Eurofish magazine 6 14

www.euroďŹ shmagazine.com

ISSN 1868-5943

December 6 / 2014 C 44346

December 6 / 2014 Eurofish Magazine

Regional Conference Bari, Italy, 9-11 December 2014

Blue Growth in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea:

Presidenza Italiana del Consiglio dell’Unione Europea

www.aquaculture2014.org

italia2014.eu

Bivalves dominate aquaculture production EUROFISH International Organisation

Developing sustainable aquaculture for food security

Italy Trout conference hears of Romanian success Aquaculture: Biofilters, the heart of recirculation systems Trade: Seafood is increasingly flown to its destination is a member of the FISH INFO network

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In this issue

Innovation and quality buoy Italian industry Italy: The fishing fleet as a whole may be suffering economically for the fourth year in a row, but this average conceals many differences. The fishing sector is very diverse with different vessel types, a variety of gears, and a wide range of species that are targeted at assorted times of the year. Although some fleet segments are not doing well, others are doing better. While there are concerns about the effect of the landing obligation for the small pelagics sector that comes into force next January, some experts feel that its impact will be limited. In the aquaculture industry producers are creating innovative products with higher margins to compensate for the inability to expand quickly due to the level of red tape. Innovation, high quality, and dynamism characterises much of the farming and processing industry. These traits will enable it to overcome the obstacles that it currently faces. Read more on page 30

Aquaculture: The use of biofilters in aquaculture systems has become increasingly popular. In recirculating farming systems, new biofilter technology has developed to remove toxins, and maintain the chemical balance in the water. Biofilters are often used in the form of a biofilm, which is a mechanism to remove large and small particles matter from the system. Controlled recirculation systems allow the optimal use of biofilter technology to regulate for unwanted materials. The metabolic activity of microorganisms transforms the impurities into harmless substances providing an effective way to treat the water. Read more on page 22

Labelling: A new EU regulation for labelling of fishery and aquaculture products has high costs and unforeseen benefits. The new regulation will include labelling of the commercial designation of the fish and the scientific name, the catch area, and production method. The new label standards aim to increase transparency of the product, and strengthen consumer confidence. However, the regulation is meeting resistance from many in the industry, for its long list of unforeseen complications. According to the new regulation, not all products will be subjected to labelling. Value added, and readymade fishery products will in some cases be exempt. The new regulation has created something of a spider web of information and guidelines, which has producers puzzled and consumers more confused. Read Dr Manfred Klinkhardt’s article on page 25

Technology: Proper inventory and product management is vital for seafood distributors to properly serve their customers. Thousands of products line warehouse walls, and must be procured, stored, and delivered at the customer´s request. Storage hardware technology and automation makes large scale distribution possible and enables many in the industry to efficiently manage their inventory. Computer technologies, increase storage space, allow for higher productivity, and create transparency and efficiency throughout the entire supply chain. Automation technology has allowed for distributers to better cater to their customer’s specific orders, and carry out daily operations with continuous tracking, and increased precision. Read more on page 58

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Eurofish Magazine 6 / 2014

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Table of News 6 International News

Events 15 Seafood Expo Southern Europe, Barcelona, 22-24 September 2014 To Barcelona you go for business 16 Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition, Kopavogur, 25-27 September 2014 Thirty years on stage and still drawing a full house 17 39th Trout Breeders Conference, Gdansk, 10 October 2014 What ails the European farmed trout industry?

19 Regional seabass and seabream workshop in Istanbul Better data improves farming 19 Labour in the fisheries and aquaculture sector faces multiple challenges Vigo dialogue aims to improve working conditions

Aquaculture 22 Use of biofilters in aquaculture Effective water treatment through microorganisms

Processing 25 EU expands mandatory labelling for fish products How much information does the consumer need or want?

28 Chinese processing company utilises foreign fish products to sell in the domestic market Chinese fish processing looks towards new markets and domestic consumers

Italy 30 Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union Aquaculture in Europe and the Mediterranean a priority 32 The Italian fisheries and aquaculture sector Landing obligation for small pelagics may have little impact 37 Traditional fishers willing to adopt new methods Artisanal fisheries can benefit from certification 39 Making themselves at home in the Adriatic The long-lasting success of the Manila clam

Scan the QR code to access the Eurofish Magazine website (www.eurofishmagazine. com), where you can also sign up to receive the Eurofish Magazine newsletter.

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Contents 41 Fishers of giant red shrimp promote their product A higher price for sustainable shrimp of Sicilian origin?

43 Controlling quality with care Farming seabass and seabream in Italy 46 A passion for trout Farming and smoking trout in the mountains 49 Multiplying profits with fingerlings Rainbow trout on the border with Switzerland 51 Acquacoltura Jonica doubles production of seabass and seabream fry New facilities start working in 2015 53 Family cooperative hoping to expand from mussel to fish farming Mussels from Taranto 55 PIT Produttori Ittici Trevigiani produces fresh trout in a variety of sizes Highly value-added products are the future

Technology 58 Effective warehouse technology Growing demand for fish is opportunity for aquaculture industry

Trade And Markets 61 More and more seafood in the global air cargo business Freshness and quality versus environmental and climate impact

Worldwide Fish News

Guest Pages: Baader turns 95

Belgium

pages

8, 10

Denmark

page

7

Estonia

page

13

Germany

page

12

Italy

pages

11, 14

Latvia

pages

6, 10

Lithuania

page

6

Mexico

page

8

Norway

pages

Russia

page

Spain

pages

Turkey

page

64 Nordischer Maschinenbau Rud. Baader celebrates its 95th anniversary “Baader will continue to develop into a complete systems supplier�

Service 66 Diary Dates 66 Imprint

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[ NEWS INTERNATIONAL ] Latvia: Karavela plans to acquire markets in the USA and Canada According to the Latvian newspaper Dienas Bizness the fish processing company Karavela Ltd approaches EUR33m in turnover and continues to diversify markets. The company is currently one of the largest and fastest-growing fish processing companies in the Baltic States.

Approximately 90  of production is currently exported to 30 countries worldwide. In 2013 and the first half of 2014, 45  of production was exported to Western Europe and Scandinavia, with Sweden and Denmark being the main markets (15 and 13.3, respectively). Karavela exported another 45 to Eastern Europe and CIS countries - were Russia and Azerbaijan are the main

markets (11.9 and 8, respectively).

“In Eastern markets Karavela products are sold under the company’s brand name “Kaija”, while in Western European and Scandinavian markets the company uses both its own brand and trademark Arnold Sørensen.

Karavela fish products are sold in major retail networks, such as ICA, Axfood, Dansk Supermarked. In 2013, the supply to the Scandinavian supermarket chains had started and total sales volume reached EUR6.8m,” says co-owner and marketing director Janis Endele. In the UK market the products are marketed under the brand name Princes and Karavela

Karavela’s brand Kaija is well known on markets in Eastern Europe, currently the destination for 45% of the company’s production.

aims to place their products in all British supermarkets. In 2013, the company produced 40 million cans and 370 tonnes of other

fish products. In addition, Janis Endele plans to export the company’s fish products to the USA and Canada from 2015.

Lithuania: Farmed salmon and sea trout to be released in rivers in spring For the fish farming section of the Fisheries Service under the Ministry of Agriculture the last months have been busy. Employees of the only salmonid fish hatchery in Lithuania are using salmon and sea trout roe to start a new fish breeding cycle. Up to 230 thousand fertilized sea trout roe and about 250 thousand salmon roe will be placed in the incubation system this autumn. In May,

when the fish have reached 4-7 grams, they will be used to restock the country’s fast-flowing rivers to complement the existing populations of these fish.

In addition to preparing the spring restocking the Fisheries Service organised an international scientific conference “Sturgeons: Past, Present and Future” in Trakai on 15 and 16 October. The

conference was opened by Viceminister of Agriculture Lina Kujalyte., while Acting Director, Aidas Adomaitis gave the welcome address. Scientists from Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, Latvia, Russia, Belarus, and Lithuania made presentations. Participants discussed and shared experiences and thoughts about the planned follow-up work in this area, and exchanged ideas for the

development and implementation of possible joint international projects. On the second day of the conference participants watched 2,530 sharp-nosed sturgeon juveniles being released to the Neris River. Weighing approximately 14 g, the juveniles had been grown by the fish farming section of the Fisheries Service as part of the national sharp-nosed sturgeon recovery programme.

Spain: Fish InfoNetwork directors discuss possible joint activities Directors of the FISH InfoNetwork centres (FAO Globefish, Infofish, Infopesca, Infosamak, Infoyu, Infopeche, and Eurofish) had a meeting in Vigo in October to discuss issues of joint interest. The meeting was held in the backdrop of the international shrimp congress in Vigo organised by FAO and Conxemar.

The organisations have different strengths reflecting the needs of their regions and the sources of funding. The Common Fund for Commodities, an 6

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intergovernmental financial institution that has been funding projects executed, in particular, by Infofish and Infopesca, has been less active in recent years. Infofish, whose members are Asian countries, has therefore focused on organising national and international conferences, of which the best known is probably the international tuna conference. Eurofish participates in EU and regionally funded projects, while others depend more on member country contributions or donor funding. The meeting discussed the

Directors of the FISH InfoNetwork centres met in October to discuss cooperation between the organisations.

developments in the FAO since the last directors’ meeting in 2010 and their impact on the FISH InfoNetwork. Collaboration between the different centres has been limited

in the past, but the increasingly globalised nature of the fish trade should create opportunities for greater cooperation between the centres with mutual benefits. www.eurofishmagazine.com

[ NEWS INTERNATIONAL ] Denmark: Salmon ShowHow to reveal the future of salmon processing The salmon industry is coming to terms with the changes inflicted by the ban on salmon imports into Russia, formerly the biggest market for Norwegian salmon exports. Following a precipitous drop in exports in the months immediately following the announcement of the ban, the trade seems to have recovered as exporters find alternate markets.

It is against these developments, among the most momentous to have directly affected the salmon industry in recent years, that Marel, a major producer of processing equipment for the salmon industry, will be holding the next edition of its Salmon ShowHow exhibition for the global processing industry in Copenhagen on 11 February 2015.

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The event, which has been held by Marel for many years, was moved from its traditional site in Norresundby near Aalborg to a new purpose-built facility, Progress Point, that opened in October 2013 next to the Copenhagen airport.

Here, in 2015, the company will once again demonstrate the latest developments in its salmon processing technology in an environment built to simulate a factory. The equipment to be shown will include completely integrated processing lines as well as stand-alone machines, and visitors will be able to evaluate the machines’ performance during the live demonstrations to be held throughout the day.

The Salmon ShowHow combines technical demonstrations with talks

The Salmon ShowHow, an event dedicated to the global salmon processing industry, will display the latest in equipment from Marel.

by guest speakers on key issues facing the industry. The attendees, leading members of the global salmon processing trade, will also have ample opportunity to discuss trends and prognoses for the future

among themselves both at the show as well as during the post-show programme that will take place in the evening. More information about the event is available at www.marel. com/salmonshowhow.

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[ NEWS INTERNATIONAL ] Belgium: Turkish rainbow trout exports to EU to face countervailing duty Since 2004, exporting nearly USD102m (EUR82m) of farmed trout in 2013, a more than 200 increase in export value from just 5 years ago. This has become an important issue for European trout producers in recent years and a formal complaint was lodged by the Danish Aquaculture Organisation on behalf of all European trout farmers earlier in 2014, which claimed that Turkish state trout subsidies created unfair competition, and would result in large economic losses for European trout farmers around the EU. The commission has concluded that the subsidies have in fact caused injury to the EU farmed trout sector, and is now enforcing a countervailing duty between 7 and 9.7 on all rainbow trout imports from Turkey. The commission stated that a direct benefit was achieved

by Turkish trout producers because of the subsidy provided to them. As a result trout production

decreased by 17 in the EU and many production facilities closed their doors during 2013. The ruling is likely to have a large impact on Turkey’s trout exports to the EU, and will challenge Turkey’s position as the largest exporter of trout in the region. British and Spanish trout famers are celebrating the ruling. In the UK trout aquaculture has experienced extreme pressure from Turkish trout imports.

Companies with higher production costs and smaller operations have fallen victim to Turkish trout that has entered the market, while in Spain Turkish imports have caused significant price drops and decreased production. The Director of the Danish Aquaculture Organisation, who led the consortium, says the industry has taken the necessary steps to ensure free and fair trade, “We could never quietly accept that our business could be undercut by illegal state aid�.

Imports of Turkish trout into the EU will be subject to a countervailing duty of between 7% and 9.7% following a ruling from the European Commission.

Norway: Insects being investigated for use in ďŹ sh feed Fish feed is taking on a new look.

The Research Council of Norway has allocated NOK13m to investigating if insects are a potential safe and effective ingredient for use in fish feed. Fish safety and nutrition will both be investigated during the study which is a collaboration between 12 research and industry partners. The insect nutrient

profile will be tailored specifically for the nutrient needs of farmed salmon. Wild salmon’s diet contains a lot of insects in it already, so farmed salmon should be able to benefit from the same nutrients derived from wild insects.

Fatty acids from insects and insect larvae contribute to a salmon’s requirement for omega-3s.

In order to ensure human safety, everything consumed by the fish in the study is monitored, as to not magnify anything potentially dangerous in the farmed salmon’s diet. In the EU, insects however, fall under different rules. Insect protein can be fed to animals but not those destined for human consumption. The EU Directorate

General for Health and Consumers is currently working towards allowing insect meal in fish feed. If these laws are overturned, and insects are proven to work as a safe and effective feed source, insect meal could become a viable option as the main ingredient in fish feed production

Mexico: Offshore mariculture conference to be held in Baja in June 2015 As the aquaculture sector continues to develop and expand in the Americas, an international offshore mariculture conference will be held from 9 to 11 June 2015 in Baja California, Mexico. This conference which has support from the Mexican national and Baja regional governments, will 8

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last two and a half days and will mainly focus on offshore aquaculture development, technological advances, and relevant legislation in the Americas. The conference will include several offsite visits to hatcheries, research laboratories and offshore farms and several networking opportunities.

Conference attendees can expect sessions on business management, investment, insurance and risk management, marketing, species choice, integration with seaweed/ renewable energy systems, spatial planning and integrated coastal zone management as well as a focus on recent legislation, policy,

and the latest developments within the context of offshore mariculture.

Expanding sustainable development of aquaculture in the Americas will follow several successful conferences held in Europe over the last decade. For more information on the conference please visit www.offshoremariculture.com. www.eurofishmagazine.com

It’s All About Salmon

AR February

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11 2015

marel.com/salmonshowhow

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[ NEWS INTERNATIONAL ] Latvia: Seafood guide helps consumers choose responsibly The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) programme for responsible aquaculture has released information about products in Latvia’s new seafood guide. Consumers now have the option of choosing ASC certified products by looking for their logo in the seafood guide. ASC certified products recognise that the products are farmed in a safe and responsible way and reduce environmental and social impacts to the local community. Aquaculture operations that are certified by the ASC deliver a cleaner seabed, preserve the diversity of the species and wild populations, adhere to strict feeding requirements and guidelines, and avoid unnecessary chemicals and antibiotics. ASC standards cover 12 species groups: salmon, shrimp, tilapia, pangasius, trout, abalone, bivalves and seriola/cobia.

The ASC has released a guide with information about Latvian farmed fish that will help consumers choose products that are sustainably cultivated.

“We have had a very positive response to the ASC from the market. This year alone, ASClabelled products have been introduced in 40 new countries

on five continents. And, recently ASC-certified pangasius has started to be sold in Latvia as well”, said Esther Luiten, the ASC Commercial Manager. From

2004 to 2012 Latvia’s average annual aquaculture production was around 580 tonnes. In 2012, 475 tonnes of the 574 tonnes of farmed fish were common carp.

Spain: EU partners with NAFO to address challenges for the future The EU and the North Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) made considerable headway at NAFO’s annual meeting in Spain. The 12 members of NAFO set new catch limits based on best scientific advice for fish stocks within the NAFO area addressing long term management goals. Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem (VME) will continue to be

protected by closures through 2020, and as proposed by the EU, two new closures were added making for 20 protected VME’s within the NAFO region. Sustainability objectives were also tackled. Oil and gas exploration in the region has caused great concern because of its potential threat to fisheries. NAFO will engage in dialogue with the Canadian

government as recommended by the EU. With the backing of the EU NAFO seeks to establish an information system with the Canadian Government to create transparency and to make sure oil and gas production does not interfere with fishing activities in the region. About 74 percent of Canada’s offshore hydrocarbon industry is exploratory, while

only the remaining 26 percent is in production. Drastic increases in offshore production would have a significant impact on NAFO’s efforts to secure optimum utilisation and conservation of fish resources. Further, NAFO established new standards for improving data quality and availability to help promote sustainable fishing practices.

Belgium: Aquaculture research initiative to be funded by the European Commission Currently only 10 percent of all European fish consumption comes from EU aquaculture and according to the European Commission the EU’s share of global aquaculture production is 1.5 percent of volume (1.32 million metric tons) and just under 4 percent of value (Euro 3.6 billion). The European Commission has approved a 10

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research initiative for aquaculture based on research from ten member states and backed financially by the European Union. The project, Aquaexcel (Aquaculture infrastructures for excellence in European fish research), will aim to promote effective research through joint effort and facilitation of access to research from aquaculture and

fisheries sector from a consortium of contributors from Spain, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom. The total cost of the Aquaexcel program is EUR12m with the EU commission contributing EUR9m. The project outcomes are expected to spur

efficient growth in European aquaculture markets and contribute to the harmonisation of information, research, and transfer of developing technologies. The initiative will look at research across a wide range of production settings and will focus on several species including sea bass, sea bream, salmon, cod, trout and common carp. www.eurofishmagazine.com

[ NEWS INTERNATIONAL ] Italy: Environment, markets, and innovation among themes for upcoming aquaculture conference Aquaculture in the Mediterranean has grown substantially in the past decades playing a more important social and economic role than ever before and contributing to meeting rising demand for fish products. New technology, diversification of farmed species, and increased trade have all contributed to this growth. To keep this momentum, the conference “Blue Growth in the Mediterranean and Black Sea: Developing sustainable aquaculture for food security,� arranged in connection with the Italian Presidency of the European Union and with support from the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) will take stock of the progress made and renew political

commitment to ensure future growth. The aquaculture event, held on 9-11 December 2014 in Bari, Italy will include four panel discussions: Enabling good governance in aquaculture; A healthy environment – a stronger aquaculture industry; Boosting markets for aquaculture; and Advancing aquaculture innovations. This will be followed by a one-day high level conference, where ministers, government delegates and authorities will conclude the discussions with the adoption of a declaration identifying the main priorities and commitments to support the development of sustainable aquaculture in the region. More information is available at www.aquaculture2014.org

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[ NEWS INTERNATIONAL ] Norway: Industry leaders gather at annual forum in Bergen This year, the North Atlantic Seafood Forum will be held in Bergen, Norway for the third year in a row, building upon the success of the last two years. The NASF is one of the largest annual gatherings of seafood business people hosting more than 600 delegates from 35 countries and over 300 companies.

The forum will celebrate its tenth edition in March 2015 and will focus on several new issues that span the

seafood industry. The meeting also gives those in the industry opportunity to meet and interact with the leading world seafood operators, and other key players, along with financial institutions from the world’s largest seafood capital market. Over 100 speakers during the course of the three day conference will have presentations at ten seminars. The first day will focus on sustainability and innovation in

the industry and will also feature a Young Fish Leadership Seminar.

The second day will include interventions on trade, salmon, markets, fisheries policy and legislation, and will include remarks from many of the industry’s leading business people. The conference will conclude with summits on the white fish and pelagic industries and a corporate investment seminar by Pareto Securities, one of the organisers

of this year’s forum along with the FAO and Marlife Biomarine Innovation. The NASF will take place form 3-5 March 2015 at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel in Bergen.

Russia: Fish processors affected by ban on imports The Russian ban on imports from the US, EU, Canada, Australia and Norway for one year in reaction to sanctions imposed over Ukraine is causing Russian fish processors to struggle with their production, reports the fishsite.

Companies fully dependent on imported raw materials are the hardest hit and some have

approached their regional government for help, while others are resorting to legal action.

An immediate solution to the problem is difficult to see. Companies accustomed to processing fish from the EU or Norway cannot switch to local products overnight as it would mean finding new suppliers and retooling

production lines. In some cases the logistics, for example, of moving raw materials from the Russian Far East to Murmansk is more complicated and more expensive than getting it from Norway. Some Norwegian fish and seafood has begun entering Russia via Belarus. After an initial drop in export volumes the

Norwegians have noted that the numbers are almost back where they were before the ban. However, Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarussian President has said that he would stop banned products entering Russia from Belarus as the neighbours are members of the same customs union.

Germany: Results of ComFish project to be disseminated at Brussels event An important fisheries event entitled “Resolving key fisheries issues through targeted communication” will take place on Friday, 30 January 2015 at the Museum of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium. The one-day event is the final activity organised by the EU ComFish project (www.comfish.eu) and is open to all fisheries stakeholders, including scientists, NGOs, industry representatives, policy makers,

representatives from administration/government.

The event will present the ComFish project findings and offer opportunities to work and network in smaller groups to address specific bottlenecks and communication issues related to the EU/ICES/GFCM dialogue, reduction of by-catch, labelling issues, fisheries co-management and

transparency in quota setting. The objective of these workshops is to produce a framework of action for specific, important policy and communication issues, as identified by ComFish. The workshops will establish the types of actions to be undertaken, the key actors involved, shared organisational responsibilities and timetables.

The event agenda and the registration form are available at:

http://www.eusem.com/main/ ComFish/CFevents_partnering.

There is no admission fee, however registration must be completed by 12 January 2015. Financial support is available to participants from disadvantaged regions.

Russia: Cod and haddock fishery to be assessed for sustainability Scotland-based Food Certification International will assess the cod and haddock fishery of the Arkhangelsk Trawl Fleet (ATF) against the Marine Stewardship Council standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries. ATF is one of the oldest companies

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in the northern part of European Russia and its facilities include cargo area, warehouses, refrigerators and a fish processing plant.

The company largely meets the needs of the fish in the Arkhangelsk region, as well as supplies high quality products for export

and the domestic market. The fishing company has five vessels that fish around the year with demersal trawls in the Barents and Norwegian seas at ICES Areas Ia,Ib, IIa and IIb; within coastal waters in the Norwegian and Russian Exclusive Economic

Zones, and in international waters. For 2014, the annual quota is set at 30,803 tonnes for cod and 5,296 tonnes for haddock. The main products are frozen-at-sea cod and haddock (headed and gutted) and fillets of cod and haddock.

www.eurofishmagazine.com

[ NEWS INTERNATIONAL ] Estonia: Activities to find new markets to be funded The Russian import ban on food products has affected a number of countries including Estonia, reports Eesti Rahvusringhääling.

Russia’s ban on imports of meat, fish, dairy, vegetables, fruit and

food products, has hit the Estonian fish and dairy sector especially hard. Fish and fish products worth EUR15m are exported annually to Russia and the Estonian Agriculture Ministry is looking for

solutions stop the economic damage to the Estonian food export sector. The ministry says it will use the European Fisheries Fund 2007-2013 action plan to divert over 700,000 euros of unused funds to

finding new markets for Estonian fisheries following the Russian ban on food imports. Minister Ivari Padar said the fishing industry is planning to participate in trade fairs in Africa, Asia and Europe.

Turkey: Eurofish, BSEC discuss potential areas for collaboration On 6 November 2014, Aina Afanasjeva, Director, and Ekaterina Tribilustova, Market specialist, of Eurofish International Organisation visited the Headquarters of the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Business Council in Istanbul, Turkey to meet Mammad Zulfugarov, Secretary General. This was the occasion to identify and discuss opportunities for future collaboration in the Black Sea region. The fruitful discussions held have highlighted

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the need for enhanced institutional cooperation to face current challenges and opportunities and draw positive benefits for the region. In this respect, initiatives such as business oriented trade and marketing initiatives carried out jointly were identified as first priority moving towards institutional cooperation and continued dialogue between Eurofish and BSEC Business Council which will catalyze the process of publicprivate partnership in the region.

Aina Afanasjeva (right) and Ekaterina Tribilustova from Eurofish met with Mammad Zulfugarov, who leads the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation Business Council, to discuss opportunities for collaboration.

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[ NEWS INTERNATIONAL ] Italy: Code of Conduct still relevant as it approaches 20th anniversary Organic and sustainable foods are increasingly popular among consumers particularly in western markets. This trend can be confirmed by looking at retail shelves and counters, as well as by the reports of certification companies, which show an increase of products and of countries where these products are marketed. A vast range of sustainable certificates and eco labels can be seen on all types of products. Most of these certifications are led by private enterprise, and certify against a specified protocol or standard to ensure the product comes from sustainable practices.

An increase of these products and where the products are offered are driven by several factors including pressure from NGO’s on supermarkets, interest from consumers, and the potential to charge higher prices. Consumers, having more certainty about the origin of their product, are, at least theoretically, willing to pay a premium for sustainably raised or caught seafood products.

This new trend has sparked debate over the number of certifications available, and if they all are held to the same standard. Some call for the continued diversification of product labelling explaining it will give consumers more choices. There have recently been proposals to streamline eco and sustainable seafood certifications. In Alaska and countries like Iceland and Ireland there is a single certification operated at the national level. In January 2015 the European Commission will release a report on the practicality of an EU wide eco certification program. Cohesion and a single standard would offer consumers less choice, however it could present a readily recognisable option. This is not to say that a single regulated label will cut back on the mislabelling of products that is evident in private labelling schemes, but it should make it easier for consumers to decide on the product they want to purchase. Harmonisation of

labelling could also help producing companies cut down on costs, and more efficiently follow a single protocol for their seafood product.

