Fish Farmer December 2017 by Fish Farmer Magazine

Fish Farmer VOLUME 40

NUMBER 12

DECEMBER 2017

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Serving worldwide aquaculture since 1977

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FEEDING THE WORLD

HIDDEN GEMS

BREXIT BARRIERS

Scotland’s seafood transport hubs gear up for Christmas

Rethinking aquaculture’s role in global food security

Loch Duart boss hails the people who make a difference

SSPO update on potential pitfalls outside Europe

December Cover.indd 3

05/12/2017 15:46:28

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Contents 4-15 News

What’s happening in aquaculture in the UK and around the world JENNY HJUL – EDITOR

Happy Christmas

his has been a year of much excitement in the aquaculture industry, here in Scotland, where salmon farmers have invested millions in both the health of their fish and the development of their farms, and further afield. We have reported from Norway on the latest technological advances in the sector; from South Africa, to witness the expansion of freshwater fish farming in the sub-Saharan region; and from many conferences and exhibitions, with the focus always on growth. As well as looking forward - to ambitious production targets, continued backing from the government and, hopefully, greater understanding from the angling lobby about the importance of aquaculture to Scotland - we have also looked to the past for inspiration. In celebrating the magazine’s 40th anniversary in October - on top of Otter Ferry’s milestone 50th and Wester Ross Salmon’s 40th earlier in the year - we were reminded of the inventiveness and enthusiasm of the pioneering generation. Much of that spirit has been harnessed by today’s farmers, suppliers, scientists and business leaders, who will lead the charge into 2018. Everyone at Fish Farmer would like to thank you, our readers, contributors and advertisers, for another year of support, and we wish all of you a very happy Christmas.

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Meet the team

Editorial Advisory Board: Steve Bracken, Scott Landsburgh, Hervé Migaud, Patrick Smith and Jim Treasurer Editor: Jenny Hjul Designer: Andrew Balahura Advertising Manager: William Dowds wdowds@fishupdate.com Advertising Executives: Dave Edler dedler@fishupdate.com Scott Binnie sbinnie@fishupdate.com Publisher: Alister Bennett

Tel: +44(0) 131 551 1000 Fax: +44(0) 131 551 7901 email: jhjul@ﬁshupdate.com

Cover: Loch Duart’s Tomasz Swider and Victor Roney bring in the ﬁsh for harvest. Picture: Euan Myles Photography.

Head Oﬃce: Special Publications, Fettes Park, 496 Ferry Road, Edinburgh, EH5 2DL

Welcome - Dec.indd 3

Assessing targets

34-38 Transport DFDS

18 Comment Phil Thomas

40-44 Transport Ferguson

19 BTA

46-47 Lice Tube

New treatment

Doug McLeod

20-21 Comment

48-49 AquaGen

Good selection

Martin Jaﬀa

22-23 Shellﬁsh

Janet Brown

24-25 Research Oyster watch

26-27 Industry platform Talented teams

28-29 Raising standards ASC review

50-51 Research

Accessible aquaculture

56-57 Goal 2017

Dublin seminar

61-63 Retail & Processing News Labour survey

64-65 Aqua Source Directory

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32-33 Norway forecast

Brexit update

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16-17 SSPO

Contents – Editor’s Welcome

Find all you need for the industry

30-31 Closed containment Commercial quest

66 Opinion

By Nick Joy

05/12/2017 15:48:34

United Kingdom News

NEWS...

Salmon exports head for new record

Above: UK’s largest food export

SCOTTISH salmon exports are on course for a record breaking year, set to exceed the £500 million ﬁgure reached in 2014. The Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisa-

tion (SSPO) announced last month that export sales for the ﬁrst nine months of 2017 were at £483 million, up 56 per cent over the same period last year, with

France overtaking the US as the biggest international market. ‘We fully expect to go over the £500 million mark by the end of the year – this will be a record

export year undoubtedly,’ said the SSPO’s chief executive, Scott Landsburgh. ‘And we will be the UK’s largest food export by the end of the year – we are just now and we will still be.’ Looking ahead, he said volumes would be more of a challenge, with production levels in 2018 unlikely to increase, as farmers catch up with health issues. However, the prospects were brighter for the following year, with new hatcheries coming on stream and a continued move for ﬁsh to spend less time in the marine environment and more time in freshwater. ‘I think 2019 will be

fantastic for production from what I’ve heard, and I think 2018 may be slightly less than this year or around about the same,’ said Landsburgh. The industry will come under heightened scrutiny next year when a Scottish parliamentary inquiry into salmon farming gets underway. This was set up following a petition launched in 2016 by the anti-farming lobby group, Salmon and Trout Conservation Scotland, and will be conducted by the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee. The committee’s convenor, Edward Mountain (Conserva-

tive MSP for the Highlands and Islands), was one of two Holyrood politicians to accept Landsburgh’s invitation, issued before the summer, to visit salmon farms and see how they operate. Mountain and the SNP’s Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) toured Wester Ross Salmon in August, said Landsburgh. ‘There is quite a lot of work going on in the background to prepare the ground for the aquaculture inquiry,’ he said, adding that he expected the committee would start in mid-March. The sector is due to establish a 10-year ﬁsh health strategy with Marine Scotland before the inquiry begins.

Shetland trainers get glowing report APPRENTICESHIP training at the NAFC Marine Centre in Shetland has been rated ‘very good’ and its staff highly praised in an audit by Skills Development Scotland (SDS). The audit focused in particular on the Aquaculture Apprenticeship Programme, and concluded that it had fully demonstrated meeting SDS’s standards at a high level with ‘major strengths’. The programme has been developed to provide practical, on-thejob training and skills development for those working at all levels in the aquaculture industry. It has been designed in collaboration with employers to provide a progression route and career development path, from ﬁrst entry

UK news.indd 4

to senior management positions. SDS praised NAFC’s ‘enthusiastic, dedicated and conﬁdent’ aquaculture training staff and especially the ‘inspirational leadership’ of Stuart Fitzsimmons (section leader). He was described as ‘experienced and knowledgeable and very open to innovations in the development and delivery of the programme in order to ensure that the courses offered meet community and employer needs’. SDS also commended NAFC’s ‘very positive and productive relationships with employers’, with all employers commenting on the ‘quality and ﬂexibility’ of the centre’s training and the expertise of its staff. This had resulted in NAFC’s

aquaculture apprenticeship programme becoming ‘the benchmark qualiﬁcation for local employers

in the industry’. NAFC’s strong relationship with the apprentices was also highlighted.

Above: NAFC’s aquaculture training team: (L-R) Mathew Wright, Stuart Ftitzsimmons (section leader), Saro Saravanan, Duncan Kidson (academic quality manager) and Laurence Pearson

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05/12/2017 15:49:59

All the latest industry news from the UK

New course to improve RAS husbandry

Above: NAFC Marine Centre

A NEW course in water quality awareness has been launched by the NAFC Marine Centre, aimed at aquaculture staff involved in operating recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). The RAS Water Quality Awareness course is the latest addition to the portfolio of specialist aquaculture training courses run by NAFC, based in Shetland and part of the University of the Highlands and Islands. It provides an introduction to the fundamentals of monitoring and maintaining water quality and fish health in recirculating aquaculture systems. Course co-ordinator Stuart Fitzsimmons explained that in recirculating aquaculture systems treated water is recirculated through

the tanks holding fish, rather than the tanks being supplied with a constant flow of new water with the old being discharged. ‘The advantage of recirculating systems is that they need much less fresh water than traditional flow-through systems, but it is essential that the quality of the water is monitored and maintained. ‘That includes filtering and treating the water to remove waste material and chemicals, and to maintain the optimum environmental conditions for fish growth.’ The course is the latest to be developed by the NAFC Marine Centre in response to requests from the industry, to provide specialist training for their staff. An online fish welfare course has attracted more than 100 students since it was launched in January by NAFC. The course meets the training requirements of the RSPCA’s Freedom Foods standard for farmed salmon and trout, and the syllabus covers a wide range of welfare issues, including live fish transfer, harvesting and production. The online version of the course was developed in response to requests from wellboat operators, whose staff found it difficult to attend normal college classes on fixed dates. NAFC also offers an Introduction to Fish Farm Containment course online, and plans to extend its range of online training courses.

Loch Duart boss named top executive

Above: Alban Denton and the Loch Duart team at the ceremony

LOCH Duart managing director Alban Denton was named Chief Executive of the Year at the HR Network Scotland National Awards 2017. Denton was presented with the award at the Glasgow Hilton Hotel in November. It recognised that since joining Loch Duart as managing director in 2015, Denton has champi-

The world moves forward

oned change, inspired the senior team and released talent within the Hebrides and Sutherland based business. Under his helm, Loch Duart has delivered an increase in revenue and proﬁtability, to achieve the strongest results in the company’s history. ‘I’d like to thank the Loch Duart team,’ said Denton. Hidden gems: P26

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05/12/2017 15:50:20

United Kingdom News

Mundell hears about MH plans for Skye

Above: East elevation of the main process building

SCOTTISH Secretary David Mundell met Marine Harvest CEO Alf-Helge Aarskog in Bergen last month to discuss the company’s developments in Scotland. As part of a two-day trip to support trade and investment in Scotland, the minister visited the headquarters of the world’s biggest salmon farmer and heard about the company’s ‘exciting plans for Skye’, which include the building of its £93 million ﬁsh feed plant, currently under construction. Mundell, in a Twitter posting from Bergen, said: ‘Norway is a really important partner for Scotland and the UK. We want to maintain those very strong relationships as we leave the EU and discuss the very important common interests we have, in

the North Sea, in fishing and in other industries. ‘We got a very warm welcome, there’s a very positive feeling in Norway towards Scotland and the UK and that’s what we want to preserve as we go through the Brexit process.’ Marine Harvest’s feed plant, under construction at Altanavaig quarry, Kyleakin, on Skye, is due to be completed in autumn next year. It includes a 40m high main process building, 15 storage silos, and an intake tower. There is also a new pier by which raw materials will be brought in and fish feed sent out. When operational, the plant will employ 55 staff, and a recruitment drive is underway to fill the posts, which include jobs in production, logistics, maintenance, and health and safety.

Above: Marine Harvest CEO Alf-Helge Aarskog with David Mundell in Bergen

UK news.indd 6

Backing for Grimsby ‘free port’ bid THE government could be ready to back Grimsby’s bid for free port status after Brexit – provided the right conditions are in place. This was the outcome of a series of meetings last month between the Seafood Grimsby and Humber organisation and senior MPs, including fisheries minister George Eustice, in Westminster. Also present was Bill Showalter, CEO for Young’s Seafood, and a representative from Seachill, two of Grimsby’s largest seafood producers. The meetings were brokered by Martin Vickers, MP for Grimsby’s neighbouring constituency of Cleethorpes, amid fears the Humber region in general could be hit by delays and unnecessary bureaucracy after Brexit. There are also worries about possible labour shortages,

especially if many of the east Europeans who work in Grimsby’s seafood factories decide to return home. First, the delegation met MP Mark Prisk, who is in contact with the Nordic countries (Iceland, Norway and the Faroe Islands) which are keen to secure a free trade deal with the UK after Brexit. These three countries also supply most of Grimsby’s seafood processing raw materials. Then they had talks with Rishi Sunak, MP for Richmond in North Yorkshire, who is an advocate of free ports. Finally, they met the minister, who said he was fully aware of Grimsby’s situation and the problems it might face. Vickers said: ‘Despite one or two critical comments, I believe there is a lot of mileage in the free port idea and the government is very supportive. ‘I know that the business minister, Liam Fox, is keen on the suggestion, although there is nothing we can do on this until we formally leave the EU. ‘The industry expressed its concerns to us, but I am confident that we will have the right arrangements in place with the likes of Norway and Iceland the day after Brexit to ensure that there is no interruption to fish supply.’

Above: Fisheries minister George Eustice

Young’s factory brought back to life TWENTY jobs are expected to be created through the creation of a new ﬁsh processing operation in Aberdeenshire. Seafood Sourcing is investing £614,000 in one of the buildings previously occupied by Young’s Seafood at Fraserburgh Harbour. Two years ago, more than 600 people lost their jobs in Fraserburgh when Young’s lost a major salmon processing contract to rivals Marine Harvest. The loss was reported

to have cost Young’s tens of millions of pounds. But now a £307,000 grant from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and the Scottish government will meet 50 per cent of the costs of the new project, which aims to supply European markets with Scottish white ﬁsh.

Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing announced the funding ahead of the conclusion of the annual ﬁsheries negotiations. ‘This funding will transform a site that’s been vacant for some time into a fantastic new processing factory creating valuable jobs for the north east,’ he said.

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/12/2017 15:50:42

All the latest industry news from the UK

Exports boost for Scottish Salmon Co THE Scottish Salmon Company reported a record third quarter, with £39 million in revenue (compared to £25.2 million in the same period last year), driven by continued high prices and increased harvest volume of 6,781 tonnes (Q3 2016: 5,486 tonnes). Export sales accounted for 48 per cent of value in Q3 2017, compared to 42 per cent in Q3 2016, with exports to North America up by six per cent. However, costs per kg were impacted by mortalities and lower harvest mean weights, as a result of accelerated harvesting due to biological issues. Higher costs from mortalities continue into Q4 and may continue to affect costs into 2018. The company said the focus remains on the biology of the salmon, and continued use of the hydrolicer and freshwater treatment trials have shown encouraging results. Ongoing stocking of cleaner fish throughout all sites and further development of site specific health planning have contributed to improved management of these issues. Continued strong demand and limited glob-

Above: The focus remains on the biology of the salmon

al supply growth paves the way for continued firm prices throughout the remainder of 2017 and into 2018. The Scottish Salmon Company target is to harvest 25,000 tonnes in 2017 and guides on a harvest volume of 26,500 tonnes in 2018. CEO Craig Anderson said: ‘We remain committed to our long-term strategy to grow our

business and to produce the finest Scottish salmon produced in a sustainable way. ‘During the third quarter, we continued to develop our operations, investing in operational efficiency and capacity. ‘We continue to pursue our ambitions to drive export growth and develop our premium brands with a focus on provenance.’

Salmon and trout farmers unite in lice fight SCOTLAND’S leading salmon and trout producers have united in a bid to extend the usage and efficacy of two of the most environmentally friendly sea lice treatments. Farmers currently treat against sea lice – a key barrier to growth in the industry – by bathing the fish either in freshwater or hydrogen peroxide, which quickly breaks down into water and oxygen. Now, Marine Harvest Scotland and Dawnfresh Seafoods will look at what happens when freshwater and the hydrogen peroxide based treatment Paramove are combined. The project, with Solvay Interox, Aqua Pharma and Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture - co-funded by the Scottish Aqua-

industry in sea lice control.’ SAIC CEO Heather Jones said: ‘This project has the potential to be particularly ground breaking. Not only does it see salmon and trout producers unite against a key challenge, but if it succeeds in delivering a more effective sea lice control using available, environmentally friendly resources then the entire sector stands to make huge commercial gains in the drive to grow Scotland’s market share.’ It is thought that the 12-month, Above: Project aims to achieve better control of sea lice £242,985 project and welfare, and help investigative work at Machrihanish. culture Innovation could lead to furbeing conducted deliver higher pro‘There, we hope to ther collaboration Centre (SAIC), aims within controlled duction volumes. confirm the efficacy to achieve even betbetween salmon and tanks at the Maof using freshwater ter control of sea lice, Richard Hopewell, trout producers to rine Environmental fish health managand Paramove in reduced use of medestablish the theraResearch Laboratory, conjunction with one peutic value of other er for Dawnfresh icines and shorter part of the University another and, in doing approved sea lice treatment times – all Seafoods and lead industry partner, said: of Stirling’s Institute so, contribute to the treatments at low of which will further of Aquaculture, based ongoing efforts of the salinities. ‘This is early stage, enhance fish health

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UK news.indd 7

05/12/2017 15:50:56

European News

NEWS...

Cermaq closed cages ‘will beat lice’ NORWEGIAN company Cermaq has applied for 13 development licences for a floating closed containment system. FlexiFarm is based on flow-through technology that will treat inflow water for all infections before entering the system. The goal, said Cermaq, is to reduce losses in sea production, protect the environment against undesired impacts, increase productivity, and at the same time

partner in the project, said: ‘It is a major goal for the development of FlexiFarm that investment and operation costs will remain low, and that the anticipated effect will ensure that production cost per kg salmon is reduced.’ Incoming water will first be filtered and then treated by Above: Floating closed containment system based on flow-through technology UV-light to prevent the intake of lice, algae, bacteria, and viruses. at more than 80 per reduce production imum wave heights. Harald Takle, Cercent of the existing costs. Magnus Stendal, maq’s R&D technology sites in Norway, When developed, general manager at manager, said: ‘The FlexiFarm can be used depending on the max- Botngaard System, a

most severe challenge for Norwegian salmon farming is the losses during production in the sea, which is mainly due to pathogens and treatments against sea lice. ‘By treating the inflow of water for all pathogens and lice we will be able to dramatically reduce the losses of fish. ‘We have succeeded in designing a solution which addresses both the biological and environmental challenges in the industry.’

Vard to build offshore farm platforms VARD, the specialised shipbuilder with a track record in the oil and gas industry, has won a contract to construct two offshore fish farming platforms for Cermaq. The platforms are specially designed for fish farming operations in a harsh environment, and have a capacity for 600 tonnes of fish feed, as well as separate areas for storage, veterinary services, a workshop and accommodation for a crew of eight people. They are of Vard 8 54 design, developed by

Vard Design and Vard Aukra in close cooperation with Cermaq Norway, and will be delivered next year. In November 2016, Vard strengthened its presence in the aquaculture sector with the acquisition of Storvik Aqua, a leading equipment supplier to fish farms. In the Cermaq design process, Vard used its experience in the design and construction of offshore vessels for the analysis of the platform’s motions in rough sea.

The equipment on board includes cranes, a stabilisation system, a light support workboat, and Vard’s new feeding and monitoring system. The platforms are tailor made for safe and good seakeeping performance, low fuel consumption and environmentally friendly operations. Other features include four generators controlled by Vard’s SeaQ Power Management System, and the company’s newly developed SeaQ Control and Monitoring Station for handling of the platforms’ equipment and systems. The SeaQ product portfolio is developed by Vard Electro in Norway. Delivery of the platforms is scheduled from Vard Aukra in Norway in the second and third quarters of next year. Vard said it is continuously developing vessels, barges and fish farming technology to help customers build sustainable and efficient aquaculture operations – inshore, offshore, at sea and on land. Cermaq, owned by Mitsubishi, is one of Norway’s major salmon producers.

Left: Offshore concept

European News.indd 8

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05/12/2017 15:51:37

All the latest industry news from Europe

Grieg celebrates 25 years of farming ‘We recognise that this industry has challenges but we are working to try to solve them. Our growth strategy is, among other things, based on good biological control, and by focusing on large smolt.’ Earlier in the month the company reported its ‘best third quarter ever’ with a record harvest of 16,875 tonnes – up from 13,911 tonnes, or 21 per cent, on the corresponding period last year. The operating income during the three months between June and September totalled NOK 1,855 million, a rise of 19 per cent. Grieg employs more than 700 people at farms Above: Andreas Kvame in Norway, British Columbia and Shetland, where it is the region’s largest salmon farmer. GRIEG Seafood, one of Norway’s leading fish The company’s anniversary was marked with farming companies, celebrated its 25th annivera party in the Bergen headquarters, with the sary in business last month. company saying ‘when you reach 25 years the And Andreas Kvame, who took over as CEO staff deserve a party’. in June 2015, has pledged continuing growth, Employees came from Grieg’s regions in Finnbut insisted it will not be at the expense of the mark, Rogaland, British Columbia – and about environment. 100 from Shetland. ‘Grieg Seafood will grow at ten per cent a year Roy-Tore Rikardsen, director of Grieg Seafood to a production volume of 100,000 tonnes by Finnmark, said the company operated on the 2020. This growth will take place at no higher same principles as the traditional fishing induscost than the industry average.’ try, which has been exporting for 1,000 years. Kvame said the plan to increase production Aquaculture in Norway may be young, he said, would be achieved by the better utilisation of exbarely 40 years old, but it was in the sector’s isting sites and by using new technologies. There own interests to take care of the environment to should be no contradiction between growth and ensure that it too can be around for a long time. the environment, he maintained.

Norway investigates best future export markets THE Norwegian Seafood Council has said it wants feedback from the industry about which export markets should be given future priority. ‘We intend to increase the value of Norwegian seafood,’ it said. ‘We can do this by working systematically with market insight, market development, market preparedness and reputation in order to build selected countries around the world.

‘In addition, we are continuously working on identifying opportunities for Norwegian seafood products in new as well as existing markets.’ The council, which has asked the industry for submissions by December 31, is currently financed through a statutory fee on all exports of Norwegian seafood. It says the most important sectors are represented by their own advisory market groups on the council.

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European News.indd 9

www.faivre.fr 6/11/13 14:15:00

05/12/2017 15:51:55

European News

Salmar announces outstanding Q3 SALMAR, one of the world’s largest salmon farming companies, announced outstanding results for the third quarter of this year, with operating profits (EBIT) up by more than 200 million kroners to NOK 801.3 million. The figure for Q3 2016 was NOK 576.3 million. The company has put the performance down to an improved biological situation and good operations in all of the group’s segments, including Scottish Sea Farms in which it has part ownership, and reduced costs. CEO Trond Willikson said: ‘Good operations in all segments and a biology in recovery has helped SalMar deliver a strong financial result again, despite the decline in salmon prices throughout the quarter. ‘Especially positive is that the positive cost development in recent quarters continued in the third quarter, and our extensive efforts and significant investments in handling salmon lice over time now begin to show results.’ Total operating income was NOK 2.7 billion in the quarter, up from NOK 2.3 billion in the corresponding period last year. The slaughter volume was 34,000 tonnes, compared to 29,600 tonnes in the third quarter last year. This resulted in an operating profit of NOK 23.60 per kilo. Operating profit per kilo in the second quarter of 2017 was NOK 28.12 per kilo. SalMar experienced some increased lice pressure in the third quarter, but said it is well equipped to meet any biological challenges. For the whole of 2017, SalMar plans to slaughter around 134,000 tonnes in Norway, 32,000 tonnes in Scotland, and 9,500 tonnes in Arnalax in Iceland. For the whole of 2018, SalMar expects to slaughter around 143,000 tonnes in Norway, 27,000 tonnes in Scotland and 11,000 tonnes in Iceland.

