International News

Romania: Local fisheries products promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

The Romanian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development launched the first edition of a farm/boat-to-fork street market dedicated to the fisheries and aquaculture sectors. The event was hosted from 5 November to 8 November in the ministry courtyard, where many family businesses and cooperatives active in inland and Black Sea capture fisheries and freshwater aquaculture promoted their valueadded products to consumers in Bucharest, Romania’s largest consumer market. Traditional recipes of many local species were the stars of the event and were highly appreciated by both routine aquatic food consumers and more hesitant ones. Mr Petre Daea, the Romanian minister of agriculture, declared that small producers must be supported by the authorities to promote their local products and supply the market with high-quality products with a low-environmental footprint. Following the overwhelming success of the event, the ministry intends to expand this initiative into a recurrent event several times during the year that will target the major traditional days when Romanians eat more fish than usual.

Long queues were the norm at an event promoting value-added wild and farmed fish products hosted by the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in the ministry courtyard.

Denmark: Oxygen depletion holes return to marine waters with a vengeance

The National Center for Environment and Energy at Aarhus University has issued a report on its findings that large swathes of Denmark’s marine territory are suffering from oxygen depletion. Such problems occur periodically but this time is as bad as a serious outbreak at the turn of this century. An area larger than Funen, Denmark’s second largest island, is affected, particularly the waters of the Limfjord, the Little Belt, and the South Funen Archipelago, which are important for Denmark’s national fish supply but also full of communities reliant on fisheries and aquaculture-related businesses. The combined areas experiencing oxygen depletion is 40 larger than a year ago, with more and more marine plants and animals dying. Experts at the center fear that the public has become immune to news of oxygen depletion because it is periodic. But this time it is much worse. If the plants and animals died on land, it would be more noticeable and people would be alarmed. Underwater, the problem becomes too abstract to fully appreciate. That makes it all the more urgent that the news gets reported.

Russia: Plan to double farmed salmon production by 2030

Faced with shortages of salmon because of long-standing Russian sanctions on food imports from the EU, the US, and other countries, and corporate decisions in some countries not to export to Russia, the Russian government hopes to double the production of farmed salmon to 250,000 tonnes by 2030, which is almost double compared to the production in 2021. The proposed production target is almost twothirds less than a 700,000-tonne target suggested by a private sector body, probably because the government recognizes there are limited supplies of fish feed available to Russian salmon farmers. Therefore, a plan to boost domestic feed supplies is required.

The politics of trade sanctions are having multiple adverse effects on Russian aquaculture production and on the market. From 2014 until recently, 80 of salmon supply in Russia was represented by imported fish from Chile and the Faroe Islands, but as companies refused to ship to Russia earlier this year, imports quickly fell by more than 80 by May 2022. As a result, wholesale prices for Atlantic salmon more than doubled from RUB900-950 per 1 kg (in early February) to RUB2000 by the summer’s end, while prices for trout tripled from RUB550 to RUB1700. Prices are likely to keep rising because two-thirds of the demand in the domestic market remains unsatisfied. Both retail and restaurant businesses face a shortage of fish, but as Russian salmon production is concentrated in one region near Murmansk, it cannot meet all needs. Moreover, a significant part of the fish is exported. In addition, Murmansk trout farms traditionally go on vacation in August, which further reduced the supply of fish on the market.

The development of new production of the same trout elsewhere—for example, in Karelia--has a very limited potential because of a huge problem, a shortage of fish feed. Until recently 85 of Russia’s salmon feed supply came from Finland, Norway, and Denmark. Now trout farms are forced to look for ways to bypass through Belarus and Iran. Such illegal logistics negatively affects prices, among other effects. Adding to challenges expanding salmon and trout farm production is a lack of public-sector control over the activities of trout farms that pollute the water. These days, any new enterprise faces protests from local residents.