Behind many international standards lies the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, which will celebrate 20 years next year. Published by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) this voluntary document consists of 12 articles and has been signed by 170 FAO member countries.

It is a series of guidelines and principles for sustainable fisheries management and represents a global consensus on a range of fisheries and aquaculture issues. It has functioned as a guide for countries developing comprehensive certification schemes particular to their own environment and interests.

In addition to the Code of Conduct, the FAO has released other guidelines, which provide

The Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries could contribute to unifying the plethora of sustainability labels in the market.

information on, among others, eco-labelling fish and fishery products from marine capture fisheries or from inland fisheries. These universally accepted documents could contribute to the harmonisation of ecolabeling standards for seafood products.

Norway: Sanctions puts strain on export market, but leave salmon exports unaffected Norway has decided to adopt similar sanctions against Russia as the EU as a result of their actions in western Ukraine. This however, has come at a large cost for fish exporters in Norway who have developed a crossborder trade relationship with Russia over the last two decades.

Between 2011 and 2013 Russia was Norway’s largest market for exported seafood, importing 295,000 tonnes of seafood in 2013 worth NOK6.5bn, compared to NOK5.9bn in

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2012 (a 10  increase) according to the Norwegian Seafood Council. In August the value of salmon exports to Russia fell

by NOK444 million or 82 percent as compared to the previous year. This large decrease has impacted Norwegian fish exporters in certain areas more than others. The salmon market appears to be unaffected by the sanctions imposed this past August, with total exports totalling NOK31.9bn an increase of NOK5m, or 17 percent,

compared to last September.

“In spite of the fact that Norwegian salmon has been banned from the Russian market the last two months, the total value of exports is increasing. Demand continues to increase and we see an increase in both the export volume and the price of salmon,” says Paul T. Aandahl, Branch Manager for Salmon and Trout at the Norwegian Seafood Council. Salmon exported from Norway has increased in volume and value from the same

time last year as well. Russian processing companies which used Norwegian salmon have been placed in a difficult situation and are utilising production facilities in Belarus where trade with Norway is unaffected, and then sending the salmon supplies to Russia after processing. The shifting geography of salmon supplies to Russia has allowed Norwegian salmon producers to remain unaffected by the embargo put in place this last August.

www.eurofishmagazine.com

[ EVENTS ] Seafood Expo Southern Europe, Barcelona, 22-24 September 2014

To Barcelona you go for business The third edition of Seafood Expo Southern Europe as in the previous years took place at Fira de Barcelona Gran Via. The exhibition changed its name from Seafood Barcelona as a result of corporate re-branding, and the dates were moved from October to September.

Yet the concept of the show remains unchanged as well as its organisers – DiversiďŹ ed Communications and Alimentaria Exhibitions.

Seafood Expo Southern Europe was both bigger and more international this year.

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he enlargement of the show was visible to the naked eye and confirmed by the figures – 17 increase in the occupied floor space with 165 exhibitors from 25 countries, of which international participants represented 64 coming from Argentina, Canada, China, Croatia, Denmark, Morocco, Norway, Turkey, and USA, among others while visiting seafood professionals arrived from over 60 countries including from Latin America, the Gulf, and East Asia, not to mention the main producing and consuming European countries like France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. The increase in size was also observed in the section displaying equipment.

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Key to the Mediterranean market For international exhibitors interested in the Mediterranean market the show appears to be the right place. “This year we came with a bigger booth�, says Leon Hoogervorst from InterFresh Concepts, the Netherlands, “We have more people, more decision-makers who just knock on our door asking for the information about our products and prices. We already have a distributor for our products in Spain and we are going to increase our presence.� Marco Manca from the Italian company L’ORO di Cabra, who is exhibiting at the show for the first time

was satisfied with the exhibition “Not very big but concentrated, motivating, and it is easier for a small company to get in touch with buyers who are interested in our products�. Deniz Velez R. from Edpacif Empacadora Del Pacifico S. A. came to the show all way from Ecuador looking for buyers. “There is always something new at each fair. There are always new customers, new markets, ways to develop new lines of work. We have to identify new markets and see what we can offer, what more we can offer. It is a great opportunity for us to be here. To Barcelona you go for business�.

For Spanish exhibitors native soil holds many advantages as well. Ramiro Garcia Arnaiz from Burgos Business Bureau believes that Burgos region due to its good infrastructure and cold climate has a lot to offer. “We are looking for investors both Spanish and international, companies who are looking for the development and here we met some of them, very professional and very promising�. Ljiljana Rudez from Frime S.A., one of the busiest booths at the show, finds a few minutes to spare, “The exhibition is bigger than last year. We already had visitors from all over the world. Not bad! The show is international, and at the same time the Spanish presence is quite big – what

is outside Catalonia for us is also a market�.

Number of side events This year the New Product Showcase displayed valueadded products, ready-to eat and easy-to-prepare meals as well as innovations in packaging – 23 products from 15 Spanish and international producers.

Event activities included among others conferences on “Support for Processing, Marketing and Commercialisation of Seafood Products under the Common Fisheries Policy� presented by the European Commission and “Responsible Aquaculture� by the Global Aquaculture Alliance. The Demonstration Theatre presented master class series and culinary demonstrations on scallops, Norwegian salmon, lobster, Mediterranean gastronomy and Nouvelle cuisine, giving the attendees more understanding on how to find, select and handle various species, encouraging and inspiring people to cook and enjoy seafood. The networking event took place at the Fish Bar which, as every year, delighted the participants with creative and tasty seafood meals.

Next year’s edition will take place 21-23 September 2015.

Aleksandra Petersen, aleksandra.petersen@eurofish.dk

Eurofish Magazine 6 / 2014

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[ EVENTS ] Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition, Kopavogur, 25-27 September 2014

Thirty years on stage and still drawing a full house On 25 September the exhibition centre Smarinn in Kopavogur rolled out the red carpet for exhibitors and visitors to the 11th edition of the Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition, which was celebrating the 30th anniversary of the show. Since its start in 1984 the show has more than doubled in size. This year’s fair ground accommodated over 500 exhibitors from 32 countries and over 15,200 visitors from 54 countries and ďŹ ve continents, a 12% increase compared to the previous event in 2011.

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ceFish 2014, organised by Mercator Media, was officially opened by the Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson, in the presence of the Mayor of Kopavogur, Armann Olafsson and the guest of honour, the President of Iceland, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson. In his speech the Minister underlined the importance of the dialogue between players in the fishery industry as well as sharing the same goals – sustainable utilisation of fish stocks and increasing the profit of the industry, adding that “Iceland’s goal shall be to double the value of each fish caught�.

Fish waste for any taste Issues of increasing the level of fish utilisation and maximising the profit have always been important

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to the fishery industry. The inaugural conference “Fish Waste for Profit – Maximising Return: Utilising the Entire Fishâ€? was organised at the right time and the right place, as for decades the Icelandic fisheries sector has been known as one of the most productive, sustainable and innovative in the world, harvesting nearly 30 more of value from each fish caught than other developed fishing countries.

Three sessions of the conference dedicated to wild demersal, wild pelagic and cultivated species attracted over 50 delegates who came to learn how many products can be made from parts of fish that used to be considered as waste, to learn about the technologies, innovations and prospects for the future shared by speakers from Iceland Ocean Cluster, Matis, and IceProtein, among others.

Use of fish by-products was the theme not only for the conference, but for the exhibition in general. “We already learned quite a lot about the Icelandic approach to things�, says Arnim Hertle from Hiller GmbH, producer of the equipment for fish oil extraction, “they do some things a bit differently than in other parts of the world. This concerns how the fish is processed, and special “tricks� to achieve the desired quality - just good ways to manage the product and deal with its properties�. Exhibitors and visitors were presented with wide spectrum of goods made of fish by-products - pet food, cod liver oil, fish skin/ leather and footwear made of fish skin, collagen products, and even skin care products for people. “The Icelandic industry has been successfully focusing on quality

and full utilisation of the catch. We have increased the value, and the prices have gone up because of the high quality�, says Gudny Karadottir, Director for Food, Fisheries & Agriculture of Promote Iceland, “it is very important to us not to overfish, but to use all of the fish we take out of the sea�.

Myriad reasons to be at the show Every third year IceFish brings together everyone who is involved in the commercial fisheries sector, that is suppliers of equipment, technology and service. Looking at creative and well-decorated stands, the diversity of the equipment displayed and crowds of people moving between this, all one can ask is – what makes these people come here, what makes them spend their

www.eurofishmagazine.com

Aleksandra Petersen

[ EVENTS ] “At the moment we are testing the waters to see what Icelandic industry can offer in terms of opportunities and demand which we can cover better than the competition�, says Arnim Hertle. The quality of the visitors is very good – all of them are professionals with the required know-how. We learned a lot and got a number of useful contacts – we already have to put in a quote for a very new project which we would not have heard about had we not been here.�

The impression of the show would not be complete without mentioning the warm and festive atmosphere of the show and the hospitality of many of the exhibitors.

The signiďŹ cance of maximising the value that can be extracted from the raw material was the theme of this year’s IceďŹ sh exhibition in Iceland.

time and money and even risk getting stranded in Iceland as the Bardarbunga volcano is suspiciously active. Why? Is this worth it? For Ida Sigvardsson Peters, Arenco VMK, Sweden the reason was to meet as many of her customers as possible. “It is important to meet decisionmakers, but also the people directly involved in fish processing. They spend a lot of hours working with our equipment. We may have one idea of how the machine will work and in reality it will be different.

These people are coming here to share their experience. It will be great to come home bringing all these new ideas, the feedback, try to use it to improve business and make customers happy�.

Stella Kristinsdottir, Marel, Iceland, says Marel has been participating since the first edition, for 30 years at least. “This year we had hundreds of visitors, quality visitors – existing and new customers, Icelandic and international. It is difficult to earmark any of the sales during exhibition because most of our project are ongoing, it takes a long time. But www.eurofishmagazine.com

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Aleksandra Petersen, aleksandra.petersen@eurofish.dk

we have been focusing on informing people about our preventive maintenance contracts, which are very important because processors cannot afford any “detuning�, and when they have a service contract with us they basically get a service on a regular basis. We sold several such contracts here�.

For Valka, a relatively young company, Icefish offers an opportunity to expand its product portfolio and the number of countries it is selling to, says Agust Sigurdarson. “Iceland is an important market for us: last year 50 of our sales took place in Iceland and the rest was abroad. This exhibition is an opportunity to meet all the Icelandic processing companies as well as companies from overseas. The show is “must beâ€? for us and we continue to be here. So far IceFish has been good for usâ€?.

Getting a feel of the market This year was the first time that Hiller GmbH exhibited at Icefish.

Eurofish Magazine 6 / 2014

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[ EVENTS ] 39th Trout Breeders Conference, Gdansk, 10 October 2014

Investing in trout It is a tradition of the Polish Trout Breeders Association (PTBA) to hold the annual meeting of the Polish trout farmers, the Polish Trout Breeders’ conference, in the second week of October. This year, however, the format was changed and PTBA decided to make one day of the conference an international one.

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his year’s conference offered an opportunity to discuss the needs and further prospects of aquaculture.

During the conference information on different countries’ experiences with EU funding and changes on their markets was presented. Global trends and needs in the aquaculture market, and local problems which should be overcame to fulfill EU market expectations were discussed.

Most important farmed species in the EU The international part of the conference was opened by Jarosław Wałe˛sa, a member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries. In his inaugural speech Mr. Wałe˛sa updated the audience on most recent issues and concerns of the committee and also presented an economic overview of the farming sector in the European Union. The status of freshwater trout aquaculture in the EU was presented by Tomasz Kulikowski from Fish Industry Magazine. He pointed out that the European Union is the world leader in trout farming supplying 23 of the global production.

Trout is the second most important species after Atlantic salmon and the most important farmed fish species in the EU. It is nutritious and healthy, rich in protein and fatty acids, its production has a low CO2 footprint and it reduces the seafood deficit in the 18

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European market. The presentation also gave an overview of the main member states where freshwater trout is farmed, as well as identified the main constraints in trout production in the EU: relatively high costs, adverse changes in legislation, bureaucracy and lack of funding. Ekaterina Tribilustova from Eurofish International Organisation analysed developments in the European trout trade in terms of product forms, production volume, main suppliers and markets, concluding that in the EU Germany, Italy, France and Poland will remain the largest markets for trout products.

Romania – a success story Romania has over one hundred years experience in freshwater trout farming. In recent years the sector has been growing seamlessly almost doubling its production since 2007. Current market demand for trout is around 5,000 tonnes a year and average Romanian production of 3,000 tonnes covers 60 of it. It is anticipated that by 2015-2016 production will be boosted to 4,000 tonnes per year. Focusing on the prospects for the development of trout farming, Eugen Catalin Platon, director of the Romanian National Association of Fish Producers, shared the Romanian experience with funding from the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) in 2007-2013 and his views on

the new European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). Mr Platon pointed out that for Romania it was the first experience with EU funds and due to the needs and size of the sector the country was the fifth in the EU in terms of funds allocated. He also gave a very detailed overview of how the funds were used. For the future Mr Platon suggested that farmers and other players in the sector should not rely only on the EMFF to remove the bottlenecks in the industry, but also on national or European legislation, on bureaucratic procedures and on the strengths of the sector itself to create a more relaxed but responsible business climate.

Between chances and obstacles Representatives from Spanish and Polish associations of trout breeders shared their experiences in conducting marketing campaigns to increase the consumption of trout.

Both campaigns were succesful in creating a good image of trout and increasing consumers' awareness of the health benefits it offered, and were well received by their audience. Trout consumption in Poland almost doubled within the three years that the campaign ran.

Participants at the conference also discussed other important problems facing the sector such as high competition from non-EU producers, as well as difficulties

At the moment it is only a hope that the Aquaculture Advisory Council will manage to change the administration to bring about a more relaxed but responsible business climate, says Eugen Catalin Platon, RomďŹ sh.

in the implementation of the EU requirements to farmed products on a regional level. Pier Antonio Salvador from the Italian Fish Farmers’ Association gave a brief summary of the topics addressed in the Fish Health Commission of the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP) for instance aquatic animal health and welfare, use of veterinary medicine, use of processed animal proteins and other raw material in fish feeding among others. The conference also included topics on certification, responsible farming, reducing and negative environmental impacts to create a positive image of trout farming.

The conference was fruitful for all participants, giving them a chance to assess EU aquaculture and creating a platform for exchanging insights and experiences with colleagues from different countries. “Trout farmers‌ are not happy, if you ask themâ€?, says Cristian Stoicescu from Aquafarm srl. “Feed is too expensive, taxes are too high, water is not enough, and market prices are bad‌ But at the end of the day, farmers keep going and continue to produce more fish, continue to invest their money in new farms and look forward with determination and hopeâ€?. www.eurofishmagazine.com

[ EVENTS ] Regional seabass and seabream workshop in Istanbul

Better data improves farming Availability of data on production, and information about development of trade, markets and consumer trends are essential to plan the Mediterranean and Black Sea aquaculture industry and its sustainable long-term development.

There are currently a number of regional and global aquaculture datasets such as FAO FishStat, GFCM SIPAM and EUMOFA which serve different purposes. However, while the available data can be used to assess past trends, it does not enable the prediction of the future, something that both the industry and governments need.

On 4-5 November 2014, FAO, Eurofish and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) organised a regional workshop “Predicting the market for seabass and seabream� in Istanbul, Turkey for the Mediterranean and Black Sea aquaculture industry. The speakers were from FAO, GFCM, Eurofish International Organisation, Spanish Association of Marine

Participants at the FAO-EUROFISH-GFCM regional workshop on the sustainable development of seabass and seabream farming in the Mediterranean and Black Sea held in November in Istanbul.

Aquaculture Producers (APROMAR), Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP), Cogea, Kontali Analyse, University of Mersin (Turkey), and University of Stirling (UK). Their presentations led to a lively discussion on the main

requirements for, and challenges faced by, an industry that needs to plan its production in advance.

Among the conclusions was that the development of aquaculture in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea area requires a market-oriented

approach. However, this was constrained by the lack of robust market data, a problem that could be greatly improved with closer dialogue between industry, national authorities, aquaculture farmers, and consumer organisations.

Labour in the ďŹ sheries and aquaculture sector faces multiple challenges

Vigo dialogue aims to improve working conditions On 6 October 2014, FAO and Conxemar invited key stakeholders in ďŹ sheries and aquaculture (including representatives from administration, industry, civil society organizations and international organizations), to discuss priority issues and actions concerning labour conditions in the sector (covering capture ďŹ sheries, aquaculture, ďŹ sh processing, distribution, ďŹ sh trade).

E

ight presentations highlighted the wide range of issues and problems of poor working conditions, which include forced labor, child labour, excessive working hours, dangerous work, low wages, low number of formal contractual

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arrangements, discrimination of women and migrant workers, low levels of social protection and social security, poor representation, association and organization among fish workers, insufficient social dialogue, and the lack of application or enforcement of

national and international labour standards and conventions.

The participants recognized the diversity of stakeholders concerned with labour issues in fisheries and aquaculture ranging from suppliers, producers, processors, retailers, and consumers

in addition to civil society and governmental institutions.

Participants agree on several measures Participants discussed ways and means to improve labour Eurofish Magazine 6 / 2014

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[ EVENTS ]

Labour in the ďŹ sheries and aquaculture sector often works under poor conditions. The Vigo dialogue hopes to initiate actions to remedy this.

conditions in the sector and came up with several recommendations for the promotion of decent work. They agreed that a strong focus on labour conditions and the social and economic challenges faced by small scale fishers, their livelihoods and their communities is needed. In addition, the capacity development of small scale fishers, fish farmers and people working in fish processing and distribution would contribute to improving their circumstances, while the implementation of existing national and international legislation on labour in the sector, including due recognition of labour issues

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in fisheries policy development are necessary for better labour conditions. Strategies which ensure abolition of forced labour and child labour in fisheries and aquaculture need to be developed and implemented and the necessary resources must be invested into communicating and addressing labour issues.

Policy changes and the application of labour standards would be facilitated by the establishment of and support to national and international social platforms.

It is also necessary to promote the participation of fish workers in fisheries management fora,

develop fisheries resource management plans as well as identify alternate employment options.

Countries need also to ratify the ILO Convention 188 on Work in Fisheries and implement the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication, adopted by COFI in June 2014.

FAO, ILO collaborate to support stakeholders FAO reiterated its emphasis on rural poverty reduction and highlighted ongoing collaboration with the International Labour

Organization (ILO) on labour issues in agriculture. FAO invited all stakeholders to continue the Vigo dialogue and to join forces with FAO and other partners in the promotion of better working conditions in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. An example of FAO-ILO collaboration is the publication in 2013 of the Guidance on addressing child labour in fisheries and aquaculture.

The Vigo dialogue meeting was held as a side event to the FAO/ Conxemar World Shrimp Congress 6-9 October 2014 in Vigo, Spain.

Uwe Barg, uwe.barg@fao.org

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[ AQUACULTURE ] Use of bioďŹ lters in aquaculture

Effective water treatment through microorganisms BioďŹ lters are bioreactors (also called biocatalysts) that make use of highly complex metabolic activities of various microorganisms to clean water or air. Here “cleanâ€? means, above all, to eliminate or render harmless various pollutants or toxic substances. The term â€œďŹ lterâ€? in the sense of holding back or removing unwanted material is not appropriate in so far as bioďŹ lters in fact only transform the substances.

N

ature has, for thousands of years, demonstrated to perfection the perpetual cycle of production, consumption and destruction. Things come and go, they can be broken down into their basic building blocks and become the foundation for new life again. Although this is rarely achieved so completely and to such perfection in technical systems, for as long as we have known the basic activities and connections that these processes entail, we have made increasing use of them, for example to treat polluted water or to improve water quality. A very simple but effective biofilter can be seen, for example, in wetlands that clean waste water relatively inexpensively in a natural way.

During this process a large number of chemical and biochemical reactions, as well as physical processes, particularly sorption, take place.

The first “real� biofilter for treating water is said to have been built in England in 1893. It was based on the trickling principle.

With the advent of engineered production systems in aquaculture, particularly in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), a completely new field of biofilter applications came into being. In these systems the water in which the fish grow circulates perpetually. It is cleaned regularly and reprocessed 22

so that it meets the requrements of the fish. Essentially, the systems consist of three components: the fish tank, a mechanical cleaning unit, and the biofilter. As with a three-legged stool, it is impossible to say which leg is most important, and all three elements of a recirculating aquaculture system are equally important and indispensable. Nevertheless, it would probably not be wrong to view the biofilter as the “heart� of the system.

The biofilter’s performance is the limiting factor for the fish biomass, it is the most sensitive link in the chain, and the most likely to break down. Biofilters form the habitat for innumerable bacteria and microorganisms that are mainly responsible for biological water treatment. Two biological processes can be distinguished here. On the one hand, the activated sludge process in which the microorganisms are suspended in the water body. And on the other hand, the biofilm process in which the microorganisms are settled on the surface of a substrate (filter bed, fixed bed). All the biofilters that are used in recirculating aquaculture systems are of the biofilm type.

Fish farming and recirculating systems offer optimal conditions for a biofilter. The impurities that have to be removed from the water are always of the same quality and, apart from during feeding or at

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The Stählermatic system consists of an only partially submerged wheel whose inner chambers run empty with each turn and then draw air into the water.

harvesting times, when the tanks are empty, they occur in more or less consistent quantities. They mainly consist of metabolic products from the fish that enter the water partly in dissolved form (via the gills) and partly in solid form in the faeces. The fraction of solid particulate substances also includes a small amount of feed residues that have either been left uneaten by the fish or are suspended as fine abrasion products in the water.

So as not to overload the biofilter these solid particles should be removed from the fish tank and the water as quickly as possible before they decompose, dissolve or are deposited as sludge in still water areas of the system, use oxygen

unnecessarily or form anaerobic zones. Because solid impurities are usually removed using mechanical methods this means that the bigger the particles are the easier, the more effective and less expensive it is to remove them.

Remove particulate impurities as early as possible Mechanical water treatment methods are based on two different physical principles. The first is sedimentation in which it is gravity that brings about the desired effect.

In sedimentation tanks (e.g. lamellar separators) the water current is slowed down so that the particles www.eurofishmagazine.com

[ AQUACULTURE ] can settle on the bottom and be removed. However, a disadvantage here is that the impurities remain in the water for a certain time, nutrients are washed out, and germs can accumulate. Vortex separators and centrifuges are also based on the principle of gravity. In these devices the water rotates, which causes the solid, relatively heavy particles to drift either outwards (centrifugal force) or inwards (centripetal force) depending on the design of the device. They can then be removed before they decompose and dissolve.

The second method of mechanical water treatment is the removal of particulate impurities using fine mesh screens. Such screen filters are technically complicated, they require a lot of energy, are relatively expensive and demand a certain degree of maintenance, but they are preferred in practice because they do not take up much room and apart from that they are very effective and reliable. With tight-meshed screens with meshes measuring between 20 and 100 microns a considerable share of the particulate impurities can be removed.

As a rule, the water flows through the rotating drums and disc filters from the inside to the outside. Sensors detect when the sieve meshes become clotted and then trigger a high-pressure rinsing programme to clean the filter fabric. The impurities are caught in a special collection pan from which they flow out of the system independently.

Protein skimmers and flotation plants are also suitable for separating particulate impurities. Even very small particles will attach themselves to the produced air bubbles and then be carried to the surface with the foam.

When the coarse particulate impurities have been removed, the water still contains very fine solid www.eurofishmagazine.com

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impurities and dissolved substances that cannot be removed using mechanical methods, or only with difficulty. And this is where biofilters come in: the metabolic activity of microorganisms transforms the impurities into harmless and mainly low-molecular substances. In the wild, the community found living in a biofilm is usually very rich in species.

The slimy, musty-smelling layer contains both microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and yeasts, and slightly higher organisms such as protozoa, insect larvae and worms. In contrast, in aquaculture, particularly in recirculating systems, the biofilm is less rich in species because the range of tasks the microorganisms have to fulfil is much more limited and geared to just a few substances.

Fish mainly excrete ammonia (NH3) through the gills. Ammonia is highly toxic even in low concentrations. Small amounts of ammonia also result from the breaking down of protein-rich ingredients contained in feed remains and fish faeces. Although once in the water ammonia is immediately converted into the safer ammonium (NH4+) this reaction depends on the pH value and the temperature of the water. The warmer the water and the higher and more alkaline the pH value, the more strongly will the scales be tipped from ammonium to ammonia. To keep the risk of poisoning the fish population low, these substances thus have to be oxidised as quickly as possible to the less toxic compound nitrite (NO2-), and then to nitrate (NO3-).

This process, usually called “nitrification� for short, is handled in the biofilter by the “nitrifying� bacteria species nitrosomonas and nitrobacter. Because nitrification is aerobic (requires oxygen) the efficiency of a biofilter largely depends on its oxygen supply.

In general, it is believed that the oxygen concentration should not fall below 2 mg/l water. During the course of the nitrification process, hydrogen ions (H+) are also released. These act like an acid and gradually reduce the pH value. To counteract this effect the water in the system has to have an appropriate buffer, usually lime solution. Optimal conditions for nitrification are a good oxygen supply, pH values between 7 and 8, temperatures around 25°C, and not too much light, because microbial processes prefer the dark. In addition, ammonium should of course be constantly available so that the nitrosomonas and nitrobacter have sufficient “food� to give them energy.