Above: SalMar’s newest project, Ocean Farm 1

European News.indd 10

November salmon sales up, revenue down NORWAY’S salmon farmers continued to export larger volumes in November, but received less revenue for their efforts, the latest monthly figures from the Norwegian Seafood Council show. Overseas sales last month rose by 11 per cent to 103,000 tonnes but the value fell by five per cent or NOK 291 million to NOK 5.7 billion. And the reason is the sharp drop in prices which started to become evident

over the summer. The average price for whole fresh salmon in November was NOK 50.68 per kilo against NOK 61.71 last year. Poland and France again remained the largest markets, although the Norwegian press is reporting that both the French and Polish markets are beginning to slow down, with Polish processors reducing their imports this year. On the plus side exports to China are now at their highest level for at least two

years. So far this year, Norway has exported 909,000 tonnes of salmon worth NOK 59 billion. This is a volume increase of two per cent, while the value increased by seven per cent or NOK 4 billion from the same period last year. Sigmund Bjørgo, at the council’s fisheries mission in China, said: ‘Norwegian salmon is now going to the main (Chinese) destinations of Beijing

and Shanghai, and importers are reporting simpler regulatory processes. ‘This is a big and happy step towards the normalisation of salmon exports to China.’

Lower prices dent Bakkafrost Q3 results THE Faroese salmon farming group Bakkafrost announced ‘satisfactory’ total third quarter operating profits of 251.8 million Danish kroners (DKK), slightly down on the corresponding figure of DKK 255 million last year. The change is almost entirely due to falling prices and there are fears that as global supply continues to increase they could go even lower later this year and into 2018. The recent price drop had an even bigger impact on the farming segment EBIT, which fell from DKK 294.4 million to DKK 216.7-million, corresponding to NOK (Norwegian kroners) 23.51 per kg, compared with NOK 34.4 per kg this time last year. However, harvested volumes for the quarter were up from 10,700 tonnes in 2016 to 11,600 tonnes gutted weight this year. The VAP segment made an operational EBIT of DKK (minus)

will increase the use of lumpfish in 2018. Bakkafrost’s guidance for harvest in 2017 is increased by 1,000 tonnes gutted weight, from 53,500 to 54,500 tonnes. In 2018, the company expects to harvest 51,000 tonnes gutted weight. In 2018, it expects to release 13.0 million smolts, compared to 10.5 million in Above: The Faroes’ main salmon producer 2017 and 11.7 million in 2016. The new the future. -4.5 million, which ‘The farming service hatchery at Strond, the group says is an Klaksvík, is expected vessel M/S Róland improvement due to become operationstarted operation to the decrease in al next year and delivin this quarter, and the salmon spot er full capacity from Bakkafrost is well prices in Q3 2017. 2020. Bakkafrost aims equipped to combat The market place is at being self-supplied sea lice with good one of Bakkafrost’s with smolts at a size solutions.’ most significant risk The company focuses of 500g each, and areas. To diversify the to reach this goal, on using non-chemigeographical market approximately half cal methods to treat risk, Bakkafrost sells its total investments sea lice; its vessels its products to all from 2016 to 2020 M/S Martin and M/S the largest salmon will be in hatcheries. markets in the world, Róland deploy lukeIn September including the US, the warm seawater bath treatments, while M/S 2017, the company’s Far East, Europe and Hans á Bakka – whose farming site A-57 Russia. Fuglafjørður was ASC CEO Regin Jacobsen primary operation is transportation of live (Aquaculture Stewsaid: ‘We still have ardship Council) cerfish – can be used in a good outlook for treatment against sea tified. The goal is to the salmon market, get all farming sites lice with freshwater but there is a risk for lower salmon prices in treatment. Bakkafrost certified by 2020.

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05/12/2017 15:52:26

All the latest industry news from Europe

IMTA project to unlock growth

Former MH boss joins Polish processor

AN initiative to promote the development of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) across Europe has been launched by a consortium of organisations, including Oban based SAMS (the Scottish Association for Marine Science). Eight groups in total - from Spain, France, Ireland, Portugal and the UK - are involved in the project, called Integrate, which aims to unlock aquaculture growth and improve the quality and public perception of aquaculture products. Although IMTA systems, whereby different species are farmed together at different trophic levels, contribute to sustainability by making the best use of the nutrient flow in aquaculture facilities,

A FORMER boss at Marine Harvest will be the new CEO of the Polish processing company Milarex. Thomas Farstad, who most recently has been head of Norway Seafoods, brings many years’ experience in the industry. Reynir Indahl, managing partner in Summa Equity, which bought a 75 per cent stake in Milarex in the summer, said: ‘I think this (appointment) sends a clear signal about our ambitions for the company.’ When the private equity company took a controlling interest from the founder, Jerzy Malek, in July the parties agreed that Malek would eventually leave his post as CEO, although he remains on the board. Milarex chairman Jon Hindar, who was CEO at Cermaq until last year, said: ‘Thomas Farstad has an impressive background in the seafood industry as well as extensive senior management experience, which will be valuable to Milarex.’ Farstad has been involved with

Above: Supporting cooperation

they have yet to reach their full potential. To address the bottlenecks, the EU funded Integrate programme will support cooperation between academia, the corporate sector and relevant authorities. ‘Integrate will deliver tools to effectively increase competitiveness in Atlantic IMTA, unlocking sectorial green

growth and improving the quality and public perception of aquaculture products,’ said María del Mar Agraso, technical director at the Andalusian Aquaculture Technology Centre (CTAQUA), Integrate’s lead partner organisation. The three-year scheme is funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

Iceland exporters urged to sell online SEAFOOD suppliers in Iceland are being urged to take advantage of the rapid growth in the volume of fish being sold internationally online. A recent report prepared by the Iceland Ocean Cluster, a collection of fishery related businesses, highlights data from the United States, which show that 25 years ago, 90 per cent of all seafood was purchased in traditional supermarkets. Today, as use of the internet continues to speed up, that figure has dropped to just 30 per cent. The report says: ‘It is estimated that by 2025, the sale of (all) food online in the US will be around 20 per cent of total sales, five-fold from what it is now. It is thought 70 per cent of all Americans will be using the net to buy food within 10 years.’ Fish sales are growing at a fast rate, which means there is much at stake for Iceland, says the Iceland Ocean Cluster. Fish protein is a high value product and competition in international markets is becoming tougher. It also posed challenges for those exporting cod, Iceland’s chief high quality fish species, because it was difficult to establish or prove the country of origin. The report adds: ‘Norway has gained something of a head start in certain European countries by introducing a Norwegian certificate of origin for its consumers in

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

European News.indd 11

those countries.’ China has a much larger use of online stores than other parts of the world. The online giant Alibaba, for example, is planning more than 2,000 stores over the next 10 years. The report also refers to the fish fraud scandals in the United States, where many products have been found to be from illegal sources or deliberately mislabelled. This put Iceland in a stronger position than most of its fishing neighbours, not just because of the high quality of its products but also because the country’s main exporting companies were able to provide a safe, year-round supply. And it could also offer a fully transparent footprint from the trawler to the processing centre, and then on to transportation and sales.

Above: Fully transparent

Above: Thomas Farstad

the seafood industry since 2003. He was appointed CEO of Norway Seafoods, now owned by the Lerøy Seafood Group, in October 2010. He has also been CEO of Aker Seafoods (now Havfisk), also part of Leroy Seafood Group. Prior to joining Norway Seafoods he was acting chief executive of Marine Harvest and a member of its corporate management team. Earlier, he had worked at McKinsey & Company. Farstad holds an MBA from Insead in France and an MSc from MIT.

Record Q3 from Lerøy

THE Lerøy Seafood Group, whose operations now encompass salmon farming, white fish trawling and fish processing, reported its ‘best ever’ third quarter results. The group – the parent company, along with SalMar, of Scottish Sea Farms – announced Q3 operating profits of NOK 861 million, up from NOK 481 million last year. This corresponds to operating profit of NOK 17.4 per kg against NOK 14.8 per kg in Q3 2016. CEO Henning Beltestad said: ‘We have achieved the highest revenue and the highest operating profit ever to be reported by the group in a third quarter. We are pleased with such a good result, but there still remains plenty of room for improvement and this is where our focus lies.’ The farming segment harvested a total of 46,000 tonnes gutted weight of salmon and trout in Q3 2017, up by 45 per cent from the same period in 2016. This segment’s operating profit totalled NOK 715 million in Q3 2017, up from NOK 397 million in 2016. ‘The lack of growth in production together with a positive development in demand and the weaker Norwegian kroner have resulted in historically high prices for salmon,’ said Beltestad.

05/12/2017 15:52:44

World News

NEWS...

Canadian aquaculture reports solid growth CANADA’S seafood farmers produced a solid year of sustainable growth and many new jobs in 2016 according to a new report from the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA). The report, Sustainable, Diverse and Growing – the State of Farmed Seafood in Canada 2017, shows revenues reached $1.35 billion last year. This contributed to an economic impact of $5.1 billion, with the number of people employed totalling 25,040, including indigenous participation across the country. Releasing the report, Timothy Kennedy, executive director of CAIA, said: ‘Canada’s

Above: Farm on the Northumberland Strait in New Brunswick, Canada

seafood farmers have much to be proud of in 2017. ‘They are producing the highest quality farmed seafood, they are creating year-round jobs, and they are opening new opportunities for local indige-

nous communities. ‘Farmed seafood in Canada is sustainable, diverse and growing. We are playing a leadership role on environmental stewardship and creating high value middle class jobs. We are excited

by the future opportunities.’ The report proclaims: ‘In 2016, Canadian farmed seafood production and processing generated a total of over $5.1 billion in economic activity, $2 billion in GDP, and

$1.16 billion in wages for 25,000 Canadian workers. ‘And much of these economic benefits occur at the local, community level in Canada.’ Revenues in 2016 totalled $1.347 billion,

up from $918 million in 2015, while farmed seafood production was 200,565 tonnes – up from 190,111 in 2015. Exports last year totalled $1 billion. Kennedy added: ‘This report reconfirms that farmed seafood in Canada is an increasingly important food source, and that is why we support the government of Canada’s leadership for a new federal Aquaculture Act. ‘A new Act will enable a vibrant, responsible and sustainable farmed seafood sector in Canada for generations to come. It will hold us to account as we grow sustainably to meet future demand.’

Campaigners ordered off BC farm site PROTESTERS occupying a fish farm in British Columbia were ordered to vacate the site ahead of a court case which could remove them permanently, the Vancouver Sun reported last month. The anti-fish farm campaigners from the Musgamagw and Namgis First Nations have been occupying the Marine Harvest facility near Midsummer Island since early September, demanding that the salmon farmer shuts down operations in their traditional territories. The local First Nations have asked the BC government not to renew leases on farm sites in the Broughton Archipelago when they expire next June. Marine Harvest has applied for an injunction to oust the protesters for good. The First Nations group was given three days by the Supreme Court of BC to remove its camp from the farm for 30 days. Salmon have been harvested in recent weeks, but Marine Harvest has delayed restocking because of safety concerns for the protesters. ‘We will review the biological schedule of our fish as we raise a living, growing animal,’ said Marine Harvest Canada’s managing director Vincent Erenst. ‘Until meaningful discussions are taking place to find long-term solutions, we will concentrate on continuing to take care of our fish and our employees.’

World news.indd 12

Erenst urged senior levels of government to find a solution to First Nations concerns about their rights and title. ‘This important government to government discussion needs to occur so our business and many other businesses in the province can be given clarity about this process,’ he said. Marine Harvest employs about 600 people in BC and has working relationships with 15 First Nations, including seven First Nations owned businesses.

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/12/2017 15:54:12

World News

Global aquafeed worth $70 billion by 2022 THE global aquafeed market is set to reach new heights over the next five years thanks to the arrival of additional players, says a new research report. Published by Transparency Market Research (TMR), the analysis says that with a large number of aquafeed suppliers functioning across the world, the market was demonstrating a fragmented and competitive landscape. New players were continuously venturing into this market, which was likely to intensify the competition substantially in the years to come. Cermaq, Koninklijke DSM, BENEO, Dibaq Diproteg, Ridley Corp, Nutreco, Aller Aqua, Cargill, and Archer Daniels Midland were just some of the leading suppliers across the world, says the report. It expects the worldwide market to reach US $51.12 billion by the end of this year and it will proliferate at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.5 per cent between now and 2022, and touch US $70.09 billion. The report continues: ‘Extruded aquafeed has been witnessing a high demand across the world and expanding at a CAGR of 8.70 per cent. ‘The continual increase in the consumption of seafood across the world has a significant influence on the growth of the global market for aquafeed. ‘With consumers being aware of the benefits of high quality seafood products, the demand for better quality aquafeed has augmented, boosting this market remarkably. ‘The consumption of seafood is expected to remain high in the near future, thanks to the escalating disposable income of consumers, especially in emerging economies, which is likely to boost the growth of this market substantially over the forthcoming years.’ The study also presents a geographical evaluation of the worldwide market. The region of Asia Pacific and Japan has surfaced as the leading market, due to the prominence of aquaculture production in Asian countries, specifically China.

The rising popularity of salmon farming, on account of the ease of farming and the resilience of this fish even in adverse conditions, is expected to propel the Asian and Japanese markets for aquafeed in the years to come. The European aquafeed market is also projected to report steady growth over the forecast period, notes the research study.

Above: Sushi Economic Feed Conversion Ratio—Growth Trend

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World news.indd 13

05/12/2017 15:54:29

Mar ‘17

World News

African centre to advance freshwater expertise

Above: More experts needed

A GROUP of professionals from North America, Europe, and Africa has developed an institute for increasing the capacity of African freshwater experts. The overall goals of the African Centre for Aquatic Research and Education (ACARE) are to positively affect policy and manage-

ment on Africa’s Great Lakes, the centre’s executive director, Ted Lawrence, wrote on the Sarnissa (Sustainable Aquaculture Research Networks for Sub-Saharan Africa) Facebook page. To do this, ACARE will serve as a longterm, collaborative centre of excellence dedicated to increas-

ing the capacity of Africa’s next generation of freshwater scientists, managers, and politicians through courses, training, and education. Lawrence called for partners to identify future research and strengthen collaborative relationships on the African Great Lakes; determine gaps in experiential education on freshwater resources within the community, and develop curricula to address these gaps based on the first objective; and discuss the feasibility of creating a lake committee system to organise sustainable resource management and research.

$9.3m for US aquaculture research THE body which oversees fishery regulation in the United States is releasing $9.3 million in federal funds for research projects to help develop the country’s aquaculture industry. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says the money will be spent on 32 separate research schemes in both coastal and at sea fish farming. A recent NOAA report suggested that both fish farming and conventional fishing in the US was in the slow lane. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said: ‘This country, with its abundant coastline, should not have to import billions of pounds of seafood each year. ‘These grants will promote aquaculture projects that will help us reduce our trade deficit in this key industry.’

The funds were awarded through two competitions to help spur the development and Above: Wilbur Ross growth of shellfish, finfish, and seaweed aquaculture businesses. The projects, all public-private partnerships, include basic and applied research to improve efficient production, permitting of new businesses, management of environmental health issues, and economic success. NOAA revealed it had received 126 proposals requesting nearly $58 million in federal funds.

IFFO announces next year’s board

BioMar appoints new boss in Ecuador FEED group BioMar has appointed a new general manager at its recent acquisition in Ecuador, Alimentsa. Current vice-president of the firm Danny Velez will take over from Roberto Boloña, who has been in the post for 25 years. BioMar acquired 70 per cent of the shares in shrimp feed producer Alimentsa in the summer, signalling the Danish group’s expansion into this market. Velez has been one of the

Above: Danny Velez

World news.indd 14

driving forces behind Alimentsa’s growth as a provider of high performance diets and technical services and training. With 25 years in the firm, he has headed daily operations and been in close contact with customers as well as suppliers. Boloña hands over a strong company, having supported the smooth acquisition process, positioning BioMar Group among the leading shrimp feed producers in Latin America.

Above: Eduardo Goycoolea. Below: Anne Mette Baek Jespersen

IFFO, the marine ingredients organisation, has announced its new president and vice-president for next year, following elections to the management board. Eduardo Goycoolea will be president and Anne Mette Bæk Intersperse vice-president, it was confirmed at an IFFO board meeting. Following his appointment, Goycoolea said: ‘I look forward to leading such a well renowned and important organisation. I have worked closely with IFFO for decades and watched it become the networking heart of our industry, while also being a driver

for change.’ Bæk Jespersen said: ‘Innovation and sustainability and getting the right products to the right markets are key to the future development of the fishmeal and fish oil industry. I consider international cooperation vital for the long term success of the industry and I look forward to working closely with the president, the board and the secretariat in the interest of all IFFO members.’

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/12/2017 15:54:50

All the latest industry news from around the world

over festive seafood shortage Australia to double aquaculture value Fears Queensland, the nation’s primary AUSTRALIANS flock to seafood AUSTRALIA has launched a new federal wide aquaculture strategy in which it plans to double its value. The announcement was made by Senator Anne Ruston, the country’s assistant minister for agriculture, at the recent 2017 Seafood Directions Conference in Sydney. She set a target of creating an industry worth at least $2 billion within the next 10 years, adding that growth should follow a sustainable pathway providing safe, clean and green Australian seafood. ‘World seafood demand is continuing to grow and with wild catch fishery production reaching a plateau, we need the aquaculture industry to fill the gap. ‘Australia’s aquaculture industry has an enviable reputation for producing high quality and sustainably sourced seafood. ‘This strategy has identified priority areas for the Australian, state and territory governments and industry to parlay the aquaculture’s reputation for quality into future growth with the aim of doubling the value of the

industry by 2027.’ Australian aquaculture, the minister contended, was well placed to take advantage of growing world demand, with an abundance of space, clean water, a stable investment environment and high quality education and training. ‘We want to empower industry to harness the opportunities of increasing world seafood demand, and to support our commitment to develop a more competitive and sustainable aquaculture sector. ‘Through this strategy we will create more jobs and more high quality seafood for home consumption and for export to help feed a growing global population.’ She concluded: ‘The strategy has been developed in consultation with key aquaculture industry representatives and members of state and the Northern Territory governments.’ The two-day conference saw more than 350 delegates explore concepts around the theme ‘Sea the Future’. It also discussed new technology, research and ideas.

markets in their tens of thousands every Christmas, but this year the buying frenzy may be checked by shortages and higher prices. The Australian Institute of Food Safety says tiger prawn prices are at a 30-year high, with a kilo of cooked tiger prawns currently selling in Sydney for $45, around $15 more than a year ago. Prices are expected to reach as high as $52 as the season approaches. The reason for the rise is two-fold. Farmers in south-east

prawn growing region, have had to stop farming and destroy $25 million worth of prawns after an outbreak of white spot disease, which began this time last year. And imported prawns are still subject to a ban put in place in February after imports were determined to have been the cause the disease outbreak. Australian Prawn Farmers Association president Matt West disputes claims that the closure of the farms will affect stock.

Clearwater sheds top posts as proﬁts fall

Above: Favourable market dynamics ahead

Above: Fresh seafood -salmon, lobsters and Australian mussels

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World news.indd 15

CANADA’S Clearwater Seafoods has shed three executive positions as part of a move to save money and streamline its management structure. The move was revealed by CEO Ian Smith following the announcement of the company’s third quarter results. Clearwater, which bought the Macduff wild shellfish group in Scotland two years ago, saw its third quarter turnover fall to (Canadian) $163.6 million this year from $189.5 million in Q3 2016. The EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) was down from (Canadian) $45.2 million to $32.8

million. Smith announced that Clearwater had begun a corporate restructuring, effective immediately, which is expected to save the company around $10 million a year. Three executive positions had been immediately eliminated: president of global markets, president of global supply chain and chief information officer. Looking ahead, Smith said: ‘We are taking action to restructure the organisation, and remain 100 per cent committed to our core business and strategies. ‘The powerful seafood industry fundamentals, value prop-

osition and competitive advantages that form the foundation of Clearwater’s vertically integrated business model and ability to generate long-term shareholder value remain strong. ‘Global demand for seafood is out pacing supply, creating favourable market dynamics for vertically integrated producers such as Clearwater, which have strong resource access. ‘Demand has been driven by growing worldwide population, shifting consumer tastes towards healthier diets, and rising purchasing power of middle class consumers in emerging economies.’