Italy: FAO releases guide for the production of Japanese scallop

Scallop culture at a commercial scale lags that of clams and oysters in terms of number of operations and production volumes. The main reasons revolve around the natural free-swimming seabed bottom preference of scallops, their requirement for low-density culture, their sensitivity to seawater chemistry parameters and their short shelf life when sold live. These limiting factors translate into aquaculture challenges especially in large-scale farming or “grow-out” of market-size animals because of physical space demand, labour and cost. The Japanese scallop is one of the most attractive scallop culture candidate and offers several advantages: it generates a live and processed product, yields one of the largest scallop muscles highly prized as both a food and export product and more importantly, it attains market size in suspended cultures. The latter enables large-scale farming and harvesting, eliminates SCUBA-based labour as for bottom cultures, and allows for seed monitoring and harvesting of market-size scallops from a boat or raft. This manual describes well-tested hatcherybased techniques implemented at large-scale for all stages of seed production. It provides the potential to extend the hatchery cycle with a broodstock conditioning strategy, to rear and set pediveligers using different methodologies, to produce up to 10 mm seed on a large-scale in a land-based nursery and to achieve a 100 percent survival and growth for seed transported up to 9 hours to farm sites. This is a roadmap to the technical success for a commercial operation of the Japanese scallop. The financial sustainability of the operation will depend on a well-developed strategy, a sound business plan, a realistic target for production and on its management.

2022-annual-economic-reporteu-fishing-fleet-sector-affectedhigh-fuel-prices-wake-warukraine-2022-10-11_en.

Belgium: EU fishing fleets facing a difficult 2022 with high energy costs

The 2022 Annual Economic Report on the EU Fishing Fleet has found that EU fisheries are suffering from the sharp increases in energy costs and inflation in 2022 and the EU fishing fleet faces a financial loss for 2022. The report,from the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee of Fisheries (STECF) and the European Commission, provides an annual overview of the structure and economic performance of the 22 coastal EU Member State fishing fleets.

A doubling of vessel fuel costs, which according to the report resulted from the Russian military aggression in Ukraine, could have a positive side effect of spurring technological change towards energy transition that will help achieve EU climate and environment goals. Linked to energy transition is fisheries sustainability, which is also a key to helping fleets overcome financially difficult periods. In addition to conditions in 2022, the report also examined the lasting impacts from the earlier Covid pandemic, which caused weak seafood demand and tightening of market channels throughout the EU, and Brexit, which adversely affected some national fleets whose access to historical fishing grounds was cut back.

The report’s projections are “worst case” because they do not factor in any EU financial support and national state aid that could be provided and that should mitigate the socio-economic impacts of the continued increase in energy prices and inflation. To deal with both the pandemic and the Russian aggression, the EU has adopted a crisis mechanism that allows specific support to be provided under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF); new state aid; and a modification of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) to offer specific support to help the EU fishing fleets overcome these significant financial challenges. The report is available from the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries on-line at https://oceans-andfisheries.ec.europa.eu/news/

The report is the result of combined work by the experts from the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee of Fisheries (STECF) and the European Commission.

Norway: 40% tax on salmon farmers proposed

Norway’s parliament is considering a proposed a new 40 tax on “rent” (surplus profit accruing from rising output prices) earned by large salmon aquaculture companies, coming on top of a 22 corporate tax and to be applied on large (4,000+ tonnes) sea-based operations, excluding smolt, primary and secondary processing. The new tax, if approved, would apply from the 2023 tax year onwards. The backers of the proposed tax see the surplus profits accruing to salmon producers as wealth from a “common natural resource” (the oceans) which provide a foundation for salmon production for which no rent is paid, hence the term “rent tax.” The proposed tax would bring society part of the productive value of its shared resource the industry uses “freely.” Similar taxes have been proposed for the fossil-fuel, wind-, and hydro-power industries.

There is opposition to the proposed tax among all of Norway’s large salmon operations. Already, many investment plans in expansion have been cancelled or put on hold by major producers, and the firms’ stock and bond values

Eurofish

If approved by the government, the tax rate will be added to the existing one, bringing the total rate at 62%.

have been downgraded internationally by financial advisory companies. Producers are arguing to the government that the tax would hurt employment and the economic well-being of small coastal communities reliant on the salmon operations.

Spain: The logistics industry wants the world to know about Galicia

The region of Galicia is Spain’s largest transit point for EU seafood trade, with dozens of ports and 60 of Spain’s cold storage capacity handling a combined volume of about one million tonnes annually or about half the nation’s total. Three-fifths of such trade is carried by sea and two-fifths by truck. To capitalise on this business and encourage its international growth, the Loxística de Galicia Foundation Cluster announced at the Conxemar trade fair a sectoral initiative in the form of the “Galicia Logistics” brand to promote the competitiveness of the logistics sector, made up of private companies and public infrastructures. The Foundation Cluster hopes to replace the “atomised” operations of many individual exporters and importers, often working against each other, with an organized system to improve logistics efficiency.

