presidency trio (the so-called „troika”) under which the CFP reform shall be finalized by the end of 2012. So, quite naturally, advancing the reform package as far as possbile is bound to be the priority for our presidency. We are in the hands of the Commission as regards the timely adoption of legal proposals constituting the reform package and we hope that the deadlines they foresee shall be met. We count on a good cooperation with the European Parliament on this key matter. We are in favour of advancing adoption and, where necessary, revisions of long-term management plans for important stocks in EU waters, including those planned for the Baltic. Our aim is also to ensure smooth adoption of yearly TAC&quota packages for EU waters, which is related to the successful conduct of bilateral negotiations, including those with Norway. We look forward to this challenging task.

Eurofish: What efforts are being made to ensure a sustainable maritime policy that takes into account fisheries, the environment, and the economic needs of coastal ­communities?

Plocke: The EU Maritime Policy is a welcome development that will allow us to better coordinate management of coastal and maritime activities, including rational use of marine resources. In Poland we pay special attention to the needs of coastal communities which depend on small-scale fisheries which have proven their environmental sustainablity. These fishers have lived out of the sea for generations, and know that their future depends on good environemntal status of fishing grounds they use; these waters are their home. Legitimate interests of these communities must be well represented in discussions on how to best use our coastal resources in the context of maritime spatial planning. Along these lines, we cooperate closely with our colleagues from environmental and marine adminstrations and strongly support a special treatment for small-scale coastal fisheries in a reformed CFP. Eurofish: As a member of Eurofish what are Poland’s expectations of the organisation, in which areas would Poland like Eurofish to contribute?

Plocke: We are grateful for the very positive work that Eurofish has been doing up to date for the benefit of fisheries sector of Central and Eastern Europe. I think that the Magazine could become more accessible for our fishermen organisations and provide them with information they need, for example the issue of certification of fish products. The country briefings are definitely a good idea and could be organized on a more regular basis, say every 2 years.

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Neutralise bones – increase the demand for carp products

C

The presence of bones (several dozen of them in the tissues on the side of each fish) with their stiffness and forks are a threat to consumers’ health, causing discomfort while eating carp products, which in a society of growing wealth translates into the fall in demand for these kinds of products. Only in tinned food and products made from minced carp meat (fish cakes, fish fingers, etc.) are bones harmless for consumers because the high temperatures at which the cans are sterilized make bones brittle, and during mechanical treatment they get ground up. The one of ways increasing demand for carp products is eliminating the bones. The most obvious way of neutralising bones except for heat treatment would be their removal through pulling them out of the muscular tissue, as happens, for example, in the case of removing the so-called “pin bones” from salmon fillets. For commercial carp products such an operation is not possible; in case of headed and gutted fish it is prevented by skin obscuring the bones and in case of semi-fillets and fillets – too little tensile strength of the bones compared to their attachment to the muscular tissue.

This drop in carp production resulted from the growing costs of the stock of fish, expensive feed and lack of demand. One of the reasons for the demand drop is the inconvenience of bones in commercial carp products – gutted and headed fish, semi-fillets (fillets with ribs) and ­fillets.

In such a situation the easiest way to neutralise bones in commercial carp products is cutting them into short, non-threatening pieces imperceptible in the mouth. It is a well-known solution, and although arduous (for example, in a one-kilogram carp around 120 cuts should be done at each side), has been practised in households for years. Only cutting bones in carp fillets has been mechanised so far. Not so long ago only imported machines were available

Bone cutters for carp processing

Carp bones – threat for consumers and production volumes Fish from carp family, mainly common carp, bream, silver carp, grass carp, crucian carp and roach, in 2007 were 53% of the world freshwater fish production (Fishstat Plus, FAO). Among them the most important are carps which participation in freshwater fish production reaches 40%. The importance of carps as farmed fish is based on many factors: fast growth index and ability to reach high volumes are the most important ones. arp farming in Poland has a long history and an important economic significance. Production which was 20-25 thousand tonnes a year for some time has stayed at 15 thousand tonnes a year for the last three years.

Headed and gutted carp is notched at both sides in the places where the bones are ensuring their cutting into three-millimetre parts while the spine bone remains untouched.

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in the Polish market, hand-driven or mechanical they were not appropriate however for cutting bones in semi-fillets or in headed and gutted fish. As a result of R&D works carried out within the SEAFOODplus project supported by the results of conducted earlier research in the Sea Fisheries Institute in Gdynia, three bone cutters were developed and constructed for commercial carp products: for cutting bones in headed and gutted fish, for cutting bones in semi-fillets and fillets. Exploitation trials of the machines were carried out in the Fisheries Farm “WÓJCZA” in Pacanów.

Bone cutter for headed and gutted fish When going through the machine headed and gutted fish is notched at both sides in the places where the bones are ensuring their cutting into three-millimetre parts while the spine bone remains untouched. Basic technical parameters of the machine: dimensions 850x850x430 mm, power demand: 0.55 kW, capacity – to 25 fish/min, size of fish processed – to 500 mm long, operation – 1 person. Exploitation trials of the machines were carried out on carps of 410 mm to 480 mm long and respectively of 1440g to 2120g weight. It was stated that all carcasses were cut in a way assumed by the developers. Both gutted fish as well as headed and gutted

The bones problem solved completely.

fish were used for the trials. This did not make any difference (did not change the degree of operation’s complexity) in performing the operation and achieving a repeatable positive effect.

Bone cutter for semi-fillets In the machine a semi-fillet placed on the conveyer line moves under three sets of rotating knives.

The first knive set placed directly over the conveyer cuts bones in the back part of a semi-fillet moving under it and controlled by cam it hangs over its abdominal part, leaving in this way untouched ribs.

The remaining two sets of knives are placed symmetrically at the sides of the first set to treat both left and right semi-fillets, cut bones in their tail end. In this part of the semi-fillet bones are at both sides of its axis of symmetry, there are no ribs so all its surface is cut. Hence the semi-fillet is cut only in the

Bone cutter for semi-fillets - on the conveyer line moves under three sets of rotating knives. www.eurofishmagazine.com

places of bones. As opposed to the bone cutter for headed and gutted carps, which requires manual moving of fish, the operation of this device is limited only to loading the semi-fillets. The trials showed that the device could fulfil the assigned tasks. Basic technical parameters of the machine: dimensions 1300x900x1100 mm, power demand – 0.75 kW, capacity – to 30 fillets/min, size of the halves – to 310 mm length, operation – 1 person.

Conveyor bone cutter for fillets The way the machine operates does not basically differ from the known solutions. The main difference is the price. The machine developed in the SFI is considerably cheaper than those offered by foreign manufacturers. The trials showed good results and proved that the machine could be used by the industry. Basic technical parameters of the machine: dimen-

Conveyor bone cutter for the fillets developed in the SFI is considerably cheaper than these offered by foreign manufacturers.

sions 600x600x500 mm, power demand – 0.37 kW, capacity – to 30 fillets/min., size of the fillets – to 310 mm length, operation – 1 person.

Portable bone cutter Portable bone cutter for fillets which is to complement the three machines, was presented during Polfish 2009 in Gdansk, Innova 2009 in Brussels and Concours Lepine International 2010 in Paris. It was rewarded with the medal Mercurius Gedanensis, gold medal and bronze medal respectively.

The machine is simplified version of conveyor bone cutter and that is why it is smaller and cheaper.

The basic technical parameters of the machine: dimensions 590x340x470 mm, power demand – 0.15 kW, capacity – to 50 fillets/ min., size of the fillets – to 400 mm length, operation – 1 person.

Andrzej Dowgiallo Ph. D. Sea Fisheries Institute in Gdynia

Portable bone cutter: medal-winning success.

Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

49

Poland

Trends and possibilities within Baltic sprat processing

the necessity to secure appropriate quality, freshness and durability of the fish caught by the fishing vessels. The basic principle critical for retaining the high technological value of the Baltic sprat for the longest possible time period is fast chilling of the catch to zero degrees or to minus 2 degrees C and maintaining such temperature during both sea and land transport.