Nitrification processes in the biofilm require a lot of oxygen With that, the main requirements that have to be met when constructing a biofilter have been named. Because the effectiveness of nitrification also depends on the number of microorganisms, the settlement area should be of a reasonable size. Basically, many materials are suitable for this but as a rule the choice falls on specially designed blocks or variously shaped plastic media (for example looking rather like hair curlers)

which combine low volume with a large interior surface. The interior cavities should not be too small or narrow, however, because the biofilm grows constantly, forming new biomass that can block the openings. If the biofilm is too thick the lower layers will no longer be supplied with sufficient oxygen. To remove the excess sludge some types of biofilters have to be “backwashed� regularly against the usual direction of water flow.

In general, a biofilm should if possible not be much thicker than 0.1 mm. The problem of oxygen supply can be solved in different ways.

Probably the oldest method is to use trickling filters in which the polluted water is trickled over the biofilm substrate so that every single drop comes into direct contact with atmospheric oxygen. Another possibility is that the biofilm is located on slowly rotating discs that protrude half out of the water so that with each turn the bacteria are alternately in the air and in the water. Supplying oxygen to biofilms that are constantly submerged is somewhat more difficult because here the required oxygen has to be added directly to the water. In the case of fixed solid settlement substrates, for example bioblocks in a fixed bed filter, this can be achieved using aeration from below via a diffuser. In the case of loose substrates in moving beds the relatively small

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[ AQUACULTURE ] media which have a low specific weight are constantly in motion through the agitation and circulation of the water, making them rise sporadically to the surface where they will then have contact with the atmosphere.

Each of these techniques has its advantages and disadvantages.

Keeping the media in motion in moving bed filters requires strong pumps and consumes energy, but the biofilm is permanently abraded, kept thin and efficient, because the media are rotated like in a washing machine drum and rub against one another. Trickling filters have the advantage of an intensive gas exchange. Microorganisms are well supplied with oxygen and can pass harmful gases such as carbon dioxide or nitrogen that are generated in the course of their metabolism to the outside.

If the biofilm grows too thick the excess biomass can be sheared off in small pieces and carried away with the water flow. Trickling filters are relatively large, however, and so take up a lot of space so that they cannot be installed everywhere.

To keep the investment and operating cost of biofilters low, manufacturers and operators of aquaculture systems are constantly looking for new substrates that offer a large surface area for the settlement of the biofilm, are easy to clean or replace when necessary, and are not an overly expensive investment. In practice, one thus finds in trickle filters and submerged fixed and moving bed filters various media that can generally be divided into organic and inorganic substances depending on their origin. Organic media such as bundles of sticks, wood chips, coconut shells or peat blocks are restricted in their use for biofilters because they release tanning agents, dyes and other 24

substances and can influence the chemical properties of the water, but they are still used regionally because they are very cheap and easy to obtain. However, they are seldom used in recirculating systems but sooner for the treatment of polluted water that is to be fed back into natural waters

Balance between volume, surface area and oxygen supply Some inorganic materials can also release undesirable substances, even if only to a limited extent.

The materials used include coarse gravel, stones or sand, broken glass and sea shells, particularly however materials made of various synthetic materials that have a low specific weight and often even float freely in the water. This can save a lot of energy in moving bed filters. Plastic media are mostly relatively small and have complex interior and exterior surface structures that offer large settlement areas for microorganisms. A rough measure for this settlement area is the specific surface area (SSA), also called packing density. The SSA of modern plastic media is mostly between 100 and 1,000 square metres per cubic metre. If the specific surface area exceeds this upper value significantly there is a great risk that the biofilters will become clogged quickly and thus reduce water flow and nitrification efficiency‌ particularly since there is always a difference between the theoretically available SSA and the actual effective biofilm surface. This is because nitrification really only takes place in the upper layers of the biofilm where the microorganisms have direct access to oxygen, ammonium or nitrite.

Depending on the construction and functioning of a biofilter, nitrification lies between about 0.1 and 1.8 g ammonium nitrogen

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per square metre of effective filter surface and day. When planning the dimensions of a biofilter a safety factor should thus be taken into account. In general the SSA is set at double the amount that would be needed for the nitrification of the theoretically expected ammonium released from the fishes after feeding.

Although conditions in the deep layers of the biofilm into which no oxygen penetrates are not anaerobic (a condition in which neither free nor bound oxygen is available) they are anoxic (oxygen is available in the bound form only). For three oxygen atoms are bound in the nitrate that is formed in the upper layer of the biofilm through nitrification. Specialised bacteria (anaerobic heterotrophs) are capable of removing the oxygen and using it for their own metabolism. This process in which nitrate is reduced and converted to elementary nitrogen (N2) that is released from the water and can thus leave the system is called denitrification. Denitrification can take place both in zones that are not well supplied with oxygen in a “conventional� biofilter (denitrifying bacterial strains, so-called “denitrifiers� are mostly present in the speciesrich microflora of a biofilter) and in denitrification chambers

specially equipped for this. At least three prerequisites are necessary for a functioning denitrification: r %FOJUSJĂŞFST UIBU TFUUMF JO B TVGficiently large number under constant environmental conditions (no free oxygen), r "OPYJD DPOEJUJPOT PYZHFO not in free but in molecularly bound form, e.g. in the nitrate) r "EFRVBUF TVQQMZ PG CJPMPHJcally degradable organic substrates (e.g. methanol or glucose) that serve the denitrifiers as a “foodâ€? and energy provider and often have to be supplied from the outside.

The effort and cost of a functioning denitrification are relatively high which is why many recirculating systems do without it. Especially since this effect, the reduction of the nitrogen load, can also be achieved by regularly changing part of the water within the system.

Or one goes further back to basics and tries to imitate conditions in the wild and close the material and energy cycles. The spectrum of possibilities for this ranges from the use of nitrate-rich process water from fish farming systems for the downstream production of crops to aquaponic techniques that directly link the fertilising effect of the runoff water with nutrient elimination, or in other words, with water treatment.

MK

In advanced treatment ponds (left) plants make use of the nitrogen compounds in the water that flows out of the fish tanks (right) as fertiliser for their growth. www.eurofishmagazine.com

[ PROCESSING ] EU expands mandatory labelling for ďŹ sh products

How much information does the consumer need or want?

Regulation (EC) No. 104/2000 on the EU-wide uniform labelling of ďŹ shery and aquaculture products was implemented by the ďŹ sh trade and industry largely without complaint. The new regulation (EC) No. 1379/2013 is meeting with resistance, however, because the costs are high and the beneďŹ t small. A lot of people doubt whether consumers really want or need to be provided with such comprehensive information on the labels of the foods they choose.

I

n the past, the fresh fish trade was very straightforward.

When people bought fish they trusted their fishmonger, their own nose and other sensory impressions. Admittedly, there is a definite need for other arrangements today – after all, only a small share of the fish and seafood eaten in Europe comes from the waters on our own doorstep.

Fresh salmon from Norway, sea bream from Greece, and trout from domestic production, much of it already kitchen-ready filleted and packed hygienically under protective atmosphere for selfservice shelves – the variety of fish species, processing and packaging forms offered makes orientation increasingly difficult for consumers when shopping. Without product-related information on the label, even well-versed fish fans would probably be rather lost and helpless. But what information do the customers need to get about the product they are buying, and how detailed should it be?

With regulation (EC) No. 104/2000 on the common organisation of the markets for fisheries and aquaculture products and the corresponding implementing regulation (EC) No. 2065/2001 the EU Commission made clear specifications in this regard. Since 1 January 2002 all fishery products www.eurofishmagazine.com

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The fresh fish product labelling at this service counter offers all the information required by EU regulation (EC) No. 104/2000.

that are placed onto the market in more or less natural condition have to be marked at retail level with the following information: r ǔ F DPNNFSDJBM EFTJHOBUJPO of the fish, crustacean or mollusc (for example “cod�) and the scientific name (“Gadus morhua� for cod) r ǔF QSPEVDUJPO NFUIPE mainly fishery or aquaculture.

In the case of marine fishes this information can be omitted if the trade name and indication of the catch area make it clear

that the fish was caught in the sea. For species from aquaculture the labelling “Salmon from aquacultureâ€? or “Trout farmed in Franceâ€? would be appropriate. r Ç” F DBUDI BSFB 'PS ĂŞTIFSZ products, indication of the catch area on the basis of the '"0 TDIFNF JT TVĹ DJFOU Ç”JT divides the world’s oceans into 12 regions (cod could, for example, come from catch area 27 “North East Atlanticâ€?).

In the case of products from

aquaculture the country in which the product completed its final farming phase must be stated. ǔJT JOGPSNBUJPO JT JOUFOEFE UP provide more transparency within the fish trade and strengthen consumer confidence in the fishery QSPEVDUT PŀFSFE ǔBOLT UP UIF meanwhile Europe-wide uniform labelling consumers in all EU member states could now learn where the fish in the counter came from, and whether it was caught

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[ PROCESSING ] wild or produced in aquaculture.

Better informed consumers who were familiar with the fish industry could even approximately recognise from the indication of catch area whether the fish came from a productive fishing region or whether the fishing grounds were UISFBUFOFE CZ PWFSêTIJOH ǔJT however, already revealed a shortcoming of the new regulation, for the 12 FAO catch areas are much too big to allow any firm conclusions. As a guide for all customers who are looking for products from sustainable fisheries the producers thus mostly print a logo onto the label that confirms that the fishing activity harmed neither the stocks nor the environment. In Europe, traders and many producers rely on the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) whose blue seal is in the meantime relatively wellknown in many countries.

It is difficult to understand why the labelling requirement only applies to some, but not all, fishery products. Whereas fresh fish, whether live or gutted, filleted or minced, dried, salted or in brine, smoked fish, frozen products with fish, and fresh, processed and frozen crustaceans and molluscs (mussels, snails and squid) have to be marked with all the details demanded by the EU regulation, some products, particularly more highly processed products, are excepted. For example, breaded fish products, fish products with sauces, marinades and canned fish, surimi, fish salads, gourmet êTI EJTIFT PS DBWJBS ǔJT JT OPU easy to understand because products such as canned fish or delicatessen salads are mostly produced according to the same recipes and always with the same ingredients for which there are long-standing EFMJWFSZ BSSBOHFNFOUT ǔJT NFBOT it would be much easier to state the fish species, origin and production method of these products than 26

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of fresh fish in the counter which, depending on availability, can vary from day to day. And something else that is hard to understand is the ruling that the labelling requirement only applies to trade but not to restaurants and catering establishments.

One regulation often leads to others Although the requirements of regulation 104/2000 should already have been a matter of course for professional traders even before they came into force, their implementation in practice sometimes caused unexpected problems.

One of them concerned the fixing of permissible common names for some fish species that can vary even in one and the same country.

Taking Germany as an example: nearly everywhere there the fish species Perca fluviatilis, English “perchâ€?, is called “Flussbarschâ€?, but not around Lake Constance, where it is called “Krätzerâ€?. And in German-speaking areas of Switzerland it is mostly called “Egliâ€?. More uniform standards for the common names are thus indispensable and would be very helpful because consumers are hardly likely to know the scientific names of all the fish species available at the retailer’s.

But these are essential in trade, because they are stated on delivery notes, invoices and other documents that accompany the products along the supply chain.

Right up to the fish counter where the scientific name has to be declared together with the comNPO OBNF ǔJT JT TPNFUJNFT UPP much even for fishmongers and so in a lot of EU countries there are in the meantime lists showing the common name, the “official trade name� of the species, and the scientific name. Alternatively the trader can also declare the scientific name on a poster or bill

board as long as this is positioned so that it is clearly visible and legible for customers.

the case of products from inland fisheries the country (state) in which the fish originated has to be specified. In the case of prodAs a rule the lists with the trade ucts from aquaculture only the names, i.e. the list of permissible country (state) must be named in fish names, under which the prod- which the fish, crustacean or molucts are offered at the fish counter, lusc species completed its final are drawn up by expert commis- development. For products from sions or similarly authorised bod- deep-sea and coastal fisheries the ies and constantly updated. In catch area must be named: either Germany, the responsible body according to the number code of is the Bundesanstalt fĂźr Land- the FAO catch areas (FAO catch wirtschaft und Ernährung (BLE) area 27 would be the North East [Federal Agency for Agriculture Atlantic, for example) or by statand Food] which is based in Ham- ing a clearly defined geographical CVSH Ç”F EJSFDUPSZ PG USBEF OBNFT name such as North West or North is by no means rigid and inflexible East Atlantic, Mediterranean, but can be extended or changed Black Sea, Indian Ocean or Baltic. at any time after submission of a Ç”FTF BSF POMZ NJOJNVN SFRVJSFreasonable request. And the com- ments, however, and they can be mission does not always find an further expanded if the producer appropriate name immediately wants to draw attention to the so it might be quite a different regional origin of a fish product, name that is ultimately used by for example. consumers. An example of this in Germany is “Pangasiusâ€?: the If a fishery or aquaculture prodexperts initially found the original uct has been defrosted prior to name too complicated and sug- sale in the fish counter this has gested the name “Schlankwelsâ€?. to be clearly stated on the label Ç”F NBSLFU BOE DPOTVNFST TPPO with “defrostedâ€? to draw the QSPWFE UIFN XSPOH IPXFWFS Ç”F customer’s attention to the fact. nomenclature commissions have Some traders try to get around particular difficulties when they this requirement by writing the have to find appropriate names vague term “refreshedâ€? on the GPS OFX TQFDJFT PO UIF NBSLFU Ç”F MBCFM JOTUFBE PG iEFGSPTUFEu Ç”F name should, of course, be easy to indication that a product has remember, and it should be suit- been defrosted does not, howable for the fish concerned. Sim- ever, apply to products for which ply translating the English com- the raw materials were delivered mon name is often not feasible, frozen and then defrosted for for example because every second processing. Smoked wild salmon, perch is called either seabass or for example, is mostly delivered seabream and flatfishes are mostly to Europe frozen and then, after called plaice or flounders. Creativ- smoking, arrives "fresh" at the ity is needed then since the name fishmongers. is one of the decisive factors that will determine whether a new Expiration date for loose counter products gives fish species will be successfully false sense of security launched onto the market.

Standard wording is helpful when it comes to information on the catch area or the country of production of fish products. In

It is permissible for producers to state the information requested voluntarily on the labels of processed products that are not bound to www.eurofishmagazine.com

[ PROCESSING ] this requirement if they so choose.

In Germany the members of the Association of the German Fish Industry and Fish Wholesale Trade committed themselves in 2008 in an initiative to label voluntarily according to the EU regulation processed marine fish products that had so far been exempt from the labelling obligation, for example full and semi-preserves, marinades, fish salads, salt fish products, breaded and other frozen ĂŞTI QSPEVDUT Ç”JT EFDMBSBUJPO JT based on the legal requirements of the European regulation (EC) No. 2065/2001. When specifying the catch area, companies even go well beyond the EU requirements, basing them on scientifically distinguishable fish stocks. In the case of longer lasting products such as frozen products, the association also recommends its members to state the year in which the fish was caught in addition to the catch area. In doing so they want to avoid a product perhaps being viewed critically later on should the condition of the stock from which the fish was taken deteriorate within the shelf-life period. In Germany the internet portal “Fischbestände POMJOFu NBJOUBJOFE CZ UIF ǔÛOFO Institute can be used as a basis for assessing the stock situation. Ç”F MBCFMMJOH SFRVJSFNFOUT BMTP apply to imports of products from ĂŞTIFSJFT BOE BRVBDVMUVSF Ç”F responsible authorities in the EU member states assess the conformity of the product documents with the legal labelling requirements at the point of import.

Imported products that fall under the labelling requirements also have to bear the scientific name, the registered trade name, the catch area or country of origin and the production method.

Since the introduction of the fisheries control regulation on 1 January 2010 the traceability principle www.eurofishmagazine.com

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from the catch to the retailer’s applies in the EU to all fishery products. To this purpose at all stages of the supply chain various labelling and control obligations were introduced that range from the labelling of individual fishing vessels and fishing gear to coded labelling on commercial packaging. In Germany, for example, consumers can look for an oval identification label that is printed on the labels of fish prodVDUT ǔJT MBCFM PŀFST JOGPSNBUJPO on the country and the company in which the product was last processed or packed (but does not offer information on the origin of the raw materials).

Anyone who believes that, with that, fish products were adequately labelled and the customer sufficiently informed underestimates the regulatory bureaucrats in Europe, however. On 6 July 2011, after three years of tough negotiations, the EU Parliament passed the compromise package for the new Food Information for ConsumFST 3FHVMBUJPO ǔJT SFQMBDFT BU European level the previous labelling regulation 2000/13/EC and the nutrition labelling regulation 90/496/EEC. When the regulation comes into force everywhere after the agreed transitional periods of three to five years the information given on the labels on nutritional value, origin, or allergens is to be even more farreaching and more easily readable.

All producers are obliged to state the nutritional values of their products, which they had actually so far mostly done voluntarily in the GPSN PG B UBCMF ǔJT NFBOT UIBU JO future all pre-packed foods will be marked with the product’s calorie content and the six nutrients fat, saturated fatty acids, carbohydrates, sugar, protein and salt (the “Big 7�). Any included allergens

must be visually highlighted (for example by a different font or a TUSJLJOH CBDLHSPVOE DPMPVS ǔJT obligation also applies to unpacked foods (“loose products�) although it is still largely unclear how products such as oysters, lobster or other seafood that might possibly cause allergies can be labelled.

Fishery products which may give the impression that they are made of a whole piece of fish but actually consist of different pieces combined together will in future have to be marked “formed fish�.

In the case of frozen fishery products the date of freezing must be stated. Unfortunately, the EU regulation does not only provide better information for the consumer but also leads to an increased administrative burden and considerably higher costs for the producer. Prominent representatives of the fish industry such as Dr Matthias Keller, the vice president of the Association of the German Fish Industry and Fish Wholesale Trade accuses the regulation of not being “mature�.

Much of the information that will in future have to be provided on the label would not be of interest to “normal� consumers because they had neither the interest nor the necessary knowledge. Keller believes that hardly more than five per cent of fish buyers have a need for such detailed information.

In accordance with Article 35 of Regulation (EC) No. 1379/2013, in addition to the previously required information on the trade name and scientific name of the fish species, the catch area, production method and the information on whether the product has been defrosted, it must now also be declared what fishing gear was used and perhaps even the product’s expiration date. Particularly this latter

requirement that would hit fish service counters very hard and is difficult to implement in daily business is meeting resistance.

Critics complain that with this requirement the EU is going far beyond the scope of their own food information regulation which does not require that foods that are sold loose to the final consumer be provided with a minimum expiration date or a use-by date. ǔJT SFRVJSFNFOU HBWF UIF DPOsumer a false sense of security because once the fish was sold the traders did not have any more influence on whether the cold chain was maintained or how a fish product was handled. Already for that reason it was not possible to state an exact “use by� date, and durability statements for loose fish in the counter were technically hardly implementable because all the data in the system and on the labels in the counter would have to be changed daily. And because sometimes different batches of one and the same fish product are presented side by side for sale in the service counter several labels would be necessary. Since a lot of consumers are known to prefer to buy products with a longer shelflife older products would be very difficult to sell then, despite the fact that they might be of excellent quality. Probably more food would have to be destroyed which would reduce the profitability of the counter and go against any ambition for sustainable use of resources. For decades people have been buying fresh fish at the service counter to eat as soon as possible and not to store. Questions of durability and storage conditions are traditionally dealt with during the sale. Why does something that has been working well for as long as we can remember have to be changed at all. MK

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[ PROCESSING ] Chinese processing company utilises foreign ďŹ sh products to sell in the domestic market

Chinese ďŹ sh processing looks towards new markets and domestic consumers China has a vast network of ďŹ sh buyers and sellers, catering to growing demand of ďŹ sh and ďŹ sh products. Markets are constantly changing and new products are being developed in order to ďŹ ll rapidly increasing demand in the domestic market. EuroďŹ sh recently visited the company Kangbao Foodstuffs Co., Ltd in Qingdao during a study tour to evaluate the possibility of utilising high quality by-products from the EU ďŹ sh processing industry.

Q

ingdao in the Shandong province is a major area for fish processing companies in China and Kangbao Foodstuffs CO., LTD operation is similar to many other processing companies in the region.

The company processed about 6,000 tonnes raw material last year, the majority (about 70) is arrow tooth flounder production. Remaining production is made up by Greenland halibut, Pacific Ocean perch, rock sole and cod.

Imports from abroad, are re-exported to Japan Sushi products are processed from arrow tooth flounder and supplied to the Japanese market. Other raw materials are processed into both fillets and portions depending on the client’s orders. The raw material is all imported from outside China. Halibut is primary imported from Greenland, perch and rock sole from USA and the rest from the EU. At the moment, the primary end market is Japan. Some importers 28

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in Japan buy from Kangbao Foodstuffs and sell to other wholesalers, trade companies, supermarkets or directly to sushi restaurants. Some of their buyers have their own factory in Japan, so they buy fillets or portions from Kangbao and will do a second level of processing in Japan, for example breading or adding ÍBWPVS ǔFZ BMTP IBWF FYQPSUFE to USA in the past. Exporting to Europe would be of interest if there was an opportunity.

Wages and expectations rise Currently Kangbao Foodstuffs holds the BRC, MSC, HACCP and EU certificates. In the Japanese market, many seafood products are consumed raw, and for this reason microbial control is much stricter. The factory has a laboratory to monitor quality and safety and the company president says the company’s internal standards are more demanding than those required in the certifications schemes. ǔF CJHHFTU DIBMMFOHFŹGPS UIF DPNpany is that raw material prices have been increasing more than

Jiao Wen, President, and Mandy, Business Department Vice Manager of the Qingdao Kangbao Foodstuffs Co Ltd.

www.eurofishmagazine.com

[ PROCESSING ] Addressing new challenges ahead ǔF DPNQBOZ JT OPX DPOTJEFSJOH initiating production for the local market to supplement the exports to Japan. Selling on the local market would give a greater degree of ability and reduce the dependence PO B TJOHMF NBSLFU ǔF DPNQBOZ is still able to get the labour they need to do the fish processing on the factory floor. In the future productivity could be increased by introducing automated processing equipment in the plant, but for now manual processing is more useful and feasible. ǔF WJTJU UP ,BOHCBP XBT QBSU PG B project to see if markets existed in China for high quality by-products from the European processing Fish is processed at one of the three production units and exported to Japan. Production of redfish IQF fillets JOEVTUSZ ǔF DPODMVTJPO JT UIBU was ongoing during the visit. there is very limited space in the Chinese processing industry for 25 per year while the sales price these by-products (fish heads, tails has more or less stayed the same. bones etc.) because China has an ǔF DPNQFUJUJPO JT WFSZ IBSE abundant supply of these product on the Japanese market. Last GSPN JUT FYJTUJOH QSPEVDUJPO ǔF year the worker salaries were market price for these products increased by 5-10, but in 2014 will not cover the costs of packagthere has been no room to raise ing, freezing and transporting the the workers’ salaries again. by-products to China. ǔBU JT B QSPCMFN XIFO FWFSZthing becomes more expensive Marco Frederiksen, because of inflation. marco.frederiksen@eurofish.dk

Qingdao Kangbao Foodstuffs Co. Ltd. Jiaodong Industrial Park Jiaozhou, Quingdao China Tel.: +86 532 88265513 Fax: +86 532 88265718 qiujing3-9@hotmail.com www.kangbaofood.cn

Arrow tooth flounder is the most important product accounting for 70% of the approximately 6,000 tonnes of raw material that the company processed in 2013. www.eurofishmagazine.com

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President: Jiao Wen Business Dept. Vice Manager: Mandy

Activity: Frozen food processing Facilities: Three processing factories Products: Fillets and portions of arrow tooth ounder, Greenland halibut, PaciďŹ c Ocean perch, rock sole, and cod Markets: Japan CertiďŹ cates: BRC, MSC, HACCP; EU export number Employees: 400 Turnover: USD30m

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ITALY

Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Aquaculture in Europe and the Mediterranean a priority Riccardo Rigillo, General Director, Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry in Italy has been involved in formulating policy for the Italian ďŹ sheries sector for many years. As current holder of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Italy has a delicate task. The start of the year saw the introduction of the new Common Fisheries Policy with important provisions, in particular, the landing obligation, due to be implemented on 1 January 2015. Moreover, the Italians preside over a period of transition as the Juncker Commission took over from the Barroso Commission on 1 November 2014. The Italian agenda includes giving further impetus to the Integrated Maritime Policy for Blue Growth, jobs and the economy as well as boosting the aquaculture sector in Europe and the Mediterranean.

What is the view from the ministry on the reformed Common Fisheries Policy? Where does it see the benefits for the Italian fisheries sector and where can it foresee problems with the implementation?

A new CFP was needed. The management rules under the previous CFP had revealed themselves to be awkward, and the problems related to the status of the stocks demanded a prompt reaction. In the reform, stress has been put on long term sustainability – both ecological and socio-economical – as well as on regionalisation.

Italy will benefit from both these aspects. The problems are mainly cultural: for example our fishermen need to change their attitude towards undersized fish – that they are now obliged to land.

Riccardo Rigillo, General Director, Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture, Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry

Mediterranean fisheries are characterised by small fishing vessels, multiple gear types, and a great diversity of species. What is likely to be the impact of the discard ban and the landing obligation on the Italian fisheries sector? How do you foresee its implementation and what consequences will it have for fishermen?