The “Galicia Logistics” brand is to be promoted by international trade missions, and through various dissemination efforts at industry fairs and events. The idea is to make Galicia a “logistics reference,” through its many ports and top-quality refrigeration facilities. The head of the Port Authority of Vigo, an enthusiastic supporter of the “Galicia Logistics” initiative, stresses that train transport also needs attention, not only for the seafood industry’s economic efficiency but for environmental improvement. Such action will aid in the success of the EU “Blue Growth” programme for environmental as well as economic sustainability.

Denmark: ICES recommends lower NE Atlantic herring and mackerel catches

In its continuing efforts to persuade European countries that herring and mackerel stocks need rebuilding, ICES recently recommended large cuts in the catch quotas for herring and mackerel in areas fished by vessels of the EU, Norway, Russia, Iceland, and the Faroes. From a total estimated herring catch of 828 thousand tonnes in 2022, the recommended catch in 2023 should be 511 thousand tonnes, the international scientific body said, noting the herring stock continues to decline due to heavy fishing and poor recruitment of replacement stocks. For NE Atlantic mackerel, with an estimated 2022 catch of 1,131 thousand tonnes, the recommended total catch in 2023 is 782 thousand tonnes. Management of mackerel is ineffective: the catch has exceeded recommendations by 41 since 2010.

Elsewhere, the recommended catch of horse mackerel in 2023 is zero tonnes, while that for blue whiting is a recommended increase of 1,360 thousand tonnes over the 2022 recommendation of 753 thousand tonnes. On a related note, the Council of the European Union announced agreement with the European Commission jointly to “follow a comprehensive approach to setting fishing opportunities” in 2023, by which the bodies aim to “carry over the current fishing opportunities for several stocks [from 2022] into 2023. Slightly more practically, this means to limit fishing to unavoidable by-catches for cod, salmon, and western herring, as well as to maintain spawning closures in recreational fisheries for Baltic cod and salmon in some areas.

Recent rules making the use of more selective fishing gear for flatfish mandatory is expected to allow an increase of the plaice total allowable catch (TAC), without putting more pressure on severely stressed cod stocks.

Finland: EU funds support a local cooperative’s fishing school

As in many occupations, getting the young to take over from their parents is challenging in commercial fishing. It’s hard work, often not highly remunerative, and small coastal towns are not exciting enough to stay in after graduation. But small town survival and the security of the food chain demand new blood in this line of work. A fishermen’s cooperative at the Lokka-Porttipahta reservoir in the Lapland region of Finland has set out to tackle the challenge. They developed a master-apprentice project where young people work with older fishermen for a period of two and a half years. The project identified three objectives: 1. ensure the continuity of fishing in the area 2. improve the professional skills of both new and existing fishers, and 3. develop an innovative fisheries recruitment model for the area.

The working regime is flexible, allowing time for other work of studies. Initially unpaid, the programme now has EU funding to provide more immediate monetary incentives. The population of fishers locally has doubled because of the program, and local skills in boat and gear design and use—passed on by particular oldsters to their apprentices—are no longer at risk of extinction. Gender equality is promoted as fishers of either sex can and do join the program.

And ageing fishermen are now less worried that theirs is a dying breed.

Norway: Russian fishing fleet's access to ports limited

Norway has long provided Russian harvesting vessels with port access for unloading their catch. The historical arrangement has helped local economies as well as fishermen based in adjacent NW Russia. Lately, however, Norwegian government concerns have grown that such activity creates opportunities for smuggling illicit products to Russia. As a result, now only three ports in Norway are open to fishing vessels from Russia. Complete closure of Norway’s ports is not useful, a government official said, because Russian fishermen are a legitimate component of proper management of the region’s fish stocks. But “we now have information,” the official said, that Russian vessels must be more carefully controlled, including customs inspections upon port arrival. In addition to smuggling, there are concerns about risks to pipelines and other sub-marine and surface infrastructure in Norway. Among Norway’s ports, only Kirkenes and Båtsfjord in the Barents Sea, and Tromsø in the Norwegian Sea, will now allow access to Russian fishing boats.