Development of new sprat products could increase consumption The Baltic sprat (Sprattus sprattus balticus) is a valuable source of food, particularly with regard to natural omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids that are essential for human nutrition. The flesh of sprat contains 12÷15% of protein; up to 17% of fat; vitamins A, D, E, niacin, B1, B2, B6 and B12; and mineral components such as potassium, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium.

I

n Poland fishing for Baltic sprat has been traditional for many years. At present, it is also a basic catch that secures the economic existence of a significant number of fishermen. For fish processing purposes the Baltic sprat from age groups of 2, 3 and 4 has the highest value. The special thing about the Baltic sprat fishing is that in general the catches peak during the first five month of the year. This results in certain technical and logistic complication for the Polish fish processing business.

Baltic sprat is a valuable raw material The Baltic sprat catches constitute over 60% of the total weight of fish caught by the Polish fishermen in the Baltic Sea. For many years the Polish fishing industry has been characterized by the unfavourable and regular tendency of not using up the Baltic sprat fishing quota granted to Poland. In Fig. 1 the fishing quotas and catches of the Baltic sprat in the years 20052009 are presented. Incomplete use of the Baltic sprat fishing quotas may raise justified concerns

because these fish are a valuable raw material in respect to its technological use, and can be widely applied in fish processing for example in the production of popular canned or smoked fish products. Despite its high importance to the industry the Baltic sprat consumption remains unsatisfactory and has been estimated as not exceeding 40%.

Chilled best in seawater and ice mix The factor that limits catches and processing of the Baltic sprat is

Fig. 1 – Polish fishing quotas and catches of the Baltic sprat in 2005-2009 in 1,000 tonnes

160 140 120 100

Fishing quota

80 60 40

Catch

20 0 2005

Source: SFI, Gdynia 2006

50 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

2007

2008

2009

Chilling with crushed ice currently used on the fishing vessels in the case of the Baltic sprat does not secure appropriate quality and durability of the caught fish. Sprat stored in boxes and chilled with crushed ice in short time undergo detrimental quality changes which lead to a considerable decrease of technological value of the fish. A radical improvement can be achieved by applying a mixture of seawater and ice. Onboard chilling of the catch down with a seawater and ice mix in isotermic containers to the temperature close to zero degrees C is a lot faster compared to the method of chilling fish with crushed ice. Studies conducted at the Sea Fisheries Institute in Gdynia showed that sprats stored in seawater and ice mix retain high technological value for the time period that is 30-40% longer compared to the sprats cooled with crushed ice. Besides the application of a pump for loading and unloading of sprats from the containers does not cause mechanical damage to the fish and also considerably shortens the handling time on board the fishing vessel in the port.

Fig. 2 shows how the Baltic sprats are delivered to processing plants. Whole sprats chilled with crushed ice constitute the biggest share of deliveries to processing plants (76.9%). Sprats www.eurofishmagazine.com

Poland

cooled in a mixture of ice and seawater comprise only 0.9% of the total delivery of this fish.

Block frozen whole sprats constitute a relatively large share of deliveries to processing facilities (22.2%).

Block freezing and manual primary processing shall be limited In order to secure the continuity of deliveries to processing plants it is necessary to freeze the seasonal surplus of the Baltic sprat catch. This is particularly importanty with regard to sprats caught from September till April because these fish are characterized by good quality and technological value due to the high fat content. Block freezing of whole sprats is common and has a negative influence on the fish quality after thawing. Primary processing of the whole defrosted sprats is characterized by large technological losses and has a negative impact on the resulting semi-products.

In order to rationalize the use of the sprat resources for human consumption the block freezing of whole fish should be limited to raw material destined for smoking, drying, salting and Individual Quick Freezing (IQF). The main bulk of the fresh chilled sprat should be subjected to primary processing, i.e. heading and gutting followed by freezing. Such procedure would eliminate ineffective and poorly efficient primary processing of the thawed fish which could increase the quality of the resulting semi-products to be used for canning and marinating. In case of sprats with low technological value due to individual size and mechanical damage it is justified to use them in the products www.eurofishmagazine.com

Fig. 2 – Distribution of different modes of the Baltic sprat delivery to fish processing plants 0.9 % fish in chilled seawater 22.2 % frozen fish

Automated production of new products could boost consumption

76.9 % fresh fish on ice in boxes

made from the minced fish meat, such as pâtés, salads, fish salad with rice, etc. after grinding and removal of inedible fish parts.

and attractive products offers are major conditions that hold back the development of the Baltic sprat processing.

Low use of sprats for human consumption has also been caused by applying manual methods of primary fish processing, canning and smoking. Based on the available data it is estimated that only 30% of fish processing plants employ mechanical methods for primary processing.

These are mainly large canning companies which have modern equipment for sprat heading (e.g. Cabinplant nobber made in Denmark). However, the majority of fish processing plants still use manual methods for primary processing of sprat, which has a detrimental influence on technological efficiency as well as the quality of the resulting products.

According to the manufacturers the main factors limiting the potential growth of sprat processing are: traditional and labor-intensive processing technologies; fish deliveries that are irregular and of mixed quality; short durability of the chilled fish; and the necessity to use primary processing step in the production plant. In addition limited market demand for traditional sprat products and the lack of new

Innovative and diverse products are the solution The possibilities for the development of the Baltic spat processing for human consumption in terms of quantity and diversity should be directly related to the need for activating the consumers’ market. At present the Polish market of traditional Baltic sprat products (canned fish in oil and tomato sauce, and smoked fish) is balanced in terms of sales and demand. Therefore the manufacturers are not interested in further product development. Forcing additional production of the traditional sprat products could possibly burden companies with the costs associated with surplus production storage.

A radical improvement of the existing situation may occur via introduction of innovative technologies for sprat processing to result in new functional and easy to use products such as frozen and chilled culinary semi-ready products, multi-ingredient fish dishes, and snacks. The application of modern packaging meth

ods and approved additives that improve sensory, physical, and chemical features of the finished products should have a positive influence on the taste and nutritional value of the new types of the sprat product.

New technologies should allow the efficient processing of sprats into attractive products through high levels of mechanization and automation of the production process. The possibilities in this field are related to the use of canning technologies based on minced sprat meat with the content and nutritional values adjusted to target specific consumer groups e.g. children, young and elderly people, etc. The advantage of such technologies is the high level of mechanization starting from mincing devices and ingredient mixing equipment, and extending to automated forming/ filling lines. These products can become an attractive offer for the consumers and thus increase the consumption of sprats.

In summary, innovative technological solutions for Baltic sprat processing should allow the industrial-scale production of new types of products. The resulting products would be an attractive offer for the consumers who prefer simple and functional foods.

As the final effect the proposed actions should contribute to the increase of consumption of sprat-based products which are recommended and healthy components of the human diet.

Boguslaw Pawlikowski, D. Sc., Eng. Department of Processing Technology and Mechanization Sea Fisheries Institute, Gdynia

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Losos exports its products throughout Central Europe to countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, and Hungary as well as to customers in Canada, Australia, Israel and USA.

to relocate to the Slupsk, Special Ecomonic Zone in Wlynkówko in the north of Poland. Thanks to the effective use of grants from the European Union a new, large, modern factory was built. In 2008 the factory obtained further European Union funding which enabled the factory to be extended with an additional cold storage.

Losos

Investments in quality give dividends in strong brand recognition Przetwórstwo Rybne Losos Sp. z o.o. (Fish Processing Company Losos, LLC) has a long history in the Polish fish industry. The beginning of its activity dates back to 1954. In the years 1954-1999 the company operated as a cooperative under the name Spóldzielnia Pracy Rybolówstwa Morskiego Losos. The factory was located in the Ustka harbour and by 1999 it was engaged in fishing in the Baltic Sea, fish pre-processing as well as selling fresh fish, producing canned fish, fish marinades, smoked fish and salted fish.

European Union funds pay for modern factory and coldstore In 1991 Losos started to specialise in canned fish production. The members of the cooperative changed the legal form of the enterprise from a cooperative into a commercial partnership in order to readjust to economic changes taking place in Poland and in the world.