05/12/2017 15:55:07

Trade Associations – Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation

BY SCOTT LANDSBURGH

Brexit basics Exporters need to be certain their perishable product will move swiftly through customs barriers

T IS now almost a year and a half since the United Kingdom voted by majority to leave the European Union. Of perhaps more material consequence is the fact that it is approximately nine months since the UK government put the ‘will of the people’ into practice by triggering Article 50. This has propelled the UK and EU into a negotiation phase to agree the terms of the UK’s exit, and thus the future relationship between the two jurisdictions. So where does the process leave the Scottish salmon industry at this juncture? I have always been minded to hope for the best and plan for the worst in business, as in life. Talks of a transition agreement or implementation phase upon exit are welcome in my view, and the ambition of agreeing a future comprehensive free trade agreement certainly has my support. But such talk is vague at present and, realistically, we as an industry have to prepare for a ‘no deal’ outcome based on a fall back to World Trade Organisation (WTO) trading rules should discussions break down. Putting aside the question of tariffs for the moment, WTO rules are insufficient on their own to deliver a suitable trading position on day one of Brexit when compared to the status quo, particularly given the specific circumstances of salmon exporting. Exporters of Scottish salmon need to be certain that their short-life, perishable product will move swiftly and easily through customs barriers to their final destination. Without formal recognition of our produce conforming to EU rules in advance of day one, allowing for swift transportation from fish farm to plate, at the risk of being accused of scaremongering, I think there are genuine reasons to be apprehensive. Of course, for 40 plus years we have been harmonising our laws and regulations with our European trade partners and there should not be any major hurdles in coming to an agreement on mutual recognition of product standards, particularly as it is very much in the interests of both negotiating parties. And the World Trade Organisation guarantees basic rules and procedural propriety when it comes to customs matters. There is no precedent for a country leaving the EU but one could reasonably assume that even if we did not end up with a free trade deal, then we will not revert to a situation where the EU refuses to accept the food safety credentials of our exports. But we cannot guarantee anything. Moreover, the UK will become a third country with respect to the EU upon exit, whether there is a trade deal or not. This means there will be no automatic and simple import/export process for goods between the EU and UK, with the UK dropping out of the Union Customs Code framework upon exit. Even attempts to adopt closely aligned customs systems by agreement or imitation might not stop trade in goods between the UK and EU becoming more difficult. Processes tend to become more complicated and cumbersome the less

SSPO.indd 16

rules are harmonised between jurisdictions. It is the same for the EU and third country exporters. Any new processes may involve additional European Commission health inspection visits, new processes for health certification following possible increased, time consuming scrutiny and testing. There may well be a need for Border Inspection Posts (BIPs) for products of animal origin, with prior notification required for the arrival of consignments. Identity checks, document checks and product checks at BIPs could be required as a matter of course by the Official Fish Inspector. If consignments failed these additional checks (this is highly unlikely but we should be aware that any early divergence between the UK and EU in animal health regulation could result in this) then our products would have to be either re-exported or destroyed. All in all, for food and beverages, the steps that third countries have to take to export to the EU are significantly more complex than the steps that EU member states have to take. At the moment, the UK’s Animal and Plant Health Agency can carry out all the required checks in the UK and exports can then pass through customs and on to their final destination. This changes after Brexit. And then, notwithstanding any other potential causes for delay, we have to consider customs staffing and capacity issues, as this arrangement and its associated infrastructure has hitherto not been needed for intra-EU trade from the UK. This is potentially a massive issue for the salmon industry. These technical barriers to trade or non-tariff barriers (NTBs) are hurdles to overcome even before we contemplate the imposition of WTO tariffs on our exported products. On this issue of tariffs, these have the potential to negatively affect the position of exporters to the EU. With tariffs of 13 per cent on smoked salmon and two per cent on fresh salmon being levied in a ‘no deal’ WTO rules scenario, Scottish salmon runs the risk of becoming less competitive on price in the EU market, with our competitors

Opposite page: Scottish salmon

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/12/2017 15:44:20

Brexit basics

waiting in the wings to take market share. In light of these concerns, it is understandable why we are so keen to see some form of formalised preferential trade agreement between the UK and the EU. Negotiations around our international trade position come against the backdrop of a very successful period for Scottish salmon exports. We are now the UK’s number one food export and keen to build on this. Notably, France is now our most valuable export market, having overtaken the US in 2017, with sales of almost £148 million in the nine months to the end of September. Clearly, the EU market continues to be crucially important to our industry. The first priority of the SSPO is, therefore, to lobby the UK government to pursue agreement on mutual recognition as a baseline position. We would like to think that such an agreement would form the basis of a far wider reaching free trade agreement but if talks break down and the negotiating parties go their separate ways, our industry would need to rely on a basic customs and exporting (and importing) set of rules and expected procedures to operate effectively and deliver our goods to the EU market as swiftly and easily as possible. And we are lobbying to make sure that the powers that be are in no doubt of this requirement. It would also help if we were given assurances on customs systems upgrades, improved port infrastructure (both a short and long-term project) and recruitment of sufficient numbers of trained customs staff.

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SSPO.indd 17

We will continue to lobby for a comprehensive free trade agreement while planning for a ‘no deal’ scenario. We have met oﬃcials from both the EU and UK sides and they should now be well aware of our concerns. We submitted evidence to the ‘Brexit: Trade in Food’ inquiry, outlining our industry’s position, and hope that all the work we are putting in will push Scottish salmon up the no doubt extensive list of government priorities to enable us to inﬂuence proceedings wherever possible. We hope to develop an understanding with related industries so that we can use our combined lobbying strength to push things on. We also have concerns regarding EU nationals in our workforce and communities. Approximately 65 per cent of industry employees are non-UK EU nationals, and we wish to see their status secured. Similarly, we would like the long-term future of current European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funding secured as far as this is possible post-Brexit. This funding is very important to the regions in which we as an industry operate and we wish to see it replicated and replaced after the UK leaves the EU. As talks reach a critical point, it is in everyone’s interests that we outline the concerns of the UK’s most valuable food export and a major employer and investor in the remote regions of the country. If these concerns can be addressed satisfactorily from an industry point of view, we can then turn our attention to the opportunities the situation gives us, with the UK able to trade independently

At the risk of “ being accused of

scaremongering, I think there are genuine reasons to be apprehensive

”

of the EU when it comes to global markets. We would encourage the pursuit of new preferential trade agreements with regions with whom we wish to grow our trade, for example the countries of the Far East and the US. Anything which helps free trade, easier access to markets and a greater ability to meet demand for our salmon is a welcome development for us. As ever, the UK remains our most important market and the lifeblood of our industry. But beyond this, we have aspirations to grow our exports further and have made significant strides so far. It is our hope that the UK and EU come to a mutually beneficial comprehensive free trade agreement. If they do not, we could find ourselves in a challenging situation as an industry, though one I have no doubt that we will cope with, as we do every other challenge. Scott Landsburgh is chief executive of the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation. FF

05/12/2017 15:44:43

Trade Associations – SSPO

Comment

BY BY PROFESSOR PROFESSOR PHIL PHIL THOMAS THOMAS

Fit for the future Underpinning provenance

Time for a joined up approach to industrial strategy

T I

HE UK government adopted a traditional approach to national planning last month when it launched a White Paper, Industrial Strategy: Building a Britain fit for the future. The document is a substantial 254 pages, so it is a fair bet that not many people will have read it cover to cover. However, it has been broadly well received by industry and business, subject to the caveat that it needs to be followed up by an effective delivery plan. t may not be politi cally correct say soonal at foundations, designed to The strategy is built around five veryto conventi presentthe but farmed Atlanti c salmonand would transform UK’s industrial performance low productivity. These are: ideas to R&D and innovation); people (referring to more productive not(relati havengbecome Scotland’s leading food andexport better without paid jobs);the infrastructure (bothpositi physical Crown Estate’s ve and digital); business environment (bothwith new government initiatives and a promised ‘more agile engagement aquaculturefunding development approach to regulati back in the 1980s.on that promotes innovation and growth’); and places (refl ecting more producti and prosperous communiti es). Now, aquaculture is avesignifi cant part of the It also addresses so-called challenges’: agency’s marine four leasing portf‘grand olio and is regu- artificial intelligence and the economy;by future mobilityEstate’s (transport of people, goods and services); larlydata celebrated the Crown Scotti sh clean growth (low-carbon systems and environment Marine Aquaculture Awards event. This year’s friendly technology); and ageing society. event in Edinburgh on the 11 June was the Muchhighly of thesuccessful impact of the document be created by its tone, which is usual showcase forwill Scotti sh consistently positi ve and upbeat. However, there are also some meaty policy aquaculture and a rare opportunity for indusproposals commitments to its UKsuccess. wide investment, including in: R&D (to try to joinand together to mark reach long Estate held target of 2.4 peratcent GDP); education and training; built The the Crown is presently theofcentre and digital infrastructure; and growth between focused ‘sector of further devolution discussions the partnerships’ between government and industry. UK government and Scottish government. The In Scotland, the document needs be considered long-term future of key Scotti shtofuncti ons re- alongside the Scottish government’s Scotland’s Economic Strategy (2015), mains unclear and professional expertise couldwhich also focused on increasing competi veness and tackling inequality, and was built around four be squandered intithe process of organisati onal broadly comparable themes to the new UK document: innovation; investment; change. inclusive growth; and internati onalisati on. Both the Crown Estate’s core expertise and Nonetheless, the UK paperAwards does bring the Marine Aquaculture are forward impor- several significant new features which will be reflthe ected in ncti UK wide funding schemes and UK wide policies, tant in maintaining disti ve coherence on R&D and innovati on for example. of Scotland’s aquaculture and it would be a There might also be somecasualti influences onpoliti Scotland’s tragedy if they became es of cal devolved policies, which might be adjusted to opti mise their synergy with the UK wide policies. change. The strategy has aevent sectionwas on food andby drink, which understandably ThisUK year’s Awards hosted highlights Scotchand whisky and the (mainly Scotti actress, writer comedian Jo Caulfi eld,sh) anpremium seafood sector. But, some of the related policy and regulatory proposals inspired choice by whoever made the booking. appear to relate to England alone, although they could have corresponding relevance in other She was very funny and entertaining and kept parts of the UK. the proceedings going with a swing. Only once These last reservations aside, the UK strategy has some very positive eledid she stray, when she wondered what ‘provements and I think it will be welcomed by the food and drink sector in Scotland. nance actually meant’. It is wholly compatible with Scotland Food & Drink’s Ambition 2030 agenda In a room full of folk whose livelihoods and with the aquaculture industry’s vision as set out in its Aquaculture Growth to 2030 (2016) strategy, so that’s a good start. 12 Ideally, what is required next is a short Scottish government publication succinctly summarising the overall effects of the combination of the existing

Do we think enough about what gives the industry its edge in key markets?

should “beWeorganising our training and education provisions much better

”

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depend on the provenance of their products she quickly sensed an audience response and moved to safer comedic material: there are some things you just don’t joke about! However, her remark left me asking myself whether we think enough about the underpinning of the provenance of Scottish farmed fish – and Scotti sh and newfarmed UK policies and funding opporfor me that’s salmon. tuniti es. There is no doubt that Scottish provenance is important to our indusHowever, thatus would require collabotry – it gives the probably edge in all our key markets. ratiProvenance on between the sh and canScotti be defi nedUK ingovernments, various ways but most people will agree which too much expect of ourand consti tuthat might it goesbebeyond thetoappearance sensory qualities of the final tionally joined up, but politi cally divided governproduct: flavour, texture, visual presentation and product consistency mental processes. are always key factors in consumer appeal but provenance is about Finally,more. just space for a fake news story of the much month. arose initi ally from the UK parliaIt reflThis ectsone a wider concept of consumer quality assurance, including: mentary debate of the EU Withdrawal the place where the fish is grown Bill, andwhere processed; the professional MPs voted against an amendment introduce a methods; and the quality, integrity of the producti on andtoprocessing specifi cally worded new clause on animal commitment and care of the peoplewelfare involved – the professional skills, extracted from EU legislati choosing instead to expertise, passion andon, dedicati on of the producers themselves. dealInwith the issue in another way. Scotland our ‘place of production’ gives us a huge natural advanThis vote against picked thepristi RSPCA tage because wewas grow fishup inby the ne and coastal waters of some of bythe several web based campaign groups, eventually most beautiful and wild scenic areas of the world, and our brand is emerging via he Independent newspaper as a protected by its PGI status. claim that parliament had rejected the concept of Likewise, adoption of the Scottish Finfish Code of Good Practice animals being sentient and feeling pain or emotion. allied with the industry’s deep commitment to a range of independent Realistically, even those with a very limited fafarm quality assurance programmes, including the RSPCA fish welfare miliarity with UK attitudes to animal welfare might scheme, builds on the underlying strength of our statutory regulatory reasonably have been expected to query a report systems to assure our production systems. that the UK parliament had rejected the concept of Finally, the skills, expertise, passion and dedication of our farmers animal sentience. can be demonstrated in abundance day in and day out – and they were But the story went viral and Michael Gove, lookshowcased by the recent awards event. ing even more bemused than usual, was forced to However, being wholly objective and forward looking, it is this third appear clutching a fluffy white puppy to convince area of provenance where the Scottish industry has greatest scope for voters that the government is animal welfare systematic development. That is not to say that our industry’s skills friendly. and expertisec balance, are not Iofshould the highestAbove: calibre, but itsector is to Premium In theprofessional interests of journalisti recognise that our vocati onal educati onal and training structures, and also mention that one of the few areas in which EU animal welfare legislation is notably weak is in the protection of rod caught wild fish. With Gove in www.fishfarmer-magazine.com mind, perhaps the Independent will take note! FF

It might “ be too much to expect of the Scottish and UK governments

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www.fishfarmer-magazine.com 03/07/2015

14:31:33

05/12/2017 15:43:22

Trade Associations – British Trout Association

Combined effort Industry and regulator must work together over water quality BY DOUG MCLEOD

LL fish farmers are invariably- and understandably- concerned about water quality, and the cost and conditions of access to sufficient volumes. However, trout farmers regard their permits to abstract water from rivers, lochs, reservoirs and aquifers as the absolute foundation of their production operations. Other parameters are seen as important, such as good quality eggs, fry and fingerlings, along with the nutritional specifications of feed and access to appropriate veterinary medicinal products. Innovative technology, overall cost control and effective marketing are also viewed as critical to achieving commercial success. However, access to appropriate volumes of unpolluted water is considered to be the sine qua non of the production of healthy, nutritious and tasty rainbow trout and therefore any perceived threat to this supply is likely to be seen as an assault on the very existence of the sector. Therefore, a suggestion by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) in the consultation on the ‘Environmental regulation (Scotland) charging scheme 2018’ has inevitably rung some alarm bells in trout farming circles. When explaining the proposed changes to the abstraction environmental charge, Sepa recommends encouraging ‘abstractors to fit [flow] metering since we intend by 2021 to only use abstraction data returns that use metering as part of the charging scheme calculation’. Trout farmers from both small and large operations are adamant that, in line with good farming practice, they always- except under extreme drought conditions- abstract at rates of 90 to 100 per cent of the maximum permitted volumes, as this represents good practice and contributes to healthy fish populations. The proposal to incorporate ‘actual’ as a replacement for ‘permitted’ volumes is therefore seen as moot/redundant/irrelevant and potentially as a thin end of the wedge move to reduce or remove permitted volumes. Trout farmers are equally convinced of the minimal impact that their operations have on water

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bodies, and consider that they should be recognised as a particularly low risk activity with regards to pollution, particularly in comparison to some other rural industries, and that this is a status which should be acknowledged in the method of calculating charges. In my view, a lot of the angst that arises over these issues could be resolved by a more collaborative approach to risk management – as opposed to perceived risk assessment by each party individually. Regulator and industry operators could join in monitoring and evaluating the scale of impact of abstraction and production activities on the local water environment, and thereafter seek appropriate risk assessment on the basis of agreed criteria and an understanding of how their actions directly or indirectly influence both risk and the real environmental impact. Industry will have to be open and clear about its practices and modus operandi in the real world, including the approach to handling risk, while the regulator (Sepa in Scotland, the Environment Agency in England) will need to recognise the impact of its policies, guidance, general approach and charges on a sector that is largely composed of rural SMEs struggling in an economic environment of rising costs, stable prices and post-Brexit uncertainties. If trout farming in the UK is to move towards achieving more of its undoubted potential in supplying high quality nutritious food, contributing to rural employment and securing investment in up to date technology, then I Below - Trout: undoubted believe that there must be a move towards collaborative efforts in establish- potential ing the regulatory parameters for this industry and their implementation. Such a development would contribute to the commercial success of the sector, as well as protecting the quality of the water environment that is central to the vision of both producers and regulators. FF

A lot of the “angst could be resolved by a more collaborative approach to risk management

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05/12/2017 15:39:20

Comment

BY DR MARTIN JAFFA

New way of thinking

Moving from near to offshore farming does not just require different technologies

HE Norwegian government received a total of 104 applications for development licences for Norwegian aquaculture by the deadline day in mid-November. These special licences are intended to develop new technologies to help some of the perennial problems that affect the salmon farming industry. The applications cover a wide range of technologies, including the development of offshore farming. By coincidence, Hans Bjelland of Sintef’s Exposed research centre, held a seminar recently, in which he detailed the challenges of farming in exposed locations, such as those encountered offshore. He highlighted the fact that extreme conditions can make even the simplest daily operations much more demanding for both the fish and the farm staff. In particular, he suggested that disease outbreaks could lead to greater stress and potentially higher mortalities. He also said that extreme weather could lead to increased numbers of fish escaping. Certainly, exposed locations do present more of a challenge to farmers, but many of the potential problems that might be encountered could be of the farmer’s own making. The salmon industry now has many years’ experience raising farmed fish and has developed a variety of solutions to a range of differing problems. Inevitably, any attempt to move offshore will involve consideration of how these solutions and processes can be adapted to the new environment. As a result, some of the new developing technologies have become quite complex to enable farms to run in a similar way to traditional near-shore farms. However, it could be that the whole point of moving offshore is to avoid the management practices that have led to the major problems that have beset the salmon farming industry. The process of moving from near to offshore farming is actually likely to require not just new technologies but also new ways of thinking. It is probably a mistake to try to transfer the management practices from near-shore farming to offshore. In 1995, I was invited to speak at an EU conference in Brussels about the future production of fish in the face of declining wild stocks. The theme of my presentation concerned the potential partnerships between farmers and fishermen to utilise the open seas for fish cultivation. The main focus was the challenge of farming the open sea and the ways in which it could be moved from theory into practice. Clearly, it

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was never going to be feasible to have men stood on the side of an enclosure throwing in feed, although at the time some farmers were still hand feeding. It seemed to me that the whole farming process could be much simplified and now, more than 20 years later, the first steps towards such a system could be underway. My view at the time was that billions of pounds were forecast to be spent on decommissioning the large numbers of oil platforms then populating the seas between Norway and Scotland. Currently, it is estimated that up to £2 billion a year will be spent over the next eight years to decommission the 214 platforms in Scottish waters. Instead of the oil companies spending this money on removing the platforms, they should be encouraged to adapt the platforms into bases for aquaculture use. A number of large simple flexible cages made using oil industry technologies would be anchored around the platform to form a farming hub. However, the unique point of these farming hubs would be their simplicity of operation, using an all-in, all-out approach combined with lower stocking densities. This means that the fish would not be graded and, because of the lower densities, it would be unlikely that the fish would ever need to be treated. Harvesting would be done in one go Above: Future farming hub? using fishing boats. Just because near-shore farming has led to a range of different problems doesn’t mean that the same problems will be encountered offshore. Now, the Norwegian salmon farmer Nova Sea and its partners have submitted an application to develop an ocean farm centred on a converted drilling platform as a base. The plan is to remove the drilling equipment

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05/12/2017 15:37:28

New way of thinking

Oil platforms may oﬀer the “best opportunity to make a success of oﬀshore farming ”

and then install storage and living quarters, as well as an operations centre. The company has applied for 20 development permits to take the project forward although with so many applications to process, it might be some time before it is known whether the project is given the go-ahead or not. Some of the applications for development licences involve building complex structures to withstand offshore conditions. Yet given the number of oil platforms and the high costs of decommissioning, these platforms may offer the best opportunity to make a success of offshore farming. FF

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– ASSG SG and SSPOTrade – to Associations into oyster growing around the globe and also an t topics of the day overview of the Hungarian aquaculture industry, which is ors respectively. beginning to evolve from production of carps to higher d we hope you’ll value predatory ﬁsh. We hope you enjoy all the changes. FF

Rob Fletcher News Editor

Shellfish - Oyster restoration

has 0 years f the stry. Now ournalist, r food magazine.

ry Board

ns culture

BY BYJANET JANETHHBROWN BROWN

Paul Wheelhouse is Scotland’s Minister for the Environment and Climate Change and is an MSP for the South of Scotland.

Janet Brown works to support and promote all aspects of sustainable shellﬁsh culture and restoration via The Shellﬁsh Team and edits The Grower.

The other side of the pond Going native Can the Association of formed ScottishtoShellfish Growers learn anything New European alliance bring back a key ecological playerfrom 8 the way America’s East Coast Shellfish Growers Association is organised?