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Poland: Government proposes aid to industry affected by the war in Ukraine

In October a proposed amendment to the regulations governing Poland’s Ministry of Maritime Economy and Inland Navigation would set out procedures for aid disbursement “to mitigate the effects of Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine on fishing activities and to limit the impact of market disturbances caused by the war aggravating the supply chain of fishery and aquaculture products.”

The financial aid would come from funds that Poland receives from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, providing financial compensation to entities in the fisheries and aquaculture sector, including processing, for their additional costs incurred in connection with the market disturbance caused by the war waged by Russia. Aid is to be provided to fishing vessels, aquaculture entities, processing plants, and other inland and coastal operations. At this stage, no financial amounts have been estimated.

The rates of the aid proposed to the sector are based on an analysis by the National Marine Fisheries Research Institute (MIR)

Eurofish

UK: Duty-free import quota on coldwater shrimp increased

Looking forward to Christmas, the UK government has increased the autonomous tariff quota (ATQ, a duty-free provision) for imported coldwater shrimp by 49, in time for the seafood industry to stock up for the holidays. The additional ATQ means an extra 3,200 metric tons of imports can come in dutyfree to the world’s single largest market for coldwater shrimp. The move primarily benefits Greenland, with whom the UK has a proposed free trade agreement that is so far unsigned.

The original ATQ of 6,500 tonnes for 2022 had been filled in August, leaving suppliers wondering how to guarantee shipments for Christmas purchases. As a result, shrimp prices moved upward steadily from August on. The expanded ATQ has brought prices down to 2019 levels, according to news reports. Industry officials report their hopes that the ATQ for 2023 will be set with 2020’s experiences in mind. By then, industry officials hope, a UK-Greenland trade deal will be in place.

The biggest feared shortages had been in food service (sandwiches, salads, and so on), as the retail sector’s supply was seen to be safe to the end of the year. Canada is the next largest shrimp supplier to the UK, but its harvests are more tightly managed and cannot readily be increased.

Without the increase of the quota, the processors would have to import coldwater shrimp at the full 20% rate of duty.

Eurofish

Belgium: EU-funded project explores the potential for a modern seaweed industry

There is great potential for the EU’s seaweed industry, currently limited mainly to small-scale producers growing single species in sheltered bays. Most of Europe’s seaweed supply is imported from Asian countries where production carried out by large scale, technologically modern, multispecies-oriented operations. With an ever-increasing number of seaweed uses—from human food and animal feed to biomaterials and bioenergy—demand for seaweed can only grow, giving hope for a new large-scale European industry. With support from the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, a 1.4-hectare project called AlgaeDemo has been recently launched in the North Sea waters of the Netherlands. The goal is to understand the conditions for the viability of a large-scale, economically, and environmentally sustainable seaweed farm.

Not every seaweed species grows everywhere, so the right one had to be found for the chosen site. Then, a “technical textile,” or artificial fabric, was developed for the plants to grow on. An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) carries out the anchoring, cleaning, seeding, and harvesting processes.

Seaweed represents about a half of the global marine aquaculture production volumes, of which about 98 percent are farmed by China, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, and South Korea.

Through all this, attention is paid to the environmental impacts, both negative (human and seaweed interaction with the larger ecosystem) and positive (capturing CO2, phosphates and nitrates). Not to mention the direct and indirect job creation, and the benefits for a wide range of industries and consumers. With the right tweaks and twists of the operation developed in this Dutch project, this kind of undertaking can work in waters all around the EU.

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Italy: AquaFarm 2023, 15-16 February, Pordenone

Tucked in at the northern tip of Italy’s Adriatic coast, the city of Pordenone will host AquaFarm 2023, the sixth edition of the Mediterranean region’s main industry expo on aquaculture and sustainable fishing. The event is co-hosted by Pordenone Fiere, the Italian fish farmers’ association API, and the Mediterranean fish farmers’ association AMA. As at all previous AquaFarm editions, the 2023 event will bring together representatives of the entire production and trade chain of the aquaculture sector, a sector of extraordinary importance to the world’s ever-growing need for healthy food.