Since 1 January 2000 the business activity has been conducted by the commercial company under the name Przetwórstwo Rybne Losos Sp. z o.o. In 2000 it was decided

Today, Losos is one of the leading producers of canned fish in Poland. It is a thriving company, which, thanks to its efficient management, has become the undisputed leader in the canned fish market, and is considered by many to be an outstanding specialist in this field. The canned fish processing plant is about to produce over 250,000 cans of fish every day. Losos is located in an innovative production plant, with technologically advanced production lines, its own cold storage facilities and spacious warehousing, and its own sewage treatment plant. The plant is HACCP compliant and meets top quality standards, and holds IFS and BRC certifications. The firm guarantees fishermen the purchase of raw material from the Baltic Sea and so is able to ensure compliance with the highest of quality control standards. On a daily basis, the company is able to process about 50 tonnes of this raw material, including Balitc sprats, Balitc herring and mackerel.

Quick response to changing trends The company’s range of products includes herring, sprats, and mackerel fillets, fish salad, fish salad with rice and a full range of tuna products.

52 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

Over half a century of experience and the extraordinary effort and www.eurofishmagazine.com

Poland

hard work of hundreds of people has led to the company’s success in the industry. Losos offers a wide range of products that are valued by its clients, not only for the choice of products, but also for its flexibility in being able to quickly adapt to the rapidly changing demands of the market. The company’s offer includes herring, sprats, and mackerel fillets, fish salad, fish salad with rice and a full range of tuna products. They are a supreme combination of the best of fish with flavoursome tomato sauce or oil. Losos has a well-developed sales chain, and, through professionally trained sales repre-

In consumers’ minds Losos is one of the strongest brand in Poland. This is the result of decades of experience in the industry and a commitment to quality. Losos‘ investment in quality has mirrored the development of the brand and has strenghtened its brand equity. Losos has won many awards and has been the winner of numerous competitions. The firm is the three-time recipient, in 2005, 2006 and 2007 of the Gazele Biznesu, as given by the trade journal Puls Biznesu, as the most dynamically developing Polish company.

Losos has also won top marks in

Expansion of the fishing harbour and boat repair facilities in the Port of Jastarnia Jastarnia, located in the middle of the Hel Peninsula, is a town that, together with Kuznica and Jurata, forms a municipality of 4,000 inhabitants. The town lives primarily of fishing and tourism.

The harbour is the economic lifeline of Jastarnia and the poor technical state of the port prompted the decision to implement a project to expand the fishing harbour and boat repair facilities. The project was funded with EU grants amounting to 75% of the

The total cost of this investment was EUR8.9m and it resulted in a major improvement in the boat repair facilities as well as the overall safety of the workplace for the employees.

The number of workstations was also increased from four to six and more people were hired; and finally the entire area was beautified by the modern buildings and the landscaping.

The main function of this new repair facility is to serve fishing boats and vessel owners. On an annual basis it

Today Losos is one of the leading producers of canned fish in Poland.

sentatives, is well-placed to sell its canned fish throughout Poland.

Canned fish from WLynkówko is available in all chain supermarkets in Poland. The products are sold, under both the Losos brand and clients’ private label. Losos exports its products throughout Central Europe to countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, and Hungary as well as to customers in Canada, Australia, Israel and USA. Thanks to the high product quality, as well as a knowledgeable export department the company has been able to strengthen its position in foreign markets. www.eurofishmagazine.com

promoting health and safety at work.

Losos’ success can be a template for others Losos Limited began producing canned fish in Poland in 1954 – at a time when none would have believed that this modest working co-operative would develop into a modern, dynamic enterprise employing nearly 400 people. Investing in quality confirms the proper way of development of Przetwórstwo Rybne Losos and can be used as a standard for Polish companies.

The harbour in Jastarnia before and after the modernisation.

EU funds contributed to 75% of the total cost of EUR8.9m.

total project value with the rest coming from the state budget. As a result of the project: - The wharf was modernised; - A 130 m pier for fishing vessels was built; - A 70-tonne travelift and a 5-tonne crane were bought; - Three buildings were built, one for administrative and social activities, another that serves as a workshop, and the last one for managing waste.

is used by about 50 cutters with 2 to 5 crew members. They come from Poland and other countries in the Baltic region. Changes in the fishing industry have meant that fishermen are expected to (and are able) to modernise their boats. By expanding the fishing harbour it is now possible for vessel owners to make more efficient use of its capacity. We are very pleased that we have been able to gather the funds to implement this project.

Tyberiusz Narkowicz, Mayor

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Poland

Sprat fishing in Poland

Modernisation results in marked increase in quality aboard fishing vessel The modernisation of the fishing vessel HEL‑125 provides the evidence that after reconstruction and retrofitting, an old vessel may become a unit that satisfies all the criteria concerning the quality of the fish, shipping safety, the necessary social conditions for the crew.

B

y renovating the vessel owners meet all the requirements related to manipulating and securing the raw material, which enables a very high quality raw material that meets all the expectations of fish processors. As a result of modernising the production process, all manual labour, which often damages delicate raw material such as the Baltic herring and sprat, was eliminated.

Target species is sprat for the processing industry During the modernisation process on board the fishing vessel HEL‑125, a vacuum pump was installed that allowed the elimination of three critical points in the operation of managing the raw material on board the vessel. The fish hold was adjusted for transporting and at the same time for cooling the wet product, which guaranteed excellent quality parameters of the raw material. Achieving such a result was crucial for the owner of the fishing vessel, Jacek Schomburg, who targets sprat intended for the fish processing industry, and whose fishing areas are located

near the city of Hel, the vessel’s home port.

The modernisation of the vessel included the following: - replacing the insulation in the fish hold; - moving the rooms for the crew from the underwater section to the above‑water section; - constructing four tanks for storing products obtained from fishing in refrigerated sea water, using the RSW technology; - constructing a draining installa-

tion for these tanks; - fitting the pumps necessary for pumping the water out of the tanks: a bilge pump, a sea water pump (for safety, navigation and fire‑fighting reasons) and three electric bilge pumps for servicing other compartments of the vessel (for shipping safety reasons); - fitting a vacuum pump for unloading and securing the fish on board vessel; - fitting and creating loading hatches on the working deck of the vessel;

- fitting a bow bulb improving the vessel’s stability, which also reduces the hull resistance and, hence, increases the cruising speed by approximately 18%; - purchasing and fitting, in order to improve the navigation of the vessel HEL‑125, navigation equipment and an autopilot (navigation system, satellite compass, autopilot and visual monitoring system for the working deck - 3 pieces, and a camera in the machinery space with a recording and visualisation system in the wheelhouse); - improving the manoeuvrability of the unit by fitting a bow‑thruster system.

The modernisation received co‑financing from the European Union funds that Poland obtained for the 2004‑2006 operational programme. After the reconstruction of the fishing vessel, the fish caught and transported to the port is of excellent quality. Unloading the fish consists of pumping the water with the fish out of the refrigerated seawater (RSW) tanks and into big boxes with ice. The demand for fish intended for consumption that is delivered in such a way is very high and is still growing.

Further modernisation looks to use alternative energy

The modernisation of the Polish fishing vessel HEL‑125 resulted in the elimination of manual labour and a huge improvement in product quality.

The modernisation was co-financed by funds from the European Union.

54 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

Currently, a project is being developed that will enable the fish to be delivered in tanks directly to the recipient, which would eliminate the need for transport packaging and reduce the amount of reloading operations and the workload required. The owner of the fishing vessel HEL‑125 applied to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for additional GT (gross tonnage) in order to introduce further modernisations aimed at using energy from alternative sources. www.eurofishmagazine.com

Poland

North Atlantic Producers Organization Collection of North Atlantic fishing data an important part of NAPO’s actvities

Niemodlin fish farm Modernised with the help of EU funds

The North Atlantic Producers Organization (NAPO) is the only PO in Poland associating deep-sea companies. Its primary objective is to represent and develop the Polish deep-sea fleet within the framework of the European Union. NAPO was established at the end of 2003, just before Poland’s accession to the European Union. In the years 2004-2008, despite setbacks, the organization, supported by the Polish administration, managed to partially restructure the

At the beginning of the17th century, the Niemodlin estate included 15 main ponds with a stock of 48,000 fry and over 40 fishing ponds with a stock of sixty thousand fry. At the time, over 18,000 carps were caught annually. Today, the ponds of the fish farm located in the Bory Niemodlinskie forest are a tourist attraction because of the rare bird species such as the white‑tailed eagle, great egret and black stork that frequent the farm.