HE native oyster season starts in September, but October and November seem to have been the months to discuss native oyster restorati with two– major meetings set up for this purpose. r Roberton, B Rheault more commonly The fi rst was the inaugural meeting of the European Aquaculknown as ‘Skid’ Rheault (Rheault being ture Society (EAS) nati ve oyster themati pronounced ‘row’) or Bobspecial – set up the c group in Dubrovnik, as reported the last issue of Fish Farmer. EastinCoast Shellfish Growers Association ols The second was a meeti ng in Berlin organised by Henning von Nord(ECSGA) in 2004 and has been its executive heim, head of Marine Nature Conservati on Directorate for BfN (German director for six years. Federal Agencyinvolved for Nature Conservati with Bernadette Pogoda of the Skid became in the idea ofon), an asAlfred Wegener Insti tute for Polar and Marine sociation because he had been working as an Research. The Berlin meeti waswithout held in the embassy area so we looked out on oyster farmer in ang state an aquaculto pleasant gardens as the meeti ng started. ture industry at the time – Rhode Island. We were welcomed by Henfortowhom oyster restorati has been a long held ambition. rectory ning, ‘I had be very active on theonstate level to In his address he said that it was back in 2009 get things going,’ he said. ‘I established a state that he first began to have ideasassociation of restoring theadeep oysterstarted reefs that were once so much a growers’ with few allies, surer, Steve Bracken, Herve Miguad, Sunil Kadri and Ken Hughes feature of the European seas, having met writing an industry newsletter and sent itwith to allBoze Hancock of the Na: Andrew Balahura ture Conservancy and seen what had been achieved in oyster restoration the state legislators, brought in guest speakers wds wdowds@fi shupdate.com Publisher: Alister Bennett in the Chesapeake Bay. from other states where things were going Fax: +44 (0)well 131 551 who 7901saw e-mail: editor@fi shfarmer-magazine.com Anyone thea recent Blue Planet and where nary negative word wasII film of deep sea Antarctic reefs, and then the eff ects of trawling at depth, may have perceived a .com www.fiheard. shupdate.com Eventually we got some traction and glimmer of what might beEH5 possible if these missing oyster reefs were regulations that were holding back ettes Park, 496fixed Ferrythe Road, Edinburgh 2DL restored to our coastal shelf. industry.’ r’, P.O. Box 1, the Crannog Lane, Lochavullin Industrial Estate, Oban, Argyll, PA34 4HB Henning has been very influential in establishing Marine Protected Are0) 1631 568001This led on to a larger consortium, with a as and also as a member of together OSPAR (the for thefrom Protecti on of top right: number of growers getting at Conventi various onClockwise f world £95 including postage. All Air Mail. the Marine Environment the North-East Atlantic), bothmeeting; of whichoyster; have a ECSGA meetings and the idea ofofestablishing an East ietors Wyvex Coast Media Ltdstatus by Headley Brothers Ltd., Ashford, Kent ISSN 0262-9615 role inShellfish the and wellbeing of nati ve oysters. Dr Robert B Rheault. Growers Association was banHe also organises a triennial meeti ‘Progress in Marine Conservadied about. They had seen how wellng, organised ti on’, and it was back in 2012 for the third of these that he first invited the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association m me to speak oyster reefs at the event Stralsund, north east (PCSGA) hadon become, how effective theyincould Germany. be in meetings with regulators, how they Not long after this heresearch commissioned study of the feasibility focused government dollars atoward of re-establishing populati ons key problems – they wanted that. inWhile the German setting up the ECSGA, Skid continued

to run his own company, farming and marketing oysters trading as Moonstone Oysters working out of Narragansett, Rhode Island, and he is still an adjunct faculty member in the University of Rhode Island’s Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture. He established the East Coast Shellfish Research Institute and has been successful in attracting several

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English ﬁshermen took “something of a beating in

substantial federal research grants to address critical industry research priorities. How has the ECSGA grown and is it still growing? We grow in membership by about 10 to 20 per cent a year and we had a sharp increase this past year, but we still only have a small fraction of the industry as members. Of the estimated 1,300 farms on the East Coast, we only have about 15 per cent. The nature of the industry an area of part-time the North operations Sea that was preis such that many farmersBight, are very small, who home to substanti al populati ons believe of the won’t pay dues. There areviously few large farms, and several of these they don’t need to join anspecies. association. They can hire their own lobbyist. following What are thethe main facing ECSGA?the favourable results from this Below: Visiting siteissues And study (available at htt p://bit.ly/2mZoysrep) We spend a lot of time and energy dealing with shellfish sanitationhe of the Wall (from commissioned Alfred Wegener Insti tute issues. VibrioDonnan parahaemolyticus control the seems to dominate much of to my left), David establish restorati on programme time. areSaville, also trying to rectify the current trade war with the EU so we can (SNH),We Don under the leadership of Bernadett e Pogoda restore some of the lucrative connections we had in EU markets five– Iarfhlaith Connellan Project Restore. years ago. We are trying to get acknowledgement for the ecosystem (Redbank Shellfish) Henning hascredit experience inand the reintroducti services we provide through nutrient trading, we are con-on William Sanderson of water species, havingand setexpand up projects to restore stantly to improve quality harvest areas. (Heriotworking Watt) and the nati ve sturgeon to the rivers of Are there different chapters in the ECSGA or are membersGermany mainly Debra Columbo. where the two native species had been extinct oyster folk? Opposite page - top: (From This work hascent been in progress We Henning representvon about 60 for persome cent years. clam farms, 40 per oyster farms left) for nearly 20 years and after 10 years it was and there isJoanne a nascent mussel industry. Nordheim, nearly abandoned, one species is fully IPreston, have heard you talk at conferences aboutbut thenow importance of lobbyBernadette re-established and the other is making good ing – what do you advise? Pogoda, William It is really important ensure that the regulators don’t put you out of Sanderson, Francis to progress. Aft introductory by Henning, Francis business. youPauline are not involved in the process oftalk writing the regulaKerckhof If and 3er the Kerckhof of the Royal Belgian Insti tute of tions, then theBelow: law of unintended consequences dictates that they will Kamermans. Natural Sciences discussed of native probably you if you don’t protect yourself. You ‘the needhistory to participate Trish Daly,hurt Francis bedsoutreach – ecological declineof in your in the scientific research,oyster the public androle theand education Kerckhof and Lene Europe’. English in ﬁshermen tookthe something of legislators. the growth green jobs, sustainable 08/02/2013 11:24:01 Friis Møller.By demonstrating a beati ng in this talk, but it referred to events seafood production and the ecosystem benefits, we can enlist the helpin the mid-1800s! of politicians when the regulators get crazy, or if we have a need of reGerman science, the other hand, came search dollars. Educating the legislators is a on constant task. There is huge out well about for foresight, with theIfquote fromhave K.A. turnover and they know nothing your industry. you don’t Mobius in 1877: ‘The conservati on of oyster time to do it then you need to pay someone to do it for you. This is why groundsof is trade as much a duty of the state as the busy professionals are members associations. of forests.’ Is export a major interestconservati for youron growers? There followed on current We are experiencing an explosion in the presentati market forons oysters right projects in Europe to provide balance aft er now, so there is not a lot of surplus production to send overseas, but the tale of woe which is eﬀectively the history of the European oyster. It has www.fishfarmer-magazine.com become extinct in so many places where it was once the dominant species - look no further than the Firth of Forth, which

this talk, but it referred to 16events in the mid-1800s

”

06/03/2015 10:29:56

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/12/2017 15:34:28

Going native

at its peak produced estimated harvests of 30 million oysters per year. It was heartening, therefore, that the first of these restoration case studies was from Edinburgh scientist William Sanderson (Heriot Watt University), who talked about the Glen Morangie supported project based on the Dornoch Firth – Dornoch environmental enhancement project, or DEEP (http://bit.ly/DEEPGMfilm). As with all native oyster projects, provision of seed is an issue and they are intending to establish spatting ponds in the area. Joanne Preston (University of Portsmouth) spoke for all of England and Wales, with projects underway in the Solent and Essex and one due to start in Milford Haven in early 2018. The project on the Solent is funded by the Blue Marine Foundation and they also have significant input from the Universities of Southampton and Portsmouth. The Essex project is looking at the traditional oyster fishing grounds of the rivers Blackwater,

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Crouch, Roach and Colne, and is being overseen by the Zoological Society but with help from a number of organisations. Pauline Kamermans (Wageningen Marine Research) spoke of the projects in the Netherlands, where they have already found natural reefs of mixed native and Japanese or gigas oysters. There is a constant undercurrent in the oyster restoration world of the role of the farmed species, but there seems to be an increasing acceptance that gigas can provide a substrate that attracts native oysters. However, gigas will not thrive at depth and Bernadette Pogoda rounded up this tour of Europe with an account of her potentially far reaching project to re-establish the deep reefs of native oyster in the North Sea. A major problem here is what native oyster stocks use to provide seed that it is hoped will become broodstock for future generations. Discussion mainly centred on the parasite

Bonamia ostreae, which has also played a major role in the loss of native oysters - whether stocks should be simply free of the parasite or have some genetic resistance to it and what exactly this entailed. The second day started with views of restoration from outwith Europe and certainly there is a huge amount to learn from the US experience, not least the benefits of substantial financial support from federal and state sources. The meeting then broke into specialist groups covering seed provision, monitoring and genetics, and site location and substrate/reef design. The results from these deliberations will be fed into the declaration that is to be an outcome of the meeting. One of the most heartening features of the meeting were the poster displays prepared by the impressive group of PhD students from a variety of different projects. The posters not only testified to the depth of work that was already going on in the pursuit of native oyster restoration, but the students themselves provided huge encouragement since if there were young people of this calibre getting involved it would seem success is assured – so long as we can manage to get funds for this ongoing work. With a hall full of 66 oyster experts it is difficult to sum up all the arguments, but the unifying aim was the concerted will to restore native oysters to a secure status, whether for their culinary merits, their myriad ecological roles or for a sustainable business. The native oyster could do all this. The intention of the meeting was to draft a declaration entitled ‘Bringing back an ecological key player: principles for native oyster restoration in Europe’. And the newly constituted Native Oyster Restoration Alliance (NORA - named in the closing part of the meeting by popular vote) will be working hard to put the principles into practice. Oyster research: Next page FF

05/12/2017 15:34:50

Research – Oyster restoration

Keystone creatures Project uses novel method to observe larval behaviour

BY ANA RODRIGUEZ PEREZ, MARK JAMES AND WILLIAM SANDERSON

HE European native flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) was once extensive in Europe´s coastline and was an important ecological and economic resource. In the Stone and Iron Age it accounted for up to a third of the food intake of early communities, and in the 13th century it became one of the first commercially operated fisheries. By the 14th century its value had increased so much that it was accepted as a monetary equivalent to pay rent and taxes. At its peak production in the early 19th century, 700 million European oysters were consumed annually in London alone, and 120,000 men were engaged in dredging oysters in Britain. This immense demand for O. edulis, together with increasingly more efficient fishing techniques, led to the decline of the species throughout its distribution range, and by the end of the 19th century native oyster fisheries had collapsed throughout Europe.

Research Oysters.indd 24

Today, Europe’s native oyster beds are considered among the most imperilled marine habitats in the world. Accompanying the loss of the native oyster was the loss of the ecological functions which oysters provide in the marine environment. Their biogenic reef structure offers habitat and protection for other species, which supports high levels of biodiversity. They act as nursery areas for other marine species, some with commercial value, and contribute to coastal protection by stabilising the sediment. Moreover, their filter feeding behaviour can help restore and Above: Larvae as seen through a binocular microscope.Below: Oyster larvae videoed with the USB microscope. Opposite page: European flat oyster underwater; oyster observation chamber (Fig 1).

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05/12/2017 15:32:20

Keystone creatures

maintain good water quality. Through these functions, the native oyster has a disproportionately large effect on the marine environment relative to its abundance, and it has therefore been classified as a keystone species. Because of their ecological value, remaining native oyster beds are now the focus of conservation efforts in Europe. This interest is underpinned by European and national legislation, which aims to maintain and expand the current geographical range and abundance of O. edulis. Specifically, Scotland, England, Germany and the Netherlands are currently aiming to restore the European native oyster for their ecological role in areas protected from the main fishing pressure. This project aims to assist restoration efforts by understanding the dispersal characteristics of the European native oyster larvae. Although the native oyster has received a huge amount of scientific attention, most of the work has focused on biological and abiotic parameters

“

It has a disproportionately large effect on the marine environment relative to its abundance relevant to enhancing fisheries and aquaculture, and little is known on the larval ecology. Larvae can significantly contribute to the intensity and direction of their dispersal by moving vertically in the water column, and thus by being exposed to currents flowing in different directions and at different speeds. Vertical migration of larvae is often based on a combination of responses to different cues, such as food, pressure, temperature, salinity, turbulence and light, which act at different spatial scales and are species specific. Understanding larval responses to such cues is essential for an accurate prediction of larval dispersal, and hence for selecting restoration sites which can promote larval recruitment and connectivity between restored O. edulis beds. In our study we have developed a novel method that allows an accurate observation and quantification of larval behaviour. The method uses a tall vertical aquarium, a laminated grid, a USB microscope connected to a computer and a retort stand to support

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Research Oysters.indd 25

”

the USB microscope (Fig. 1). This method allows us to observe and record vertical distribution and swimming speeds of larvae in response to diﬀerent environmental cues, and at varying ontogenetic life stages. These data will inform the parameterisation of larval movement models which, at a later stage of the project, will be incorporated into hydrodynamic models designed to better predict dispersion in this species. The project is a MASTS studentship, jointly held in Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh and the University of St Andrews, and is supported by Scottish Natural Heritage, the University of St Andrews, the Nesbitt-Cleland Trust (St Abbs Marine Station) and Royal Haskoning DHV. The practical work with Ostrea edulis larvae has been conducted at FAI Ardtoe Marine Laboratory and the Danish Shellﬁsh Centre. Ana Rodriguez Perez 1,2, Mark James1, William Sanderson2 1 University of St Andrews and 2Heriot-Watt University. FF

05/12/2017 15:32:40

Industry platform

BY ALBAN DENTON

Salmon farms’ hidden gems Scotland’s talented workforce is key to developing the industry

COTTISH salmon farming is highly regulated (and rightly so) and is under a continual barrage of criticism and scrutiny from the media and critics. Why would anyone choose to work in an industry with such great pressures? And yet Scottish salmon farms can claim to have some of the most talented, innovative and motivated aquaculture staff in the world. I think this is often a forgotten and hidden aspect of an industry which is so intensely under the microscope.

For example, at Loch Duart, like many of the country’s other salmon farms, we have built up a diverse, passionate and highly skilled team who work brilliantly to address the many challenges faced by farming in often inhospitable conditions. We have employees hailing from countries across the globe, including France, Hungary, Poland and Spain, individuals who have trained in aquaculture and have chosen to work in the Scottish salmon industry. So combined with this influx of new talent, farms across Scotland are also building up and, crucially, retaining experienced and motivated staff. We need this bedrock of know-how, aligned to new and innovative thinking in salmon farming, to enable us to move forward and to innovate. And we are keen to keep growing and diversifying our knowledge and skills, which means trying out new things and bringing in new talent. This year we recruited Patrick Evans as our Scottish food ambassador, a first in the Scottish salmon farming industry. Patrick, with his extensive experience as a chef, will bridge the gap between sales and the culinary community, a hugely important relationship for all Scottish salmon farms. Innovation…a word you often see exchanged in the aquaculture sector, but how are we faring? Well in 2016 alone capital investment in Scottish salmon farming was £63 million, and in the High-

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The “ brilliant

people in aquaculture want to use their skills to make a difference

”

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05/12/2017 15:29:34

Salmon farms’ hidden gems

Above: Skilled team, Loch Duart’s Tony Wall and Sonja Brown. Opposite page: Food ambassador Patrick Evans.

lands it has more than doubled to £29 million – this is to develop new technology and farming systems to meet the needs of modern fish farming.* But how does this transfer to farms across the country? Young salmon in hatcheries have often been observed nipping the fins of other salmon, and fin damage can be an indicator of poor fish welfare. So David Roadknight, our hatchery manager, and his team got together to ask: ‘What causes young salmon to nip fins and how do we stop it?’ Thereby, Loch Duart’s hatchery in Sutherland came up with some brilliant innovative ideas to transform the tank environment and to give the fish a better life while reducing behavioural issues. Material such as tarpaulin, hung in the tank, gives the fish a place to hide, a natural instinct essential to survival for young wild fish, and now they are able to fulfil this. Hiding also gives a measure of protection against ‘bully’ fish – the major biting culprits. In addition to this, lines of brightly coloured balls were hung in the hatchery. The balls provide items for the salmon to ‘play with’ and now the salmon do this, breaking up the swim patterns and enriching the environment. This kind of innovation can only happen by encouraging all staff to pitch in with ideas and potential solutions for issues faced at farms. I‘ve said before that the job of those leading

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Scottish salmon farms is to provide confidence and belief so individuals can go and make success happen. My experience is that many of the brilliant and talented people in aquaculture want to use their talents and skills to make a difference. It has to be one of the industry’s priorities to give their teams the resources to not only do their jobs well, but to innovate, experiment and lead the way in salmon farming globally. Loch Duart is a little jewellery box of a company and inside our company we have lots of little sparkling gems – namely, the massively talented people who work for us. I really believe that the solutions, innovations and experience required to grow and develop Scottish salmon farms, sustainably and in a way that can support the growing demand for this unique, globally popular produce, are already within our teams. So what’s the future looking like for people who want to work in Scottish salmon? During 2016 the overall employment in the salmon farming industry rose 13 per cent from the previous year, and 91 per cent of jobs in salmon farming are now full time*. These are not only impressive statistics, they are tangible evidence of an industry that is making a growing contribution to the skills and wellbeing of the Scottish workforce, often in the more rural areas of Scotland, as most farms are based in the Highlands and islands. There is a great deal of passion among the salmon farming community and I’m keen that the enthusiasm, innovation and resilience of the people who make Scottish salmon Scotland’s number one food export is not underestimated. We love what we do and care greatly about ensuring that Scottish farmed salmon is the best tasting and most in demand in the world. *Scottish Salmon Farming Economic Report 2017 – published by the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation. Alban Denton is managing director of Loch Duart FF

05/12/2017 15:29:55

News focus – Salmon standard

Question of

trust How Scotland’s ﬁsh farmers are seeking common ground with the angling lobby

REVIEW of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council standard for salmon has finished taking submissions from industry and angling interests in Scotland, and possible changes to the criteria are now being considered by the ASC. Only two salmon farms in Scotland are currently ASC certified and the low uptake of the standard is because the production of parr/smolt in freshwater lochs – a common practice in Scottish farms- precludes certification. The purpose of the review is to address this obstacle so that more farms can adopt the standard, which is seen as a means of making the industry more sustainable and accountable – key considerations if it is to meet its own growth targets. The ASC has recognised that although the standards are supposed to be global, some of its indicators do not work across all jurisdictions. The review has been taking place against the backdrop of high level meetings between key players in the salmon sector, the angling lobby and Prince Charles’s International Sustainability Unit (ISU). Charles, who is patron of the Atlantic Salmon Trust and a lifelong champion of the wild salmon sector, has taken an interest in farmed and wild fish interactions following his visit to Marine Harvest’s

Left: Greater transparency.

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ASC certified Loch Leven site in October last year (as featured in Fish Farmer, November 2016). The decline in salmon and sea trout stocks in some Scottish river systems has been attributed, by wild fisheries groups, to salmon farms and this initial meeting aimed at building better relations between the two sectors. The dialogue has been continuing since then, with several meetings between Marine Harvest, the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation (SSPO), Fisheries Management Scotland (FMS), the Atlantic Salmon Trust (ATS), Marine Scotland, the ASC and Sainsbury’s. At the most recent meeting, in Clarence House in November, the two sides had what were described as harmonious talks. And at an ASC workshop in Inverness in September, it was acknowledged that there was a need to build trust and demonstrate positive outcomes to help overcome the long history of mistrust. Scott Landsburgh, chief executive of the SSPO, said: ‘We’re genuinely concerned about the wild fish population and the reclassification of Scottish rivers, which is a great concern to all of us as it should be – there’s something to Scotland’s heritage here that we all have a responsibility to fix.’ Ben Hadfield, managing director of Marine Harvest Scotland, told the Inverness workshop that his company wanted to operate in a more transparent manner and viewed ASC certification as a vehicle to demonstrate a different sort of behaviour. On a local level, there has been long running cooperation between several west coast fisheries boards and salmon farmers. Jon Gibb, fishery manager on the River Lochy and director of the Lochaber DSFB, wrote in the July 2017 issue of Fish Farmer that collaboration with farmers had ‘shaped the ongoing recovery on rivers like the Lochy’. And he applauded the ‘new and important’ ini-

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05/12/2017 15:28:08

Question of trust

‘We will contribute more financially, technically and politically’ THE ASC workshop in Inverness in September between Marine Harvest, the SSPO and various angling bodies produced the following commitment from Marine Harvest: • The whole industry led by Marine Harvest and the SSPO will become more transparent; • It will acknowledge uncontrolled sea lice levels as a hazard to post smolt mortality; • It will contribute more financially, technically and politically; • We will seek to work with FMS as a professional industry, confident in our product, use of the environment and conscious about reducing the risk our operations may pose to sensitive species and habitats; • We will resource measures to further control lice and work with you [the angling lobby] to enhance and safeguard wild salmon/sea trout populations; • We will defend our business and product against unfounded criticism; • We will fund and seek partners that can reduce wild fish decline; • We will be confident and professionally critical of your organisations when we feel the fish are not getting their share of the deal. tiative involving Prince Charles, saying the ‘alternative is polarisation, secrecy and misunderstanding’. ‘It’s early days but it’s very encouraging to see that our experience of partnership working is now being reflected at the very highest level. The ASC standards offer a framework we can all get behind and work together towards a genuinely sustainable future.’ However, there are still vociferous opponents to aquaculture within the angling community, most notably Salmon and Trout Conservation Scotland. This group has largely driven the salmon farming industry’s bad press, which appears to have escalated in the past year, even while the ISU negotiations have been progressing. In a recent post on its website, the lobby group even questioned the rural employment offered by fish farms, saying that the angling sector supported ‘local communities and their economies with genuine jobs for local people – something the fish farmers boast about at the moment, but research suggests that salmon farming employees have a more widespread European component to them’. In their joint submission to the ASC review in October, Fisheries Management Scotland and the Atlantic Salmon Trust said they ‘strongly supported the inclusion of Indicator 8.24 [prohibiting the production or holding of smolt in net pens in water bodies with native salmonids] in version 1.0 of the ASC Salmon Standard, on the basis that freshwater escapes in water bodies with native salmonids carry unacceptable environmental risk’. ‘The proposal to lift the prohibition on production of smolts in areas of freshwater containing wild salmonids is of concern to many fisheries managers in Scotland.’ Scottish salmon farmers argue that if freshwater loch rearing is acceptable for trout then it should also be for salmon smolts. They also maintain that since the salmon standard was first mooted, the industry has moved on. Technological advances have resulted in fewer escapes, a major grievance among anglers, and environmental credentials have improved. Marine Harvest has pledged that by 2020 all its farms will be ASC approved, but no other Scottish producers have made such a commitment. FF Don’t pay for détente - Nick Joy: Page 66

We’re genuinely concerned “ about the wild ﬁsh population ” www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

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Modiﬁcation of the ASC standards for salmon smolt production

THE proposals for modifications to the ASC salmon and trout standards are currently out for consultation (the first draft consultation closed on October 21, 2017). This would represent a move from no allowance for producing or holding smolts in net pens in water bodies with native salmonids to allowing smolts to be raised in cages in any water body, as long as the smolt site is certified to the ASC Freshwater Trout Standard. Associated changes to the trout standard for salmon smolts include: • A genetic baseline must be established for local wild salmon and this should be monitored appropriately to demonstrably ensure there is no (further) introgression; • Appropriate monitoring of wild salmon stocks must be undertaken in collaboration with the local wild fishery organisation(s); • Ongoing wild salmon sampling must be undertaken to confirm that any introgression detected is historic; • Underwater cameras must be used during feeding periods to minimise the risk of waste feed from the pens; • Farms must have a minimum fallow period of eight weeks; • A new requirement for a containment plan under Appendix IV.