Mediterranean fisheries have their specificities – but so does every fishery, a point we ought not to forget. The discard ban – or better, the landing obligation – will be applied to all the species subject to minimum size rules.

The main impact will be a complete change in attitude towards undersized fish: up to now we

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were concerned about the prohibition of even catching those fish; from now on, the setting is the opposite!

The first discard plans for the Mediterranean have already been adopted, and Italy put in a big effort to achieve this result – that was obtained mainly at regional

level – and with the contribution of the stakeholders through the Mediterranean Advisory Council. I think that the main consequence for fishermen will be a higher awareness of the importance of rules – and that they are becoming active players in managing and protecting the marine resources. www.eurofishmagazine.com

ITALY

The new EU strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian region was recently launched. Within the fisheries and aquaculture sector what are Italy’s priorities under this strategy? What measures will be implemented to achieve Italian objectives and can you provide some examples of the kind of outcomes you expect from this strategy?

The strategy has been launched to involve more and more the Balkan region in the sustainable development of the whole area.

As far as fishery and aquaculture are concerned, cooperation with those countries dates back many years. We have an important project of regional cooperation, AdriaMed, within the GFCM-FAO framework. It focuses on applied research within the sector. An important outcome from this kind of cooperation and strategy will be the possibility of drafting together long term management plans for marine resources that are common to all the countries.

At the recent Blue Day conference a session on sustainable fisheries for food security brought together panellists representing many of the stakeholders in the Mediterranean fisheries sector. What, briefly, were the conclusions from this debate?

First of all it was recognised the need for a deeper cooperation both among the states involved, and amongst the different sectors of the blue economy. Another very important conclusion was in recognising fishery as a political tool for cooperation and cohesion. Fishery can be in fact a “pilot� experience in cooperating and knowledge sharing, also for other sectors. In this sense, fishery can contribute with its best practices of sharing commonly used natural areas. www.eurofishmagazine.com

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Italy is a keen supporter of the GFCM. What are Italian aspirations for fisheries and aquaculture in the Mediterranean and how can the GFCM contribute to achieving these goals?

The GFCM is the natural forum for cooperation and sharing among Mediterranean countries.

Cooperation in the area should be aimed at managing together important resources in the long term. The new GFCM agreement has been drafted keeping in mind this necessity. As for aquaculture, it is important to launch a process of deeper cooperation – not just in order to level the playing field, but for a more effective impact of European and Mediterranean aquaculture on world markets.

The profitability of the Italian fishing fleet has been dwindling for some years as costs increase faster than fish prices. In which ways can the economic viability of the fleet be increased? Are not the three desired goals of economic, environmental, and social (employment) sustainability mutually contradictory?

In my opinion, there are not three different kinds of sustainability, because sustainability is only one. The different goals are just three legs on which sustainability walks. The real challenge is not only achieving this threefold sustainability – that is the task of a good governance – but it is in convincing people that in the long term it is one and the same thing.

In the new European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Italy has an allocation of EUR537m for the period 2014-2020, one of the largest budgets among Member States. The fund has a strong focus on sustainability, improved data collection, better market organisation and

economic growth in fisheriesdependent communities. Given this, what are the Italian priorities for which funding will be sought and what policy measures are envisaged to achieve these objectives?

The political debate on the EMFF in Italy is not closed yet, but it seems clear that the objectives will be better achieved with a strong coordination of strategic priorities such as: job growth; innovation and research; simplification – especially for aquaculture; a new role for producer organisations – that need to become real service providers and monitors of rules. Another important aspect should be in iconic national pilot projects that can implement better practices and provide an example to follow in the rest of the country.

Farmed production of seabass, seabream, and rainbow trout, the three most widely produced finfish species in Italy, has remained more or less stagnant for the last few years. What are the factors that prevent the expansion of production and how can this be reversed so that aquaculture can fulfil its potential?

In order to help Italian aquaculture to fulfil its potential, I think that the first issue to be addressed is the administrative burden, as well as the over-complicated governance of the system: in this case simplification has to be the keynote. Another aspect that I would like to stress is the need for serious and planned innovation – as an example, innovative species need also to be commercially appealing. Last, but not least, the promotion and communication of the product – that is good, healthy and sustainable – towards a consumer that is very aware of issues related to health and ecosystems. We should not forget that

Italy has also an important shellfish sector, that can positively contribute both to the market efficiency of aquaculture and to the protection of the ecosystem.

Italy currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. What does the Italian Presidency mean for the European fisheries and aquaculture sector in terms of the launch of new initiatives, policies, or activities?

The role of the Italian Presidency is very delicate. We actually are dealing with the implementation of the new CFP and a very important priority is the so called “omnibus� regulation, that has to adapt all the existing European law to the new provisions, namely the landing obligation, by 1 January 2015: it must be adopted, by the European Parliament, by the end of the current year. We have a delicate role also because we are in transition between two Commissions, the new Commission taking charge in November.

In this framework we are doing our best also in cooperating with other Member States, in order to achieve our ambitious objectives.

Apart from this aspects, Italy intends to launch two important policy related issues. The first has been stressed through the “Blue Day� initiative and is the need for an Integrated Maritime Policy for Blue Growth, jobs, and economic development. The other will be launched in Bari in December, at the international conference on Mediterranean and Black Sea aquaculture. It will be pivotal for regional aquaculture development, and will focus on achieving its objectives especially through implementing simplification at all levels, but also by using a differentiated “toolbox� for the sector.

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The Italian ďŹ sheries and aquaculture sector

Landing obligation for small pelagics may have little impact The Mediterranean ďŹ sheries sector is characterised by a wide diversity of species, ďŹ shing gear, and vessels. It is a signiďŹ cant part of the European ďŹ sheries sector. In terms of vessels the Mediterranean eet accounts for 46% of the number, 22% of the tonnage, and 34% of the engine power of the EU eet. In terms of landings the Mediterranean eet is responsible for only 12% of EU landings or about 500,000 tonnes a year on average. The Mediterranean eet’s landings are dominated by Italy, which lands just under half the total, with Spain, the country with the next biggest landings, accounting for 20%.

Fisheries in the Mediterranean are characterised by the use of different gears to catch a range of species at various times in the year. Here, different nets can be seen in the foreground and background.

I

n 2013 the size of the national Italian fleet declined 2% to 14,139 vessels of which 12,603 were active, and there was a decrease both in fishing activity and in production. The fleet had a combined gross tonnage of 154 thousand GT and a total power of 1,145 thousand kilowatts. In comparison, in 2012 the fleet had 14,433 vessels, a gross

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tonnage of 166 thousand tonnes and a total power of 1,176 kilowatts.

The biggest segment within the national fleet is the small-scale fleet which made up about two thirds, or 8,513 vessels, in 2013. However, the small-scale fleet comprises vessels under 12 m in length and typically less than 2 GT on average, so the total gross tonnage of this fleet

segment is 16 thousand tonnes or just 9% of the total fleet. The smallscale fleet typically uses passive gears such as long lines, set nets, pots, and traps. The number of days at sea after decreasing by 12% to 1,033 thousand in 2012, declined further to 986 in 2013, a drop of 5% according to the 2014 Annual Economic Report (AER) on the

EU Fishing Fleet by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF).

Further fall in weight, value of Italian landings The weight of landings fell significantly in 2013, for the fourth consecutive year, to 171 thousand tonnes, a www.eurofishmagazine.com

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decline of 13% compared with the year before. The decrease in production did not however trigger an increase in prices. On the contrary overall income from landings declined to EUR813m a fall of 12%.

Employment fell by 2% in 2013 to 20,261 full time equivalents (FTE).

The decline in production volume and value can be attributed to several factors. Increased production costs, of fuel in particular, led to changes in fishing zones as skippers tried to reduce the distance they had to travel to conserve fuel. New restriction imposed by the Mediterranean Regulation 1967/2006 affected mesh sizes, distance from the coast, and the minimum size of several species, also contributed to decreases in activity and lower production. Moreover, new inspection and control regulations and stricter enforcement all along the production chain from capture to final sale also had an impact on fishing operations, though this mainly affected the trawler segment. In volume terms catches of European anchovy were the most important followed

by European hake, deep water rose shrimp and swordfish. However, in value, the European anchovy was worth EUR75.6m, hake EUR74.4m, deep water rose shrimp EUR55.7m, and swordfish, EUR45.7m.

High fuel prices take their toll The Italian fleet is most active in the Tyrrhenian Sea where the Sicilian fleet operates and in the Adriatic where the Apulian fleet has its fishing grounds. The five most important segments of the national fleet in terms of the value of landings are the under 6 m and the 6-12 m vessels using passive gear; as well as the 12-18 m, 18-24 m and 24-40 m vessels using trawls or seines to target demersal species.

Of these it is the vessels less than 6 m that are the most profitable of any of the 23 fleet segments that www.eurofishmagazine.com

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constitute the national fleet. Vessels in the 24-40 m length category, some 200 vessels based mainly in Mazara del Vallo, Sicily’s (and Italy’s) biggest port, operate mainly in the Sicilian channel. This segment is among the hardest hit by the high fuel prices as well as by the loss of traditional fishing grounds off Libya and Tunisia.

Fishermen pessimistic about their sector The recent performance of the Italian fleet has been coloured by the fall in both landings and prices. The bleak economic picture of some segments of the fleet is reflected in a more pessimistic outlook amongst fishers. Nino Accetta, president of Federcoopesca in Sicily, says that his members, 80% of whom belong to the small-scale fishery, are overburdened with regulations crafted in Brussels that fail to take into account local conditions. Rules that may be suitable for large fishing vessels are not necessarily appropriate for small ones, he points out. It is also unfair that all fleets fishing in the Mediterranean are not equal, those from the EU are subject to more restrictions than those from other countries, for example in the use of driftnets.

As restrictions have increased over the years, the small-scale fishers in particular have been voluntarily decommissioning their vessels and leaving the fishery. Over the last decade the fleet has decreased by 40%, says Mr Accetta, increasing the problem of unemployment especially in the south. In addition, the next generation sees no potential in the sector and are choosing other avenues, which leads to a further hollowing out of the sector.

Discards can have positive and negative impacts The performance of the fishing fleet is likely to be further affected

Nino Accetta, president of Federcoopesca in Sicily

by provisions of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) that are due to enter in to force from 1 January 2015. Specifically, the landing obligation and ban on discards.

Discarding refers to the practice of returning fish to the sea, whether alive or dead. Apart from the immediate issues associated with discarding (it is a waste of resources) fish, researchers have found that discarding can also lead to changes in the ecosystem, for example, by causing the proliferation of scavengers, and thereby altering food webs. Continuous discarding can also have an impact on the diversity and abundance of benthic species. It also affects the quality of fisheries data, which in turn influences scientific advice and thereby the efficiency of fisheries management. However, other scientists have found that discarding may also have positive impacts such as by increasing the productivity of ecosystems, creating other trophic interactions, and by providing food for several bird species. The Mediterranean has a large variety of around 300 fish species, but only a small fraction (10%) is sold regularly, an occasional market exists for about 30% depending

on sizes and current demand, and 60% is consistently discarded.

The landing obligation makes it mandatory for the fisher to land all the fish that is caught, and also determines that it will be counted against his quotas. Undersized fish that is landed may not be used for human consumption, but can be converted to fishmeal and fish oil, or used in the cosmetic or pharmaceutical industries.

The landing obligation should contribute to more reliable catch data and it is expected to give fishers an incentive to improve gear selectivity. It will be phased in fishery by fishery between 2015 and 2019 for all commercial fisheries, that is, catches of species managed by quotas/catch limits or minimum landing sizes. In the Mediterranean no fishery apart from bluefin tuna is managed by quotas.

Italian fleet the most important in the Mediterranean Italy, by some accounts, has the highest catches of any EU nation in the Mediterranean. The fleet uses a number of different kinds Eurofish Magazine 6 / 2014

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of gears. According to the report, “The state of Italian marine fisheries and aquaculture,� published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, in Italy bottom trawl nets refer to all bottom trawling devices including common otter trawls, beam trawls, and bottom pair trawls. While common otter trawls are used by fleets in the Adriatic and the Mediterranean, twin trawls and rapido trawls (that are a kind of beam trawls) are used only in the Adriatic. Bottom trawls allow large volumes of valuable species to be fished. However, their use is characterised by heavy fuel consumption as the vessel must have a powerful engine to be able to overcome the resistance of the seabed and pull the gear quickly (in the case of the rapido nets 7-8 knots) through the water.

Alessandro Lucchetti, a fisheries expert at CNR-ISMAR, the Italian Institute of Marine Science and recently engaged on a European Research project on discards in the Italian small pelagics (anchovies and sardines) sector, says that discards relate only to the species which have a minimum landing size (MLS). The amount of these fish of the target species that appear in the catch is not that high in Italy. Occasionally in the small pelagics fishery the fishermen will discard their catch for commercial reasons (for example, the lack of a market), but this is seldom. In the demersal fishery too there is some catch of undersized target specimens, but it is mainly in certain periods and certain areas, and the amount is negligible compared with the total catch. For example, in Italian trawl fisheries for hake the catch of undersized individuals is due to the presence of nursery areas for this species in some Italian geographical sub-areas where there are large numbers of 34

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juveniles. Again, for the red mullet and other species a huge amount of juveniles are present in coastal waters in late summer; this is the reason why ministry decrees each year extend the width of the area closed to bottom trawling to 6 miles from the coast, until the end of October (normally it is 3 miles).

In any case, the landing obligation for demersal fish only comes into force in 2019, which means there will be time get a more accurate picture of the situation.

Landing obligation may have unexpected consequences Dr Lucchetti points out three aspects of the landing obligation which could have unforeseen consequences. Firstly, there is still some ambiguity about what constitutes discards in the Mediterranean. Currently, fish under the minimum landing size (MLS) is illegal and considered discards.

However, fish that is above the MLS, yet is damaged or for which there is no market, can also be returned to the sea. Since it is above the MLS it may not be considered discards and may therefore not be covered by the discard ban (it could potentially be sold), meaning that the fisher is not obliged

Alessandro Lucchetti, a fisheries expert at CNR-ISMAR, the Italian Institute of Marine Science

Manila clams, smooth clams (pictured), striped Venus, oysters, cockles, and mussels are just some of the bivalve species that are farmed or fished in Italy.

to land it. This could undermine the aim of this regulation in the Mediterranean. Secondly, the fish below the MLS that are landed cannot be used for human consumption, but may be used for the production, for example, of fishmeal and fish oil. In the pelagic fishery this may create a market for undersized fish and provide fishermen with an incentive to catch them, which in turn could lead to over-exploitation, a concern that some fisheries associations also share. This apprehension is also voiced in a report produced for the European Parliament: The obligation to land all catches – Consequences for the Mediterranean.

The authors suggest that a discard ban may result in an increase in catches of juveniles as there are no quotas to count these catches against, and there is therefore no incentive to avoid catching them.

Developing a market for this fish may in fact even encourage fishers to target juveniles. Finally, another potential problem Dr Lucchetti mentions is the material landed that cannot be commercially exploited. Disposing of this will need to be done rapidly and effectively given the warm climate and the potential impact on the important tourist industry, and this will entail a cost to be borne.

For both demersal and pelagic fisheries Dr Lucchetti thinks that the proportion of undersized fish

in the total catch for most of species which have a MLS will probably be less than 5% (with the exception of hake) and will so fall under the threshold at which this fish will need to be landed.

In general he feels that the new regulation is unlikely to introduce significant changes to the current situation in the Italian fisheries sector.

Association works with researchers to find uses for discard fish The use of multiple gears that fishers use at different times of the year to target different species makes fisheries more sustainable, says Giovanni Basciano, vice-president of the Sicilian branch of AGCI Agrital, the General Association of Italian Cooperatives, because the fishing effort is directed at many different resources rather than concentrating on a few. He thinks that a possible consequence of the discard ban could be a reduction in sustainability as fishers will use fewer fishing gears and less species will be targeted putting more pressure on a few resources.

To avoid this, the association, together with researchers, is studying different alternatives for the utilisation of the non-commercial fish caught that will be brought on shore, based on the characteristics of the species and the vessel/gear type. This covers a wide spectrum, www.eurofishmagazine.com

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Albacore and swordfish important fisheries too

Giovanni Basciano, vice-president of the Sicilian chapter of AGCI Agrital, the General Association of Italian Cooperatives

from the production of fishmeal and fish oil to more sophisticated products such as those of interest to the cosmetic or pharmaceutical industries. Since catches have been declining, increasing the value of the catch is one of the ways profitability of the fleet can be restored. Both Mr Basciano and Mr Accetta mention that better marketing with emphasis on the Sicilian provenance of their fish, its quality and sustainability, should be used to sell the fish at a premium. In addition, Mr Basciano thinks that there should be more opportunities for the fishers to sell their catch directly to the consumer bypassing the other links (wholesale, retail) in the supply chain, so as to give the fisher a better price for his fish.

The issues faced by demersal and pelagic fishermen are different from those confronting the tuna industry. Italy has a long history of fishing for large pelagics of which bluefin tuna is probably the most important with a fishery tradition dating back to prehistoric times. Today the bluefin tuna fishery together with fisheries for other tuna and tuna-like species in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean are regulated by ICCAT, the International Commission for the www.eurofishmagazine.com

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Conservation of Atlantic Tunas.

The quota for Italy in 2014 of just under 2,000 tonnes was the same as it was in 2013. Other big pelagics that are targeted by the Italian fleet in the Mediterranean include swordfish, albacore, and smaller species such as bonito, and skipjack tuna. The majority of the catches of bluefin tuna is with purse seines with some also being caught with longlines and tuna traps. The national fleets authorised to fish bluefin tuna are mainly concentrated in the regions of Campania (purse seines), Sicily (longlines), and Sardinia (tuna traps), says Paolo Pignalosa, director of Oceanis, a fisheries consultancy, and most of the fish caught is fattened for export to Japan, though a small volume is available fresh on the Italian market. The fishery used to be conducted all the year around, but today there are seasonal closures that stringently restrict the fishery. Mr Pignalosa considers that these restrictions need to be revisited by the members of ICCAT, who should enter into a dialogue to find a balance between the sea, the ecosystem, farms, and fishermen, that better reflects the status of the stock and will bring back some of the jobs that have been lost with the decline of the fishery.

Albacore is caught today primarily with albacore longlines, though drift nets used to be the most commonly used gear until their ban in 2006. Albacore is fished mainly in southern Italy in the spring and autumn with some catches also in summer. Swordfish too is fished with longlines, which have evolved over the years as traditional surface longlines were substituted with the deep longline, a development which resulted in the catch of swordfish spawners, which has had an indeterminate impact on the stock. The smaller pelagics bonito, skipjack etc. are usually caught by artisanal fisheries using longlines and hand lines.

Large pelagics fisheries are also found in the Adriatic, the southern Italian seas, off Sardinia and in the Tuscany-Liguria area.

Dredgers the most profitable fleet segment The Italian clam fishery is an important activity in the fisheries sector. Clam fishing today is carried out mostly by hydraulic dredgers in the northern and central parts of the Adriatic. In 2012 there were 702 vessels (5% of the total Italian fleet) between 12-18 m in length. This industry supported about 1.6% of the workforce or 330 full time positions, and had a landing value of EUR52m or 6% of total landings. The vessels are equipped with dredging units with which they dredge for bivalves particularly clams. In 2012 landings amounted to about 22,000 tonnes or 11% of total Italian landings. With a net profit margin of 15% the dredging fleet has one of the highest margins of all the fleet segments. The dredgers are found concentrated on the Adriatic coast with the greatest numbers found in the provinces

of Marche, and Veneto. There are several species of bivalve that are targeted by the dredgers. According to data from the FAO, the production of bivalves in Italy stems from capture fisheries as well as from harvesting farmed bivalves.

Farmed production is led by the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis), volumes of which amounted to 79,000 (est.) tonnes in 2012, a 17% increase since 2008. Manila clam or Japanese carpet shell (Ruditapes philippinarum) with an estimated production of 30,000 tonnes in 2012 is the next most important species in terms of production, however the value of production at USD151m is almost double that of the value of the Mediterranean mussel at USD77m. The Manila clam is farmed in the Venetian lagoon, an area where Mediterranean mussels are also farmed on longlines. Farmed grooved carpet shell (Ruditapes decussatus) volumes in 2012 are estimated at 1,600 tonnes with a value of USD8,300.

In terms of capture fisheries it is the striped venus (Chamelea gallina) that dominates production with 20,000 tonnes in 2012 corresponding to the average of the last five years, followed by the smooth clam (Callista chione) with 1,700 tonnes.

The dredge fisheries are typically organised into consortia

Paolo Pignalosa, director of Oceanis, a fisheries consultancy Eurofish Magazine 6 / 2014

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Freshwater farms face constraints to expansion

Trout production has stagnated in Italy for the last few years.

Processors are adding more value to the fish by creating ready-tocook products.

of fishermen that work together both with the administration and research organisations to ensure the sustainable exploitation of the resource. While the general rules are laid down by the central administration a consortium may lay down stricter regulations covering for example the gear, daily quotas, restocking, market policies, as well as control and sanctions. While members of the consortium are familiar with the day to day state of the stock the cooperation with

research institutes provides an independent long term assessment of the stock situation. A consortium manages its areas, closing some down while they are restocked, and monitoring the production so that harvests are commensurate with the stock as well as with the demand from the market. Despite these controls the system is not foolproof as researchers have found that some clam stocks in the Adriatic are showing signs of overexploitation.

While bivalve farming is a wellestablished activity with a long tradition, Italy also has a thriving freshwater fish farming sector producing mainly trout, but also char, sturgeon and eel. Fish farms are mainly located in the northern part of the country in the Veneto, Friuli Venetia Giulia, Trentino Alto Adige, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont regions, while a few farms can also be found in the Umbria and Marche regions in central Italy.

Production of rainbow trout, estimated by the FAO at 34,000 tonnes in 2012, dominates the total freshwater production. Sea trout with 1,500 tonnes, sturgeons with 850 tonnes, and eel at 450 tonnes are the other mostproduced species. While production of rainbow trout is several times higher than the production of other species, in the five years up to 2012 output of this species has stagnated, while the other species have generally shown more impressive growth trends.

Eel volumes, for example, over the same period increased 15%,

while sturgeon production grew by 136%, both however from a much lower base. The reasons for the lack of growth in the trout industry are many and varied.

They include an excess of red tape, a lack of sites, competition from imports, and high costs.

Companies are seeking to add greater value to their production rather than simply increasing volumes. Creating markets for new products is not easy, but is probably the only way forward and will create an industry that is more resilient and better able to compete in an increasingly crowded market.

The Italian fisheries and aquaculture sector is spectacularly diverse in terms of the species fished and farmed, the environments they grow in, and the products they become. While some sectors may not be doing as well as they might it seems there are always companies that are bucking the trend, creating new products, finding new markets, or improving their quality. This variety and dynamism are sure to drive the sector forward, despite the constraints it faces.

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On 23 October the European Commission released new Italian seafood guides as part of its “Inseparable� campaign to help consumers make more sustainable choices when purchasing seafood products. The “Inseparable� concept encourages consumers to be curious and aware of the fish they eat, and make decisions to support sustainable fishing, and the safe consumption of seafood. The information guides were developed jointly with the World Wildlife fund (WWF) and will be distributed throughout Italy, at fish markets and other points of sale. The theme of one guide is “Che pesci pigliare – No ai pesci sotto taglia!� (“Choose your fish – No fish

smaller than the legal size!�), which will help to educate and inform consumers about acceptable minimum fish sizes among other things.

The European Commission also released a guide entitled “Pesce Ritrovato� at an event Salone del Gusto in Turin, which aims to make consumers more aware about making sustainable choices in every season and getting in touch with when and where different fish species are harvested. The European Commission is committed to safe and sustainable fisheries management across Europe and campaigns like, “Inseparable� can contribute to sustainable catch and consumption of fish throughout European waters.

www.pesceritrovato.it - www.ďŹ shscale.eu Con il contributo di

http://ec.europa.eu/ďŹ sheries/inseparable/it

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Con il contributo dello strumento ďŹ nanziario LIFE della Commissione europea

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Traditional ďŹ shers willing to adopt new methods

Artisanal ďŹ sheries can beneďŹ t from certiďŹ cation Small-scale coastal ďŹ shing is widespread in Italy. Strong relationships between ďŹ shers, ďŹ shing areas, and ancient ďŹ shing traditions make it difďŹ cult for ďŹ shers to comply with international standards that, if adopted, could enhance the production and the work of the ďŹ shermen. Nisea, an Italian organisation conducting economic research into ďŹ sheries and aquaculture, has proposed a pilot project to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, to verify the applicability of an international certiďŹ cation scheme.

T

he innovation of the project conducted during 2014 is the applicability of a certification standard to a fishing system that targets only anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus).

For small-scale fisheries recognition by an international certification can add strategic value to the product. This is because the product is often placed on the market as salted fish, unlike fish from large-scale production. The applicability of the certification has focused on small-scale fishing using drift nets or menaica that are used to fish for anchovy in the period between March and June in the Cilento area, in the southern part of Campania.

Fishing with menaica has a long tradition in the Cilento area with a total of 19 vessels involved. These are small vessels between 6 and 10 m in length. The menaica is used for 20-30 days per year, during a season ranging from 2 to 4 months (from March to June). The nets are 150-350 m in length with a 15-20 m drop and 12-13 mm mesh size. The direct employment is estimated at about 1.5 people per boat (the number varies depending on the abundance of the biomass), the average age of the employees is 48 years and the average age of the vessels is more than 15 years.