F­ isheries Institute (MIR) in Gdynia. NAPO and MIR organize and conduct scientific surveys focusing on the collection of fishing data concerning biological characteristics of various species population (sex, age, weight, maturity) as well as fishing gears and fish processing. These scientific activities are carried on within the framework of a common scientific agreement concluded

by MIR and NAPO. Since 2004 NAPO and MIR have conducted a series of surveys in

Currently NAPO vessels operate in the North Atlantic (NAFO, NEAFC, Svalbard), West Africa (Mauritania and Morocco) and in SPRFMO area.

Polish deep sea fleet and broaden its fishing activity. Currently NAPO vessels operate in the North Atlantic (NAFO, NEAFC, Svalbard), West Africa (Mauritania and Morocco) and in SPRFMO area.

North Atlantic. These surveys concerned greenland halibut, cod, redfish and saithe.

The scope of research was broadened by research on the Chilean horse mackerel in the SPRFMO area which started last year.

NAPO activity within the EU

Catches, market, production

From the very beginning of its existence NAPO belongs to different fisheries bodies. The organization is a full member of European Association of Producers Organization (EAPO) and Europeche. NAPO represents Polish deep sea fisheries in RACs: North Sea RAC, Pelagic RAC and Long Distance RAC. Its representatives attend NAFO, NEAFC and SPRFMO meetings.

NAPO catches in the North Atlantic focus mainly on saithe, cod and greenland halibut. NAPO sells these species primarily in West Europe and Asia. In Africa and South Pacific NAPO vessels catch pelagic species which supply local markets. In order to supply its customers with the highest quality products NAPO attaches particular importance to the whole process of production. Special attention is laid on packaging, freezing and storing systems. NAPO has also introduced the HACCP quality system which confirms the organization’s commitment to quality.

NAPO scientific activity A very significant part of NAPO’s activity is a scientific cooperation with the Sea www.eurofishmagazine.com

The Niemodlin Fish Farm has an area of just over 700 ha located in the Opole and TuLowice Forest Districts. The ponds are grouped within six facilities including forest reservoirs fed by rainwater. The farm’s activity is based on carp farming and breeding. The fish have a full, three‑year farming cycle from natural spawning, through rearing of stocking material, to producing commercial fish to be supplied to the market. In addition, other fish species farmed include: amur, silver and bighead carp, catfish, pike and tench and carassius. In 2005 the Niemodlin fish farm reconstructed the fish ponds. The modernisation concerned catching the fish and draining the water. The investment allowed: - reconstruction of the dam structures that supply and drain the water; - avoiding the troublesome, manual catching of fish, instead the carps are let directly into a channel leading to a catching device; - weighing and loading the fish inside the building containing the catch box, thus the influence of climatic factors has to a large extent been eliminated (freezing of fish, icing of weighing containers); - the use of electrical lifting equipment, which considerably shortened the duration of operations related to weighing and loading the fish and reduced the level of noise produced; - avoiding, thanks to the equipment used, a series of actions influencing the health and vitality of fish, thus increasing the quality and safety of the aquaculture products; - the more effective use of water resources; - and the purchase in 2009 of a John Deere 6630 tractor with a loader and additional equipment.

The investments were financed by the Sectoral Operational Programme “Fishery and Fish Processing 2004‑2006”, Measure 3.2 – Fish Farming and Fish Breeding. As a result of the modernisation, the old tradition of freshwater fish farming was brought upto-date with the current requirements.

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traceability

Picture: Kine Mari Karlsen, Nofima

In the project the value chain comprised fishing vessels, a landing and filleting company, a packing and distributing company, and finally a supermarket with a manned fish and meat counter.

Experiences from implementation of traceability

How to get more information about your fish product

To make sure that the relevant information follows the product, detailed recordings must be made in each link of the chain to document the material flow. It is particularly important to document when batches or lots of fish are joined together or split up, and assigned new identifiers. In general, the companies involved in the project did not make these recordings in such a way that the relevant information could follow the fish products in the supply chain.

The requirements for documenting fish products are ever increasing. Extensive national and international legislation has been passed to ensure food safety and to document legal catch and landing, and both the industry and the consumers are also becoming more interested in additional knowledge about origin, processes and other properties of the product. cies, price), the consumers may want to know about gear type, catch area and catch date for the

fish, and they want assurance that the fish has been legally caught and landed. All this information

Picture: Oddvar Dahl, Nofima

N

ofima Marked has coordinated a project where the goal was to make information recorded in the fresh fish value chain available to the consumer. The chain consisted of fishing vessels, a landing and filleting company, a packing and distributing company, and finally a supermarket with a manned fish and meat counter.

Landing note information does not follow the fish In addition to the information already present on the label (spe-

With an electronic system more information about fish products can be made easily available to all the players.

56 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

can be found in the landing note which (in Norway) is the standard and mandatory document issued by the sales organization when the fish is first sold. However, in the current system the information on the landing note does not follow the fish, and it does not reach the packing and distributing company, the supermarket or the consumer.

It is possible to envisage a manual system where the relevant information on the landing note (or even the landing note itself) is passed along with the fish, and every time lots of fish are split up and sent to different destinations copies of the landing note are made and passed along as well.

When lots are joined together, a pile of landing notes would be associated with the new combined lot. Such a system would obviously be very labor-intensive, and every time anyone wanted to use the information (for instance to put on the label) the information would have to be www.eurofishmagazine.com

[ traceability ]

Electronically saved data offers greater possibilities A more efficient solution is for all recordings to be made electronically, and for all data to be sent through an internet connection to a central database that all have access to. Every lot of fish is assigned a unique identifier, and a common data recording format is established so that comparable information can be recorded on the fish or lot in question. This takes away the need for the paperbased system; all that is needed is to keep track of the lot identifiers and how they relate to each other.

Given the lot identifier, anyone can access the central database through the internet and find all the relevant properties of the fish product.

In the project, the central database and associated communication protocols was delivered by the solution provider TraceTracker. The experience from the project suggested that this system was suitable for keeping track of lots of fish and their properties. The companies in the supply chain clearly saw the benefit of recording the relevant information electronically rather than on paper, as it made reporting, re-use and sending of the data much simpler.

The ideal solution would be to integrate the existing software applications in the companies with the central database and extract all the relevant information automatically from the database without need for re-punching, but this was only partially accomplished in the project. Technically this is possible, but more work needs to be done to standardize recordings and formats to ensure comparable results independent of the www.eurofishmagazine.com

underlying systems. The interface of the technical solution must be adjusted to the companies’ operations. The biggest challenge with regard to implementation of traceability for fresh fish was to find optimal practical solutions.

An important outcome of the project was to demonstrate the viability of such a solution.

Facts about the project The project owner is the Norwegian Seafood Association (NSL); the project was financed by Innovation Norway (IN) and the Fishery and Aquaculture Research Fund (FHF) and it was coordinated by Nofima Marked. The project involved collaboration be-

tween nine partners in the supply chain from fresh fish capture to supermarket. More information about the project is available (in Norwegian) in the Nofima report 2/2010, available on the Nofima web pages.

Kine Mari Karlsen and Petter Olsen, Nofima Marked

Picture: Frank Gregersen, Nofima

re-punched into some software application.

Customers may want to be reassured that the fish has been legally caught and landed. This information is currently in the landing note and with the proper tools could be made available to the consumer.

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fish processing lines Most fish processing machines are only suited to processing one single species or similar species that have a comparable body and bone structure and are approximately the same size.