SEAFOOD LOGISTICS SOLUTIONS Fresh thinking inside the box

DFDS.COM DFDS Logistics T: 01698 552500

05/12/2017 15:28:26

News focus – Land based farming

Shore thing? Salmon RAS farmers hold on to hope despite latest failure of closed containment

ROWING salmon on land instead of in open sea pens would be the solution to all the industry’s problems, if anti-aquaculture campaigners are to be believed. Of course, as with any farming system, the development of alternative methods of production is complicated. The salmon industry has invested heavily in land based smolt units, aiming to grow their fish to a larger size before transferring them to sea. But attempts to farm salmon profitably to harvest size on land have so far been unsuccessful. As Fish Farmer’s sister site, Fish Update, reported last month, the latest initiative to create an entirely land based operation failed, with the loss of all fish. The team behind the land based salmon farm in Machrihanish on Scotland’s west coast remain confident in their technology, however. Arve Gravdal, of the Norwegian company Niri, said they had ‘met the milestones technology wise’ in Scotland but a problem with water contamination had forced them to close down the farm a few months ago. Nevertheless, plans are already afoot, with new funding, to continue the project, both in Norway and in Scotland. ‘We stopped the project a little bit before we should. But the big picture is we met the milestones on the project there,’ said Gravdal in early November. ‘We took out the fish a couple of months ago. The fish were market size, and we took them out and froze down the lot but we stopped the project there.’ It appears that chemicals got into the water supply of the recirculation system during the repair of the main water inlet, which had broken. Gravdal said several of the fish were around 4-5kg, and agreed this was a disaster for the pilot farm. A year ago, some 26,000 smolts had been stocked in the 1,600 cubic metre tank, housed in a hangar at the former Nato air base in Machrihanish, near Campbeltown. Niri claimed its system was unique and could be rolled out on an industrial scale around the world. Gravdal, who spoke at an RAS seminar at Aquaculture Europe in Edinburgh last year, remains committed to land based salmon farming. He told a Radio 4 programme, broadcast on October 24 but recorded earlier, that the aim was to produce 40,000 tonnes ‘when the technology kicks in’. Gravdal takes heart from the fact that the new Norwegian backers saw the ‘very nice’ Niri fish and have decided to invest regardless of the outcome of the Scottish pilot. ‘Despite what happened, they are investing significantly in Norway now with the same technology.’ A Danish engineering company is also involved in taking the project forward, and there is academic collaboration with the University of the West of Scotland and Queen’s University in Belfast. ‘We are working on the project, and the engineering template we have we can use in Scotland too so there will be a solution over there.’ Gravdal, now based in Maloy, north of Bergen, believes the new template, with improved hydraulics, could be brought back to Scotland as early as next year.

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We “ stopped

the project a little bit before we should

”

Above: Arve Gravdal at the Niri farm before it closed.

Asked if he was confident he could make it work next time, he said: ‘It does work now; we’re going commercial full-time, big time, both in Norway and in Scotland. We are confident and so are the financial backers.’ The episode at Machrihanish has not deterred another company, FishFrom, which plans to construct what it describes at the world’s largest onshore salmon farm in the west of Scotland. Work started on the closed containment farm in Tayinloan on the Kintyre peninsula in October (Fish Farmer, November 2017) after the Perthshire based company won planning approval in 2013. It is believed that the intervening years have been spent trying to raise funds for the project, but in February this year an application to renew planning permission was granted and a building standards warrant is in place. Perhaps the leading pioneers in this field, though, are the Danes. Danish Salmon reported its first positive EBITA (earnings before interest, tax and amortisation) in November and aims to increase production in its 6,000 square metre farm in Hirtshals. ‘In 2017 we will harvest about 800 tonnes of live weight. By 2018 we aim for 900-1,000 tonnes of live weight. In 2019 we are planning expansion, but the production plan for this has not yet been established,’ the company’s director Kim Hieronymus Nielsen told iLaks. He said the company had gone through ‘a trial and error process, with many improvement measures, both investment and management’. ‘We reported a loss of operating profit (EBIT) in 2015 of 28.8 million Danish kroner, in 2016 of 10.7 million Danish kroner. In 2017, we also expect negative EBIT, but not the same order of magnitude.’ Another Danish company, Langsand Laks,

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/12/2017 15:26:36

Shore thing?

Fish out of ocean water dash expectations in BC

fared less well this year, losing a quarter of its annual production after 250,000 kg of its fish died in June. The company, owned by Atlantic Sapphire and located in the west Jutland town of Hvide Sande, said at the time the most likely cause of the ‘sudden and unexpected’ deaths was contamination, not illness or technical failure. The company was forced to halt production between 2014 and 2015 due to technical problems, and in 2016 it reported a net loss of $1.3 million, down from a $2.4 million loss the previous year. The company is a subsidiary of Atlantic Sapphire, which has ambitious plans to farm enough salmon on land in Florida to supply the salmon demand for the entire United States. Johan Andreassen, the founder of Langsand Laks and Atlantic Sapphire, said an 80-acre farm, currently under construction in Miami, has the largest groundwater levels in the world. Both freshwater and saltwater can be easily pulled from multiple layers underground, with 50-foot wells for freshwater, a 2,000-foot well for saline water, and a 3,000-foot injection well, he told Salmon Business. The ground itself is made of ‘hard shells’ that stops water from migrating up or down. The company claims that it will be able to produce 1,000 tonnes of salmon per acre. Total US demand for Atlantic salmon is 400,000 tonnes, so the whole country could be fed with less than 500 acres of farmland. Atlantic Sapphire will be importing salmon roe from Iceland to Miami to seed the farm, with the first eggs to be installed in less than a year and the first harvest in less than three years. The total first phase cost is reportedly $110 million with 8,500 tonne production capacity. The third phase production capacity is expected to be 90,000 tonnes.. FF

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T might be possible to raise salmon in land based closed containment ponds and make a profit some day, but that day is still a long way off, wrote Nelson Bennett in Business Vancouver last month. And even if it does become economically viable, land based aquaculture might be like organic farming: an option for consumers willing to pay a premium, but which can’t replace ocean based salmon farming. That’s not just the conclusion reached by the British Columbia Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA), it’s also the opinion of a Nanaimo businessman who owns a land based fish farm. Bennett spoke to Steve Atkinson, president of Taste of BC Aquafarms in Nanaimo, which raises steelhead at its Little Cedar Falls fish farm. He said: ‘There’s nobody yet that’s made money, including us. ‘As far as transferring the net cage industry into land based operations, we’re years away, and probably it is not even a viable goal.’ The International Salmon Farmers Association (ISFA) agrees, concluding in a recent study that land based salmon farming is fine for raising smolts, but faces serious financial and technological limitations when it comes to raising salmon to maturity. Atkinson said, in a letter to the Nanaimo News Bulletin, that the wholesale removal of salmon farms from the water and on to the land is not viable. ‘While there is a common perception that the technology currently exists to take the salmon farms out of the ocean and move them on land, it simply is not so. ‘Atlantic salmon, which is the most cultured salmon, has simply not been successfully raised at commercial scale on land at a profit anywhere, other than at hatchery stage. ‘Land based salmon farming does have a future in BC, and our

farm is showing that. But I see land based salmon farming as a complement to ocean farming, not a replacement.’ There have been many failed attempts to grow either Pacific or Atlantic salmon in land based recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) in BC over the past 20 years. The success of the Canadian company Kuterra, owned by the Namgis First Nation, is attributed to generous subsidies from government and non-profit organisations. The Namgis started farming salmon at a site in Port McNeill in March 2013 and began selling its fish one year later. But in June this year, the Namgis put the facility up for sale. BCSFA director Brad Hicks did a financial analysis of Kuterra last year that concluded it is seven times more expensive than ocean based salmon farming. ‘They don’t believe in it, from a business perspective. If nobody that’s that close to it will put any money into it, that’s the biggest sign it’s not viable,’ he told Business Vancouver. But Namgis Chief Don Svanvik said it’s not that the Namgis don’t believe in the project, it just needs to scale up to become profitable, although they can’t afford to keep subsidising the operation. The project’s original capital cost was $8.8 million. It ended up costing $10 million, Kuterra chairman Eric Hobson confirmed. When operating costs are added, he said the total investment in the project so far is about $15 million, around half of

which was covered by Canadian taxpayers. Regardless of evidence to the contrary, BC premier John Horgan pointed to Kuterra as an example of the future of fish farming in BC. Last month, while defending his minister of agriculture’s threats to shut down a Marine Harvest salmon farm due to First Nation opposition, Horgan said: ‘The facility has proven itself to be effective. You can grow fish on land, you can market them and they’re taken up by the market because they say ‘closed containment.’ There’s a bigger appetite for closed-containment Atlantic salmon than there is for open-net fish.’ But that fails to explain why shops in BC sell farmed salmon from open net pens, while West Creek Aquaculture can’t find buyers in BC for its land reared coho and sockeye. ‘We sell all of our coho everywhere outside of BC,’ Don Reed of Willowfield Enterprises, which owns West Creek Aquaculture, told Business Vancouver. ‘No one in BC will buy our fish because it’s farmed fish. Our inability to sell our land based salmon is directly related to the campaign against farmed salmon.’ Brad Hicks said some of the advocates of land based fish farms are independently wealthy philanthropists who have not put any of their money into the project. ‘You can’t have an industry that’s dependent on government largesse.’

05/12/2017 15:27:12

Future forecasts

BY VINCE MCDONAGH

Target

practice Is five million tonnes of salmon by 2050 a feat too far for Norway?

T is an ambitious target even for an industry that has witnessed spectacular growth over the past 40 years. The Norwegian government has set a goal of producing five million tonnes of sustainable aquaculture- most of which will be salmon- between now and 2050, four times the size of current production. When the announcement was made a few months ago it created considerable excitement, but now there is a major debate within the industry and the country over whether such a feat is achievable. The Norwegian office of the international services consultancy PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) has just published the first in a series of seafood barometer reports on the future of fish farming, which casts doubt on this figure. Only one in three industry leaders believe such a target can be achieved, while PwC thinks 3.3 million tonnes (still a sizeable increase) might be more realistic. Norway, with a population of just over five million people, is blessed with enviable natural resources. It has some of the largest oil and natural gas reserves and richest fishing grounds in the northern hemisphere, and it is the world’s largest producer of farmed salmon. Oslo sees seafood as a better long term bet than its oil reserves, which will run out some time in the future, while conventional fishing will always be restricted by quotas and the state of fish stocks - hence the drive for dramatic growth in aquaculture.

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Hallvard Aarø, a partner with PwC Norway, said the five million tonne goal was frequently repeated by politicians and asks: Is this goal realistic and, if it is, how do we get there? ‘Our purpose with the seafood barometer is to highlight different topics we believe will impact the seafood industry. In future issues we will also raise some new points of discussion, based on our knowledge about the industry. ‘The aquaculture industry is currently receiving a lot of attention, and expectations, in terms of future growth and its importance for Norway. ‘However, there have been few realistic prognoses of how much the industry is able to grow,’ said Aarø, adding that PwC welcomes comment and input. The report states: ‘The Norwegian government’s goal for the future is ambitious- becoming the world’s leading seafood nation, with five million tonnes of sustainable aquaculture production in 2050. ‘This is almost four times the level of the current production. However, the decade long rapid growth that has affected the aquaculture industry has been put to a halt. The industry is now facing challenges like limited access to new areas, biological problems and decreased utilisation. ‘Production volume has stagnated at 2012 levels, while production costs keep increasing. So, in order to reach the goal of five million tonnes by 2050, the industry have some challenges that need to be addressed. ‘Two of the main challenges for increased production that the aquaculture industry needs to solve

are salmon lice and increased feed usage.’ It suggests that many trends may impact the industry and growth potential. Climate change and future government demands related to sustainability may challenge the industry, especially if the government enforced regulations that were costly and biologically problematic. However, if the industry acted proactively it may seize opportunities. Further, the industry needs to adapt to social and demographic changes that impact on it, through changes in demand, export markets and access to manpower. ‘Also, new technology is becoming more commercially viable, as costs and time to market is falling rapidly,’ the report said. ‘Accelerating technological development will enable the aquaculture industry to use artificial intelligence and ‘big data’ models as grounds for decision making and optimisation of the production. ‘Further, increased automation, combined with machine learning and artificial intelligence, will reduce the need for local on-site manpower- which is considered to be a challenge in times of increased urbanisation.’ PwC says the government has considerable influence on sustainable growth, particularly through the initiative known as the traffic light system, which decides on future development areas. The red areas are a no-go, orange allow development under certain conditions, and green permit development, although not entirely free of restrictions. The traffic light system regulates sustainable

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05/12/2017 15:24:16

Target practice

growth, based on environmental indicators, where the growth indicator (the current indicator is salmon lice) may change as challenges dominating the industry change. The report continues: ‘The development licences are used as incentives for innovative projects. Still, the evaluation method currently used runs the risk of rewarding the projects with the highest investment costs and the most innovative solution. This as opposed to rewarding the solutions that may help solve the challenges in a more cost effective way.’ PwC has also looked at the impact of new technologies on four production methods: traditional open net pens, but also new solutions with closed and semi closed systems, offshore aquaculture and recirculation aquaculture systems (RAS). It says: ‘There is a lot of uncertainty regarding cost levels of the new technologies, which are in an R&D stage and involve high investments. Today, open net pen farming is the most cost efficient, both when it comes to operating costs and investment costs. ‘Currently, it is the preferred solution of the four concepts and the only commercially proven method. Still, the new technologies offer new possibilities. Offshore aquaculture opens up a plethora of new farming locations. Closed and semi-clsoed systems and RAS provide potential solutions to salmon escapes, lice and nutrient discharge. ‘Also, RAS production can be performed anywhere, and is not in need of access to public space. Fish can be produced near end markets, which eliminate air freight, but it may also remove the competitive advantage of production in Norwegian fjords.’ PwC said it had looked at possible production scenarios for Norwegian aquaculture, one optimistic, one base case and one pessimistic analysis.

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‘PwC believes in significant volume growth towards 2050. However, our base case only suggests 3.3 million tonnes in 2050. In our most optimistic scenario, it is possible to reach 5.2 million tonnes. Also, our pessimistic scenario indicates growth, but from 1.3 million tonnes to 1.7 million tonnes in 2050.‘ It says the uncertainty is high and growth depends on many variables. The success of new production technologies, such as closed cages and offshore farming, will be crucial. And so will cost efficiencies, government initiatives, and the development of current and rising challenges. Development in lice levels, hence future traffic light indicators, must be positive. ‘We believe that the traffic light system will provide growth on current licences.’ PwC says it expected new licences on land using RAS for post smolt, and in sea using new farming technology. The base case scenario assumes main growth from the traffic light system, at approximately 50 per cent green lights. The optimistic scenario assumes that the main growth drivers are both the traffic light system, with almost 100 per cent green lights, and RAS production of post smolt with an average weight of 1kg in 2050. Both scenarios assume growth from improved operations and new licences, mainly from offshore and closed sea based systems, though at higher rates in the optimistic scenario. Also, both scenarios assume a shift towards the use of closed and semi closed systems as the main production method, both within new and current production capacity. The report concludes that most leaders surveyed think the industry will ‘probably use closed facilities at sea’. More than half of the fish farms will be offshore, or in closed offshore or offshore installations by 2050, the industry itself believes. Norway’s leading research organisation, Sintef, believes the five million tonne target is realistic and should be achieved by 2050. Sintef researcher Karl A. Almås has been telling the Norwegian press that by adopting new technologies and with the right political will and guidance it can be done. He agreed that previous targets may have fallen short, but added that with more land based farms and successfully tackling the sea lice problem: ‘I still think it’s possible to reach the goal.’ FF

There “ have been

few realistic prognoses of how much the industry is able to grow

”

Above: Growth depends on many variables

05/12/2017 15:24:34

Transport – DFDS Logistics

run The salmon

Behind the scenes at ﬁsh farming’s most important seafood hub

EARLY all Scotland’s farmed salmon production will at some point pass through a suite of vast warehouses tucked away on an industrial estate off the M74, but you could spend the day there and never see a fish. The logistics division of DFDS may be far removed from the coast and the actual business of fish farming, but the role it plays in the industry is crucial. Between 3,000 and 4,000 tonnes of fish per week is transported to and despatched from the company’s site at Larkhall in Lanarkshire, the bulk coming in pristine polystyrene boxes bearing the names of Scotland’s salmon companies. The total includes white fish and shellfish but it is mostly salmon, from every Scottish producer, that keeps the depot operating at maximum capacity. Up to 100 trunk movements a day bring lorries in from Marine Harvest in Fort William, Scottish Sea Farms in South Shian, the Scottish Salmon Company in Cairndow, and from further afield, with the Shetland salmon arriving in the afternoon, weather permitting. Danish owned DFDS has over the years bought up several smaller hauliers to form a giant seafood transport hub that services the UK and conti-

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Everyone “is predicti ng that 2019 will be a big year so we want to be ready for that

”

nent, and Heathrow for the growing tonnage of air freight, with the site at Larkhall, which is conveniently located next to the motorway, the headquarters of a nationwide network of distribution centres. Andrew Kirk, commercial director at DFDS Larkhall and formerly operations director at Quayside, which was taken over by DFDS in 2014, said the depot would need to be extended to keep pace with future growth in the industry. ‘Although 2018 might not see a big increase in volume, everyone is predicting that 2019 will be a big year so we want to be ready for that and we could start construction next summer. ‘We think we will be approaching about 200,000 tonnes in total volume by 2020, mostly but not just salmon, so we need a bit more space than we have just now.’ DFDS has already secured planning permission and the board has set aside the money. It is just two years since the last expansion, which added 27,000 sq ft, to bring the total to 77,000 sq ft, which includes four chill areas and a 1,400 pallet cold store, as well as offices. The next phase will provide another 20,000 sq ft, creating a facility of almost 100,000 sq ft with 37 loading docks. ‘The Scottish salmon production figure is pretty much what comes through here,’ said Kirk, who has worked in the industry for 20 years. He said he believes if the industry gets its health issues under ‘regular, consistent control, and they all do it at the same time, then we’ll see a big step up production wise…because the demand is there’. DFDS Larkhall managing director Robert Murdoch said the Larkhall site was established in 1999 by Norfolk Line, whose managing director was a Scotsman. ‘He had the foresight to build this warehouse down here to service the salmon industry. He was involved in cold stores, frozen product, and he wanted to get into something on the fresh side. He saw where the future was going and we’ve never stopped.’ Norfolk Line was acquired by DFDS in 2010 in a fairly seamless transition, with most of the staff now employed by the new owners, said Murdoch, who is from Uist and was a Norfolk Line man. He started in the industry with Caledonian MacBrayne, moving the first farmed salmon for McConnell (later Marine Harvest) in the Western Isles. These days about 14 to 16 loads arrive daily from the Marine Harvest plant in Fort William, heads on gutted, the bulk of which will be sent on to the company’s Rosyth factory for processing. To manage the volume, there is a dedicated DFDS team in Fort William – eight chill staff, four office staff and a complement of about 12 full-time drivers and several part-time who help out at weekends. When Rosyth was first operational, Marine Harvest’s salmon was handled by DFDS through its Grimsby depot, but Kirk said it made more sense to utilise the facilities at Larkhall rather than send fish from Fort William to Grimsby and back to Rosyth, reducing mileage and also increasing flexibility. So in conjunc-

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/12/2017 16:00:00

The salmon run tion with Marine Harvest, the volumes from Fort William were fully transferred to Larkhall in May 2016. The retailers, such as Sainsbury’s, then tend to do the deliveries from the processor. The salmon that arrives from the farms is too fresh to go straight for processing so is held at Larkhall until ready. ‘You need a place like this to hold the fish,’ said Kirk. ‘It needs two or three days to go through rigor and they can’t just take it as it comes out of the factory.’ Salmon can sit for three or four days but white fish needs to go out straight away, and smaller DFDS sites in Aberdeen and Grimsby collect it and deliver it the next day. Murdoch explains: ‘We send seven lorries from here to Aberdeen every day and they load the fish. Some go to the continent so the fish stays on the trucks; for the UK, the lorries come in here about four or five o’clock and the fish gets taken off, sorted and put in other lorries. ‘You don’t need premises like Larkhall in Grimsby and Aberdeen. There’s a very small chill in Aberdeen and some salmon goes back there, but apart from that there’s no need for any massive facility in Aberdeen.’ And they have ‘quite a decent size’ frozen site and a fresh site at Grimsby, which is on Grimsby market. But salmon is the mainstay and Larkhall’s 100 staff receive daily consignments, not just from Fort William, but from the other farmers along the west coast, and six to eight trucks a day from Shetland. The fish can be dispatched to DFDS sites throughout the UK, or to Boulogne sur Mer for the continental market, or to Heathrow, which is the air freight hub for about 90 per cent of the export trade. ‘China, the US and Japan are the main markets for air freight,’ said Kirk. ‘The bigger the salmon get, the further away they go- six kilos plus. We take that to Heathrow. When it’s really busy we may see other provincial airports being used - for example, Glasgow or Edinburgh. ‘Space on planes is getting harder to get because there are more products, not just fish, but perishables generally that are being flown; people are prepared to pay a bit more to get things faster. Still, probably the biggest volume of perishable exports by plane from the UK is salmon.’ At Heathrow the seafood cargo is handled by several different carriers. There has been talk in the past of developing airports closer to home for the salmon air freight- Prestwick, for example. However, the volumes need to be quite big to make this justifiable, as all of the Scottish produced salmon is being shipped in the underbelly of passenger planes rather than freighters – ‘maybe something to look at again in a few years though’, said Kirk. He and Murdoch agree that the market is very changeable. If overseas customers want big fish they will go to Norway if Scotland can’t supply it. And much of the salmon is contracted so the suppliers have to honour those contracts first. The big open plan office at Larkhall is the nerve centre, said Kirk. Different teams deal with UK or export customers and relay their bookings to a central transport desk. This is the all-important traffic

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control, dictating the day’s truck movements. The lorries don’t only deliver boxes of fish to their destinations, there are backloads to pick up, too. After having been thoroughly washed out, DFDS reload from Belgium, northern France, south-east England and the Midlands, bringing all kinds of temperature controlled loads back up to Scotland. The transport team coordinates all these movements, while another team in the office handles proof of delivery. On the Tuesday afternoon Fish Farmer visited, the office was in full swing, following the lunchtime arrival of the Shetland lorries, predicated by the ferry crossings, and the continuous arrival of fish from Fort William, South Shian and Cairndow. Export manager David Cranston, who has been with the company for 17 years, said the level of export activity was ‘very busy’ that day, with 22 loads expected in total. A morning meeting is held with all departments, including representatives (via conference call) from Aberdeen and Boulogne sur Mer. The staff take it in turns to chair these sessions, which discuss the previous night’s deliveries, iron out any problems and look at how to tighten up procedures where necessary. DFDS staff are appointed account managers for each of the major companies and can access their sales systems, said Kirk. ‘The main salmon companies have their own sales order processing systems to which we have access, so when salmon is sold from stock held here we can see it on their system, scan it and confirm despatch – that’s why all salmon boxes have bar codes on them.’ Frozen storage is also offered at Larkhall - ‘it complements many of our customers’ activities having the ability to hold frozen,’ said Murdoch. ‘It helps meet demand at peak times of the year, such as Christmas and Easter, depending on products.’ Among the services offered by DFDS at Larkhall are cross-docking – when fish comes in off one truck and is loaded on to another truck; trans-shipping; order picking – if a company has stock, the DFDS team pick it for them; labelling (for promotions and so on); inventory control; groupage- some of the trucks going from Larkhall, to Billingsgate for example, will have many different customers’ fish on board, all with a few boxes each; or DFDS can do full loads from Larkhall to, say, Poland for one company. A full load of salmon would be 17.5 tonnes. It’s a 24-hour, seven days a week operation – the site shuts on Christmas day and New Year’s day only, loading trucks on December 24 for delivery on the

Opposite page: DFDS Larkhall commercial director Andrew Kirk. Above: One of the trucks bearing the new DFDS logo.