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The profitability of the seasonal menaica is significant compared to other gears used by the same shipowners, contributing an estimated 25-30% of the annual income.

Highly selective gear catches only the largest specimens The driftnet, which is left drifting at night, has meshes which allow the capture of large anchovies in the size category 35-40 g (about 30 fish per kilogram). The anchovies caught in the menaica lose a lot of blood as they attempt to break free. The fish are sold fresh or are processed by placing them in salt using an ancient recipe resulting ultimately in a product that is highly valued. The certification is an opportunity for niche products and systems primarily from small-scale fisheries that do not impact the environment or fishery resources. The scarcity of boats and fishing areas certified is due to the strong typicality of the small-scale fisheries.

The aim of the project was to analyse the critical points of the international scheme and its grey areas in relation to small scale artisanal fishing. The documentation that needed to be produced by the fishermen was also studied to

There are 19 vessels between 6 and 10 m in length involved in the menaica fisheries in the Cilento area in the southern part of Campania.

ensure that fishermen could flexibly handle the certification procedures. The strength of the results is related to the methodology used to achieve the objectives: the strong collaboration with fishermen who continue to use the menaica. The collaboration was made with the

fishermen of Marina di Pisciotta, Palinuro and Marina di Camerota, the three villages where this artisanal activity is most common.

Following the many roundtable and brainstorming sessions the fishermen have expressed an interest in certification by Friend Eurofish Magazine 6 / 2014

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The anchovies are processed by laying them in salt for a period of months to give a highly sought after product.

The menaica is a highly selective anchovy fishing gear that targets only large individuals and has no impact on the environment or other stocks.

of the Sea (FoS), which currently has a strong presence on the Italian market for processed fish products, after the conclusion of the pilot project.

The main problems related to fishing include a decreased abundance of the stock as well as the limited size of the fish. Because of the highly selective net it is only possible to catch large individuals, in fact the average size of anchovy caught is 35-40 g (about 30 anchovies per kilogram). Bluefin tuna are a significant threat as they attack the shoals of anchovies reducing the availability and abundance of the product. They can also damage the menaica, and repairing a hole of one square meter can take several days of manual work. Direct costs including fuel and nets are high. In addition, labour is both expensive and hard to find as fewer and fewer young people are interested in fishing as a career. The costs of complying with the law are increasingly burdensome, moreover, there are strict environmental constraints and a growing number of controls by the authorities.

Finally, aggregating the production, while maintaining the advantages of small scale processing is difficult.

include the need to train the fishermen about safety on board as well as respect for the environment. The lack of data on maintenance which would give information on waste, the volumes of waste generated or recovered at sea, etc., made it necessary to educate and inform fishermen about their obligation to deliver waste and to record this information in the course of their work. No records were kept of protected species caught accidently although fishermen were aware of both the protected species and of the procedures to be initiated upon incidents of unwanted by-catches. This may because the specific nature of the nets makes the catch of non-target species extremely seldom. The potential for certifying sustainable fisheries is certainly high; the weakness is the difficulty of fishermen involved in smallscale fisheries to agree to practices which tend to standardise traditional fishing.

Need for additional paperwork a potential weakness

The project also involved a survey to identify whether consumers would prefer certified to non-certified fish. While 57% of the respondents were aware of the existence of certified fish only

Project evaluates the advantages of certification The menaica is a highly selective fishing gear that has no impact on the marine environment and little impact on other fish species (there is a by-catch of sardines). To assess the applicability of the certification to a small local fleet, Nisea analysed and evaluated various macro aspects, such as the state of the stock and impact on the ecosystem, selectivity of the gear, the legal compliance and the administration and management, but also aspects related to the waste management and management of energy (fuel), as well as social and labour issues. A particular analysis was done on profitability of smallscale artisanal fisheries and the relationship between production and the final consumer market.

The study revealed several weaknesses, which have been divided into those related to fishing per se, and those to be considered when adopting a certification scheme.

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The main problems related to the certification scheme

a third said they bought certified fish. The results from the 100 interviews also showed a strong tradition to buy fish in general and over 85% of the respondents who said they consumed fish regularly, also bought anchovies.

For fishermen what is relevant is the willingness of consumers to pay a premium for products from certified sustainable fisheries. Around 61% of respondents said they would be willing to pay more for a product with an international certification that verifies environmental sustainability.

Fishermen would, however, need to be better at marketing their product, increasing the offer, and making it more visible on the market.

In conclusion, for a small-scale coastal fishery, certification is a management tool that can enhance the competitiveness of the fishermen, guarantee a higher wholesale price, keep prices more stable, as well as generate additional income from processing or tourism.

Maria Cozzolino cozzolino@nisea.eu Nisea, Fishery and Aquaculture Research Organisation www.nisea.eu www.eurofishmagazine.com

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Making themselves at home in the Adriatic

The long-lasting success of the Manila clam Aurelio Zentilin, Director of Health, in the shellďŹ sh cooperative Almar, remembers that, until about 1970 when ďŹ shing for Callista chione began in the Adriatic, farming and ďŹ shing for clams was not a very good business. Throughout Europe, there were problems with sanitation related to clams, he says. Diseases such as typhus, salmonella, and even hepatitis could be traced to contaminated clams. There was a lack of refrigeration and depuration. When we started farming clams in the Marano Lagoon in 1986, ďŹ sh production was high and clam production was low. Now, that has turned around 180 degrees.

T

he idea to farm clams in Marano lagoon was inspired by the successful introduction of the Manila clam (Tapes philippinarum) in the Venice lagoon in 1983, using seed purchased from an English hatchery.

Production in the Marano lagoon started on 29 April 1986 and today, 90% of Almar’s production comes from farming, approximately 694 tonnes. The remaining 76 tonnes is fished. Almar (Acquacoltura lagunare Marinetta Soc. Coop.

Agricola a R.L.) was founded in 1995. It is a cooperative consortium that leads the production chain directing the production and marketing of shellfish in areas of Marano lagoon and the provinces of Trieste and Ferrara. The consortium shares common practices and procedures, laid out in a dedicated policy document. The cooperative started with the nine people who built it, while today it has forty employees.

Harvesting more varieties than trout Although the business was founded on the success of the Manila clam, today’s cooperative produces a number of other shellfish varieties, including mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis), oysters (Crassostrea gigas and www.eurofishmagazine.com

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Ostrea edulis), striped clams (Venus gallina), smooth clams (Callista chione), cockles (Acanthocardia spp. and Cardium spp.), and razor clams (Ensis spp.). Currently, the cooperative produces approximately 1,100 tonnes annually and catches approximately 200 tonnes, but the total is expected to increase to between 2,000 and 2,500 tonnes in coming years. Manila clams are farmed in the lagoon, mussels are farmed in the sea near Trieste, on longlines, while Adriatic clams, the smooth clams, and razor clams are farmed in the Adriatic.

The Marano and the adjacent Grado lagoons are located in the northern Adriatic, covering an area of approximately 160 square kilometres, with a length of nearly 32 kilometres and an average width of 5 kilometres. Generally, the Mediterranean tides are of a very low amplitude. The northern Adriatic is one of the few places in the Mediterranean with noticeable tides, which reach about 1.5 metres. With the tides, the inflow of rivers, and precipitation, the water changes completely and is regularly renewed. This has favoured the development of clam culture in the lagoon, because it enriches the water with phytoplankton. On the other hand the temperature and salinity change completely

The team at the processing factory of the Almar cooperative. Aurelio Zentilin, the Director of Health, is second from left.

also depending on the season. In winter, the lagoon can be covered with ice, and in spring and the start of summer, the temperature of the water can be very high.

The Manila clam needs no introduction With the world production of 3 million tonnes per year, the Manila clam is economically the world’s most important bivalve species.

According to the FAO, its production represents 20% of the global bivalve market. China is by far the leading producer of Manila clams with approximately 97% of world production, but Italy, with a production of 50,000 tonnes annually – 90% of European production – is second, followed by the USA, Spain, and

France. Northern Adriatic production contributes up to 95% of the overall Italian production. Most production happens north of the Po River, where the area has plenty of sand and mud. About 70% of Italian production is consumed internally and the rest is exported, mostly to Europe, primarily Spain.

Consumption is directed almost exclusively to the live-product trade. Mostly, the product is packaged fresh in net bags, says Mr Zentilin, but now we package them in vacuum packs. They are fresh and alive, and can be refrigerated at 6°C for seven days. The packs are not so popular near the coast, because consumers want them fresh and the vacuum pack is more expensive. As the Eurofish Magazine 6 / 2014

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the clam’s growth and sanitary and environmental conditions are tested. During the third year, the mature clams are harvested.

During the harvest, efficiency is key, not only because it costs less, but because it respects the environment. By working efficiently, by reducing the number of steps during collection, you reduce the ecological impact.

Water for depuration of the shellfish is filtered through different systems and treated with ozone before being used.

Manila clam spread in the Adriatic lagoons, fishermen abandoned the traditional fishery due to the abundance of the species; the ease of harvesting, and the availability of a large market for it. At the beginning of the 1990s, almost 50% of fishermen in the area started to harvest clams.

Slow growing but worth the wait It takes three years until the clams are ready to harvest. The schedule allows the cooperative to organise production in three parts. The first year, the seed is spread. The second year, the farmers wait, and the third year, they harvest. In the Venice lagoon it takes two years or less. This is because the water there has more nutrition, more algae and phytoplankton. Because they have the nutrients, their whole primary production is better than here. On the other hand Almar’s clams grow more slowly, which is a negative.

But because they grow slowly, they are the best quality. The shells have hardened and the muscle is strong.

Seed from wild and from hatchery Seed is produced in the Almar hatchery, which has a capacity of four million individuals per year, 40

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and in addition the cooperative buys wild seed from nursery areas in the Po River. But it has have found that competing with nature is often a mistake. If you manage the natural spat well, mussels for example, and clams in certain areas, you can have natural spat at a cost lower than the cost of running a hatchery. And the quantity and quality is totally different from what a hatchery can produce, says Aurelio Zentilin.

Mostly, the cooperative uses natural spat, but must make sure that it has a backup. If the natural spat is not sufficient, spat from the hatchery is used, but the costs are completely different. Pre-fattening starts when the seed reaches a size of 1.5–3 mm. This is done in plastic tanks or the seed is scattered directly on the floor of the lagoon. In that case, plastic nets are laid over the seed to protect them from predators, such as crabs and birds. This is done at a very low density because of the scarcity of nutrition. This step ends when the Manila clams reach a length of between 12 and 15 mm. Fattening takes place on the lagoon bottom. Normally, 50% of the juveniles survive until they reach commercial size (35–40 mm, 15 g), after about three years. During the second year,

Multifunctional vessel clears the way In the interest of safeguarding the delicate lagoon environment, it was necessary to reimagine the kind of vehicle or vessel that was required to seed, harvest, and lay plastic sheeting. Many requirements had to be considered that had to be met in creating the ideal vehicle�, says Zentilin. “We had to find resistant materials that are able to operate in the marine environment, calculate the dimensions and correct weight distribution, estimate the pressure applied to the lagoon sediments, and ensure operating security�. Three models were developed: a model seeder machine that also removed oyster shells from the lagoon bottom and a system to lay plastic nets; a model for cleaning and removing plastic nets; and finally the model of a shallow hydraulic escalator harvester. The impact of these prototypes, in particular on sediment texture and benthic community was studied to prove the environmental sustainability of each system.

In 2004, a new multifunctional vessel (M/S ADA) was purchased that could be used in depths up to 40 cm. The system permits the elimination of sediment resuspension caused by propeller turbulence in shallow water. The studies convinced the cooperative that this production system was the best compromise between environmental sustainability and

economic yield. The same machine is used during low tide and high tide. The clams that are living in the sand are extracted and put directly in the containers, which are transported to the main facility. All of this is controlled with GPS, which shows the exact location of the area that should be harvested.

As easy as A, B, C production areas According to EU law, shellfish must be raised in areas designated as one of three categories, depending on the level of faecal contamination. Clams in class A areas can be collected for immediate human consumption. Clams in class B areas require treatment in a depuration centre, relaying in a class A area, or cooking by an approved method. Clams in class C areas require relaying for a long period or cooking by an approved method. “Clams are only in a class B area, so they must go through depuration to filter out all micro-organisms�, says Mr Zentilin. Depuration consists of placing shellfish in clean, flowing seawater, so that the animals resume normal pumping activity and expel contaminants from their gills and intestinal tract over a period of time. Seawater for this operation is taken from where they are grown and filtered. After a certain number of cycles, they are suitable for human consumption. European law doesn’t set the minimum number of cycles, but the cooperative sets a minimum of 12 hours.

Working towards a sustainable harvest In 2009, a temporary association of business operators was constituted, including Almar, Molluschicoltura Maranese Society, and the Cooperative of Fishermen St Vito of Marano Lagunare. The www.eurofishmagazine.com

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and shellfish Marano Lagunare follows an ancient fishing practice. Twice a year, in spring and September, all the town’s fisherman take part in a lottery to determine who has the right to fish in what areas. The fisherman with the highest number gets to choose the best place in the lagoon for that season. Everyone must respect the rules, if they want to participate in the next lottery. These include respecting the limits on fish size as set by At the factory bivalves are cleaned, graded and packaged, most often into nets.

goal is to work towards sustainable aquaculture of the Manila clam in Marano lagoon.

There are significant differences between the mentalities of a fisherman and an aquaculture farmer, says Zentilin. A fisherman only invests in the harvest. A farmer must also invest in the land and the seed. Farmers have to wait and test. These different mentalities

cause a lot of problems. Not only here; it’s the same in every part of the world. Today, we need a cultural revolution here to convince everyone about the importance of sustainable aquaculture.

An ancient type of organisation As an old Venetian town with a long tradition of catching fish

local and national bodies; fishing with the correct gear; and obeying the time limits. In addition, other fishermen must also be respected.

These traditions will perhaps help bridge the differences between fishermen and shellfish farmers for the benefit of both.

William Anthony Almar Soc. Coop. Agricola a r.l.

Via A. Volta, 33058 San Giorgio di Nogaro, Udine, Italy

Administrative ofďŹ ce Via G. Raddi, 2 33050 Marano Lagunare, Udine, Italy Tel: +39 431 640596 Fax: +39 0431 67411 almar@pec.almar-net.it http://frescoalmar.it/ Director of Health: Dr Aurelio Zentilin Activity: ShellďŹ sh aquaculture, specialising in Manila clam

Company Fact File Facilities: Depurating and packaging facility Products: Fresh manila clams, mussels, oysters, striped clams, smooth clams, cockles, and razor clams Markets: Italy, Spain, and other countries in Eastern and Western Europe No of employees: 40

Fishers of giant red shrimp promote their product

A higher price for sustainable shrimp of Sicilian origin?

A decrease of resources in the Mediterranean Sea, including the Strait of Sicily, has been observed during the past years. This could be associated with biologic and climatic factors. Other factors contributing to the decrease of catches are the increase of costs associated to ďŹ shing and landing activities. Meanwhile, the common view among scientists, producers’ organisations, is that the quality and freshness of the ďŹ sh locally is not known internationally and this needs to be promoted and marketed in connection with the tourism sector, a high source of revenue for the Sicilian economy.

C

omFish is an EU-funded project that seeks to improve communication between the stakeholders in the fisheries sector. This could lead to valuable practical benefits such

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as closer collaboration between fishers and scientists, and greater awareness of the challenges faced by fishermen, outcomes that could lead to the formulation of better and more relevant policy for the

sector. Among the outputs from ComFish is a series of films made in different sea basins that will communicate some of the issues that fishers are facing today. One of the films was made recently in Sicily,

specifically in Mazara del Vallo, one of the most typical Sicilian fishing villages, situated on the Strait of Sicily with an harbour that hosts one of the most important trawlers fleet in the central-eastern Eurofish Magazine 6 / 2014

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Paolo Giacalone is continuing the giant red shrimp business started by his grandfather

Mediterranean Sea. The film is one of the outputs of ComFish project that has among its aims, to address specific bottlenecks and communication issues related to reducing by-catch, labelling issues, fisheries co-management and transparency in quota setting. The objectives of the project are to increase dissemination of scientific knowledge on fisheries related research (i.e. ecosystem approach to fisheries management, and governance) and to explore innovative mechanisms to improve communication between stakeholders: scientists, fishing industry, policy makers, interest groupings and the society at large, including the media.

Common rules are needed for managing shared stocks

consequently for its high multispecies fisheries, predominance of small-scale fisheries, the big variety of fishing gears used, and a high fragmentation of the fisheries sector.

One of characteristics of the Mediterranean Sea is that its waters are shared by different countries, both EU and non-EU, e.g. the North African countries, which are bordering the southern part of the Mediterranean Sea. Fish stocks travel without political borders and common marine resources are shared by many governments. It is therefore a need to increase the collaboration between EU and non-EU countries that are sharing common stocks, both at local and regional level.

Common rules, common management objectives and long-term management plans are needed for the sustainability of these shared stocks in the Mediterranean.

The Mediterranean Sea is known for its high biodiversity and

In the last decades, a decreasing trend in the biomass has

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been observed, for some of the most fished stocks. This resulted in the Italian fishermen moving from the Strait of Sicily towards other non-EU Mediterranean sub-basins where more supplies are available and there is less fishing pressure on the resources. In the meantime, non-EU fishing fleets are fishing in the Strait of Sicily. Those that do not have the same objective, neither share the same fishing methods, regulations, control and enforcement as the EU/Italian fleet. It is a complex situation which needs carefully management. However, the capacity of the Italian fleet, including Sicily’s, has been decreasing in the past years in accordance with the EU policy of sustainable fisheries management. Both the distribution of the fishing effort recorded in the last decades and the decreasing capacity imposed in the last years resulting in a stock rebuilding of the main target species.

The Mediterranean hides a highly valued species The case of giant red shrimp fisheries is one example. Red and blue shrimps (Aristaeomorpha foliacea and Aristeus antennatus, respectively) commonly known as red shrimp, are species which are typically found in the Mediterranean Sea, including the waters surrounding the island of Sicily. Giant red shrimp is a highly praised species for its delicious meat, unique and unforgettable taste. Its size ranges from 12 to 20 cm and it has a dark red-velvet colour. The giant red shrimp lives in groups, between 200 and 1 000 meters deep and it is typically caught in the south of Greece and

Cyprus, north of Egypt, west of Lebanon and Palestine. One fishing trip for shrimp takes usually 40-45 days, after which the vessels return to the shore. Giant red shrimp is currently sold fresh or frozen, straight from the vessel. It can often be found on the fish market stalls in the towns of Sicily.

Paolo Giacalone, ship owner and President of Federpesca Sicilia, is firmly convinced of the uniqueness and superior quality of the central Mediterranean giant red shrimp that he sells under the “Rosso di Mazara� brand, frozen on the fishing vessel, at a temperature of -50 °C, which ensures its absolute freshness. His high-valued product whose logo resembles a heart, addresses a niche market and it is distributed directly to deluxe restaurants and delicatessen shops all over the world. Rosso di Mazara (www.rossodimazara. com) is a sustainable product as it is certified by Friend of the Sea (FoS). It is a species caught with respect for the sea and the marine life, with selective methods that do not damage the marine habitat.

However, in order to combat counterfeiting and compete with other producers, Paolo believes that an excellent product like the giant red shrimp needs its own identity card, as it is caught in the central-eastern Mediterranean Sea. Therefore he is currently working to promote widely the “Giant red shrimp of Sicily� and its deserved recognition and a remarkably quality seal, as well as a premium price paid by consumers.

Anca Sfetcovici anca.sfetcovici@eurofish.dk

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Controlling quality with care

Farming seabass and seabream in Italy Marco Gilmozzi is working with history and nature to produce ďŹ ne ďŹ sh. Using only the best raw materials and respecting environmental sustainability, the cooperative that he heads has developed internal standards that guarantee a quality product. Fish “Made in Tuscanyâ€? are valued highly in Italy and abroad.

M

arco Gilmozzi is President and CEO of Cosa SocietĂ Agricola a r.l., which is part of the Coopam group. Coopam was established in 1998 by fish farmers in Orbetello commune and distributes seabass, seabream, and meagre farmed by its associates and partners.

The Coopam group employs nearly 70 people. Cosa employs 22 people on the farm and an additional 10 in the processing plant. Cosa SocietĂ Agricola was founded in 1976, and Gilmozzi arrived in 1983. The company produces fish in ponds, but the Coopam group also has a cage farm, where it is testing this kind of farming. The company has 53 large ponds and 20 that are used as on growing units. The cooperative sells their fish everywhere, using the same label. Today, Cosa is a medium-sized player in the field but, at least for the Italian market, they are an important player, and sell more or less everywhere in the country. Their product is considered the best farmed fish that you can buy, although they never invest one euro in promotions.

Harking back to Roman times Marco Gilmozzi is picking up where the ancient Etruscans and Romans left off, fish farming near the 2,700 hectare Orbetello www.eurofishmagazine.com

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lagoon. According to Gilmozzi, it is probably one of the most productive lagoons in Europe. Fishermen take more than 200 kilo per hectare annually. It was the same in past centuries. Romans came here to eat the excellent fish. So the name of Orbetello has been connected with fish for centuries. He points out that today’s fish farms are not exactly the same as those in Roman times.

From the first century BC until the end of the first century AD, fishponds enjoyed their greatest popularity as displays of conspicuous wealth. The rich located their fishponds adjacent to their villas, in seaside coves or lagoons. These coastal enclosures were costly and often elaborate. In addition to being enjoyed locally, the fish were sent to the Roman market, approximately 140 km away.

have 11 wells, and four of them have the same salinity. All of the others are very close in salinity�.

He cites a study conducted in cooperation with the region of Tuscany, which demonstrated that the water has remained sealed in an aquifer for a long period. It is known as fossil water. Using a special radioactive value, the study determined that it has remained underground at least 50 years at least. The high temperature means that the water goes very deep and returns close to the surface, about two or three metres below the surface. In summer, if the turnover of the water is poor, temperatures in the pools

Marco Gilmozzi, President and CEO of Cosa, a producer of seabass and seabream.

Special waters run deep “Our water is something special�, says Gilmozzi. “It has the same source as the ancient Romans used 2,000 years ago. Depending on the area, the water comes naturally from the ground at between 22 and 25 degrees Celsius. The temperature is optimum for bass and bream. It has more or less the same salinity as Mediterranean seawater and is absolutely clean. The water is free of farm run-off and industrial pollution. In this farm, we

The water on the farm is pumped from a depth of 2-3 m. Tests have shown it has been underground for at least 50 years and it is completely free of pathogens.

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The company has 53 large ponds for seabass and seabream and 20 that are used as on growing units.

To maintain quality, the cooperative conducts regular analyses of numerous parameters, including the chemical and physical properties of the water, nutritional analysis, and chemical and microbiological analysis of the finished product. Gilmozzi explains, “Skretting is creating a feed just for our needs. We have three biologists who check the feed daily. For example, sometimes the fish decide not to eat for an hour and then start again.

Maybe there’s a problem with the oxygen or the fish are frightened by one of our large vehicles. The technicians check the fishes’ wellbeing and make sure the feeding system is working properly. So much analysis is a big investment, but it pays in the end�.

Production made to order

The feed, which comes from Skretting is specially formulated for the company’s fish, but it is also analysed by the company. Taking chances with the quality is a risk that cannot be afforded.

can reach 29 or 30 degrees Celsius, which is dangerous for the fish. With Cosa´s underground source, they are able to maintain a constant, healthy temperature in the pools all around the year. Of course, it is necessary to oxygenate water that originates underground. “We started to use oxygen 15 years ago, but the liquid oxygen that we use now is pure, the same as is used in hospitals. It is added by machine. After we finish with the water, it flows in a 1.5 kilometre channel, where sedimentation occurs before arriving at the sea�.

An investment in sophisticated traceability The cooperative uses sophisticated software, developed especially for 44

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them over two years, which allows them to trace the catch both forwards and backwards. Gilmozzi says that after they catch the fish, they are packed in ice in 300 kilo containers at 2 degrees Celsius, and less than an hour and half later they are boxed and stored under refrigeration. Then they can trace them box by box. Each box is numbered. At the end of the day, the species is known, the lot of feed used in that pond, the operator, and so on – the exact story of each lot. The fish are processed in the order they were harvested. From his computer, Gilmozzi can check everything that is happening in the cooperative in real time. He knows where every fish came from and where it goes.

The cooperative produces nearly 2,100 tonnes of seabass and seabream. Cosa produces close to 1,000 tonnes. For the past 10 years, they produced more bass than bream in a ratio of about 70 to 30, but now they are producing 60 to 40, because demand for bream has risen.

Cosa´s bream has the true colour of bream, like in the wild. Fish grown in cages are often white. There are some special ponds just for Christmas orders. The fish grow to one kilo, medium size, and then are sold for a higher price, because it is highly appreciated in the market. Cosa will start to harvest on 15 December for their long-standing customers.

Gilmozzi’s company was the first to produce meagre in Europe, in a joint venture with a French company, which produced the fingerlings. Because of the difficulty of selling large quantities, Gilmozzi halted production on his farm, although he retains some broodstock. Currently, another member of the cooperative farms

meagre. Gilmozzi’s company has experimented with other species.

Over 30 years, they tried white seabream (Diplodus sargus), sharpsnout seabream (Diplodus puntazzo), Solea (Solea senegalensis), and umbrina (Umbrine cirrosa).

But in the end, Cosa discovered that they are really niche products and were not economical for their company.