Processing lines for seafood: productive, resource-saving, hygienic

From fish to fillet, from portion to end product

The share of processed fish products on the market is growing constantly. Jobs that used to be carried out by hand are today performed more and more often by machines. In the meantime there are not only machines for the more basic work such as removing scales and slime but also for highly sensitive processes like filleting, fillet trimming or exact portioning. These systems are particularly worthwhile if they can be combined to form complete processing lines.

O

ne of the highlights and visitor magnets at this year’s Bremen fish fair in February was a walk-in production line which showed the complete production process of a smokehouse from incoming raw materials to final product control.

The process was presented several times a day so that visitors could see what work is necessary before a smoked salmon fillet can be put into the display counter at the retailer’s. What was unusual about this demonstration was that all the process steps were carried out by machines. The idea of exhibiting processing technology in action, so that visitors could experience it live proved a real success. It attracted numerous people who stopped in their tracks to admire the processing machines’ perfor-

mance. The purpose of this special demonstration in Bremen was essentially to highlight the potential of modern processing lines, because a lot of the tasks that are necessary in the fish industry and which used to be carried out by hand can today be performed by machines.

The classic ones are the primary processing lines that transform round fish into boneless fillets.

What might sound easy often involves several work stages in practice since a cod, for example, has first to be gutted and headed before it can pass through a filleting machine. And even then, the fillets are not quite ready because they still have to be skinned and freed of any remains of the fin bases, bones or impurities. The fact that even these

58 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

complicated jobs can today be performed by machines shows how efficient processing machines in the fish segment have in the meantime become. They are not only used for gutting, heading, removing scales and slime, filleting or skinning the fish, but can also take the pin bones out of the fillets, trim fillets, sort them according to colour and size and cut them into equal portions. Some machines are even in a position to sort the fish by sex or to separate the more valuable organs such as the liver and roe from the other parts during gutting.

Processing lines enable consistent product quality The demands made on fish processing machines are high and of-

ten very specific. This can already be seen in the fact that most of them are only suited to processing one single species or similar species that have a comparable body and bone structure and are approximately the same size. It is not possible to process demersal fishes on a processing line for pelagic fishes, and vice versa. Every individual process stage in the chain has to be finely tuned to the particular fish species in order to achieve a perfect result and maximum yield. Even heading a fish, which at a fleeting glance may not seem to be a particularly complicated task, demands considerable know-how if unnecessary losses are to be avoided.

Depending on the species, between 10 and 25% of raw fish weight is lost through the heading process. The highest yields are usually achieved when the cut follows the rear edge of the gill flap exactly. This material-saving cut demands relatively high technical skills, however, which makes the heading machine accordingly expensive. Its use is thus particularly worthwhile for more high-value fish species such as salmon or cod.

In the case of less expensive mass species, such as a lot of pelagic species, it is not so much a clean cut along an e­ xact contour that is important but rather the speed at which the fishes are headed. When processing these fish species, the cut is thus often made at a right angle to the backbone or diagonally downwards whereby the pectoral and sometimes even the ventral fins are removed at the same time.

A straight cut is technically less www.eurofishmagazine.com

fis h proc essin g l in es

d­ emanding but often leads to the loss of part of the fillet.

Questions of this nature have to be posed for every machine in which a processor considers investment.

Speed and precision are not mutually exclusive but there are often priorities which have to be set.

Processors who can rely on large quantities of fish of the same species and size are right to consider purchasing a complete processing line. Such lines free company employees of monotonous work leaving more time for other jobs, increase the overall speed of the production process, ensure consistent product quality, and improve hygiene standards: the more often a fish is touched by a human hand, the greater is the risk that pathogens will be passed on which will ultimately endanger the product’s marketability.

Apart from these benefits, machine processing offers great savings potential because it reduces individual errors and material losses that are almost inevitable during hand work.

The fact that a processing line will supply high-quality products is today no longer sufficient – it also has to meet all the regulations that are applicable to food companies, it has to fulfil legal hygiene, sanitary and environmental standards, its operation has to be as economical as possible (e.g. as regards water, energy consumption) and it has to be easy to clean and disinfect.

Complete solutions from one supplier In order to make it easier for prospective customers to choose one of the numerous complex system solutions a lot of machine and plant manufacturers offer complete processing lines as turnkey solutions. This has both advanwww.eurofishmagazine.com

tages and disadvantages for the customer. The benefit is clear in that every supplier knows the performance of his machines best and also how they fit together best so that bottlenecks and material hold-ups can be avoided during production. Where complete solutions are concerned this should ensure that all processes work together smoothly. On top of this, in the event of technical problems there is only one contact which makes service easier. On the other hand, being dependent on just one supplier can bring with it certain risks because not all plant producers are equally competent for all machines. Any supplier who offers an efficient system for a particular work stage does not have to be so well-informed where other work processes are concerned, particularly since a lot of processing lines are IT-driven today, have their own system-specific intelligence, so to speak. Automatic image recognition technology, three-dimensional scanners and computer controls are in the meantime an absolute must in a lot of production ­processes.

Because it is hardly possible for a single supplier to meet all these requirements alone there has been an increasing trend in recent years for companies to act together on the market. They do everything they can to bundle their competences, from equal co-operation to the takeover of other companies whose profile complements or extends their own perfomance spectrum.

Marel, an acknowledged developer and manufacturer of intelligent processing machines already joined forces years ago with Carnitech, Pols, CP Food Machinery and Geba to form ‘Partners in Processing’. Since then, Stork and Townsend have also joined the group. With offices in more than 30

countries, 3,500 employees and a worldwide sales network the ‘partners’ have become a global player whose machines and plants are to be found in over 60 countries. The plants and machinery for seafood

cialised in large-scale industrial solutions for processing white fish and pelagic species. One of the highlights in the Scanvaegt range is super fast portion cutters with laser scanners which in just fractions of a second can optimize the cutting angle for every fillet. In order to enable full use of the machine’s performance capacity of up to 1,500 cuts per minute there is an automatic vacuum infeed system for the processing line. This system is in a position to isolate products such as fillets or portions reliably and very fast and feed them into the processing line.

Robust machines with intelligent computer controls In order to make it easier for prospective customers to choose one of the numerous complex system solutions a lot of machine and plant manufacturers offer complete processing lines as turnkey solutions.

processing that marked the early years of Marel’s company history and with which the Icelandic company grew, today account for only part of total sales: In the meantime, the Group does not only produce its machines, software and processing lines for fish but also for meat and poultry. In the fish segment the range includes superchilled lines and complete systems for salmon processing, sorting, weighing and batching plants, freezer plants and lines for low-pressure forming.

The Danish company Scanvaegt, which entered a strategic partnership with the Icelandic company Skaginn in May 2006, joined the Group some months later and today operates as a subsidiary of Marel. Scanvaegt is mainly spe

The traditional company Baader has for decades been producing processing machines for various work processes from gutting and heading, filleting and trimming to processing lines for pelagic species, demersal species and salmonids. A salmon processing line is a good example to portray here.

First the salmon is gutted using a Baader 142 Princess Cut machine.

Afterwards the heading machine Baader 434 removes the head with a cut along exact contours to guarantee maximum yield. Filleting is done on the Baader 200 and subsequently the fillet sides are passed on to the Baader 988 which analyses the size and colour of the fillet automatically and trims it for maximum yield. The final control is carried out by the Baader 560.

Then the Baader 1900 sorts the fillets according to size. The Line Monitoring Control System (LMC System) visualizes product flow within the line, makes processes and product batches transparent and thereby enables company employees to make fine adjustments to maximize the line’s performance. Operator intervention is largely limited to the passing on of

Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

59

tec hn ol ogy

intermediate products to the next machine and certain control tasks.

Slicer manufacturer Salmco who recently celebrated their silver jubilee supplies not only their tried and tested slicers but also madeto-measure processing lines for numerous work processes and fish species. Over the course of the years Salmco has diligently developed and diversified its slicers further. Single and multilane cold and fresh slicers, also called soft slicers, cover all cutting needs. They enable cutting angles of between 0 and 90° and so can produce technically demanding vertical and horizontal cuts. These slicers have proved their worth for salmon and 35 other fish species in practical work environments. In cases where a complete processing line is required, Salmco co-operates with other manufacturers to fulfil ­customized ­applications.