05/12/2017 16:02:20

Transport – DFDS Logistics 26th. In France the 26th is not a holiday so they expect deliveries. ‘We try and shut on January 1 but if the weather turns bad and the Shetland boat is delayed we might have to open,’ said Kirk. ‘We’ve given up having January 2 off.’ Unlike the white fish industry, which shuts down completely for two weeks, the salmon guys, said Murdoch, will stop on Christmas Eve and will work maybe two days during the Christmas week – ‘a lot of them have to service contracts’. The busiest times of the year for DFDS are driven not by seasonal market demand, though, but by harvesting, and that’s driven by the growth rate and general health of the salmon. ‘A few years ago I’d say Christmas was our peak and Easter but the first six months of this year we had some weeks that were busier than Christmas,’ said Murdoch. ‘It depends on when the fish come out of the water. ‘Christmas two years ago there was a very bad week of weather in the isles so in one week we had practically no fish and in the second week we had double the amount we normally get, and that meant double the amount of lorries and that gave us a real challenge.’ Both men have seen a lot of changes – Murdoch remembers taking fish to London on flat bed lorries with no refrigeration. At the beginning of his career he worked from a Portacabin in Glasgow’s Blochairn market: ‘We had no IT systems, mobile phones and emails did not exist, even quality management systems hadn’t been rolled out. Now we have become digitally dependent and conform to the highest quality standards set by the retail industry.’ But while the industry has changed, many of the staff unloading the trucks, allocating the fish, and building the pallets up have remained the same for 25 years. ‘It’s an industry that you either like or you don’t; there’s no in between,’ said Murdoch. ‘We’ve had workers who’ve gone for their tea break on the first day and not come back. But some have been here as long as I have.’ FF

Probably the biggest “volume of perishable

exports by plane from the UK is salmon

Keeping pace with future growth A TOUR of the DFDS warehouses quickly conﬁrms that salmon from all Scotland’s producers is handled in Larkhall. Each company has its own area of the depot, with pallets piled high, waiting to be dispatched to their next destination. There are also boxes of sea bass from Turkey and salmon from Leroy in Norway, among all the Scottish names. Larkhall is very much a hub for the seafood trade; the sea bass would have come by truck via Boulogne sur Mer and then sold from Larkhall for redistribution. Norwegian

DFDS.indd 36

fish often comes through the centre. The newest chamber is vast (and cold, about 2 degrees C, said Andrew Kirk) and wall to wall with Marine Harvest boxes. The newest extension in the Larkhall operation is ideally suited to handle the tonnage from Marine Harvest, from where a significant volume of salmon is sent to the company’s value added processing facility in Rosyth. Along with the boxes there are also large bins, supplied by PSS. These are made from corrugated plastic and the fish are kept in plastic bags inside. Each bin holds the equivalent of 12 boxes so just two bins have the capacity of a whole pallet of 24 boxes. Rosyth much prefers the bins, said Kirk, as they just have to cut open two plastic bags rather than 24 separate boxes. A trailer can carry 52 bins. Every box is scanned, by hand

”

Above: Andrew Kirk with a plastic ﬁsh bin. Below: The new warehouse space.

held scanners, to provide full traceability. This means that warehouse staff can easily locate a specific box if needed. The days are gone, said Kirk, when consignments were logged on paper and the warehouseman would be in the chill room at three in the morning trying to locate one box. Not only does each salmon company have a section of the warehouse, each also has a team designated to handle its deliveries. One member of the team sits in a (warm) office off the main chill area, in front of a computer screen, where the journey of every box of salmon can be tracked. Francis Dickson, who is in the Marine Harvest team, said there are no quiet times. Fort William is sending out fish seven days a week which means DFDS people work ‘a lot of Sundays’. The trucks, according to a white board, have been arriving that day since 1.30pm from Marine Harvest and will continue until midnight, with 12 in all. Drivers will arrive from Fort William, then reload with fish ready for processing and drive on to Rosyth, eventually returning to Fort William with the empty bins. It takes about 20 minutes to empty one truck, said Kirk. Truck capacity is the biggest limiting factor in the business.

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/12/2017 16:02:40

The salmon run

The long haul Shortage of drivers, roadworks and Brexit – just some of the headaches for Larkhall team

At this “ time of year

FDS Logistics owns about 4,000 trailers but many travel under a different name because the company has a policy of only changing the logos when it’s time to replace the lorries. There can be as many as 150 trucks on the go at a time- leaving Larkhall to go out, trucks sitting taking time off, and trucks that are back loading. The location is ideal, just off the motorway and south of Glasgow so away from the traffic build up – it’s vital when you’re going to somewhere like Boulogne that you don’t get held up in the first few miles of your journey, said Robert Murdoch. But roadworks, naturally, are the bane of the professional driver’s life and at night, when most of the driving takes place, there are roadworks virtually across the whole of the UK. ‘For our guys it’s a nightmare. It used to be if they were working on the M1 they’d leave the M6 alone but now they’re doing the A1, M1 and M6.’ Another more serious problem is the shortage of drivers, not just for DFDS but in the haulage sector generally. ‘There’s a huge driver shortage,’ said Murdoch, ‘and this is putting increasing pressure on our pool of drivers and subcontractors. We have to find agreeable working conditions and payment terms to ensure we can maintain our service at all times. ‘Although we do operate our trucks from Larkhall, we mainly use sub-contractors for trucking. Partly

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because it’s the way it’s always worked and partly because it’s a better way of managing the ups and downs. You can be very busy one week and quiet the next, with weather related issues. To hold your own fleet does not provide the same level of flexibility. ‘This is pretty much a night time trunking operation so we find it easier – we have a good relationship with the contractors based here – but we’re seeing the need to increase a little bit the number of our own trucks because we’re bringing in more fish ourselves. ‘At the weekends you can have a lorry park full of sub-contractors who can’t find drivers because their own drivers have run out of their legal driving time. ‘The average age of a driver is 56 and there are not a lot of young people coming into the industry. They don’t want to be away from home for two or three nights driving. There was a haulier company advertising in the Bellshill paper in the last couple of weeks for drivers at £950 a week.’ The driver shortage issue is a problem throughout the industry, said Kirk. ‘It’s not just us but we’re part of it and probably one of the least attractive parts of it. There’s a big shortage of HGV drivers everywhere. ‘At the end of the day we’re moving wet fish around and quite a lot of the job involves getting in the back of the trailer to move the pallets around,’ said Kirk. ‘Not everyone wants to do that. They can pick and choose what they want to do – but this time of year it’s a major problem when we’re competing with all the big parcel carriers and the supermarkets.’ He said there was a supply of eastern Europeans, with a lot of agencies in Poland and Bulgaria. DFDS set up accommodation for drivers, and made it easy for them to settle in. But with Brexit and the fact that their economies are getting stronger, they are going back. As Murdoch said: ‘One of the biggest eastern European hauliers was employing Philippine drivers because the eastern Europeans were getting too expensive.’

it’s a major problem when we’re competing with all the big parcel carriers and the supermarkets

”

Above: Busy time of year

05/12/2017 16:03:04

Transport – DFDS Logistics

The company has more of its own trucks on the Grimsby site, partly because of the work it does with Morrisons, whose regional distribution centres are supplied using DFDS trucks. And there are some skeletal trailers, too, that take containers, mostly from Immingham, near Grimsby. These bring Faroese and Icelandic fish in once a week – white fish and salmon. ‘It leaves the Faroes on a Friday night and gets to Immingham (by boat) on Sunday night and if all goes well it should be into Heathrow that night and flying in the early hours of Monday,’ said Kirk. ‘It’s gutted and there will be some fillets – the biggest volume will be salmon but there is some caught fish as well. Boulogne takes a bit, some stays in the UK, and the biggest chunk is flown from Heathrow to the US or Asia.’ In terms of continental Europe, Boulogne sur Mer is the main hub of seafood. Fish arrives there not just from the UK but from Norway, Belgium, Holland, and Italy. ‘We have partners in Boulogne, Stef, who we bought out in Bellshill in the UK,’ said Kirk. ‘They take the lion’s share of the fish that comes from here and from there they distribute it.’ A driver can just about get to Boulogne from Larkhall in one journey, legally, provided nothing goes wrong. But sometimes DFDS has to change over drivers. ‘We have drivers based in Boulogne who can ‘rescue’ the vehicles once they come off the train (via the Eurotunnel) at Calais,’ said Murdoch. ‘The driver and the unit park up and the driver from Boulogne takes over his trailer and brings it into Boulogne.’ The system broke down during the height of the migrant crisis, the year before last, when trucks got hit by delays in the tunnel. ‘The drivers can work for a maximum of 15 hours in a shift, with nine or 10 hours (twice weekly) driving permitted. However, they were getting to the end of the queue and running out of shift time before they got to the tunnel, so they had to park up and rest for nine hours….not good when you have a load of fresh fish in the back! ‘Customers were sympathetic – we were getting involved with the Scottish government in conference calls with other stakeholders in the seafood industry. ‘A solution was proposed whereby a pass system was designed to prioritise perishable loads into France and Europe, which had to be into market quickly. Fortunately, it wasn’t tested as the crisis was resolved with increased security measures at the tunnel.’ Of course, any hold-ups are a potential hazard with perishables on board and the DFDS team are concerned about the implications of Brexit. ‘If you deliver to non EU countries, today the load is subject to the stringent checks at the border where paperwork costs money to raise and has to be 100 per cent accurate,’ said Murdoch. ‘Fortunately from our experience, the vast majority of the movements we are responsible for from Larkhall are to EU countries, which are currently flowing freely. It may not be quite as straightforward post March

DFDS.indd 38

2019. If there is anything introduced which interrupts the free flow of goods to these destinations, there could be serious implications to existing journey times, let alone the administration costs to the customer of raising customs documentation. ‘A T2 document, which is used today to get goods into Switzerland, for example, costs around £45 to issue. If there are any discrepancies on paperwork at the border, we know from experience that it delays the delivery significantly.’ DFDS has been communicating with the Seafood Association in Aberdeen, which is representing the fishing industry’s cause, and has urged them to consider the logistics factor in the whole process and to remind them of the difficulties that could be faced with increased bureaucracy post Brexit. ‘It is serious,’ said Kirk. ‘The north east processors will be affected; in order to get the best possible price and maintain quality, the fish needs to be with the customers as soon as possible, so export volumes to France and other parts of Europe need to be in Boulogne early.’ All they can do is highlight the potential scenarios: ‘When everything goes well and there are no delays we can get to Boulogne from here but it doesn’t take much to screw it up. We have to think about contingencies for drivers running out of time.’ If it became the norm that two drivers were needed (when they’re in short demand) to get to Boulogne, costs would go up significantly. ‘We still don’t know what the final Brexit deal will bring in terms of border crossings, but it’s quite possible there will be some kind of delay – which is not good news for our customers,’ said Kirk. He said he doesn’t believe Brexit will be a smooth transition to start with. DFDS’s head office is making Brexit representations to the EU. But the answer to the question of what the future holds keeps on coming back the same at the moment – ‘we just don’t know’.

Above: DFDS managing director Robert Murdoch; export manager David Cranston; Francis Dickson of the warehouse team.

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/12/2017 16:03:31

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05/12/2017 10:10:48

Transport – Ferguson

Moving with the times

How Highlands haulier grew alongside Scotland’s salmon sector

N the boardroom at Ferguson Transport & Shipping’s head office the walls are lined with photographs recounting nearly 60 years of the company’s history; ‘business of the year’ awards crowd every available surface. Looking outside, there are views of the Nevis mountain range looming over Corpach port, where Loch Linnhe meets Loch Eil, at the southern end of the Caledonian Canal. There is a corporate neatness in the dark red livery of the Ferguson fleet that also coats the warehouses and the main office building, with the colour theme continuing inside, on the carpets, chairs and even the mugs. What began with a horse and cart has developed into one of the largest independent hauliers in the Scottish Highlands, with half its customers in the fish farming industry. In fact, much of family-run Ferguson’s expansion has been alongside, and driven by, the growth of the salmon sector, with the tightly knit team adapting its expertise to the changing de-

Ferguson Transport.indd 40

mands of the farmers and feed manufacturers. The company, established in 1959 by Archie and Anne Ferguson, is now run by their eldest son, Alasdair, who marks his 40th anniversary in the firm next March, after starting straight from school aged 15. ‘We’re in the third generation of the family now and it’s come a long way since my parents started the business when my father finished his national service in the Army,’ said Alasdair Ferguson. Archie Ferguson had formed a partnership with his uncle in Ardrishaig, Argyll, transporting agricultural supplies from Greenock to the west coast and servicing the paper mills. In 1974, the company moved to Lochaber to load and unload ships at Corpach basin for the timber trade, but the new site was also near to an emerging salmon farming enterprise called Marine Harvest. There was a small joiner company in Spean Bridge, R E Campbell, which made wood and polystyrene cages for Marine Harvest, and soon Ferguson became involved in transporting the parts down to Lochailort, where the fish farm staff would assemble them into pens. Ferguson would then deliver these to the various lochs along the west coast. ‘We spent many years moving cages about and also rafts,’ said Ferguson. ‘And then the steel cages came into play, in the late 80s, and we started picking up these, from the likes of Blackhall Engineering of Edinburgh and a company in Inverness, to take to the farms.’ The industry was based on lots of small scale farmers at the time, and Ferguson also helped out in the delivery of smolts. A company called DA Johnson of Invergarry picked up the smolt tanks and Ferguson’s trucks and cranes would then lift the tanks on to rafts for transfer to the pens.

‘There used to be trailers going down with the smolt tanks to the lochs and we would lift them on to the barges and back on to the lorries. It’s so modernised now with articulated lorries and wellboats, but at that time the freshwater lochs were all stocked with a small amount of ﬁsh by small lorries.’ Around the mid-80s, the company moved into

We’ve invested consid“erably in the last 10 to 12 years in the innovation of the transportation

”

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/12/2017 16:06:29

Moving with the times

feed transport. Initially, feed used to come up from Bury St Edmunds in Norwich; Ferguson delivered timber to a paper mill in the area and then collected the feed for the return trip. As the aquaculture industry started to grow, the feed companies, which were mainly supplying the agriculture market, began to adapt the equipment they were using to manufacture fish feed. ‘It wasn’t uncommon for us to go down and help the whole process of bagging and packing and palletising and hopefully get back at the weekend in time for the shinty,’ said Ferguson. Then, in the 90s, BioMar and Ewos started manufacturing fish feed and Skretting set up its factory in Invergordon, and in 1997 Ferguson was contracted – on a handshake - to do the logistics for the whole feed distribution for Marine Harvest. ‘In those days it was all by road and the fish farms were down single track roads and each had its own small warehouse and small landing craft,’ said Ferguson.

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It quickly became apparent that those roads were not suitable for long HGVs, and there was concern over how the rural infrastructure would cope as the fish farm industry continued to grow – ‘we were going from 30 tonnes, to 38 tonnes, 40 tonnes and then ultimately up to 44 tonnes’, said Ferguson. ‘We thought about how we could do things differently. I was aware that in Norway they were doing certain things and we looked at the options.’ Ferguson realised that if his company was to work with the fast expanding salmon industry in the long term they had to come up with innovations. In 1999 he applied for planning permission

Left: Managing director Alasdair Ferguson. Above: Alasdair with fellow directors, Jack Ferguson, Carol MacKinnon and Leslie Innes, and the team at the Corpach headquarters.

05/12/2017 16:06:48

Transport – Ferguson

to build a distribution hub so they could take supplies out from the port at Corpach to the farms by sea. After spending a year working on his new distribution strategy, the planning application was approved, but then Clydeport bought the land and wasn’t interested in the

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Right: Harvest from a wellboat, pre Mallaig harvest station days. Opposite: (Clockwise from top left): the ﬁrst cages and raft being built in Arran in the 80s; lorry at Marine Harvest; Skretting feed; hydrogen peroxide used in lice treatments and delivered by Ferguson; Anne Ferguson launching the Harvest Anne in 2006; erecting the warehouse at Kishorn 1999-2000.

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haulier’s proposals. ‘I sulked for about two weeks,’ said Ferguson, ‘and then remembered there was a yard in Kishorn, in Wester Ross…it was quite central to the west coast, close to the fish feed factory in Invergordon and the feed factories in central Scotland.’ He saw the potential in developing Kishorn, a former oil platform manufacturing yard, as a centre for distributing feed by sea, direct to the barges, and once he had won Crown Estate backing to use the site for that purpose, he chartered Ferguson’s first boat, a small Faroese vessel called the Von. Then he set about trying to show the salmon farmers that this was the future. On the Von’s first voyage, Ferguson followed it in his car, videoing its progress around the west coast and timing the loading and unloading process. He next went to Marine Harvest and persuaded them that he could deliver a more cost efficient service by boat if he got enough volume. ‘All we had to do then was convince the farm managers that this was the way to do it. In those days, they’d say, we’ve always done it this way [by road], why should we change?’ Ferguson could alleviate much in the way of warehousing and forklifts for the farmers, and offer ‘the complete package’, picking up supplies from the three main feed companies, taking this to Kishorn and then loading it on to the boat for dispatch to the farms. With the Von in action, they built up the tonnages very quickly to 30,000-40,000 tonnes a year by sea, and in 2001 hired another small landing craft to support the growing volume, and subsequently purchased the Harvest Anne in 2006. Then, in 2008; when the Von was beyond economic repair at its major class survey, Ferguson was offered a further vessel by its owners, but it was to cost more. At this point, he bought his first self-discharge, cargo ship, the 48m Harvest Caroline, which could carry 600 tonnes of fish feed. Ever open to an opportunity, he had visited a shipping agent in Bodo in the north of Norway and came home with the vessel, complete with a Norwegian crew, on contract to train and familiarise his marine staff with the vessel. Today, Ferguson carries out more than 90 per cent of its fish feed deliveries by sea and has six vessels – the Harvest Caroline II, which replaced the original Harvest Caroline, as well as two medium sized vessels that can carry about 110 tonnes, and three smaller landing craft that carry 90 tonnes. While building up the feed deliveries, the company also began to

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/12/2017 16:09:01

Moving with the times

Ferguson said they can have as many as 14 cylindrical tanks at the Mallaig harvest station, where Marine Harvest’s fish are brought in by wellboat. ‘We start harvesting after midnight each night, seven days a week when it’s peak time. We can have up to 16 loads a night with circa 5,500 fish in each tank.’ Ferguson then transports the fish to Marine Harvest’s Blar Mhor processing plant in Fort William. ‘They start processing at six o’clock in the morning which allows it to be processed, packed into lorries and then DFDS takes fish away from the factory. We’ve always stuck to our strengths – we don’t operate any refrigerated trailers.’ Ferguson transports dead haul for Marine

Harvest, through Campbeltown or Kyle of Lochalsh, and also delivers feed and other services for major Scottish fish farmers, including Scottish Sea Farms, the Scottish Salmon Company and Loch Duart. The firm now has a fleet of more than 70 vehicles and over 170 trailers; there are 210 people employed in the company and turnover last year was £18 million, up from £8-9 million just seven years ago. Much of this success has come from the aquaculture sector, and the ‘very good relationship’ Ferguson has with farmers. ‘We’ve invested back in our business to continue to maintain the services,’ said Ferguson. ‘We work well with the industry and it’s been good, hopefully, for all companies concerned.’ FF

handle harvests, which it first took on for Marine Harvest around 1988-89. From bins on flatbed trucks to cylindrical tanks, that side of the operation has seen many changes, with the haulier working closely with the fish farmers to drive efficiency. ‘It’s much more professional now,’ said Ferguson, ‘and as the volumes have grown we’ve changed with that. We’ve always adapted to change. We’ve invested considerably in the last 10 to 12 years in the innovation of the transportation, particularly with Marine Harvest.’