Hoping to beat the last edition’s attendance of over 2,000 people from 40 countries, the organizers of AquaFarm 2023 are combining the large exhibit area with a series of conferences and meetings on the most important topics in research and innovation in aquaculture and sustainable production locally and worldwide. Climate change is at the top of the list of critical issues facing the industry; the energy crisis is another. Experts from an array of Italian and international organizations will host and participate in discussions on these vital topics. The president of Pordenone Fiere, Renato Pujatti, stresses the importance of this event. In an era that is ever more uncertain, he says, AquaFarm 2023 will help set the stage for a seafood sector that is crucial for the short- and long-term future of the planet.

A two-day event dedicated to professionals within fish and shellfish farming, algaculture, and the sustainable fishing sectors.

Poland: Polfish sees significant increase in vistor numbers

Presentations, debates, conferences, workshops, and culinary shows during Polfish kept the halls at the Exhibition and Congress Centre at aglowa Street in Gda sk full of activity. Importers and distributors of fish and seafood, producers of delicatessen products and equipment for the industry were all represented at the event. They were joined by several participants from a workshop on technology innovation and market opportunities organised by Eurofish International Organisation in collaboration with the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the National Marine Fisheries Research Institute, the Polish Association of Fish Processors, and the organisers of Polfish.

Polish exhibitors at the show were joined by producers from Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Iceland, and Israel among others. The event attracted owners, managers, and directors of fish processing

Winners of the Mercurius Gednanesis contest present their awards for best fish product, food product, and technology.

companies, shops, restaurants, catering firms, and hotels. During the three days, 5,300 people entered the centre in comparison with the 3,800 during the previous edition in 2019. Events at the show included the Mercurius Gednanesis contest, a Polfish tradition in which products compete in three categories: fish product, food product, and technology. This year, the grand prize in the category Fish Product was won by the company Polski Karp from Cracow. There was a joint second prize given to Suempol Sp. z o.o. from Bielsk Podlaski and Smak Tradycji Irena Olejniczak from Ujazdów. The main award for a technological solution was won by the Sea Fisheries Institute from Gdynia and Koszalin University, while a distinction went to Phup Clevro Robert Klemba from Rawa Mazowiecka. This edition of Polfish was the first after the pandemic and many in the industry had looked forward to it. Many exhibitors and visitors have announced plans to attend the next edition of the event, the date of which will be published on the Polfish website (polfishtargi.pl/en) and social media (facebook.com/polfishtargi).

Croatia: City of Pula wins historic marine sustainability award

The Adriatic city of Pula in northwestern Croatia has won the world’s first Friend of the Sea Sustainable City Award. The award, granted by the Friend of the Sea project of the World Sustainability Organization, commends the honoree for actions that “preserve the environment and improve its citizens’ quality of life by embracing sustainable solutions.” The Pula Aquarium also received a Friend of the Sea award, for its efforts in advancing environmental awareness and animal welfare. The city’s renowned beach, Ambrela, is finalizing its award process. The city’s mayor, Filip Zori i , has pledged to involve all stakeholders in the city, from citizens to companies of all types, to join

The City of Pula also belongs to the 100 most sustainable destinations in the world.

in his environmental sustainability efforts. Among the implemented actions by the city are increased access for bicycles and e-bikes, conversion of buses to natural gas, modernization of waste management and storm drainage, and “smart benches” and charging stations in public areas. Planned efforts include more co-financing of energysaving devices and solar panels.

USA: Drones help tired legs and eyes count salmon

Researchers at Washington State University have developed a method of using drones in measuring the abundance of salmon nests in rivers. The development could mean more accurate and less tiring estimates of a key fisheries resource not just in the Northwest United States but beyond. Salmon swim from the ocean upstream to the riverbeds where they were born. Estimating their reproduction activity in these rivers helps fishery managers determine how many new salmon are likely to swim to the ocean where commercial fishermen, subject to harvest quotas set by the managers, wait.

Tracking salmon nests is one way to estimate how many salmon there will be. But trudging along riverbeds looking for nests in the water is hard on the legs and eyes. Even floating in a boat, peering into the water, can be tedious. But with drones, the work is easier and more accurate. There is less walking, although there is some because U.S. law requires a civilian drone operator to have the drone always in sight. The photos taken by the drone can be measured against pictures taken earlier to see what new nests have appeared, which can be more accurate than photos taken while walking.

The scientists behind this research hope the new technological method catches on. The researchers found that drones capture images of more nests than walkers do, suggesting greater accuracy. As well, with more frames taken, other environmental changes can be observed than just salmon nests, potentially helping those concerned with river ecology in many other ways.

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