The product range of the Danish machine manufacturer Kaj Olesen includes pinbone and dark meat removers, filet turners, trim lines and packing tables, tail cutters, and slicers for processing frozen fillets. These machines which cover a large number of tasks that are necessary during fish processing can easily be combined to form processing lines. In Olesen’s trim line into which the well-known pinbone remover is integrated the fillets are captured by photo cells after the pinbones have been removed and then passed to manual workplaces as required. This enables the avoidance of material hold-ups and ensures smoothrunning work processes without interruptions.

Where shrimp processing machines are concerned, Laitram – which placed the first automatic shrimp peeling machine onto the market in 1949 – is a leading supplier. In addition to peeling, cook-

carried out directly afterwards, for example using the RotoCrumb.

This machine is for adding a variety of crumbs, coatings or marinades to the products.

That a processing line will supply high-quality products is today no longer sufficient – it also has to meet all the regulations that are applicable to food companies including legal hygiene, sanitary and environmental standards.

ing, cooling and sorting machines the American company’s product portfolio also comprises complete processing lines for cold and warm water shrimps. At its simplest, a line can consist of the supply tank for shrimps and the peeler.

For some years now Laitram has been producing new peelers that are said to achieve high yields amounting to only 1-2% less than the results of hand peeling. In contrast to hand peeling there is practically no risk of contamination of the shrimps during machine peeling. Depending on customer requirements, the processing lines can include systems for deveining and sorting the shrimps, too. Of particular advantage for the customers is the company’s after-sales service. In the context of special industry leasing agreements Laitram employees visit plant operators regularly to carry out preventive maintenance checks and to refit the machines with new additional systems.

Despite technology, people are essential Processing lines do not only exist for primary processing of raw fish but also for the production of convenience products (secondary processing) such as chilled

60 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

fresh products, frozen products or canned products. Such solutions are rarely available “off the peg” but are sooner individually tailored to the requirements and wishes of the customers. Suppliers of these kinds of system solutions thus require a tremendous amount of know-how in this field plus far-reaching experience.

Stork Food Systems, which together with Townsend has belonged to the Marel Group since 2008, is one such company. The company’s strengths were originally to be found in poultry, meat, potato and vegetable processing, but today Stork also develops machines and systems for fish processing.

Their range includes complete solutions for numerous tasks within the production process: preparation, forming, coating, thermal treatment, cooking and freezing, plus in-company transport. Some systems, like the low-pressure forming machine RevoFormer are even equally suited to both meat and fish. This processing machine forms products of exact and consistent shape and weight whereby the typical structure of the products is maintained. Subsequent processing stages such as flouring, wet coating and cooking or packaging of the fresh products can be

One of the leading suppliers of complete technical solutions for secondary processing of fish, seafood and other products is Convenience Food Systems (CFS) to which more than 40 different firms with special competence in the areas technology, distribution and service belong. CFS extensive product list ranges from individual machines and accessories, through special developments, to complete production lines, particularly for ready meals, case ready and individual meal components.

Together with their customers, CFS develops new food and packaging products that are exactly tailored to their special needs and are economical, i.e. profitable.

The products and services mainly concentrate on the processing and packaging of fish and seafood, meat and poultry products, cheese products, pasta and vegetable meals plus special solutions for technical packaging.

Despite these numerous technical solutions, however, it is still impossible to do without people during fish processing. The human eye recognizes more reliably than some computerised image recognition systems the optical inadequacies of a fillet; and the complexity of a hand’s motion as it moves the knife for a particular cut can only be imitated at great ­technical cost. mk

Clarification The filleting machine used in the Irbe processing plant mentioned on page 38 of EM3 2010 is from AB Seac.

www.eurofishmagazine.com

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Fish Infonetwork News

FIN Directors meet in Mexico City Regional competencies, technical skills and flexibility greatest assets of Fish INFONetwork Directors of the organisations that constitute the Fish INFONetwork met for the third time in Mexico City at the end of June. The organisations include EUROFISH (Central and Eastern Europe), GLOBEFISH, INFOFISH (Asia), INFOPECHE (Africa), INFOPESCA (Latin America), INFOSA (Southern Africa), and INFOSAMAK (Arabic-speaking

tated by the FAO; and finding new ways to mobilise the resources, both human and financial, from the international donor community as well as national authorities upon whom all the organisations depend to a greater or lesser extent. The directors also found the meeting useful to share experiences as it led to the discovery that

Representatives of the organisations that constitute the Fish INFONetwork met for the third time in Mexico City at the end of June. Front row from left, Mohammed Ichibane, INFOSAMAK; Satish Hanoomanji, INFOSA; Mohamed El Malagui, INFOPECHE; Abdelatif Belkouch, INFOSAMAK; Helga Josupeit, GLOBEFISH; Aina Afanasjeva, EUROFISH; Santiago Caro, INFOPESCA. Back row from left: Marcos Sixto Toral Rebolledo, La Nueva Viga; Maria Carmen Culebro, FAO Mexico; Lahsen Ababouch, FAO HQ; Hector Gutierrez Ahumada, CONAPESCA-SAGARPA; Roland Wiefels, INFOPESCA; Suba Subasinghe, INFOFISH; Mohammad Ayub, INFOFISH. countries). INFOYU (China) was not represented at the meeting. The FAO was represented by the Fish Product Marketing and Trade Service (FIPM).

The organisations are linked through the FAO which collaborates closely with the Network to execute projects all over the world. For the FAO the members of the Network provide an economical and flexible solution to achieve FAO objectives as they have the necessary local knowledge as well as the technical and cultural skills.

There have been changes at the top in several of the organisations so the meeting offered an opportunity to get acquainted with the new directors who have taken over since the last directors’ meeting in Casablanca in 2008. Some of the issues that were discussed at the meeting included identifying synergies and areas of common interest which can be facili62 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

many of the challenges they faced were common ones.

Several operational issues were discussed and clarified at the meeting. Members of the Network tend to work within their regions as working across regions, apart from the complexity, often conflicts with the organisations’ mandates. However, all the individual organisations work bilaterally with the FAO and with GLOBEFISH and part of the meeting focused on how to improve this cooperation.

The meeting was not completely devoted to work. One (very early) morning was spent visiting the Nueva Viga fish market, the biggest wholesale market in Latin America, which is set to get even bigger when it is redeveloped over the next two years. Later that day the group visited the pyramids in the ancient city of Teotihuacan and followed it up with a tour of the National Museum of Anthropology.

Projects

Participation at the European Seafood Exposition 2010 Within the framework of the project entitled “Technical Assistance for the Upgrading of Small-scale Fisheries and their Integration in International Trade,” a panel of fishermen cooperatives from Djibouti, Morocco and Yemen participated in the 18th edition of the European Seafood Exposition which took place in Brussels, Belgium from 27 through 29 April 2010.

Project beneficiaries at the opening of the INFOSAMAK stand at the ESE in Brussels this year.

This activity aimed at assessing market acceptability of seafood commodities produced by project beneficiaries. A separated and fully equipped booth had been booked by INFOSAMAK to enable the beneficiaries to display their fishery products, together with promotional material produced by the Centre. The cooperatives were supported by their national project coordinators.

Over the three days exposition, the CFC project stand received visitors from 13 countries namely: Belgium, China, Egypt, France, Greece, India, Iraq, Iran, Italy, Malta, Spain, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates. The participants reported many requests for information and fish prices.

Indonesian fisheries officers visit Malaysia, the Netherlands A visit was organised for 13 Indonesian fisheries officers to Malaysia from 22–23 March, 2010. The visit was part of capacity building activities under the Value Capture Fisheries (VALCAPFISH) project implemented in Indonesia and funded by the Dutch Government. The main objective of the visit was to provide participants an opportunity to learn about fishing port management, organisational structure and official controls, facilitation of fish landing, handling and trade as well as fisheries resource management www.eurofishmagazine.com

The Fish Infonetwork ( FIN ) The FIN consists of eight independent partner organizations. They cover all aspects of post-harvest fisheries and aquaculture. With more than 50 governments supporting the network, which also has strong links to the private sector, the activities are truly international. The FIN pages, which are a regular feature in the four network magazines – Infofish International, Infopesca Internacional, Eurofish Magazine, and Infosamak Magazine – present the FIN-wide spectrum of activities, showing actions and results. The FIN has more than 80 full-time staff and works with more than one hundred inter­national experts in all fields of fisheries. Through its link from FAO Globefish to the FAO Fisheries Department, it also has access to the latest information and knowledge on fisheries policy and management issues worldwide.