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Ferguson Transport.indd 43

05/12/2017 16:09:23

Transport – Ferguson

Family ﬁrm driving future change

FERGUSON Transport & Shipping is very much a family outfit, with three of Alasdair Ferguson’s four siblings on the board, and three generations of Fergusons employed by the firm – one way, at least, to address recruitment problems in the Highlands. Alasdair left school with no qualifications, and took over the business in 1997, when he was in his mid-30s, after his father was killed in a forestry accident. He said it’s an ongoing challenge to find drivers, with a UK wide shortage, and he would like to encourage youngsters into the business at an earlier age. He learnt to drive and load lorries before he left school and loved it and wants to make sure there are pathways for today’s youngsters. ‘When we were young you could grow up and be part of working with lorries. We’ve lost a lot of that. We want to go into the schools and colleges…and say this is an industry that has 40 to 50 skills, from IT to HR, driving, fork trucks, safety, workshop, skippers, and technical teams.’ Part of his challenge over the last 10 years, with the company growing rapidly, has been how to adopt a good way of managing. ‘We’re very much a family company but there is also an executive board of up to 12 managers, key people in our company.’ The executive board meets monthly, bringing together the heads of departments such as shipping management, transport, maintenance and repairs, warehousing, and port operations. There is a dedicated project team that works on innovation and they feed ideas to the managers. ‘If someone has a challenge I throw it back to the team,’ said Ferguson. ‘The blowing system on the ship, for example; we hit a blank wall – in Norway they have blowing systems, and in other parts of the world, but in Scotland there was no information and we couldn’t get any information on the system that was used in Norway. So we had to come up with our own.’ It was Alasdair’s brother Jack who designed the new system, which was then built by Ferguson engineers. It can blow 80-100 tonnes of feed an hour at around a 25 per cent faster discharge rate than the cranes. Being a family firm that owns and manages all its assets has enabled Ferguson to move with the times. They work in a number of sectors, believing that diversification is important in logistics. ‘The nice thing about our company is that we’ve been able to be flexible,’ said Ferguson, ‘from rigid trucks, to flatbeds, to fork lift trucks, to cranes, to waste tanks, waste management, silos, fish bins, fish tanks, small ships, bulk ships, and now hydrolicers and thermolicers, support with port operations and warehousing operations. We’ve worked closely with Marine Harvest and have one vessel completely kitted out with a hydrolicer and it’s on permanent charter with them. He hopes this flexibility will help his firm forge a new role when Marine Harvest opens its feed plant on Skye next year. There will inevitably be a change to current working arrangements as the bulk of the feed will be delivered silo to silo, involving different vessels to those run by Ferguson. ‘We’ll continue business as usual just now and then we’d hope to be part

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of their change in the future. We hope to move their feed from the factory – it’s what we’ve been doing for the last 20 years and we know the west coast inside out. ‘They’re going up from moving 50,000 or 60,000 tonnes in Scotland and the factory, we believe, has the potential to produce 170,000 tonnes, so they’ll be looking to do a number of things. ‘I’ve said to my staff we know there’s going to be change in the future, but look at the history of it all…we now have 210 staff, six vessels, 70 trucks, an 18-acre site for warehousing, we’re developing Kishorn as a port for multiple purposes, and for me change is good. We can’t guarantee what part we’ll play but we’d like to continue to play a part.’ The recently purchased 18-acre site, across the road from the present headquarters, was home to the old sawmill and will eventually house the company’s offices, warehouses and a large hardstanding, to centralise most of its activities in one place. Ferguson has also recently invested £1 million in Kishorn port, which the company has jointly owned with Leiths (Scotland) since 2000. The facility includes a 160m dry dock, an onsite quarry, piers and access to deep channels in Loch Kishorn and Raasay Sound. The focus at the moment in developing the port is on all energy sectors including decommissioning oil platforms and the renewables sector, but Ferguson is already thinking ahead to the possible offshore aquaculture concepts of tomorrow. He sat on the committee that devised the Vision 2030 aquaculture growth strategy and while he acknowledges there are bigger challenges in the industry than logistics, he said he is ‘pleased to be in a position to help’ drive growth. ‘There are a lot of experts in the industry that specialise in different areas and we’ll continue to contribute in any way, shape or form and be available to bounce ideas off. If everyone pulls together there’s no reason why it can’t be a thriving industry and grow and meet those targets – the challenge is to meet the targets in the timescale, but if they can grow at a pace that can be managed sustainably that’s most important.’ FF

We can’t “guarantee

what part we’ll play but we’d like to continue to play a part

”

Above: Alasdair Ferguson in the mid 80s, beside a Volvo Arctic loaded with steel cages ready for delivery.

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/12/2017 16:09:47

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05/12/2017 16:11:27

Innovation – Pest control

Spa

treatment Salmon will love mechanical device that picks off lice, says inventor

NEW mechanical treatment for removing sea lice will be like a ‘spa’ for salmon, claims its Norwegian inventor. Henry Helgheim said his Lice Tube offers a far gentler solution to combating lice than the existing mechanical tools, but is just as effective. ‘We want to develop a mechanical cleaner ﬁsh that picks the lice off the salmon,’ said Helgheim, whose company, CLT Solutions, has created the device in conjunction with the technology company, Mekatronikk, in Bergen. He explained that the salmon, or trout, swim into the three metre high and nine metre long tube, lured into the initial chamber by a counter current, along with special lights and food. They then swim into the treatment chamber, where they are scanned by advanced computer programs, and different operations are per-

Lice Tube.indd 46

“

We want to reduce mortality and improve ﬁsh health

”

formed, such as picking off lice, measuring size, counting lice, detecting disease and injecting medication The chamber is adjusted for the size of each fish. This tells the mechanical pickers exactly where the lice are located. With high precision, the lice are picked off the fish in seconds. When the treatment is over, the grid opens and the fish can swim out. ‘This happens at a very fast pace,’ said Helgehim. ‘When the hatches open and close, it is done very quickly and in a gentle way so as not to scare the fish. It’s high technology that makes fish unable to get caught in the hatches. ‘We call the last chamber the spa department because the mechanical lice remover is a pleasant experience for salmon or trout.’ He said the technology includes a ‘specially developed arm’ but won’t say more than that – ‘some secrets we must have for ourselves’. Helgheim, who has other inventions to his name, such as a product that removes snails, has been following the aquaculture industry in recent years and is concerned about solving the challenge of sea lice without using chemical treatments. ‘I have looked at today’s solutions and what the industry is doing to keep control of the lice. For me, t’s about working with nature. ‘What we know works well is that cleaner fish eat lice from salmon. But when the cleaner fish are full, and when they are stressed, they don’t eat. Therefore, we want to develop a high-tech, multi-functional device that does the same work. ‘Our main focus has been animal welfare. Salmon are vulnerable to water treatments and it doesn’t take much before damage is done. With the Lice Tube we want to reduce mortality and improve fish health. ‘We think the best solution is that the tube is standing permanently in the cages. It is a spa for the salmon. It’s comfortable for the salmon to get rid of lice.’

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/12/2017 15:22:54

Top: Th Bottom

Testing o cage

Spa treatment

PRODUKTBESKRIVELSE

Tube has arrived in this cage

Testing spesial light

He said while they will deploy lights and so on to attract the salmon to the tube, if they start with young salmon, the fish could eventuTop: Theally doorseek leads out the fish theto tube to get riderof their lice. the closure chamb Bottom: Advanced software interprets the scan page top: Inventor andwere tells theconarms whereOpposite The first tests on the Lice Tube they find the- lice Top: The door leads the to theand closure chamber ducted earlier thisfishyear now the company Henry Helgheim. Below: Bottom: Advanced software interprets the scan and tells the arms where find the lice Thethey Lice Tube; salmon is looking to further refine the product in are lured into the tube collaboration with a farm company. by counter current. ‘We visited the Norwegian Fisheries DirectoClockwise from top: The rate and the Norwegian Food Safety Authority tube is 9m long; testing and presented the new solution for them,’ said of lights and pipes; the Helgheim. ‘They were very positive…this is a tube in a cage; in the different way of thinking about lice ‘spa’ mechanical pickers Testing ofcompletely light and pipes: Special light and subsea chamber mounted on the it goes into the Helgheim said he hopes to have a prototype next year - ‘I’m impacage findtube thebefore lice; special treatment than the methods we have today.’ Testing of light and pipes: Special light and subsea chamber mounted on the tube before it goes into the tient by nature. I want to finish the product within a year, then work lights and food can be Investors have also been positive, but Helcage on getting it approved and optimised. gheim first wants to engage in a dialogue with used to entice the fish into the tube. ‘It’s good to have the technology company Mechatronics in the team. farmers. They have long experience in developing new technology and say that ‘We are looking forward to collaborating we will find a solution where the salmon swims in and comes out with a company in the development, and share undamaged and free of lice. knowledge that is important to optimising ‘We want to test the tube over time and in five years we will be the product. This initiative should allow for a ready to launch it on to the market on a large scale.’ FF development licence.’

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05/12/2017 15:23:12

Seminar – AquaGen

BY NICKI HOLMYARD

We will overcome Improved selection can help tackle sea lice and other barriers to growth

QUAGEN Scotland celebrated the official opening of its office in the Stirling University Innovation Park by inviting customers and guests from the wider aquaculture industry to a ribbon cutting ceremony, followed by a one-day seminar. Odd Magne Rødseth, group director for Aquaculture at EW Group- AquaGen’s parent company, cut the symbolic ribbon, aided by AquaGen Scotland managing director Andy Reeve, at the opening on October 31, which marked a strengthening of market efforts and technical support for customers in Scotland and Ireland. The seminar then explored how barriers to profitable growth can be tackled through genetics and collaborative research projects. The Scottish industry aims to double output by 2030, but that growth must be profitable. Jørgen Ødegard, senior researcher at AquaGen in Norway, looked at resistance to sea lice, explaining that it is controlled by many genes, unlike IPN (infectious pancreatic necrosis), which is controlled by one gene. AquaGen undertakes extensive research on family traits and uses genomic selection to breed from those with the greatest resistance to sea lice. In recent years, genomic selection methods have revolutionised selective breeding in salmonids by allowing more precise selection on the very best individuals. ‘We discovered that high and low resistant salmon differ in their gene expressions and that highly resistant Atlantic salmon resemble pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), which is the smallest and most abundant of the Pacific salmon,’ he said. ‘We also found that lice attached to high resistant salmon appeared stressed and this stress increased over time.’ Genomic selection for sea lice resistance has proved to be very effective in trials, with high resistant salmon showing a 53 to 55 per cent reduction in infestation compared to low resistant in just two generations of breeding. High resistant salmon are already stocked by several fish farms in Scotland and are being closely monitored. It is planned that from the 2018/19 season, eggs will be produced from AquaGen ‘Elite’ salmon broodstock currently held in Scotland. John Taylor, senior lecturer at the Institute of Aquaculture at Stirling University, spoke about their work on triploidy to improve the robustness of commercial salmon, while Patricia Noguera, research scientist with Marine Scotland Science, showed the results of her research into cardiotropic conditions in salmon, undertaken with a view to maintaining optimum health. Patrick Hughes, head of Seafood Scotland, outlined the government’s ambitious plans for the seafood industry by 2030. Richard Hopewell, fish health manager at Dawnfresh Farming, tackled the subject of Rainbow Trout Fry Syndrome (RTFS), which has the potential to be one of the most serious strategic risks in salmonid aquaculture. RTFS is a systemic bacterial disease caused by Flavobacterium psychrophilum, which is well adapted to the global fish farming environment and has multiple aetiologies and means of attack. ‘In Scotland, several salmon hatcheries and I believe all commercial trout hatcheries are affected by RTFS, and it is a big problem,’ said Hopewell. ‘RTFS is

AquaGen.indd 48

Top: Andy Reeve and Odd Magne Rødseth at the opening. Above: Dave Robb; Nina Santi. Opposite page top: Hand fertilisation. Inset: Cryopreservation of eggs at AquaGen.

probably the largest killer of salmonids by number in the Scottish industry, but one of the least officially visible, as it represents only very small biomasses.’ Trout are often treated for RTFS and only one antibiotic, florfenicol, is fully effective. No evidence of antibiotic resistance has been found so far, but alternatives must be found. Hopewell believes that tackling this issue needs a multi-pronged approach, with improved and better managed recirculation systems, 100 per cent robust egg disinfection, better vaccines, and continued work to develop RTFS resistant salmonid strains. He was hopeful that new technologies, new approaches in genetics and use of nano-particles and phages would provide solutions in the future. Jim McKay, EW Group director for science and technology, looked at key success factors in the poultry breeding industry, where production has grown year on year and great strides have been made in improving birds intended for both egg laying and meat production. ‘We got to this position through control of disease, improved nutrition, control of the environment, integration of growth and processing, consolidation of producers and breeders, and advances in genetics, which has enabled us to breed bigger, better and healthier birds,’ he said. Genetic improvement using balanced breeding goals has been gained at two per cent per year, and that change is cumulative and permanent. McKay acknowledged that the lifecycle of birds is far shorter than that of salmon, which means that genetic gain can be seen more quickly. However, there were many lessons to be learned from the poultry industry that would help salmon farming in the future. ‘Selection for general disease resistance and eradication of specific diseases, plus the development of more advanced vaccines and treatments, are key,’ he said. Professor Margareth Overland, centre director for Foods of Norway, a research based innovation facility at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, outlined the work being undertaken to develop sustainable feed ingredients from natural bioresources that are not suitable for direct human consumption. New feed products are being developed from forestry, agriculture, and marine resources through industrial exploitation of cutting-edge research on processing and biotechnology. Feed was also covered by Dave Robb, sustainability manager for Cargill UK, who explained that around half of all global aquaculture is fed, with 36 per cent provided by home-made feeds.

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/12/2017 15:20:10

We will overcome

‘The Nature Conservancy believes that if we get it right, aquaculture could be our best hope to sustainably feed the planet, but across the world there is great diversity in the development of aquaculture and feeds, with feed conversion ratios varying from 1.0 to >5,’ he said. Cargill is focused on producing sustainable feeds to support the growth of global aquaculture, and increasing the raw material basket is essential to the process. However, Robb argued that feed performance is only ever as good as other links in the value chain and he urged greater cooperation between the different sectors of industry. ‘Optimising the conversion of raw materials to fish depends on many different factors, including genetics, farm management, health management, efficient slaughter and processing, logistics and ultimately customer perception. None of that can stand alone if we want to see greater improvements,’ he said. Odd Magne Rødseth found that the DNA revolution has provided a set of very powerful tools, that open up possibilities that were unthinkable just four to five years ago.

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AquaGen.indd 49

‘The new so-called gene editing tools that have emerged recently are like using scissors and tweezers, compared to the hammer and pliers used for gene modification 15 years ago,’ he said. ‘Today we can leave no evidence in the genes that they have been modulated, and the technology is cheap and simple. ‘However, as we learn more about new technologies and about nature’s own toolbox and practice of modifying genes, I believe it will become more and more difficult to define GMO, but it will keep the politicians and lawyers busy.’ Rødseth believed that the unravelling of the salmon genetic code was the most important advance in shaping a future sustainable industry. Genetics already offers some exciting prospects for the development of DNA product traceability systems to track escapees, or enable customers to see where their fish comes from, and has shown positive benefits in the elimination of unfavourable genotypes, for example to reduce variabiity in the pigmentation of salmon. ‘Gonadless salmon are seen by many to be the answer to the issue of escapees, but the media has already defined this as GMO, although the EU Commission and the Norwegian Biotech Advisory Board have not yet decided,’ said Rødseth. He pointed out that consumers are already eating GMO products. ‘We have a potato in Norway from a US company called Simplot, which is gene edited to significantly reduce spoilage through bruising and black spots and thus reduce wastage throughout the value chain. One of the genes is simply turned off and no foreign DNA is added. ‘We are only five million Norwegians but we manage to throw away 380,000 tonnes of food, much of it due to a short shelf life, so anything that can be done to improve things, it cannot be a bad thing,’ he said. Closing the seminar, AquaGen CEO Nina Santi agreed that genomics had already proved to be a very powerful tool in helping to eliminate particular diseases and cutting the production cycle in half for some species. Looking to the future, she believed that improved selection for growth will see production cycles made even shorter, with a resultant positive impact on the development of the salmon industry. Santi was also confident that greater gains will be made in selecting for feed efficiency, which will aid the future sustainability of salmon farming, and that the issue of sea lice will, in time, be overcome. FF

“

The new gene editing tools are like scissors and tweezers compared to the hammer and pliers used 15 years ago

”

05/12/2017 15:20:59

Research – Global food security Global Food Secur

ity xxx (xxxx)

xxx–xxx

Contents lists available at Scien ceDirect

Global Food Security jour nal hom epag e:

www .else vier

.com /loca te/g

Not just for the wealthy: Rethin king farmed ﬁsh South consumption

Ben Belton a,⁎ , Simon R. Bus b h , David C. Department of Little c Agricultural, Food

in the Global

Not just for the wealthy How the development of aquaculture is helping to feed the poorer countries of the world

b c

and Resource Environmental Economics, Michig Policy Group, Wageningen Univer an State Univer Institute of Aquac sity, 446 W Circle sity, P.O. Box ulture, Univer 8130, 6700 EW, Dr, East Lansin sity of Stirling, g, MI 48824, The Netherlands Stirling FK9 4LA, United States UK

1. Introduct ion Fish 1 is a rich degradation source of vitam and social dislo quality prote ins, minerals, cation associated dustrial’ expo in, playing an fatty acids and rt-oriented aqua with the rise essential role high consumers, many culture as comp of ‘inof communiti in the diets of them poor romising the es in Southern of billions of , malnourished food security middle incom fish producing Berkes, 2011 and living in e countries nations (e.g. ; van Mulekom low (Thil and Kawarazuka sted et al., Nayak and et al., 2006). We argue that and Béné, 2011 2016; HLPE desp ). , ite 2014 their influence ; Fish utilized popular perce in shaping scien for human cons ption s, none ce, ump of sources runn policy and of these narra tion is obtained the current diver ing from captu tives adequatel from a continuum sity of aquacultu re fisheries (the y account for producing fish gregate ‘mac re in the Glob harvest of natu populations), ro’ effects on al South, nor rally reto aquacultu under controlled food security. its agmakes this case. re (breeding The remainder conditions). Glob and farming of this paper the mid-1990 al capture fishe First we demo s, and has plate ries output peak nstrate that, aued or decli ed Pauly and Zelle in contrary to the trade, farmed ned since (cf. r, 2016). In contr focus on inter FAO, 2016a; fish is over ast, aquacultu at an average national whelmingly Southern aqua re has boomed, rate of 8.2% per consumed dom culture-produc growing annum over the result, farming estic ing ally available and nations, and in past three deca now provides is increasing readily acces des. As a more than half direct human ly widely sible to lowsumers in these of the fish desti consumption income urban markets. Seco (FAO, 2016b). ned for and rural conThe growth nd, we address challenging the trajectories of supply side argu dominant narra capture fishe often juxtapose ments by tives linking curity and the ries and aqua d to make the aquaculture and prescriptions culture are case that susta development for food prom them seined oting aquacultu . We conclude is vital to the and rapid aqua re that arise future food secur by highlighting culture pulations in Sout from policy to pay ity of fish depe the need for hern nations closer attention future research ndent po(e.g. Barange A counter-narrat to existing patte and velopment and et al., 2014). ive (which we rns of aquacultu their contributi that aquacultu term ‘economic re deons to Southern re largely fails geography’), food security. to meet the holds nourished Sout 2. Internatio needs of poor hern consumer nal trade vs. and unders. The narrative fish produced domestic cons asserts that most in Southern coun umption farmed tries is destined markets (McI Seafood is amon ntyre et al., 2016 for export to Northern g the most ; Ponte et al., remaining in commodities highly internatio 2014), and that domestic mark (e.g. Asche et farmed fish nally traded ets is consumed banites (Beveridg al., 2015; Tvet food shellfish expo primarily by e et al., 2013 erås et al., 2012 rts from deve wealthy ur; Bush, 2004; Lewis, 1997). ). Fish and loping countries rubber, cocoa, Ahmed and Loric A related argu exce ed the value tea, tobacco, a, 2002; ment is that concentrated of coffee, meat, and rice 2010) and trade aquaculture in Asia and combined (Smi production is in fish products does little to nourished popu th et al., exports (Gephart accounts for address the lations in Afric 10% need et al., 2016). s of malof all agricultur a (Hall et al., A second pair In 2012, 37% was exported al 2013; Golden of narratives of global fish (Kobayashi et et al., 2016). aquaculture's sets up contr production al., 2015), with billion (HLPE, supply side. The asting visions an estimated 2014). around first emphasize value of $129 desirability of The scale of s the predomin low intensity the internatio ance and ‘small-scale’ fish directly to hous nal seafood trade dency to move farming that ehold food secur and large contr its apparent quantities of ibutes ity and producer Reantaso and tenSouthern natio fish away from Subasinghe, ns to wealthy poor food insec 2013). The secon incomes (e.g. Bondadfood surplus troversial (HLP ure d frames envir countries rend E, 2014). For onmental ers it conexample, Smit status of large h et al. (2010) net exporters ⁎ contrast the Corresponding of seafood (e.g. author. China, Indonesia E-mail addres , Vietnam, s: beltonbe@m 1 su.edu

The terms ‘ﬁsh’, (B. Belton). ‘aquatic anima sponges), and ls’ and ‘seafo od’ are used aquatic mamm interchangeably als, are exclud ed all calculations as a shorthand for edible aquat in the paper. https://doi.org/1 ic animals. Aquat 0.1016/j.gfs.2017 ic plants, algae, Received 9 March .10.005 non-edible aquat 2017; Receiv ic animals (e.g. ed in revised 2211-9124/ Publis corals, form 2 Octob hed by Elsevi er 2017; Accep er B.V. ted 27 Octob er 2017

Please cite this

BY BEN BELTON, SIMON R. BUSH, DAVID C. LITTLE

article as: Belto

n, B., Global

Food Security

ISH is a rich source of vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and high quality protein, playing an essential role in the diets of billions of consumers, many of them poor, malnourished and living in low and middle income countries. Global capture fisheries output peaked in the mid-1990s, and has plateaued or declined since. In contrast, aquaculture has boomed, growing at an average rate of 8.2 per cent per annum over the past three decades. As a result, farming now provides more than half of the fish destined for direct human consumption (FAO, 2016). The growth trajectories of capture fisheries and aquaculture are often juxtaposed to make the case that sustained and rapid aquaculture development is vital to the future food security of fish dependent populations in southern nations. A counter narrative (which we term ‘economic geography’) holds that aquaculture largely fails to meet the needs of poor and undernourished southern consumers. The narrative asserts that most farmed

Left: Supplying the domestic market. Opposite: Tiger prawns.