Limited production equals quality For Gilmozzi, quality is more important than quantity. The cooperative could nearly double its capacity by producing fish weighing 300 g, like many farms in the Mediterranean, thus increasing the conversion rate.

Instead, it produces fish mostly in the 500–800 g range, although it is currently increasing its output of fish at 300–400 g. Fish density in the ponds is maintained at maximum 4%, lower than most farms.

Gilmozzi says, “We have to produce something that is tastier, with better colour and higher quality meat. Of course, freshness is the first point. The Italian product can reach the market in two hours.

From Greece, it takes two or three days and from Turkey, several days.

It is important that, for the past 20 years, the Italian market has been the main market for all bass and bream produced in Europe. Italians supply just 20% of their own fish consumption. Every Italian supermarket needs Italian products. Italians prefer to buy fish that are healthier and whose quality is strictly controlled. Gilmozzi points out that Orbetello controls 15 % of the total consumption of Italian bass and bream. “We produce for people who want to eat something really different and who are ready to pay a premium for this. That’s our philosophy�. www.eurofishmagazine.com

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the aquaculture sector. “We probably know everything about scales on a fish,� he comments. Probably interesting for someone but not for us. “We need, on the contrary, concrete solutions for the aquaculture sector. Something to apply in our farms. Give me a fish that grows without water!�

There are more than 700 machines at work on the farm. Among them are three small trucks that replenish the autofeeders with a pre-instructed volume of feed.

At the same time, the high quality of their product is attracting attention in Singapore, Hong Kong, New York, Los Angeles, Washington, and several EU countries. Cosa can ship fresh fish to Hong Kong in less than 36 hours. It is not a large amount of fish, but it is important because they never tried to attract foreign customers. They found Cosa, because they want quality.

Chefs understand the difference in quality, and they are ready to pay a premium. Cosa sells mostly whole fresh fish, although it has facilities for gutting, filleting, and packaging. Every week, several hundred kilo of fillets are sold, fish transformed in some way, but until the market is ready to pay the prices, Cosa prefers to limit their participation in the market.

Nearly organic but better The cooperative’s fish are not classified as organic but, in Gilmozzi’s opinion, they are better than organic fish. Two things differentiate them from organic.

First, the cooperative uses a better feed than that used by organic farms. Second, cooperative members allow a higher density of fish per pond than organic. The cooperative purchases fingerlings from www.eurofishmagazine.com

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hatcheries in Italy and France, although recently Cosa entered into a partnership with a hatchery in southern Italy. The fingerlings are vaccinated, but fish are not vaccinated later. Cosa controls bacterial problems without losing a lot of fish and without using lots of antibiotics. They do not lose enough fish to think about second vaccinating. The company depends on the best vaccine in the world, auto vaccines that are the result of the controlled disease.

At the end of the disease period, you have a fish that is much stronger, and for another two or three years that fish will never have a problem with that pathology. Cosa also works with natural, homeopathic immune stimulants to increase the fishes’ defence.

Such an approach requires measures to avoid disease and create the best possible environment. If you use antibiotics, the disease is stopped, but it will return.

Pointing to significant trends In the new EU fishery policy, aquaculture is seen as a source of future food security. But the research that was so richly funded, in Gilmozzi’s opinion, mostly of the time is not useful to

Oceans cover about 71 per cent of the Earth’s surface, fish farming only started recently. An increase in the world’s population to 9 billion by 2050 means a 30% increase in the demand for resources: water, energy, food, and also more fish. If Europe wants to be competitive in aquaculture, they will need to begin farming in the open sea, using platforms. “We have to farm the sea the way we farm the land today. The future of aquaculture is not just land based or in coastal areas. We’ll do this in open sea , maybe in international waters, so you don’t need to obtain permission�. Gilmozzi believes that the European problem is not money but bureaucracy. For example, if a new farm is planned to be built now in Italy, you will be lucky to start in five years. You have no chance to be competitive. And according to Gilmozzi you have to compete with the tourism. With more than

8,000 kilometres of coastline, Italy could be the strongest country in Europe for aquaculture.

He would like to see more investment in projects dealing with algae and microalgae. He mentions their ability to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and produce oxygen, as well as their high oil content, both omega-3 and oil that can be used as biofuel, and the potential of microalgae as a food source.

Gilmozzi also points to shifting economic and social trends. He foresees a future in which Europe does not enjoy the privileged economic position that it does now. Even today, Europe depends on resources, particularly food resources, from around the world.

The country that understands the importance of investing in food will be secure in the future.

Still, he’s happy to work in his own backyard, although he was not born near the sea. “It’s strange because I was born in the mountains. When I was 15, I got my diving licence and found my love. At university, I studied marine biology and then worked for aquariums. Now, I am the president of a fish farm in Tuscany�.

William Anthony

Cosa SocietĂ Agricola a r.l. Company Fact File LocalitĂ La Tagliata Strada Provinciale 68 Litoranea 58015 Ansedonia, Orbetello, Italy Tel: +39 0564 881 479 Fax: +39 0564 881 071 info@cosasrl.com http://www.cosasrl.com/ http://www.coopam.it/ President and CEO: Marco Gilmozzi Activity: Seabass, seabream, and meagre aquaculture

Facilities: 53 large ponds and 20 used as ongrowing units Products: Fresh seabass, seabream, and meagre Volumes: ca. 2,000 tonnes (Coopam Group) Markets: Italy, EU, Singapore, Hong Kong, USA No. of employees: 22 in Cosa SocietĂ Agricola, 70 in the Coopam group

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A passion for trout

Farming and smoking trout in the mountains Creating a new image for trout and developing a market for smoked trout products has been part of Friultrota di Pighin’s mission.

Catering for an exclusive clientele, the company has created a substantial niche for itself.

O

ur core business is trout.

It’s our history, or origin, and our passion, says Mauro Pighin. The company that he heads, Friultrota di Pighin S.R.L., was the first in Italy to produce smoked trout products. When the company started 30 years ago, trout was only sold whole in Italy, not even gutted. When customers bought it, they had to slaughter it at home, he recalls.

The family was originally in the excavation business. While excavating at a lake, they put a few thousand smolts in the water.

After several years, they discovered that they had several thousand trout, each weighing between 4 and 8 kg, and some even up to 13 kg.

The question was, what to do with all this fish? The family started to cook them for itself and have barbecues with friends. The trout continued to grow, and so the Pighins started to smoke it with the help of friends, because they had no experience with the process. Of course, it was not economically sustainable; it was just a hobby that did not have to be financially viable.

Changing minds about trout Gradually, the Pighins learned about trout. The company started making cold-smoked trout and then hot-smoked trout, its first 46

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two products, and the company’s mainstay even today. Later, other product were added. At the time, their work was met with scepticism. Smoked salmon was considered a superior product, and the feeling in the industry was that it was useless to try to change consumer perception. They met with resistance when they tried to sell their trout at the same price as salmon, which was more expensive than it is now. But quitting was not an option for them. “You see, in Friuli we are very stubborn.

If we believe in something, we keep trying until it works. In the first four or five years, it was hard because we had to put money into the company, but we persisted.

After 30 years, I can say that it was worth the effort. Now, if we conduct blind tests comparing our trout with the salmon available in shops and supermarkets, nine out of ten prefer the trout�, he says, with satisfaction.

An exclusive customer base The company sells its products mostly in high-end shops, delicatessens, and restaurants.

The target customer is one who appreciates higher quality and is willing to pay for it. Mr Pighin points out that, as a result of the recent financial crisis, many delicatessens and small shops had to close, forcing the company to sell

Mauro Pighin, the owner of Friultrota, a purveyor of processed trout and other seafood products for an exclusive clientele.

a small part of their production in a few Italian supermarkets under a different brand name. We are not organised to offer low prices or a product for the masses, he says, nor are we interested in competing with large producers of smoked fish, for example, in Poland, Estonia, or Turkey.

Generally, the products are not available throughout Italy, but are available in large cities, including Milan, Turin, Florence, Bologna, and Rome. According to Mauro Pighin, 75% of the company’s distribution occurs north of Rome, although a distributor has begun working in the south.

Not limited to trout In addition to cold- and hotsmoked trout and salmon, the

company also produces sea bream, Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus), tuna (Thunnus albacares), swordfish (Xiphias gladius), seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax), and herring (Clupea harengus). Smoked herring has been part of the region’s tradition since the Middle Ages, when it was eaten during Lent. Traditionally, the herring was very salty with a strong flavour. At Friultrota the traditional recipe was altered by reducing the amount of salt and using lighter smoke to process the raw material, which is imported from Scotland and Norway.

Removing pin bones in salmon by machine presents no problem. In the small trout, half the pin bones can be removed by machine.

The meat’s firmness and low fat content, however, require that the www.eurofishmagazine.com

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rest be removed by hand. In the case of large trout fillets all the pinbones are removed manually, which is an expensive process, but one the customers appreciate.

At the beginning, just to prove the trout’s quality and change the public’s perception of it, the company started producing trout cheeks. “We did it just to say, this is different from what you think about trout. It’s very expensive because you get two from each trout and you have to remove them by hand. But the demand from restaurants was great, so we have continued to produce them�.

The right amount of smoke Mr Pighin emphasises that smoking must enhance the fish’s

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flavour, not cover it. He prefers a much lighter smoking than is common in northern Europe, for example. He aims to make the smoke flavour nearly unnoticeable. When a customer can’t tell whether it is smoked or not, it is the right level, he says. When the smoke is too strong, maybe you are hiding something.

Hot smoking is done at temperatures of 80–90°C, smoking and cooking the fish at the same time.

Cold smoking is done at less than 27 °C, which takes longer. Smoke is generated by the flameless combustion of whitewood sawdust or shavings. To these are added various aromatic berries and herbs, which determine the products’ different flavours and aromas. There are no precise formulas. According to Mr Pighin these methods call for

extreme care, sensitivity, and lots of experience. Other products are marinated in the zest of orange, lemon, and lime, and steam cooked, without pin bones. Apart from smoking trout the company also smokes salmon which comes mostly from Scotland, with a small amount from Norway and some frozen wild red king and sockeye from Alaska.

Fish farming in the mountains The company is the only producer of fish in the small village of San Daniele. There are three other processors in the Friuli region, but their areas of expertise are mainly in fresh or frozen fillets and fish hamburger for cooking. The Friuli region, however, with about 50 fish farms produces a third of the national production of

live trout. Farming fish in the mountains has the advantage of access to plenty of good water. The region has numerous rivers with clean water, and there is plenty of precipitation.

There are underground sources of clean, fresh water all year round with a constant temperature of 15 °C. Cold water is ideal for trout as it makes for firmer meat. The company uses high quality feeds and allows for slow growth, because it does not need to fatten the fish. According to Mr Pighin, fat is waste. The fat content of the fish depends on the quality and quantity of feed. The company used to produce its own but was forced to stop after the outbreak of mad cow disease. They used the waste from their production, adding fishmeal and fishoil, which allowed them to control the entire production.

As Friultrota is trying to produce

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Vacuum packaged smoked fillets are placed in a glossy covering that conveys the exclusivity of the product.

The total production of finished items amounts to about 150 tonnes.

lean fish, that must be reflected in the choice of feed. The fish should have good, firm meat, not fat and to achieve this the company needs the same patience that they need for producing ham.

San Daniele is famous for the production of ham, which began to have an economic impact in the 1920s. Today, San Daniele is a destination for tourists eager to sample its ham. For Friultrota it was helpful because many people came to San Daniele to taste and buy the ham.

Magazines and national television also came, and they discovered the other thing in San Daniele – trout.

Sourcing the raw material The company has its own fish farm, and they cooperate with other farmers in Friuli and in the region, who produce raw 48

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material with the required quality. They buy both whole, gutted fish and fresh fillets. Mr Pighin emphasises that the company does not buy just any raw material, but only from producers with whom there is an agreement on the standard of quality. The average density of fish in the raceways in Friuli is approximately 15 kilos per cubic metre, which is low, and is a main contributing factor to quality, says Mr Pighin. Some farmers allow a density of 50–60 kilos per cubic metre.

Education is the key to the future Local people visit the shop. Above all, it’s important to have customer feedback, feels Mr Pighin. The company holds cooking classes, dining events, and information sessions. Chefs are invited to give demonstrations and to invent

recipes with the company’s products. People come here to get ideas about how to use the products. Of course, they are all ready to eat, but they can be used in different recipes, says Mr Pighin. Friultrota cooperates with schools and holds information sessions with students to explain the importance of what they eat and the origin of the raw material, how and why it’s done their way compared with the industrial product, and the importance of local production in terms of environmental impact. The flow of information is, however, not one way, as the company also learns from the young people.

Creativity in new products Pighin admits that in the company they have more ideas than time.

New products are being developed, which require planning,

tasting, testing, and so on. But it’s a good thing. The interesting part of the work is the creativity.

Mr Pighin has other things in mind, with other species too, but just to attract a wider range of customers. At the beginning, he had to add other fish – salmon, herring, and others – and would say, “I can give you seabass, seabream, and so on if you want, but at least try the trout.� When the customers tasted it, they changed their minds.

Currently, about 90% of the production is sold in Italy, but Mr Pighin is considering export opportunities. We are looking for chances to expand, to see where we can go and what we can do, just to have more possibilities, he says.

At the moment, we don’t need it, but it is a strategy for the future.

William Anthony

Friultrota di Pighin s r.l. Unipersonale via Aonedis 10 33038 San Daniele del Friuli, Udine, Italy Tel: +39 0432 956560 Fax: +39 0432 956726 info@friultrota.it www.friultrota.com Owner: Mauro Pighin Activity: Trout farming and processing; seafood processing

Products: Ready-to-eat cold- and hot-smoked and marinated trout, salmon, seabream, Atlantic mackerel, tuna, swordďŹ sh, seabass, herring, trout roe Volumes: Approximately 150 tonnes of ďŹ nished products Markets: High-end shops, delicatessens, and restaurants mostly in northern Italy

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Multiplying proďŹ ts with ďŹ ngerlings

Rainbow trout on the border with Switzerland Fattoria del Pesce s r.l. is a consortium of farmers practicing land-based aquaculture in the heart of the Ticino valley, in businesses dating back to the late 1950s and founded by some of the pioneers of Italian trout aquaculture.

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ccording to Maurizio Grispan, Director of Fattoria del Pesce, “Mostly, we are occupied with intensive farming of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

We also farm and process other salmonids and cyprinids, such as brown trout (Salmo trutta), brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus), and common carp (Cyprinus carpio)�.

The group specialises in farming a specific phenotypical strain of rainbow trout that is highly resistant to disease and grows faster, two very desirable characteristics. The company, which has farming sites and an onsite processing factory, uses a system of long pools (called raceways) with a continuous flow of water from native wells and springs.

The farms follow environmental parameters that allow the animals to grow according to nature, says Mr Grispan. Procedures are checked constantly, especially the temperature and the amount of dissolved oxygen, important factors in the life and growth of fish, and these tests are supervised by the National Veterinary Service.

Dual sources of water The area has many sources of water, both from the ground and the river.

The spring water is pristine. It allows the fish to breed with high organoleptic and nutritional qualities. The consumer gets plenty of phosphorus and omega-3 fatty acids. And www.eurofishmagazine.com

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the water from the mountains is very cold, which is good for the fish.

The ideal water temperature is in the range of 12 to 14 °C. When it is outside this range, the food intake and conversion rates are less than optimal. The spring water in the area remains a steady 14 °C, an optimal temperature for the hatchery.

The company recently received certification by Friend of the Sea, after the production and processing plant areas were audited. Some control and maintenance procedures were reorganised in response to the audit. The results showed that the company’s impact on the environment was extremely low.

Predatory birds are a considerable problem in such a large area, and changes were made to come into compliance with the Friend of the Sea’s requirements to minimise the risk of entrapment.

The problems are with herons and cormorants. The farm is located in a nature park, and a lot of the bird species are protected. The problem is to guard the fish while respecting the lives of protected birds, so a system of nets was established to protect the fish from the birds, however some birds have found out how to enter the nets. To counter this the fish farm has a specific plant surveillance program, whereby an operator checks the nets every 4 hours to minimise the risk of intrusion and to prevent the death of birds trapped in the nets.

The trout market in Italy and abroad In Italy, trout developed strongly during the 1990s, finally reaching a peak of about 60,000 tonnes.

Today, production is stable at 40,000. Approximately 20–30% is exported, and 25% is sold to stock angling venues. Only 50–60% of the national production goes to Italian markets. Relative to the approximately 21 kg of fish consumed by every Italian annually, the percentage of trout consumed is low. Sales are holding steady, says Mr Grispan, who does not see any dramatic developments in the near future. The company is trying to bring new products to market, but Switzerland is more receptive to these than Italy.

Mr Grispan needs to keep an eye on future developments in the market, because competition in the area of fillets is fierce. Not trout fillets but other fillets, coming from third countries: snapper and cod among others. There are about 50 to 60 different types of fillets coming into Italy from all over the world.

Competition from Norwegian salmon fillets in 2014 has not been strong because the salmon prices have remained steady and haven’t dropped radically. Trout from Turkey or from Poland is normally imported by large customers, such as cruise lines, who buy frozen fillets from Turkey. Mr Grispan says, it is not much but still a causefor

Maurizio Grispan, director of SocietĂ Agricola Fattoria del Pesce s r.l., a trout farming and processing company.

Luca Bianchi Ph.D., manager of food safety at the processing factory.

concern. Also, Spanish production of both pink and white-meat trout can compete on the Italian market, even if Spain recently decreased their trout production by half, compared with five or six years ago.

Hatchery – selling fingerlings Approximately 50% of the 14 million eggs used by the group come from Eurofish Magazine 6 / 2014

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Although the tanks are covered with nets, birds such as herons and cormorants are still a menace.

the breeding station in Trentino.

Until three years ago, it was part of the group, when it broke away, although it still maintains ties with the group. Italian brood stock companies supply another 30% and 20% of the eggs come from Aqualande, in France. The larvae stay in the factory until they reach 20 to 30 grams. Then, a portion of the fingerlings are sold and the rest are on-grown in the company’s facilities. The fingerlings that come from eggs produced in the Trentino facility are well known for their quality.

Producing fresh and processed The company sells 200 to 300 tonnes as live fish with sizes ranging from 100 to 500 g. The fish are sold to other companies for eventual live sale and to providers of sport fishing. For fillets and other products, the company works with white and pink trout (the difference is due to the feed) at weights of 600–900 g.

Approximately 1,000 tonnes per year are used to prepare processed products, fillets for example, and are processed in the group’s processing facility. The company also processes fish from other suppliers. “Most of it is our production� says Mr Grispan. “But there are times when we can’t produce enough raw material to cover our requirements.�

High-quality hamburger The processed products are all ready to eat. One processed product 50

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that has become popular is a fish hamburger, made from minced boneless fresh fillet. A variant of this fish burger is obtained by adding to the minced fresh fillet 12% by weight of minced smoked fillet (pink or white). Another variant is obtained by adding a vegetable compound, containing flavouring, to the minced fresh fillet. Frozen (or fresh) fillets and hamburgers are popular in school canteens and other institutions such as nursing homes, because of their nutritional value and the fact they can be stored for up to eighteen months under proper conditions. The hamburger is a high-quality product, because it can only be made from fillets that have had the skin and pin bones removed, explains Mr Grispan. It is completely the opposite of what happens with animal meat, because there by-products can be used, resulting in a lower-quality product.

With the fish hamburgers, there is no low quality. The company produces three types of hamburger.

The first type is completely based on fresh fillet. The second one is fresh fillet with smoked fillet, which Mr Grispan characterises as the top of the line. Finally, there are burgers to which spices have been added to slightly change the product’s taste.

Getting the trout out Live fish are sold entirely in Italy. Of the processed products, 60% is sold in Italy through large distributors.

The remaining 35–40% is sold to foreign countries, with the greatest

portion going to Switzerland. For most Italian companies, Germany is the most important market. For this company, however, Switzerland is the largest buyer. In Switzerland, the products are sold through a wholesaler, whereas in Italy, they are sold directly to the supermarkets. Because the company doesn’t trade much in Germany, it doesn’t produce gutted frozen fish, which is a popular product in Germany.

When eggs are purchased from an outside company, the producer sends a data sheet with information about the brood stock, their origin, and the clinical history of the brood stock used for the production. There is a plan for the disinfection of the eggs once they are transported. So, before they enter the hatchery, there is a set of standards for biosafety measures that are routinely applied to prevent an outbreak.

Being biologically secure

Normally, a sanitary certification accompanies the eggs. VHS and IHN are diseases that are at biosafety level 5. You can decide to buy from brood stock companies that are free of these diseases.

Parasites and related infections can cause significant damage to farmed fish species inhibiting growth and increasing mortalities. At far as the company’s farms are concerned, disease is a minor issue. Our problems with some parasites are insignificant, with a very low incidence.

We see cases of bacterial diseases, such as enteric red mouth, ERM and rely on immunological prevention, using vaccines against ERM and another pathogen. To ensure biosecurity, constant testing is required, for example, on incoming and outgoing water. The entire farm has been divided into different areas according to the biosafety level.

Sanitary measures can be improved to avoid contamination, but an area of obvious threat is the import of fish eggs. Mr Grispan explains that in the case of eggs, prevention starts with paperwork and the batch’s traceability and sanitary certification.

Consume, consume, consume!

As for future plans, Mr Grispan says simply, he wants to increase consumption. And in order to increase the consumption, we’re trying to make the consumer more aware of the product, its quality, its safety as food, and it’s origin as a local product. And we will try to offer a wider range of products. Mr Grispan says that generic marketing campaigns for the promotion of trout organised by the industry as a whole or its associations do not exist. The most important companies are trying to travel a mutual path and diversify their production, but for now at least no common strategy exists.

William Anthony

SocietĂ Agricola Fattoria del Pesce s r.l.

Via Del Porto, 26 27023 Cassolnovo, Pavia, Italy Tel. +39 0381 928691 Fax. +39 0381 929691 Director: Maurizio Grispan Activity: Farming of rainbow trout and occasionally other

salmonids and cyprinids, such as the brown trout, brook trout, Arctic char and common carp.

Facilities: Three farming sites, one processing factory Products: Live ďŹ sh (for angling); ďŹ llets of white trout, red trout; ďŹ sh burger and other highly value-added products Markets: Italy, Switzerland www.eurofishmagazine.com

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Acquacoltura Jonica doubles production of seabass and seabream fry

New facilities start working in 2015 The world’s production of European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) is concentrated in the Mediterranean region, where production of the two species in 2012 amounted to some 309,000 tonnes. In the north eastern and central eastern parts of the Atlantic as well as in inland waters in North Africa, the other regions, where these two species are farmed, production was a relatively modest 38,000 tonnes.

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ost, if not all, of the countries surrounding the Mediterranean produce seabass and seabream with volumes varying from a few 10s to several thousands of tonnes.

While the undisputed champions of seabass and seabream production are Turkey and Greece other countries, including Spain and Italy within the EU, as well as Egypt, have substantial productions as well. The rise of the seabass and seabream production industry, which essentially started from scratch around the 60s, was in response to the popularity of the fish and the inadequate supply. Output grew rapidly over the next decades for a number of reasons. Not least among them was the ability of scientists to develop techniques that enabled the commercial production of eggs and larvae on a very large scale.

From wild juveniles to hatcheries Up until the 60s the culture of fish in the Mediterranean was based on the collection of wild juveniles from the sea during their natural migration into lagoons. These were then extensively reared in various culture systems. However, changes in coastal environmental conditions, overfishing, pollution and other factors began to take their toll and the numbers of wild juveniles reduced to the point where they could no longer meet the demand of a growing www.eurofishmagazine.com

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industry. Increasing competition among fish farmers led to higher prices, which in turn triggered a vicious cycle of over-exploitation of the resource reducing the supply still further, the capture and use of ever younger juveniles leading to ever higher mortality rates, which further reduced the stock, and countries preventing the harvest of fry in their waters in order to keep it for their own farmers, which also curtailed the supply.

Farmers were also practising a more intensive type of cultivation involving greater investments and therefore could not depend on the unpredictable supply of fry from the wild.

These developments set the stage for the foundation of hatchery production of fry for seabass and seabream, which was critical for the evolution of the industry.

Early hatcheries did much of the groundwork for today’s modern hatcheries. They wrestled with and ultimately solved the technical problems of live feeds synchronised with egg production and hatching; of disease; and of larval quality. They also had to overcome the issue of a lack of trained personnel. Engineering issues related to pumping and purifying seawater for the hatchery, as well as understanding the behaviour and physiological requirements of the larvae when raised intensively were all areas that were new to hatchery managers and technicians.

Marco Notarangelo, the director of Acquacoltura Jonica

Francesco Santamaria, the president of Acquacoltura Jonica.

Serving markets for fry in North Africa Successful small-scale production at the end of the 70s in Italy and France finally gave way to successful large-scale production a decade or so later in Italy, France, Croatia, Spain, and Greece. Italy was among the pioneers in the production of fry and today Italian hatcheries are usually either captive, that is owned

by a seabass and seabream ongrowing company, or independent. Thanks to the knowledge and the reputation that Italian hatcheries have acquired over the years independent hatcheries often, in addition to the domestic, supply the overseas market. Acquacoltura Jonica, located in Taranto in Apulia, on the heel of Italy’s boot, is a multi-species hatchery that is part of the Maricoltura Pugliese Group. It supplies fry to Eurofish Magazine 6 / 2014

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other companies in the group, but also sells the fry to producers in North Africa, mainly Tunisia.