The team of Indonesian fisheries officers in front of the fresh cargo centre at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands.

in Malaysia. The team learned about the Malaysian fisheries set-up and visited the fishing port and vessel monitoring system station in Kuantan, Pahang state. A one-day workshop was held at the end of the visit. Accompanying the team were project consultant Ingrid Gevers from Wageningen International in the Netherlands and Sudari Pawiro and Tarlochan Singh from INFOFISH. Under the same project, another visit was arranged for a different group of 12 Indonesian fisheries officers and educationists to

the Netherlands from 12-23 April 2010. The study visit included trips to important places related to the fisheries sector, namely Urk, Harlingen, Wageningen University, Leewarden, Rotterdam port and Schiphol airport (fresh cargo centre), Amsterdam. The visit focused on three main areas: education/training in fisheries; fishing port and trading (auction) system; and aspects related to fish processing and quality control/ assurance. A consultant from INFOFISH, Sudari Pawiro, was also invited by the project to join the visit.

Events

FAO-INFOSAMAK workshop on impact of WTO consultations on fisheries and aquaculture FAO and INFOSAMAK co-organised a regional workshop on the impact of WTO consultations on fisheries and aquaculture, which was held in Casablanca, Kingdom of Morocco from 15 through 17 March 2010. The workshop was attended by almost 43 participants coming from 8 countries, namely: Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, and Yemen. Four international organizations attended the meeting: Islamic Centre for Trade Development (CIDC); European Commission; UNIDO; and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Speakers from the FAO www.eurofishmagazine.com

Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the European Union, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Friend of the Sea as well as INFOSAMAK consultants made presentations on fish trade; WTO agreements and current negotiations with respect to the fisheries sector, as well as issues relevant to fish trade such as seafood eco-labelling, traceability and IUU fishing. Representatives from the participating countries made presentations on the status of their fisheries sectors and their involvements in WTO ­negotiations.

FIN executes donor projects, prepares market research for private companies, and organizes training courses on marketing and quality assurance. All eight services offer different possibilities for co-operation with the private sector, institutes, government offices and donors. n Globefish Fishery Industries Division FAO Viale delle Terme di Caracalla I 00100 Rome, Italy Tel.: (+39) 06 5705 6313/5059 Fax: (+39) 06 5705 5188 globefish@fao.org www.globefish.org Partners: Seafood Services Australia, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada; Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Denmark; European Commission (DG FISH); OFIMER, France; Norwegian Seafood Export Council; Ministero de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, Spain; National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, USA; VASEP, Viet Nam n Infopesca Casilla de Correo 7086 Julio Herrea y Obes 1296 11200 Montevideo, Uruguay Tel.: (+598) 2 9028701/2 Fax: (+598) 2 9030501 infopesc@adinet.com.uy www.infopesca.org Member Countries: Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Uruguay, Venezuela

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

n Infofish Menara Olympia, Level 2 8 Jalan Raja Chulan Kuala Lumpur 50200, Malaysia Tel.: (+603) 20783466 Fax: (+603) 2078 6804 infish@po.jaring.my www.infofish.org Member Countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Maldives, Malaysia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand n Infopeche Tour C -19éme étage, Cité Administrative, Abidjan 01, Cote d‘Ivoire Tel.: (+225) 228980 / 215775 Fax: (+225) 218054 infopech@africaonline.co.ci www.globefish.org/index.php?id=1113

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

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

Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

63

Buenos Aires hosts COFI

Events

FAO workshop on small-scale aquaculture An FAO expert workshop on enhancing the contribution of small scale aquaculture (SSA) to food security, poverty alleviation and

ticipated. Through in-depth discussions, the workshop was successful in achieving its objectives of identifying the contribution/

In the week between 26 and 30 April the 12th Session of the meeting of the Sub-Committee on Fish Trade of the Fisheries Committee of FAO took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Mr. Ramiro Sanchez, National Director of Fisheries Planning of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of Argentina, was elected as President of the meeting. The Sub-Committee dis-

Fund for Commodities. Representatives of over 50 countries and international organizations got together for the event. From INFOPESCA, Nelson Avdalov, Santiago Caro, Graciela Pereira and Javier López Ríos attended the meeting.

The team was led by the General Director, Roland Wiefels, who in one of his interventions referred to the projects financed by the

Participants at an FAO workshop on enhancing the contribution of the small scale aquaculture sector to food security, poverty alleviation, and socio-economic development in Viet Nam.

socio-economic development was held in Hanoi, Viet Nam during 21-24 April 2010.

potential and challenges/issues facing the small-scale aquaculture sector and producers.

Organised by FAO and hosted by the Viet Nam Research Institute for Aquaculture, the workshop was presided over by the Vice Minister, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Viet Nam, Mr Vu Van Tam. Jia Jiansan, Chief, Aquaculture Service, FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, Rome, also addressed the workshop. Some twenty-five experts from regional and international organisations, government institutions and universities par-

It also determined the entry points for enhancing the contribution of SSA to food security, poverty alleviation and socio-economic development. Actions plans to strengthen the capacity of SSA producers and households to deal with threats, risks, shocks, crises and emergencies were formulated. INFOFISH was represented

by Shirlene M Anthonysamy, who presented a paper on the growth in global fish trade and its benefit to small scale aquaculture.

Important event in Patagonia, Argentina GLOBEFISH and INFOPESCA participated in the “Jornadas de actualización en comercio pesquero”, organized by the Universidad Tecnológica Nacional, Facultad Regional Chubut, from 3-4 May 2010, in Puerto Madryn, Patagonia, Argentina. This was the first international event in the region, dedicated to the improvement of fish

marketing. The meeting brought together about 75 professionals and students, from the five provinces of Patagonia, including local secretaries of fisheries. The discussion centred on labelling, including organic aquaculture production, on the new EU legislation on IUU fishing, and EU rules regarding the import of fresh bivalves.

64 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

The 12th session of the Sub-Committee on Fish Trade meeting discussed recent developments in the fish trade, in eco-labelling, traceability, and the future of food security among other topics.

cussed the recent developments on fish trade, eco-labelling, market access, traceability, review of the work related to CITES, the future of food security, the 11th article of the Code of Conduct for responsible Fisheries, and the state of the projects financed by the Common

CFC, under the technical supervision of FAO that are currently carried out by INFOPESCA. He mentioned the results of the already concluded projects, the state of play of the current ones, and the future proposals to be presented for ­approval.

Workshop on fish trade On 3 and 4 May, a workshop on the trade in fisheries and aquaculture products took place in the city of Puerto Madryn, province of Chubut, Argentina. The workshop had almost 60 participants from 5 different provinces. Nine speakers delivered presentations, including Ms Helga Josupeit from FAO, Ms Graciela Pereira from INFOPESCA, and several speakers from Argentinean research

centers and government organizations. Several topics were touched, such as the current situation of world fish trade; the status of aquaculture production in Argentina; the work of INFOPESCA in promotion and development of fisheries, aquaculture and market information; the global challenges in fish trade; certification; and the role of women in the fish trade. www.eurofishmagazine.com

D iary D ate s

August

Fax: +45 99 35 55 33 ehe@akkc.dk www.polar-fish.net

17-20 August, 2010 Nor-Fishing 2010 Trondheim, Norway Tel.: +47 73 56 86 40 Fax: +47 73 56 86 41 mailbox@nor-fishing.no www.nor-fishing.no

17-21 October, 2010 SIAL France 2010 Paris, France Tel.: +33 1 76 77 13 33 Fax: +33 1 53 30 95 15 exhibit@sial.fr www.sial.fr

11-13 November, 2010 Busan International Seafood and Fisheries Expo 2010 Busan, South Korea Tel. : +82 51 740 7518 Fax : +82 51 740 7360 bisfe@bexco.co.kr www.bisfe.com

ies of our Oceans” Exhibition Wellbeing September

16-18 September 2010 Future Fish Eurasia Izmir, Turkey Tal.: +90 212 347 10 54 Fax: +90 212 347 10 53 info@eurasiafairs.com www. eurasiafairs.com

16-19 November 2010 EuroTier Hanover, Germany Tel.: +49 69 24 788-0 Fax: +49 69 24 788-113 b.schmidt-puckhaber@dlg.org www.eurotier.de

er b m e v o 6 - 9 rN nt ion an e v n o C ne st M e l b o u e l b o u r n e – Au Asia Pacific and Hong Kong’s M C e nt r e , Premier Seafood Trade Event 28-30 September 2010 Value Added Seafood Conference London, UK Tel.: +44 203 377 3658 Fax: +44 203 377 3659 registrations@agra-net.com www.agra-net.com/vas

26-29 October, 2010 Interfish 2010 Moscow, Russia 17-18 November 2010 Tel.: +7 495 228 70 74 II International Congress Connecting retail, foodservice,Fax: and +7distribution 495 228 70 72 buyers with on “Quality of Fish suppliers of live, fresh, frozen and packaged seafood products, interfish-expo@yandex.ru and Seafood Products”.

October Bilbao, Spain equipment and services from www.interfish-expo.ru around the world.

Tel. : +34 986 469 303 4-7 October, 2010 24-29 October, 2010 srellan@anfaco.es Asian Seafood Exposition or for Exhibiting Annual Meeting of WEFTA Mauritius Seafood Conference Co-located www.plancalidadproductospeswith: Information visit www.AsianSeafoodExpo.com Izmir, Turkey Port Louis, Mauritius queros.es Tel.:+902323434000 (Ext:5229) Tel. : +230 208 52 16 ufuk.celik@ege.edu.tr Fax : +230 212 18 53 www.wefta2010.org info@mexa.mu 7–9 September, 2010

International Seafood & Health C Super Early Bird now available on R plus seat Celebrity Kitchen with Register Chef to Attend tions - see website for updates to t of chefs headed by Celebrity ans of 13-14 “MySeptember, Kitchen Rules” and Speakers 2010 Symposium Expo International www.seafoodhealthconference.c on Scientific support to December Innovation in Fishery t opportunity toProducts present to the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre November Vigo, Spain Wanchai, Hong2010Kong 10-13 December, October 2010 Tel.: +34 986469301 bout all aspects of our 5-7interaction Shanghai Int. Fishery Conxemar Fax: +34 986469269 www.AsianSeafoodExpo.com and Seafood Exhibition 2010 Vigo, Spain Oceancreboredo@anfaco.es Shanghai, China Tel.:+ 34 986 433 351 www.anfaco.es Tel: +86-21-34140187 Fax:+ 34 986 221 174 tions including the Australasian Fax: +86-21-37821152 conxemar@conxemar.com 13-15 September, 2010 sifse@sifse.com Shucking Competition, the World www.conxemar.com TUNA 2010 Bangkok W www.sifse.com Bangkok, Thailand onshipTel.:of+603Mudcrab Leg5-8tying p October, 2010 2078 3466 Aquaculture Europe Fax: +603 2078 6804 ner with 1,000 peoplePorto, being 6-10 November 2010 Portugal info@infofish.org February International Seafood & Health Tel.: +32 9 2334912 www.tuna2010.com www.seafoodhealthconference.com ned with great SeafoodFax:and Show Conference and “The Wonders +32 9 2334912 7-9 September, 2010 Asian Seafood Exposition Wanchai, Hong Kong Tel.: +1 207 842 54 00 Fax: +1 207 842 55 05 www.asianseafoodexpo.com

Produced by:

Supported by:

Member:

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION

MELBOURNE CONVENTION EXHIBITION CENTRE AUSTRALIA 6-10 NOVEMBER 2010

14-17 September, 2010 World Food Moscow 2010 Moscow, Russia Tel.: +44 207 596 5086 Fax: +44 207 596 5113 tony.higginson@ite-exhibitions.com www.world-food.ru

mario.stael@scarlet.be www.easonline.org 7-9 October, 2010 Polar Fish 2010 Sisimiut, Greenland Tel.: +45 99 35 55 55

and Opportunities of the Ocean” Exhibition Melbourne, Australia Tel. : +61 3 9330 2813 john.richards@ conferenceplus.com.au www.seafoodhealthconference.com

19-22 February, 2011 Mediterranean Seafood Exhibition Rimini, Italy Tel.: +39 0541/744 478 Fax : +39 0541/744 225 s.bellini@riminifiera.it www.saporerimini.it

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

List of Advertisers

EUROFISH

MAGAZINE

Name of Company Imprint Publishing House

Anfaco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

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

Joint publishers & managing editors

Binyin Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Michael Steinert, Aina Afanasjeva

Editorial office Copenhagen

Biro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

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

Editorial office Hamburg

BVA-Auctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

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

Cuxhavener Kühlhäuser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

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

Diversified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

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

Editorial board

Emperor Aquatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Lahsen Ababouch, Martin Gill, Helga Josupeit, Michael New

Layout

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

Translation

Yvonne Bulmer

Advertising

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

Future Fish Eurasia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Back Cover

Geo Eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Inter Fresh Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

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

Page

Interfish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Intl Seaf&Health Conf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

6 issues per year

Subscription details

Price: EUR 100,– To subscribe visit www.eurofish.dk or send an email to info@eurofish.dk

Irbe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Unless otherwise stated, the copyright for articles in this magazine is vested in the publisher. Articles may not be reproduced without written permission from the copyright holders.

Advertising rates and data available on request. The publishers cannot be held responsible for the nonap­ pearance of the magazine in cases beyond their control such as strikes, shortage of paper or similar circumstances.

Maass + Partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Multivac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

ISSN 1868-5943

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

Salmco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inner Cover

Eurofish The Fish Publishing House www.eurofishmagazine.com

ISSN 1868-5943

July 4 / 2010 C 44346

EUROFISH

MAGAZINE

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www.fischmagazin.de

6 / 2010

C10152E

Fischmagazin

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Heft im Heft

Teichwirtschaft + Aquakultur M a g a z i n f ü r Te i c h w i r t s c h a f t u n d A q u a k u l t u r Das Unternehmenskonzept von Emsland Fischzucht ist wohl einzigartig in Europa, denn hier werden Aale hauptsächlich für den Besatz natürlicher Gewässer produziert. Emsland Fischzucht kauft jedes Jahr bis zu 5 t Glasaal ein, was der beachtlichen Zahl von 15 bis 18 Mio. Individuen entspricht.

Sia Salas Zivis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Heft im Heft

Die Fachzeitschrift für die gesamte Fischwirtschaft

Cover Story Tunamar

Seeking customers in Eastern Europe

Szegedfish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Poland: Greater regionalisation in governance aspired Spain: Consumption of seafood shows marked increase Processing lines: Productive, resource-saving, hygienic FISH INFO network

Eurofish Magazine

Sealane Cold Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Steffen Tepasse

Karl-Heinz Meyer

Appel Feinkost

Marktposition durch Konzentration auf Markenwerte ausbauen Seite 24

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C 44346 July 4 / 2010

E U R O F ISNHE 3

ISSN 1868-594

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The fastest way to advertise in Eurofish Magazine Eckhard Preuß

Aleksandra Petersen, Eurofish Magazine

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

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

ISSN 1868-5943 July 4 / 2010 C 44346

EUROFISH

MAGAZINE

Eurofish Magazine

July 4 / 2010

www.eurofishmagazine.com

Cover Story Tunamar

Seeking customers in Eastern Europe

n n n The Fish Publishing House

Poland: Greater regionalisation in governance aspired Spain: Consumption of seafood shows marked increase Processing lines: Productive, resource-saving, hygienic FISH INFO network