The company is in the process of doubling its production from five to ten million fry of seabass and seabream. Doing this has meant a doubling of capacity, with a new building, tanks, feed production area, broodstock, and equipment. Like most hatcheries today Acquacoltura Jonica uses light regulation to guide the production of eggs from the broodstock. Water temperature and the amount of light during the day (thermo-photoperiod) are two factors governing the maturity of gonads so that the progeny are ensured the best environmental conditions and hence the best chances of survival. In a hatchery these two factors can be manipulated so that sexual maturity can be delayed or brought forward.

Most multi-species hatcheries make use of the fact that seabass and seabream have two slightly different, but overlapping spawning periods that start in winter.

Regulating the spawning period enables it to be prolonged slightly and thereby optimises the use of the hatchery capacity. The Manual on hatchery production of seabass and gilthead seabream

published by the FAO recommends that a multi-species hatchery first exploits the seabream spawning period in November/ December and then the seabass period in January/March, when it can spawn together with seabream. Spawning can in fact be induced earlier so that visible larvae are available by October.

From then it takes about four months (at a water temperature of 18-20 degrees C) to arrive at 2 g fry which can be placed in a nursery.

The spawning period can also be extended to April, which would allow the hatchery capacity to be used for 9-10 months in the year.

Under natural conditions seabass and seabream spawn in winter so by exposing the broodstock to conditions that simulate summer hatchery personnel can delay the onset of sexual maturation. Likewise, simulating winter conditions will enable the reproductive development of the broodstock to be brought forward.

Small quantities of fry from other species produced too At Acquacoltura Jonica the production season starts in October/ November and by April/May the fry has reached 3-5 g and is ready

The hatchery has a production of 5 million fry half each of seabass and seabream, as well as small production of eggs and fry from other Mediterranean species.

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Microalgae provide the correct environment for the larvae, and also function as a food source for the rotifers that the larvae prey on.

The feed is automatically dispensed into the tanks at certain intervals through the day.

for delivery to the customers. Of the annual production of five million fry about half each is seabass and seabream, but there is also a small production of sharpsnout seabream (Diplodus puntazzo), and common dentex (Dentex dentex) larvae. While it takes fiveseven months for the larvae to reach 3-5 g, sometimes customers want fish up to 20 g. These take about a year to produce, but are popular because mortality rates are lower and they are more robust and better able to tolerate fluctuations in temperature and tend to feed better. The fry are mainly sold within Italy, 60% go to Maricoltura Mattinatese, another company in the group, in Mattinata, on the spur of Italian boot, where there is a fish farm in the open sea for fattening fish,

in offshore cages. A further 5% is sent to Allevamenti Marini del Sud, yet another fish farm in the group, and the company also has customers in Italy, Albania and Tunisia.

Francesco Santamaria, the company president, points out that the number of seabass and seabream farms in Italy has shrunk significantly over the last five years from 30 to 40 farms to perhaps 20 farms today, making it necessary for the company to find other markets for its fry. He says competition in the market for portion sized fish is very steep with cheaper products coming in to Italy from all around the Mediterranean. Part of the problem he attributes to the higher costs that Italian producers face. “The costs of labour, energy, www.eurofishmagazine.com

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feed, water, and taxes are all higher in Italy,� he says, “in addition, the time it takes to get all the permissions necessary to build, make it very difficult to plan strategically.� Furthermore, fish grown off the African Mediterranean coast reaches market size in 12 months (seabream) and 14-15 months (seabass), while in northern Italy it takes 16-20 months for seabream and 20-24 months for seabass. This is due to the severity of the winter in Italy when the fish do not grow. To offset this farmers try to put their fish in the water as early as possible, to avoid two winters before the fish can be harvested.

Seabass and seabream fry a commodity Today says Mr Santamaria there are seven hatcheries in Italy.

The Italian market for fry is limited as production of seabass and seabream has been stable for several years. Independent fry producers therefore have to find markets overseas for their production. Although fry from Italy has a good reputation generally, the ability to cheaply and reliably transport fry across long distances in trucks means that in the Mediterranean it is increasingly a commodity,

Acquacoltura Jonica s r.l.

Viale Jonio, 156 Loc. Sabbione San Vito - (Ta) Italy Tel/Fax +39 099 733 29 63 acquacolturajonica@libero.it acquacolturajonica@ acquacolturajonica.it www.acquacolturajonica.it

with a more or less standard price. Companies like Acquacoltura Jonica that have a mix of customers both domestic and

Director: Dr Marco Notarangelo President: Francesco Santamaria Activity: Production of seabass and seabream fry Volumes: 5-6m fry, due to double to 10-12m in 2015 Markets: Italy, Albania, Tunisia

international, high quality and a good reputation will be the ones to benefit from these developments.

Family cooperative hoping to expand from mussel to ďŹ sh farming

Mussels from Taranto The market for bivalves is well established in Italy, where certain regions have a long history of bivalve production and they are widely consumed in many parts of the country. Production is both from farming and from capture though the volumes obtained from farming clearly dominate the supply. In 2012 according to ďŹ gures from FAO farmed bivalve production amounted to 111,000 tonnes, while that from capture totalled 28,000 tonnes.

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ussel production in Italy cannot meet domestic demand so mussels are also imported mainly from Spain and Greece. The imported product is used not only to supply

the domestic market but is also re-packaged and re-exported.

Domestic mussel production is mainly in the regions of Puglia, Emilia Romagna, Veneto, and Sardinia. Campania, Marche, and

Cosimo Panariti, the owner of Delfino, one of the companies in the cooperative. www.eurofishmagazine.com

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Liguria also produce significant quantities, while Friuli Venetia Giulia has a small production.

Most of the main production areas are located on the Adriatic coast. The cultivation is both in

the lagoons and in the open sea, usually on lines. Italy is the third largest market for mussels in Europe after Spain and France.

The most common product form is fresh live mussels, but frozen,

Domenico Panariti, the nephew of Cosimo Panariti and the president of the Duomo Soc. Coop which is the trading arm of Delfino Soc. Coop.

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Mussels have to be cleaned, graded, and replaced in a sock up to three times in the course of 18 months.

Rope from an olive oil producing factory is used as a substrate for the seed. The ropes contain remnants of the oil and therefore float easily.

cooked and frozen, canned, and in combinations with pasta as a ready meal are also available.

Bivalve production from capture declines, from farming increases

While mussels are the most important type of bivalve in terms of the volumes produced and consumed, other varieties of bivalves also play a significant role on the market. Italy is Europe’s largest producer of Manila clams and the second largest in the world, after China, although the species was only introduced into the coastal lagoons along the Adriatic coast at the start of the 80s. This success can be attributed primarily to water that is rich in nutrients and the presence of abundant juveniles, but also to the brackish water, the movement of the tides, and the shallow seabed with its mixture of sand and mud.

The natural advantages conferred on the Adriatic coastline have meant that yields have more or less stagnated for the last several years as efforts that might have been made to improve them are instead invested in other species.

Changes have however occurred in the ways the Manila clam is harvested as more mechanised and less labour intensive ways have developed. There is some concern however that the vessels used today to harvest the clams may in fact have a negative impact on the environment.

Other species of note include the striped Venus and the smooth callista. Many more varieties, including oysters, scallops, and razor clams are highly sought after, but production is insignificant.

In general capture production of bivalve molluscs has been on the decline. Production reduced by 13% in the five years to 2012 to 28,000 tonnes. On the other hand production of farmed bivalves over the same period increased by 15% to 111,000 tonnes. The production is typically managed by fisheries cooperatives or small family-owned companies who distribute the seed on plots in shallow areas in case of Manila clams or hang it up on lines if Mediterranean mussels. While over nine tenths of Manila clams are farmed in a relatively small part of Italy’s Adriatic coastline, the stretch between Grado and the southern part of the Po river, mussel farming is found all along the coast. In Apulia, the region with the highest production of bivalves in the country, close to Taranto, a bivalve packaging and distributing cooperative, whose member companies are owned

by Cosimo Panariti and his family. Called Delfino, the cooperative deals in six or seven different

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kinds of molluscs including Mediterranean mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis); and clams (Tapes decussatus and Tapes philipinnarum). The production is all farmed and there are certain seasons when the production from the farms arrive at the factory.

From May to August, for example, is the mussel harvesting season, while the run up to Christmas is when the oysters come in, says Gabriele Albano, a consultant who is working on a project with Delfino. For the rest of the year the company relies on imported molluscs from Greece, Spain, France, as well as from the north Adriatic.

The production of farmed mussels in Italy, though increasing for the last five years has in fact seen better days. In 2005 production peaked at 133,200 tonnes. One of the reasons for the fall in production is the import of cheaper mussels from Greece, which have undercut the local production.

Mr Panariti is therefore planning to expand into the fish farming business and has applied for funding to start farming shi drum (Umbrina cirrosa).

Water rich in mussel seed Delfino produces about 400 tonnes of mussels itself over a period of 18 months, while the clams and other species it either

imports or buys from other parts of Italy. The supply of mussels follows a schedule, says Mr Albano, in February and March, the mussels arrive from the middle Adriatic or northern Puglia at the end of the summer when the season in Taranto draws to an end the mussels arrive from Greece, while those in the Christmas period are often from Spain. These mussels arrive in sacks which are immersed in the sea, a process that allows them to be kept for up to a month before they are sold. In the Taranto area mussels are farmed from lines. The lines are relatively short, about 350 m, compared with the lines in, for example, Emilia Romagna, which can be up to 2 km long. In Taranto too the long lines are anchored at either end and kept afloat with buoys. All along the line are 4.5 m ropes hung with mussels. The natural availability of abundant seed facilitates mussel growing, but also represents another product that the company sells to other parts of Europe, such as Spain, that are not so fortunate. Here if you put something in the water that can act as a substrate to which the mussel seed can attach itself, within the space of eight months it will be covered by a carpet of seed, says Mr Albano. Even the long lines which are at the water surface attracts mussel seed. He attributes the abundance to an ancient tradition of farming mussels in the area and the fact that there is a lot of phytoplankton in the water so the mussels produce a lot of seed. In addition the area is a sheltered bay so the sea is calm and the seed can quickly attach itself.

Mussel sorted and graded up to three times The production season starts in November, when the grid of long lines is built up. Four months later the seed will have attached itself to collector ropes suspended from the www.eurofishmagazine.com

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In the factory the mussels are cleaned, graded and packaged in nets for sale on the local markets.

grid and in April the growth season starts. After six months the mussels are removed from the collector ropes, sorted, and put in plastic socks and suspended from the long lines. Over the next 18 months the mussels can be removed, sorted, and returned to socks up to three times before they are finally harvested, cleaned, graded, and packaged, says Mr Panariti. Mussels from Taranto are characterised by a completely black and very rigid

shell. This has implications for the washing and grading process which is done by machine, and later, for the 10% of the production that is further processed. A firmshelled product is easier to process mechanically with less waste.

Oily ropes make good seed collectors The Delfino cooperative has 98,000 sq. m of surface in one

lagoon and 50,000 sq. m of surface in another. The lagoons are used for the collection of spat while the on-growing site has an area of 10,000 sq. m. The cooperative has entered into a collaboration with an olive oil producer from a neighbouring town, from whom they get ropes that have been used in the olive oil production, but are too worn out for further use. Because they are impregnated with small amounts of oil they float easily and are

Soc. Coop. DelďŹ no Via Galeso n. 76 74123 Taranto Italy Tel.: +39 328 8534681 (mobile) cosimopanariti74@gmail.com

therefore used to collect the mussel seed.

The cooperative’s main markets for its mussels are in the neighbouring region of Calabria or locally in Taranto with usually only the juvenile mussels being exported to Spain or Greece. While the business with mussels and other bivalves is set to continue the cooperative is looking forward to the response to its application to the commune for an area in which to farm the shi drum.

Company Fact File mussels, and clams; Collection and export of mussel seed Product: Locally sourced or imported from Spain, Greece Markets: Mainly local; mussel seed exported to Spain and Greece

Owner: Cosimo Panariti Activity: Mussel farming; packaging and distributing

PIT Produttori Ittici Trevigiani produces fresh trout in a variety of sizes

Highly value-added products are the future The Italian ďŹ nďŹ sh farming industry cultures ďŹ sh in saltwater and freshwater. Freshwater production is dominated by the cultivation of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), with signiďŹ cantly smaller volumes of sturgeon, eel, and negligible quantities of other species (chars, other trout species, carp etc.). Trout farming is concentrated in the northern part of the country, primarily in the regions of Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Trentino Alto Adige, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont, while a few farms can also be found in the Umbria and Marche regions in central Italy.

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rout production in 2012 was almost 35,000 tonnes making Italy the biggest trout producer in the EU. France with 31,000 tonnes followed by Denmark with 21,000 were the other two major producers of rainbow trout in 2012.

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High quality production of large fish In Italy many trout producers are farming relatively small volumes of fish, but focusing on low density, high quality, as well as, in some cases, the production of

large-sized specimens. One of the typical examples is the company PIT Produttori Ittici Trevigiani, a family-owned concern that has been farming trout since the start of the industry in the 50s and thus one of the earliest trout farmers in Italy. Originally

two entities, each belonging to a branch of the family, with separate operation, the company in 2008 merged all the fish farming activities into a single unit with two owners that managed the seven farming sites and two processing facilities.

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they are produced to where they are needed.

Produttori Ittici Trevigiani has seven farming sites including one producing organic trout. In total the company produces between 2,200 and 2,500 tonnes of fish a year.

The sites are all located in the Veneto region near Treviso and Belluno. The seven sites produce a total of between 2,200 and 2,500 tonnes of fish a year, which is then processed into a variety of products at the company’s processing facility. At the factory we process 3,000 tonnes of fish, says Marco Fuselli, the company director, for which we collaborate with another farmer who supplies us the extra raw material.

Trout production can be unstable and there could be instances, where a company lacks a particular size or a certain volume or has been hit by bad weather, which has upset the production schedule. It is thus necessary to have a backup supply to ensure stable deliveries of the product.

Trout farmers often therefore collaborate with other trout producers, who can produce fish of the requisite quality and quantity.

Sometimes the cooperation will include supplying fingerlings or even the feed.

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Sizes vary from 200 to 2,000 g Produttori Ittici Trevigiani grows trout to a variety of sizes ranging from 200 g to 2 kg, though the latter is only about 5% of the production at the moment. The most commonly produced size is around 700/1,000 g. This size is necessary to produce the fillets demanded by customers.

While fillets are one of the company’s products about 10% of the turnover stems from highly valueadded items that are produced in a separate facility and include fish meat burgers and ready-tocook dishes combining fish with different ingredients that need just to be inserted in the oven or microwave to produce a meal. Mr Fuselli emphasises that this line of products is fresh and not frozen and they are very high quality, firstly because they contain a high proportion of fish, and secondly, because the meat that is used is from the fillet. Neither other parts

of the fish nor leftovers from the filleting process are used to make these products, says Mr Fuselli.

The filleting plant and the facility, where the ready-to-cook meals are prepared, although separate are located very close together so that the fillets can quickly and easily be brought, from where

Farming large fish is expensive as the fish take longer to reach, say 2 kg in absolute terms. At Mr Fuselli’s farms the fish takes at least one year to reach 200 g and two to reach 2 kg. The growth period is 2-5 months longer than it is on comparable farms because of the characteristics of the farms, the water, the temperature and the farm management. We do not want to hurry the production with high density in the raceways and a lot of feed. We aim to produce fish that are healthy, tasty, and do not have too much fat and to achieve this we feed less and give the fish the space and the time to grow as this ultimately is reflected in the quality of the fish and the flesh.

Organic production sold partly as conventional Management of the farm including the light feeding regime reduces problems with illness, says Mr Fuselli. One of the seven sites has been certified by ICEA, the Environmental and Ethical Certification Institute, that certifies aquaculture farms to EU organic

The company grows trout to sizes ranging from 200 g to 2 kg, though the latter is only about 5% of the production at the moment. www.eurofishmagazine.com

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standards. This site has a capacity of 150 tonnes of fish, however, explains Mr Fuselli, the market today is not ready to absorb all this organic fish so a proportion of the organic production is sold as conventional fish. For Produttori Ittici Trevigiani the organic production fits in with the image it wants to project of a high quality trout producer that respects the environment and can offer its customers a range of products including organic trout. The farm itself is located in the mountains in a naturally green area that also contributes to the company’s message of natural production in an unspoilt environment. Costs involved in the production of organic fish are higher as the fish is farmed at a lower density than conventional fish and the feed is also more expensive. Water too is a cost, complains Mr Fuselli, whose farms use both river water and ground water because sometimes the river does not have enough water and at other times heavy rains makes its use risky. At times like this the ground water supply is pressed into service. The temperature of the water is a critical factor as trout thrive when the water is around 15 degrees. At temperatures below this feeding and weight gain slows down, while higher temperatures increase the risk of disease. The temperature of river water fluctuates widely depending on the season and therefore a source of ground water at a more or less constant temperature that can be used to moderate the swings in the river water temperature is necessary.

Lack of sites, funding, serious constraints Whether from the river or the ground, we pay too much for water, maintains Mr Fuselli. River water we do not even consume,

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but just borrow. And the quality of the water we return to the river is even higher than what we take out. In general Mr Fuselli feels that the high costs of water and energy are among the factors that are hindering the expansion of the trout farming sector in Italy.

Another factor is the lack of suitable sites. Finding new sites to farm fish is “impossible,� says Mr Fuselli. And most farmers cannot afford to invest in the improvements to their farms that will result in better and more efficient production. These problems have been recognised by policy makers anxious to boost the fish farming sector in Europe and attempts are being made to improve the situation. The new European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, for example, offers support for productive investments in aquaculture, which may address some of the bottlenecks faced by the sector.

Produttori Ittici Trevigiani supplies both the domestic and the export market selling its products to supermarkets in Italy, Germany, and Switzerland. About half the production is exported both with the company’s own brand as well as under private label. Apart from the fish-burgers and other highly value-added products, the production comprises gutted fish and fillets. All products are sold fresh and are produced to the client’s specifications. Thus if fillets should be skinless or boneless, cut in a certain way, or even be of a certain size, the company will fulfil the requirement. While willing to tailor its products to the needs of its clients Produttori Ittici Trevigiani is also trying to shift more of the production over to valueadded products, a development that will not happen overnight, but over time will enable the company to make more from less.

Highly value-added products include fish burgers and fish sausages.

These are made from the trout fillet and are sold fresh as ready-tocook products.

Produttori Ittici Trevigiani Strada dell’ Isola n. 22 31100 Treviso, Italy Tel. +39 0422 400306 Fax: +39 0422 401898 info@trotapit.it www.trotapit.it Director: Marco Fuselli Activity: Farming and processing of rainbow trout Facility: Seven farming sites, two processing factories

Products: Fresh red and white trout gutted, ďŹ llets, ďŹ sh burgers and other ready-tocook products, small volumes of eel, sturgeon, Arctic char Volumes: 2,200-2,500 tonnes including 150 tonnes organic trout Markets: Italy, Germany, Switzerland Customers: Retail chains CertiďŹ cations: IFS (International Food Standard), ICEA (organic)

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[ TECHNOLOGY ] Effective warehouse technology

Interaction of storage hardware and computer software There are thousands of ďŹ sh and seafood products on the market and new ones being added every day. This places more demands on storage technology and warehouse management, for all the products have to be procured, stored and put together at the customer’s request (often in varying quantities) and delivered at the right time and in the right quantity. This would no longer be possible today without computer technology and automation in the storage sector.

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n the days of the Hansa League a hand-written book was still sufficient to monitor the daily coming and going of products to and from the warehouse. The number of items was manageable, one could almost literally “keep an eye on� the stocks. That situation is completely different today.

There are far more products and they have different shelf-lives plus a wealth of additional information that is required to guarantee the traceability of every single product.

To make sure nothing spoils prematurely all products have to be stored correctly in accordance with their quality and workmanship. At the same time, storage times should be as short as possible since products in storage are “dead capital� – they do not realise their true value until the moment of purchase by the customer. Order times are shorter today, too. Everybody expects their order to be delivered quickly, in the desired quality and correctly picked. These requirements make storage and warehouse management processes a high-tech business that necessitates efficient logistics, a high level of computerisation, and automation. Given today’s high throughput of goods it would be impossible to keep track of the inventory at all times, to reorder missing items in time, or to guarantee complete transparency throughout the entire supply chain without intelligent technologies.

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An essential prerequisite for the efficient organisation of all the processes connected to product storage is a fixed order within the warehouse that assigns every pallet and every product to a particular place. This order is so to speak the “hardware� whose structure enables the exact naming and assignment of the coordinates of a product’s storage place so that it can be found as quickly as possible when needed and located via the shortest path. Thanks to modern software it is not even necessary for the products to have fixed positions within the warehouse. In the past, canned herring, for example, might always have been put into the second shelf on the left at the back, but today the products can be put anywhere where there is enough space. If everything is correctly documented the computer will be able to find every single product later on – despite the appearance of chaos. The methods and techniques of modern warehousing range from robust stackable crates that are still sorted by hand to flexible container concepts and complex shelf systems that are computer controlled. In practice there are both standardised industrial storage systems and tailormade solutions that are specifically designed for the user’s needs.

Eleven boards, nine blocks of wood and 78 nails – that is what is needed to make one of the classic tools of

On the Canadian Atlantic coast live lobster are kept in high-shelf like installations that are constantly supplied with fresh sea water.

modern logistics: the Euro pallet.

First introduced in 1961, it has since then become increasingly significant in the storage and transport sector. More than 500 million of these standardised Euro pallets are in circulation in Europe. And their dimensions of 120x80x14 cm are the “measure of all things� in nearly every warehouse. There are special shelves in different sizes and construction variants for the pallets. Some shelves are fixed installations, whereby every shelf space takes a single pallet. This enables constant stock control and direct access which is of particular advantage when various different products have to be stored on the pallet. Other shelves can be shifted to a different place to achieve better utilisation of the available space: this method saves aisles

between the shelves. A single aisle is sufficient because it can always be opened exactly where the desired pallet is. That is particularly valuable in cool and cold storage depots because it means that the space is used optimally and overall storage capacity is increased without having to forgo direct access to individual pallets. The shifting of the shelves and thus the opening or closing of the aisle is automatic, either by hand or upon demand of the computer system.

Logistics becomes a little bit more difficult if the shelves do not only hold one pallet but if they are two, three or four pallets deep. The simplest way of dealing with this is to push the pallets into the shelf one after the other (push back shelves) but the drawback here is that the www.eurofishmagazine.com

[ TECHNOLOGY ]

Large quantities of herring are landed during the fishing season. The fillets are frozen and put into intermediate cold storage until sold to the customers.

older products are at the back. In order to take them out all the other pallets that are standing in front of them have to be removed from the shelf first. This takes time and is a strenuous process which is why this system is mostly not used in practice. Because this shelf type means that the front, newest products are usually taken out first (last in, first out) they are less well suited to use for perishable goods such as fish and seafood products.

Products with only a short shelflife and high product throughput are therefore preferably stored in flow racks – a storage system that is driven by gravity and uses roll conveyors. The pallets are put onto the conveyors at the slightly higher shelf side and then flow forward to the other side where they can be removed as required (first in, first out). The next pallets slide into place behind them. This storage technology fits the logistical requirements of perishable products in the food industry much better. The same principle also applies to silos in which, for example, feed producers store their fishmeal supplies and other loose products.

Silos are filled from the top and emptied from the bottom so that older raw materials are always used first. Sensors monitor how full the silo is, and also the prevailing storage conditions; the removal and dosage of the required quantities is automatic. www.eurofishmagazine.com

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Automation relieves staff in extreme work environments High-shelf stores constitute an interesting storage concept for warehouses with only little floor space. Here the capacity of the storage space is determined by the height of the building. Sometimes these stores are constructed in such a way that the high-shelf systems bear the ceiling and the lateral walls. High-shelf stores have a huge storage capacity and are used both for pallets and for smaller product units. In the seafood sector they mainly serve for the storage of frozen raw materials and semifinished products that occur in very large quantities, for example herring fillets or frozen fillet blocks.

Although it is basically possible to manage high-shelf stores by hand, in practice rack retrieval systems are usually used because these are considerably more efficient.

These systems’ capacity (maximum load and working height, speed) is adapted to the work environment and the machines often move along rails in the aisles and can access any shelf space with the lifting unit to put away or pick up storage goods. They are rather like fork-lift trucks in their abilities only that they reach heights of 15 or 20 metres. All tasks carried out by such systems run automatically as if by magic. They are centrally computer controlled with the result

that the halls are often completely void of any persons. Inventories are monitored and updated in real-time. The technology is not cheap but it is a worthwhile investment because a lot of storage processes can then be carried out much faster and with less errors than would be possible by hand.

Automation saves effort, time and money and is also not such a strain on the nerves. And in situations where employees are confronted with extreme working conditions, for example in frozen stores at temperatures of -30°C or when stock turnover has to be particularly quick, automatic rack retrieval systems are always recommendable.

In the past, working in a warehouse was usually a tough job that involved lifting, moving heavy loads by hand within small spaces and then putting them into shelves.

Today mechanical support is available for a lot of these jobs. Forklifts and pallet transporters carry pallets and other product units to their destinations and lift them easily onto the shelves. In modern warehouses transport vehicles often don’t even need a driver anymore and there are remote-controlled radio shuttles for loading and unloading pallets of incoming and outgoing goods. Such shuttles are capable of carrying out a lot of movements independently, for example when putting the products into shelves. This makes these semi-automatic conveyor systems an optimal solution for cold storage rooms or wet working areas in which the health of the employees is at risk. Automated truck loading systems that place the ordered pallets and mixed product units onto a truck work in a similar way. The important devices for in-company transport include roll conveyors and conveyor belts with which goods can be quickly moved from one place to another without much effort. Some companies have fully

automatic pallet conveyor systems that connect the production section to the warehouse section so that ready loaded pallets can be efficiently collected, carried, put into intermediate storage, divided up, or put together to form complete deliveries as required.

Inventory management programmes register, coordinate and control Every company that has to store and manage products needs warehouse logistics that are adapted to the type, quantity and throughput of the products. Warehouse logistics is the sum of all the processes that are in any way connected with the storage of products from their arrival in the warehouse to their delivery. Inventory stocks have to be monitored constantly and any goods that are lacking re-ordered.

Control routines are required to be able to guarantee the correct storage of all products. Warehouse logistics also prescribe how transport within the company has to be carried out and what has to be paid attention to and documented when the products leave the warehouse. Without a computer and suitable software these tasks would today hardly be manageable. Using a special warehouse management programme, however, it is possible to monitor, control and coordinate all processes within the warehouse constantly. This programme could be called the brain of the warehouse: it registers all activities within the warehouse, brings together individual data and thereby enables decisions to be taken. Through the introduction of wireless data transmission systems in the storage sector it is today even possible to transmit instructions directly from the warehouse management to product pickers, stackers and other mobile workplaces.

This enables fast implementation of the necessary tasks.

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[ TECHNOLOGY ] Warehouse management programmes are almost indispensable for the constant monitoring of inventory levels. In large warehouses the sheer quantity of goods alone would already make it almost impossible to use traditional methods for keeping control of all products, their shelf space, sell-by dates and cost prices, the number of reserved units, number of units to be ordered, etc. With the help of computer programmes it is no longer a problem, however, as long as all the data of the incoming and outgoing goods are entered correctly. Often the scanners with which the product-specific barcodes on the pallets and cartons are read are even directly connected to the central computer of the warehouse management system. The computer stores all product-related data and thereby enables an absolutely current stock overview all the time, and mostly even in a very user-friendly format since modern warehouse management programmes can portray the structures of the warehouse and its capacity graphically, giving a lot of detailed information on the stored goods. This enables maximum transparency and also makes it much easier to recognise free capacities within the warehouse and, even with large inventories, to track down individual products quickly.

In a lot of warehouse management programmes it is also possible to specify limits above or below which an alarm should be given, for example if stocks fall below a pre-specified minimum inventory level or if sell-by dates reach a critical level. Some programmes even automatically make suggestions with regard to use of storage space so that similar products can be stored as close to one another as possible. This creates a better overview and saves time later on when picking products for orders.

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transponder (from transmit, and respond), is not “activated� by the energy field of the reader it does not transmit any information.

Neither water, nor heat nor cold can have any effect on the chips.

Asian aquaculture requires huge quantities of feed. The different kinds of feed are stored in warehouses on pallets so that they can be delivered quickly as required.

RFID chips revolutionize the monitoring of product-relevant data Radio frequency identification (RFID) opens up completely new perspectives in warehouse management. This technology enables a contact-free transfer of data. It is considered to be a key technology of the 21st century.

It offers fascinating possibilities and might well have similar influence on productivity as the introduction of the barcode 30 years ago. RFID is legible without visual contact, even through plastics, glass, cardboard or other materials. New kinds of RFIDs are even said to be able to penetrate metallic substrates. They can thus be installed in pallets, crates and barrels whose location or path can then be tracked within the warehouse. In contrast to optical barcodes RFID labels are better suited to rough industrial environments and processes. RFID read-and-write tags are almost mini computers which allow the user to change, erase or add to stored information. This does not only save money for the printing and attaching of the barcode labels but also simplifies the collection of important productrelated data that are necessary for traceability, for example.

The flat RFID chips have several kilobytes storage capacity and, together with the antenna that is wound in a spiral around the chip, they are only about as big as a stamp. These mobile data storage units have huge rationalisation potential because they connect products with detailed information that is individually collected, stored and further processed by EDP systems. With radio frequency technology it is, for example, possible to monitor the location of a product within the warehouse and follow its path through the supply chain. Such information enables companies to plan internal processes better and to make more efficient use of storage space and working hours. Another particular advantage of RFID technology is that it is not necessary for the RFID reader to have physical or visual contact to the product. RFID chips do not need an electricity supply, an attribute that is based on the construction of the smart chips. They consist of the chip and an electronic oscillation unit that serves both as an antenna and an inductor. As an antenna the oscillation unit conveys the contact to the RFID reader, as an inductor it is stimulated by the electromagnetic field of the reader and supplies the required energy. As long as the RFID chip, which is also called a

Transfer of the stored data takes only fractions of a second. Fork-lift trucks with RFID-chipped pallets do not even need to stop when they pass by the readers. These convey the information to a data base where the number codes are read, decoded and assigned to the products. The electronic product code (EPC) enables the assignment of an individual ID number to every RFID transponder. To prevent duplicates and overlapping the EPC numbers are issued centrally by the company Auto-ID Inc. in Cambridge.

The spectrum of tasks that are fulfilled within the warehouse sector does not end, however, with the qualified storage of goods but also comprises various services for the customer. Some products have to be packed differently, re-iced, re-packed from master cartons, or samples have to be taken for controls or to send to customers.

Routine stock reports are given, customers are given support during product data capture for inventory purposes, products are picked for delivery according to customer specifications. A lot of tasks would hardly be possible without automated counting, measuring and weighing processes. And in addition to EDP systems and identification systems, one often finds machines for packing the products, for example for wrapping plastic around pallets or sealing the products in shrink foil, for stapling or strapping the packaging or other techniques in the warehouse. The interaction of all elements within the warehouse is the prerequisite not only for correct product storage but also for their timely delivery in the desired configuration to the customer. mk www.eurofishmagazine.com

[ TRADE AND MARKETS ] More and more seafood in the global air cargo business

Freshness and quality versus environmental and climate impact Airfreight is often the fastest and most reliable mode of transport where the movement of goods over long distances is concerned.

This makes it particularly suitable for fresh products with a short shelf life such as ďŹ sh or seafood. Apart from the slump during the global ďŹ nancial crisis, cross-border airfreight volume has risen steadily in recent years. According to estimates by the International Air Transport Association IATA it currently amounts to almost 40 million tonnes, a signiďŹ cant percentage of which is seafood.

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bout 5 per cent of annual world production of fish is today already transported by plane. And as demand for fresh products continues to grow worldwide this share is likely to rise further. The carriage of goods by air enables the trading sector to offer foreign, sometimes “exotic� , fish products in a freshness and quality that were previously inconceivable due to the products’ short shelf life and the long distances between source and marketplace. Even special requests are suddenly possible and air cargo is often the only chance for landlocked consumers to enjoy catch-fresh seafood.

Airfreight is not only fast and safe, but is often chosen on account of the careful, qualified treatment and handling of the goods and at the same time the possibility to largely eliminate negative climatic conditions. This means that air transport is often chosen particularly for fresh foods that spoil easily, (perishables) which include fish, fruit and flowers.

But live animals, urgent consignments such as newspapers and medicines, or valuable and sensitive products are also typical air cargo. Which goods are worth transporting by plane depends on numerous factors and often

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differs from country to country.

Not only are the production facilities at source decisive but also demand and climatic conditions.

In the EU countries, for example, fresh fish, vegetables and exotic fruits such as papaya, guava, mango and pineapple play a significant role in the air cargo business.

The main players in the global air cargo transport business are North America, Europe and Asia.

According to MergeGlobal Inc., in the year 2008 their imports amounted to 43, 41 and 34 billion tonne-kilometres respectively. (1 t-km corresponds to the transport of one tonne of cargo over one kilometre). It is not evident what proportion of these totals fish and seafood accounted for.

With regard to the export sector, the continents ranked in the opposite order, that is, Asia, Europe, North America, and finally Africa. Although African countries seem to play only a minor role in the global air cargo business they can be very important for some countries in Europe for certain product groups. Germany, for example, bought more than half of its imported seafood products that were transported by air, from African countries, mainly from Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya and Uganda.

A disadvantage in air transport is the size limitations on packages and containers that have to fit through the hatches of the aircraft.

The advantages of airfreight are indisputable, but there are also some disadvantages and negative knock-on effects that are associated with the enormous logistical effort, the relatively high cost and the environmental impact of flying. Criticism is often rebuffed with the argument that the aircraft would be flying anyway and so it was only reasonable to pack them to the full. It is true that 80 to 85 of air cargo is transported on passenger aircraft and only the remaining fifth in cargo planes.

But every additional kilogram on board increases kerosene consumption, which today – irrespective of whether passenger or

cargo plane – already accounts for about half of the annual operating cost of an aircraft, and its combustion products influence our climate. Depending on the prevailing conditions, air transport causes around 170 to 200 times more emissions than the transport of the same quantity of goods by ship. Many critics therefore see aircraft as a “climate killerâ€? and would be only too happy to replace it with other, less climate damaging methods of transport. However, this would also mean having to do without numerous exotic foods in optimal freshness and quality‌ foods which cannot be replaced by local products.

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[ TRADE AND MARKETS ] Smooth logistics on the ground are essential What might not be achievable through appeals to consumer behaviour, could perhaps be much more quickly achieved through rising prices for air cargo.

Already today, the prices per kilogram of airfreight, depending on the destination, flight duration, total transport volume, and other conditions, amount to 1.50 to 4.50 US dollars. This price not only limits the range of fish species that can be transported by air on commercially reasonable terms, but also clearly narrows the circle of potential buyers for these products. Many consumers will happily do without the freshness advantage if they can get the same product frozen for half or even a third of the price.

Air transport is about four to five times more expensive than road transport and ten to fifteen times more expensive than sea transport.

Moreover, it is often overlooked that the speed of air transport is, strictly speaking, only measured from terminal to terminal, that is, the period between takeoff and landing. Airfreight should not be assessed in isolation, however, but always viewed in combination with the time taken to carry goods to and from the airport, usually by road. Airports with international connections to the destinations are not available everywhere, and so deliveries must therefore be incorporated into an intermodal transport chain. This requires, for example, that the shipment arrives at the airport on time prior to departure, so that veterinary authorities, customs and other bodies can carry out the necessary checks. In this context quite a few airlines now fear that the highly stringent safety regulations 62

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on certain routes, especially to Israel and the United States, could exceed the scope of what is possible. The thorough inspection of each piece of baggage and cargo not only causes additional costs and requires more personnel and technology, but is also very time-consuming. And with that, a significant advantage of air cargo, the speed of transport, is in danger of being lost. In addition, such measures increase the freight costs. Whether all this is worth the effort and whether it really does provide the desired protection against terrorist attacks, is questionable anyway, because it is probably impossible to examine every polystyrene box and every carton of a delivery. Especially since deliveries sometimes have to be reloaded during transport and might have to continue a journey they began on a cargo plane, in a passenger aircraft.

airfreight. For example, it bundles the goods and makes sure they arrive in the airport’s cargo area in good time before departure. For short routes, such as within Europe, the road feeders sometimes even carry out transportation to the destination airport completely on the road, perhaps because there exists a ban on night flights there. It doesn’t usually matter to the customer how their supplies are transported, as long as they arrive punctually at their destination.

Just as important as the rapid completion of all formalities and controls before departure is the qualified treatment of perishable air cargo upon arrival at the destination airport. Fish and seafood products have to be repackaged and re-iced, checked for compliance with all requirements by veterinarians and food

Air cargo requires a well developed and functioning infrastructure on the ground It may sound strange, but air cargo in particular requires a well-developed and functioning infrastructure on the ground.

Not every airport is equally well suited for the handling of sensitive items such as fish and seafood. The time window from arrival to shipment of fresh produce is narrow. Already the delivery of the goods by road is difficult to calculate when a traffic jam on the route can quickly ruin the time schedule.

Only when everything works smoothly can the goods be safely stowed on board when the plane takes off. That is why most major airports today offer a road feeder service which organises pre- and post-shipment procedures for

inspectors. The faster this work is done, the sooner and fresher the products reach the markets. Only few airports in Europe meet all these requirements. Hard pressed by its competitors Paris and Amsterdam, Fraport in Frankfurt asserts its position as the biggest player in the European air cargo business nearly every year. On average, more than 2 million tonnes of airfreight move through this hub every year. An important role in the 150-hectare Airport Cargo City, where 250 companies are located with well over 10,000 employees, is played by Fraport Perishable Center. As a freshness centre, it offers 9,000 square meters with 20 different climate

zones, whose temperatures are graded from minus 24 to plus 24° C, as storage capacity for 130,000 tons of fresh produce.

Besides exotic fruits, vegetables and meat, these mainly include fish and seafood products. More fish is handled at the Perishable Center than in Bremerhaven or Hamburg: fresh Nile perch fillets from Tanzania and Uganda, redfish from Iceland, live scallops from the United States, and lobster from Canada. With great routine the centre’s trained staff deal with all freight formalities, and check, care for and pick the sensitive goods so that they arrive as quickly as possible in specialised shops, supermarkets and restaurants.

Air cargo is a solid economic pillar for airlines About 140 t of fresh food arrive in Germany every day as airfreight, most of it in Frankfurt.

About a third of this total is fresh fish, which thus occupies the top position among the airfreighted foods. Based on the total market, however, only 4 per cent of the fish imported directly from third countries arrives in Germany as air cargo. The majority, on average a good 90 per cent, is transported by sea. A large amount of fresh fish is also transported by road, especially in intra-trade between the EU countries. Air transport of fish and seafood within the community is almost meaningless. In recent years, annual fresh fish deliveries from other EU countries to Germany by air were always well below 200 t.

Airfreight is becoming more and more important for the world‘s major airlines, especially since they tend to grow faster in this business sector www.eurofishmagazine.com

[ TRADE AND MARKETS ] than in passenger traffic. Competition among providers has intensified since airlines from the Gulf States started offering their services at low prices in an attempt to gain market shares.

European airlines are often left standing because, in addition to the fierce price war, they are also slowed down by night bans at many airports.

The most important product in the global air cargo business with fish is currently fresh salmon from Norwegian aquaculture. In 2013, a total of 158,000 tonnes were flown to China and Japan, to Australia, to the United States, to South Africa and other countries. This represented a growth of 30 compared to 2012.

Analysts expect similarly strong growth from Marine Harvest, the world‘s largest aquaculture company, for 2014. In purely mathematical terms this means that about 430 tonnes of salmon are transported by air in the different regions of the world every day of the year. Lerøy, one of the big salmon producers in Norway, exported more than 15 of its salmon by airfreight in 2010.

Aurora salmon from northern Norway thus arrives in Japan already 36 hours after harvesting. The demand for air cargo capacity is increasing at least as fast as the demand for salmon in remote and new markets that can only be supplied with fresh fish by air. Exports to South Africa alone doubled to 3,000 t from 2011 to 2012‌ despite the fact that at about 14 NOK/kg (approximately 1.75 EUR/kg) the cost of airfreight makes the fish much more expensive. Many airlines presumably view these developments with mixed feelings. On the one hand, they are attracted by the continuity of the salmon business that promises respectable transport volumes www.eurofishmagazine.com

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in the cargo area on an almost daily basis. Well known airlines such as Qatar Airways, Emirates, Lufthansa Cargo, Korean and SAS are thus trying to gain as much of this lucrative business as possible. However, smaller companies often get in their way here, attracting customers with favourable conditions. Finnair Oyi, for example, hopes to double its salmon airfreight to China and Japan from the current 300 t / week to 600 t by 2020. The fish is delivered by truck from Norway and usually flown to Asia as additional cargo on Finnair Oyj passenger flights. A few months ago another competitor came onto the scene: Viking International. Viking flies salmon in “combi� planes (60 t cargo and up to 310 passengers) from Oslo to Miami and Bangkok.

On the other hand, big customers such as Norway‘s salmon producers, of course, use their chance of a say in the design of airfreight contracts to negotiate lower prices. On average, airlines generate nearly 10 profit with the transport of salmon. That‘s not bad, but also not overly profitable. And the fierce competition among air cargo providers pushes the margins. They can earn much more with special cargo which requires special expertise. The salmon producers are aware of their significance and demand more say, better service and also want to be more involved in the control and configuration of the basic conditions on flights. They are particularly concerned about the maintenance and monitoring of optimum temperatures on long-haul flights, upon which the quality of the sensitive cargo decisively depends.

But despite all the criticism and the small share of total transport

The handling and preparation of fresh or even live seafood products for airfreight is a great challenge to logistics. Often the goods are not stowed into containers until immediately prior to departure.

volume – 98 per cent of all goods transported worldwide are shipped, and only 2 per cent flown – without the possibility of transporting much-needed goods, perishable foods or spare parts by air it would be hard for most companies to get by today.

Just how much the economy depends on airfreight became very clear at the latest when air traffic restrictions were put in place after the eruption of the Icelandic volcano EyjafjallajĂśkull in 2010. 95,000 flights were cancelled, some export-dependent companies had to cut back their production. In Iceland alone, damages were said to amount to three to five million euros.

All predictions assume that the air cargo business will continue to grow in the future. Many airlines are expanding their cargo capacities and investing in this area. The airports and airlines in the Gulf States are particularly active here and constantly expanding their network of flight connections, taking on additional cargo planes and upgrading their logistics on the ground.

Around airports like Dubai or Abu Dhabi new coldstores and warehouses are springing up like mushrooms. In the air cargo sector the logistics competence of airports is almost more important than the aircraft themselves.

Not only hotels, restaurants and importers of fresh food benefit from the newly created possibilities in this blossoming tourist region, for the Middle East would like to have more say in the global air cargo business. In 2013 Dubai had already become the world‘s fifth-largest cargo airport and the trend looks set to continue.

Many consumers probably follow these developments with mixed feelings. Everyone knows today that air traffic, which also includes air transport of foods, releases large amounts of carbon dioxide and impacts global climate. But without airfreight and transport logistics that link the continents we would all of course have to do without many exotic delicacies and some of the fresh seafood specialities that we enjoy today.

MK Eurofish Magazine 6 / 2014

63

GUEST PAGES

Nordischer Maschinenbau Rud. Baader celebrates its 95th anniversary

“Baader will continue to develop into a complete systems supplier�

Baader Maschinenbau is the world leader in the ďŹ eld of machinery and plants for ďŹ sh processing. In an interview Torsten Krausen (MD Finances, Production, Buying) and Robert Focke (MD Sales, Marketing, Research, Development and Human Resources) talk about the signiďŹ cance of research and development, growth potentials and sales markets, product piracy and the contribution that their company makes to the aspect of sustainability.

Baader has just turned 95 years old, an anniversary to be proud of. How is the birthday boy?

Torsten Krausen: Absolutely fine.

Baader stands for innovation and modern engineering that provide customers with machines which will offer top performance‌ and they’ve been doing that for 95 years. Baader unites extensive knowledge of fish with the necessary engineering expertise that is needed for the creation of new solutions. We feel young; we are ready to respond to technical challenges, to actively shape the future of processing in the fish industry, and to set new trends. There are probably not many who can say that of themselves at that age.

What has been the most important strategic move for Baader in recent years?

Krausen: The salmon industry was and is facing considerable growth potentials that necessitate a significant expansion of production capacities. We have given the industry innovative solutions that will enable suppliers to meet the rising demand for salmon. Baader has played a significant part in shaping the industry not only with machines but with complete lines and production concepts.

Beyond that, with the purchase of Linco Food Systems A/S, Denmark 64

Eurofish Magazine 6 / 2014

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(LFS) we have established a new global player in the poultry market.

Through the combination of existing resources in the poultry sector with LFS we were able in a relatively short time to achieve a leading market position in the most important growth markets such as Brazil and China. Apart from that Baader has always put a considerable share of its investments into research and development in order to maintain its technical leadership of the market and ensure the necessary knowledge transfer from one generation to the next. Baader thinks of time not only in quarterly terms but over whole generations so that it can continue to be a successful family run business. The fact that at nearly one hundred years old we are the global market leader in fish processing and the third largest supplier of poultry processing machines makes us proud and shows us that we have set the right course.

What contribution has Baader made to the development of the international fish industry and to its sustainability?

Robert Focke: With its machines and plant solutions Baader has set trends for industrial fish processing. Whether on board or on shore, whether farmed fish or fish caught at sea, Baader has always presented optimum solutions for processing. Fish is a scarce and valuable

Despite Baader’s 95 years, we feel young, ready to respond to technical challenges, to actively shape the future of processing in the fish industry, and to set new trends, says Torsten Krausen.

resource. That is why Baader also stands for machines that handle the resource gently and effectively.

When fish is processed using Baader machines utilisation can be up to 99.9. Skin and bones go into fishmeal processing while the meat finds its way to the customer as a high-quality food. Water and energy consumption are also important factors. Baader machines are optimized with regard to resource consumption using electronics and intelligent technology; cleaning systems that are integrated into the machines require prudent use of water and chemicals. We give high priority to the topic sustainability and see this responsibility as an incentive for our work.

How many machines and plants from your company are in operation throughout the world today and where is the machine with the longest service life?

Focke: The oldest active machine is currently in Iceland. The total number of machines in the market is not easy to determine because despite their already long service life our machines are also traded second-hand.

Which sales market is currently the most important for you? Are you expecting this to change in the future?

Focke: Fish processing countries such as Norway, Chile, Denmark, www.eurofishmagazine.com

GUEST PAGES

So our engineers are not going to be twiddling their thumbs in the future!

Baader protects its newly developed technologies through patents. With our own patent department we have an extremely efficient instrument for the long-term protection of our products against copying.

How have your employee job specifications changed during recent decades and what professional training do you offer?

Robert Focke seen here with the BAADER 99, which is probably the company’s best-known machine. It is a filleting machine for large cod that was built in 1950 and is still in operation today.

Iceland, England and the USA are naturally of great importance to us as sales markets. We expect that aquaculture will continue to establish itself in the future and that Asia, in particular, will be a strong source of growth.

Does Baader have any main focus area within fish processing technology, for example a particular expertise for a certain species? What gives Baader its USP? Krausen: Baader’s particular focus within fish processing technology is at the front end. That means that Baader has a solution for all fish species for killing, gutting, filleting and skinning the fish. Baader has been responsible for very many developments that are still unique in the world today. Take the salmon gutting machine, for example. Up to the mid-1990s salmon always had to be gutted by hand. With the introduction of the innovative BA 142, however, it was suddenly possible to gut the fish with a princess cut fully electronically. This individual machine was later integrated into a very complex processing line. It is thus now possible, for example, to process up to 16 fishes simultaneously per minute. This process is unique and to this day no other engineering company in the world has developed a similar www.eurofishmagazine.com

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machine. With this plant Baader made a considerable contribution to industrial fish processing.

In which industries is Baader represented apart from the fish industry?

Krausen: In addition to being the world leader in fish processing technology Baader is the world’s number three in poultry processing. In this sector we offer wallto-wall solutions for the poultry industry: that means we produce and install all the equipment from reception right through to packaging. Baader separators are also in operation in the meat processing, recycling and repackaging sectors.

What challenges do your engineers face at the moment?

Where do you see a need for innovation, and how do you protect your ideas from theft?

Krausen: We see a need for innovation in the X-ray and water jet cutting sectors. The solutions that are available on the market here so far are in our view inadequate and definitely require optimisation for industrial processing. Furthermore, on account of the space situation, faster machines have to be developed, too, to satisfy the increased demands on production processes.

Focke: Developments in this area have in fact been very dynamic over the past decades: Baader comes from the pure engineering segment.

But through high investments in electrical and systems engineering, mechatronics has become increasingly important. And our employees have to keep step with these developments. We ourselves train far more employees than we need – in all professions that have anything to do with the areas that are important to us: markets and products. We try to give our employees the best possible training to ensure technology transfer from one generation to the next. For that we cooperate closely with the Technical University Hamburg-Harburg and the University of Applied Sciences in Lßbeck. In concrete terms that means that we offer industrial-technical training for mechatronic engineers, technical draftsmen, cutting machine operators, industrial mechanics and electrical engineers. In the commercial sector we train employees in industrial management, and in the engineering sector in industrial engineering, mechanical engineering and system engineering. As a company we feel committed to fighting skills shortage.

a global player we have excellently trained mechanics who are prepared to go anywhere in the world on any day of the year. There are always more than 40 service technicians available for our customers worldwide because we know how painful involuntary product stops are. Service has very high priority at Baader. For us it is the foundation of successful cooperation. It is also of immense importance that during a consultation our customers obtain proper information about the cost benefit aspect of a machine. We are convinced that investments in new technologies give our customers a fast payback time and thus significant competitive advantages over their competitors. Our customer should recognise that we are only interested in a win-win situation and that for us a consultation represents an investment in a long-term cooperation partnership with a satisfied customer.

Your vision for 2019: Where will Baader be in 5 years at its centenary and what are your goals until then?

The machines and plants often cost six-figure sums. What service does Baader offer its customers?

Krausen: In the coming five years Baader will continue to evolve to become a complete system supplier. The important resources fish and poultry must be made available in greater quantities and with better yields. Together with the whole industry we want to continue making our contribution towards achieving this. It is going to be a great challenge to us all to meet the rise in population from seven to nine billion people with clever solutions. It must therefore be our shared goal to ensure world nutrition and at the same time protect the natural resources. All stakeholders, but particularly we as machine manufacturers, are called upon to develop the appropriate system solutions.

Focke: Baader offers round-theclock service for its machines. As

AndrĂŠ Nikolaus, Fish Publishing House Eurofish Magazine 6 / 2014

65

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