(2017), http://dx

.doi.org/10.1

016/j.gfs.2017

.10.005

fish produced in southern countries is destined for export to northern markets and that farmed fish remaining in domestic markets is consumed primarily by wealthy urbanites. A related argument is that aquaculture production is concentrated in Asia and does little to address the needs of malnourished populations in Africa. A second pair of narratives sets up contrasting visions around aquaculture’s supply side. The first emphasises the predominance and desirability of low intensity ‘small-scale’ fish farming that contributes directly to household food security and producer incomes. The second frames environmental degradation and social dislocation associated with the rise of ‘industrial’, export oriented aquaculture as compromising the food security of communities in southern fish producing nations. We argue that despite their influence in shaping science, policy and popular perceptions, none of these narratives adequately account for the current diversity of aquaculture in the global south, nor its aggregate ‘macro’ effects on food security. First, we demonstrate that, contrary to the focus on international trade, farmed fish is overwhelmingly consumed domestically in southern aquaculture producing nations, and is increasingly widely available and readily accessible to low income urban and rural consumers in these markets. Second, we address supply side arguments by challenging the dominant narratives linking aquaculture and food security and the prescriptions for promoting aquaculture that arise from them. International trade versus domestic consumption Seafood is among the most highly internationally traded food commodities. Fish and shellfish ex-

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Global Food Security xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Not just for the wealthy

B. Belton et al. Table 1 Population, undernourishment, and aquaculture and ﬁsheries production for selected countries. Country

Population (millions)a

Prevalence of Undernourishment (% of population)a,b

Undernourished population (millions)c

Aquaculture production (t)d

Capture ﬁsheries production (t)d

Aquaculture as a share of ﬁsh production (%)

Bangladesh Brazil China Egypt India Indonesia Myanmar Philippines Thailand Vietnam Subtotal World Subtotal as share of world (%)

161 208 1371 92 1311 258 54 101 68 92 3714 7347 51

16 5 9 5 15 8 14 14 7 11

26 10 123 5 197 21 8 14 5 10 418 808 52

1,859,808 472,829 42,694,335 1,097,544 4,549,607 3,819,517 926,175 815,008 1,052,701 3,203,326 60,490,850 69,296,511 87

1,550,446 765,287 16,274,939 356,858 4,645,182 6,103,001 3,786,840 2,335,004 1,843,747 2,803,800 40,465,104 93,763,656 43

55 38 72 75 49 38 20 26 36 53 60 42 n/a

11 n/a

Notes: a World Bank (2016). b Undernourishment refers to the percentage of the population whose food intake is insuﬃcient to meet dietary energy requirements continuously. c Calculated from data in columns 2 and 3. d Production data for 2013 (FAO, 2016b).

similar categories of product, obtained from published sources (FAO, Thailand, India, and Myanmar) possessing moderate to high levels of Access and availability producing nati(e.g. ons isthe not exported. 2015; Eighty-nine Bush et al., 2013; European Commission, 2011; Tacon et al., undernourishment, with the largest net importing markets the prevailing view, aquaculture cent of the in these 2006). For each country, Contrary reportedto aquaculture production was divided United States and European Union), which areper wealthy andfarmed well- fish produced a wideexports range oftospecies of low mod-of countries is consumed in their c markets. bydomesti the apparent LWE ofproduces aquaculture estimate theorshare nourished. erate value. Aquaculture couldfood not supply. have The sharethorough of capturesyfisheries landings farmed fishexported exported and the market share remaining as domestic Asche et al. (2015) and Béné et al. (2015a) provide extreme growth rate production over the lastand almost sh, and exceeds wassustained Thefisame procedure followeditsfor capture fisheries nopses of the debate over whether international istrade in double seafoodthat hasof farmed three decades if it catered only to demand from a that of aquaculture in sevenexports. of the ten countries, positive or negative effects on fish consumption and poverty. Our intent small wealthy of consumers. but is still modest at 22 per cent.Fig. 1, reveals the extent to whichsegment excessive focus on international in the present paper is not to contribute to the literature on seafood Aquaculture’s growth hassignificance. driven down the trade seafood has inflated perceptions of its The vast trade. Rather, we argue that an emphasis on international trade and hasVietnam Only in Thailand do in aquaculture of most fishimportant species produced majorityon. ofBoth fish farmed real and price landed in thefarmed ten most Southern obscured the contributions made by farmed fish exports to domestic se- c consumpti exceedfood domesti in large volumes, making them increasingly aquaculture producing nations is not exported. Eighty-nine percent of curity in the main Southern aquaculture producing countries. these countries are also major exporters of accessible to countries lower income consumers.inThe the have farmed produced in these is consumed their doTo demonstrate this point, we estimate the volume fish origicapture fiof sheries products, and fish fish supplies tendency for supply to increase andexported production to mestic markets. of capture fisheries landings is alnating from aquaculture and capture fisheries that are traded per capita well ininterexcess of the global average.The share most double that of farmed fish, and exceeds that of aquaculture in nationally, or remain in country for domestic consumption, for the ten remain profi table even as prices fall is the result Their seafood exports are surplus to domesti c ports from developing countries exceed the value of the tenaway countries, but is still modestarising at 22%. largest developing in the world and – doseven of producti vity growth from improvements consumpti on needs, not divert food of coffee,aquaculture rubber, cocoa,producing tea, tobacco, meat, andcountries In eight of the ten in countries, domestic Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Philippines, efficiency.apparent This pattern has beenconsumption a defining of from the consumers at home. rice combined,Brazil, and trade in fishEgypt, products accounts farmed fish exceeds 90% of total national aquaculture production. Only Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam (FAO, 2016a). Together these counfeature of the global aquaculture boom over the Freshwater fish (by far the most important for 10 per cent of all agricultural exports. In 2012, in Thailand and Vietnam do aquaculture exports exceed domestic tries accounted for 87% of global production of farmed aquatic animals past 30 years. category of fi sh produced in the ten selected 37 per cent of global fish production was exportconsumption. Both these countries are also major exporters of capture andwith 43% landings in 2013. Theyaccount were also countries) for just 4.8 per cent of internaed, anof estiglobal matedcapture value of fisheries $129 billion. fisheries and have fish supplies well of the home to 51% the global of alltrade malnourished Urbanisati on and per shiftcapita ing patt ernsinofexcess demand in fish by volume. Shrimpproducts, (the second The scale of theofinternati onal population, seafood tradeand and52%tional global average of 20.1 kg, at 24.8 kg/capita/year and 32.7 kg/capita/ individuals (Table 1). Contrary to assumpti ons implicit in the econommost important species group produced in the ten its apparent tendency to move large quantities year,ofrespectively 2016a, 2016c). Their are The trade component of the FAO Fishstat J database (FAO, 2016b), ic geography narrative, food seafood security isexports no longer countries) makes up six per cent world seafood(FAO, of fish away from poor, food insecure southern surplus domestic consumption needs, and do nota divert food away on which we base our analysis, does not specify whether internationally solely, or even predominantly, rural concern. contrast, marine fish, whichto originate nati ons to wealthy, food surplus countries renders trade. In from consumers at home. traded seafood products originate from capture fisheries or aquaculture. The share of urban dwellers already exceeds overwhelmingly from capture fisheries, account it controversial. To address the possibility that areas, extrapolating the proportion Following the methodology set out by Bush et al. for (2013), we estimated those in rural and is expected to rise to 66of 68.7 per cent of global trade. Our intent is not to contribute to the literaaquaculture and capture production to exports could bias results, the share of internationally traded aquatic animal products derived per cent by 2050, fuelling unprecedented urbanwe ture on seafood trade. Rather, we argue that an performed an alternative calculation using the most conservative asfrom each source, working on the assumption thatNew the shares of farmed demand for food. geographies of consumption emphasis on international trade has obscured the sumptions possible with Many respect to aquaculture's contribution to doand wild fish species groups in exports from each country are proporurban inhabitants in southern countries, The ‘economic geography’ critique of aquaculcontributions made by farmed fish to domestic mestic fish supplies. Foreven thisamong estimate, eachclasses, country, we attributed tional to the shares of farmed and wild fish of these species groups in the for middle occupy precariture’s contribution to food security is epitomised food security in the main 2 southern aquaculture 100% of exports to aquaculture in species groups where production of national production. ous positi ons. For example, 60 per cent of Africa’s by Golden et al. (2016), who state that fi sh farmed producing countries. National fish production is reported by FAO in live weight equivafarmed fish exceeded exports. For species groups where export volumes 350 million-strong middle in the global south is ‘mostly exported to the To demonstrate this point, we estimate the lents (the weight of freshly harvested fish prior to any processing). The exceeded farmed fish production, we assumed that 100% ofclass farmed fish is conwealthy countries of Europe volume of fi sh originati ng from aquaculture and quantity of fish products traded internationally is reported in nominal was exported, with capture fisheries making up the gap betweensidered farmed capture fisheries that are traded internationally, or and North America, or con- fish production and total exports. Our original and alternate estimates terms - i.e. as the volume of fish traded post-processing (if any). To by the growing middle classes in the remain in forweight domestiequivalent c consumption, for of sumed estimate country the live (LWE) each internationally are presented together in Table 2. The alternate estimate has little megacities of these economies’. the ten largest aquaculture producing developing traded product listed in Fishstat J we assigned conversion factors for impact on the overall results: even under the most stringent assumpAnalysis presented in the previous countries in the world – Bangladesh, Brazil, China, tions, domestic consumption of farmed fish equals or exceeds 90% of that aquaEgypt, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, section undermines the claim production in seven countries and stands at 84% in one more, with only 2 At theand country level,(FAO, production data were categorized culture by the “ISSCAAP is stronglyspecies export oriented. The Thailand Vietnam 2016a). 15% of farmed fish exported overall. groups” reported by FAO. Exports were categorized by “ISSCAAP commodity divisions”. following subsecti on provides evidence Together, these countries accounted for 87 These results are supported by data presented in FAO (2016a), inSpecies divisions and commodity divisions were then combined under five aggregate that farmed fi sh produced for southper cent of global producti on of farmed aquati c dicating that freshwater fish (by far the most important category of fish “ISSCAAP commodity groups” (crustaceans, freshwater and diadromous fishes, marine erncephalopods) domestic markets widely in the ten selected countries) account for just 4.8% of interanimals and 43 per aquatic cent ofanimals, global capture fisheries fishes, miscellaneous and molluscs, including to enableis nowproduced comparison and product categories. dataset used, including accessible to low income rural and trade in fish by volume. Shrimp (the second most important landings in across 2013.countries They were also home to 51 The percomplete national

Farmed ﬁsh is “ overwhelmingly consumed domestically in southern aquaculture producing nations

”

all calculations, is available for download (see Belton et al., 2017b). urban consumers. The changing charcent of the global population, and 52 per cent of acteristics of urban and rural demand, all malnourished individuals (Table 1). 2 and the effects of aquaculture on fish The vast majority of fish farmed and landed in price stability and supply are also examined. the ten most important southern aquaculture

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Research – Global food security B. Belton et al.

As1.these authorsand note, ‘the consequences Fig. Aquaculture capture fisheries exportsofand apparent such a scenario are easy imagine: higher (2011). prices, Source: domestic consumption in to selected countries lower consumpti on,from andFAO far greater on is based Authors’ calculations (2016b).pressure (This analysis on data for 2011, the capture most recent year forIn which both production marine and inland fisheries’. other and tradethe data wasinavailable the Fishstat J database). words, poor our tenincountries would eat far less fish of any kind- wild or farmed- were it not for the growth of aquaculture. Transforming farmed fish supply Production of farmed fish is as subject to misinterpretation as its consumption. Two narratives dominate development focused aquaculture science and policy. The first extolls the benefits of low intensity ‘small-scale’ aquaculture for promoting food security. The second critiques ‘industrial’ forms of production, particularly shrimp farming, for undermining it. Reducing aquaculture to the idealised binary categories of ‘small-scale’ and ‘industrial’ has obscured the contributions of a very large intermediate segment of producers, existing along a gradient between these two poles. This ‘missing middle’ has emerged in response to the changing patterns of demand and diet transformation outlined above, as part of a broader ‘quiet revolution’ in agri-food supply chains that is taking place in vulnerable to slipping back into poverty, and thus food insecurity. Table 2 most of Asia and parts of Africa. The poor are more responsive to increases (or decreases) in fi sh prices Estimates of aquaculture's contribution to domestic consumption and exports in selected countries (2011). B. Belton et al. Global Food Security xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx Failure to acknowledge the role played by this Source: Authors’ calculationsthan from the FAOwealthy. (2016b). Rural consumers (who are poorer on average than urban) Above: Aquaculture of producers has resulted in exports ineffecti ve apparent pretherefore have most to lose from increases in the price of non-farmed fish Fig. 1.set Aquaculture and capture fisheries and andItem capture fisheries Bangladesh Brazil China Egypt India Indonesia Myanmar Total scripti ons forPhilippines food focused Vietnam aquaculture domestic consumption in security selectedThailand countries (2011). Source: that accompany the contracti on of wild supply, and most to gain, proporti onexports and apparent Authors’ calculations from FAO (2016b). (This analysis is based development. ately, fromt)declines1.52 in the price of farmed fish that 0.99 accompany Total aquaculture (million 0.44 38.62 3.67the expansion 2.72 0.82 0.77 1.20 2.85 53.59 domesti c consumptiproduction on on data for 2011, the most recent year for which both production of aquaculture. Exports (first estimate) in selected countries and trade data was available in the Fishstat J database). Polarised producti ves 1,681,781 6,085,575 Total aquaculture 2993 2,918,521 5985 193,093 231,391 36,613 19,187 on narrati 935,535 (2011). Source: exports (estimated LWE) (t) 60,475 Share of exports in aquaculture production 4 1 8 1 5 9 4Promotors3of small-scale 78aquaculture 59 emphasise 11 Price stability Authors’ calculations (%) the cumulati ve impact and positi ve nature of the from FAO (2016b). (This The growth of aquaculture has stabilised fish prices. Food price stability is Share of aquaculture consumed domestically 96 99 92 99 95 91 96 97 41 contributi ons such farms22 make to food security.89 analysis is based particularly important for the food security of poor consumers, for whom (%) on data for 2011, the For instance, the High Level Panel of Experts on food expenditures Exports constitute a large share of total income. (second estimate) most recent year for Food Security and Nutriti837,868 on asserts 1,895,821 that 70–807,782,956 Total aquaculture exports (estimated (t) 130,071 5782 4,005,385 10,820 361,248 66,510 40,070 FarmedLWE) fish prices are about half as volati le as those of wild fish on 429,382 averwhich both producti Share of exports in on aquaculture production 1 10 often unpredictable 1 10 nature16 8 cent of aquaculture 5 70 per producti on 67 originates 15 age, refl ecting the 9seasonally variable and of and trade (%) data was from small-scale farming. Such pronouncements fisheries, and the high degree of control over the timing of the production available the Fishstat Share ofinaquaculture consumed domestically 91 99 90 99 90 84 92 95 30 33 85 are commonplace and form a central tenet of the process that is possible in aquaculture. J database). (%) Opposite page: conventional wisdom on aquaculture. But they are As aggregate production from capture fisheries appears to have reached Tilapia also unsubstantiated- there is no global database the maximum level that can be sustained, increasing demand for wild fish of fish farm sizes and characteristics to provide an prices further. However, the supply fish from species group producedcan inonly the increase ten countries) makes up 6%because of world 3.1.ofAccess and availability empirical basis for this claim. aquaculture has kept pace with demand, substi tuti on has dampened price seafoood trade. In contrast, marine fish, which originate overThe contributi onaquaculture of small-scaleproduces aquaculture pressure on wild fish as for demand hasofspilled over to farmed species, partially whelmingly from capture fisheries, account 68.7% global trade. Contrary to the prevailing view, a wide range to food security is usually framed in terms of the early reigning in divergence in the prices of farmed and wild fish of over time. of low or species moderate market value. Reports from meeti ng the subsistence fi sh consumpti on This finding has profound implications for food and nutritistages on security. of aquaculture development in Bangladesh indicated a bias toneeds of rural households, and the generation Rashid et al. (2016) calculate that if aquaculture had stopped growing in 3. New geographies of consumption ward producing high value Indian major carps that were not accessible of supplemental incomes through sales of small 1980, global fish supply per capita in 2013 would have beentoabout half of the the rural poor (Lewis, 1997). However, although Lewis’ observation marketable surpluses that may be spent on actual supply in that year, and 17 per cent less than it was in 1980. The ‘economic geography’ critique of aquaculture's contribution to accurately reflected the situation in the mid-1990s, by 2011 three low food security is epitomized by Golden et al. (2016), who state that fish value farmed species (pangasius, silver carp and tilapia) were each Table 2 in the Global South is, “mostly exported to the wealthy counfarmed eaten in greater quantities in Bangladesh than rohu (the most popular Estimates of aquaculture's contribution to domestic consumption and exports in selected countries (2011). tries of Europe and North America, or consumed by the growing Indian major carp) or any single species of fish originating from capture Source: Authors’ calculations from FAO (2016b). middle-classes in the megacities of these economies” (p. 318). fisheries (Hernandez et al., 2017). Item Brazil Egypt India Low Indonesia Myanmar fish Philippines Thailand Vietnamor make Total large conBeveridge et al. (2013, p. 1075) alsoBangladesh hypothesize thatChina “aquaculture value farmed species now dominate producers in developing countries tend to target the production of tributions to domestic fish supply in most of the 10 countries assessed Total aquaculture production (million t) 1.52 0.44 38.62 0.99 3.67 2.72 0.82 0.77 1.20 2.85 53.59 larger-sized fish, aimed at middle-classExports urban (first regional and international above (e.g. tilapia and walking catfish in Thailand and Indonesia, silver estimate) Total aquaculture exports (estimated LWE) (t) 60,475 231,391 935,535 in 1,681,781 markets, presumably in the expectation that the2993 higher2,918,521 absolute5985 and 193,093 carp in China, 36,613 tilapia in 19,187 Egypt, pangasius India). At6,085,575 the same time, Share of prices exports in aquaculture production increase 4 1 8 1 5 production 9 4 3 78 59 11 countries has relative such fish command profits”. of more expensive carnivorous species in these (%) Analysis presented in the previous section undermines the claim often91 stagnated96 at low levels (e.g. barramundi and grouper in Thailand, Share of aquaculture consumed domestically 96 99 92 99 95 97 22 41 89 that (%) aquaculture is strongly export oriented. The following subsection Indonesia and Vietnam). Given that the vast majority of consumers in Exports (second provides evidence that farmed fish produced for estimate) Southern domestic these countries belong to low or middle income brackets, such a pattern Total aquaculture exports (estimated LWE) (t) 130,071 4,005,385 10,820 361,248 429,382 66,510 40,070 837,868 1,895,821 7,782,956 markets is now widely accessible to low-income 5782 rural and urban conis to be expected. Aquaculture could not have sustained its extreme Share of exports in aquaculture production 9 1 10 1 10 16 8 5 70 67 15 sumers. The changing characteristics of urban and rural demand, and growth rate over the last three decades if it catered only to demand (%) the effects of aquaculture on fish price are99also 90 from 84 a small wealthy segment of consumers. Share of aquaculture consumed domestically 91 stability99and supply 90 92 95 30 33 85 (%) examined. Aquaculture's growth has driven down the real price of most farmed

52 species group produced in the ten countries) makes up 6% of world seafoood trade. In contrast, marine ﬁsh, which originate overwhelmingly from capture ﬁsheries, account for 68.7% of global trade. Food Security.indd 52

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Contrary to the prevailing view, aquaculture produces a wide range of species of low or moderate market value. Reports from the early stages of aquaculture development in Bangladesh indicated a05/12/2017 bias to-15:13:58

Not just for the wealthy purchases of other food items. The ‘small-scale’ narrative has provided the basis for promotion of aquaculture by overseas development projects throughout the tropics for more than 30 years. The assumption that small-scale aquaculture is underdeveloped globally and should be supported as a key strategy for improving food and nutrition security in developing economies is persistent. Literature at the opposite end of the narrative spectrum focuses on the role of intensive, industrial aquaculture in undermining local food security. The missing middle Empirical evidence points to most global aquaculture output originating from a ‘missing middle’ segment of producers, characterised by five features. They are: (1) highly commercially oriented; (2) span a broad spectrum of scales of production; (3) utilise a diverse range of production technologies (but are increasingly intensifying through use of pelleted feeds); (4) produce multiple, predominantly low and medium value, species and; (5) have emerged in an unplanned manner in response to opportunities created by changing patterns of demand. For example, Chinese farms producing carps and tilapia are almost entirely commercial, with more than 95 per cent using manufactured feeds, and produce fish in polycultures that contain an average mix of four to six fish species. In Andhra Pradesh, India, the location of the largest concentration of freshwater fish farms outside China, aquaculture is dominated by semi-intensive carp and pellet fed pangasius polycultures, oriented entirely to the market and spanning a spectrum of farm sizes from small to very large. A recent report synthesising case studies from Bangladesh, Chile, Ecuador, Egypt, Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand, Vietnam and Zambia, concluded that ‘small-scale’ aquaculture contributed less than 30 per cent of farmed fish production in these countries. Although large numbers of households in South and Southeast Asia have benefited from enhanced nutrition and supplementary incomes generated by small farms of the traditional type, these can no longer be considered the dominant mode of production. For instance, even in Bangladesh, a country with more than four million small ‘homestead ponds’, two thirds of farmed fish output in 2010 originated from fully commercial farms. Moreover, even among the homestead pond farm segment the trend is one of intensification and commercialisation, with 38 per cent of farms in Bangladesh using pelleted feeds in 2014. Attempts to establish small-scale aquaculture in the traditional mould have largely failed outside of Asia. For example, concerted efforts by external development agencies in Malawi over several decades have been highly constrained by poor market development and, ultimately, the limited purchasing power of a still largely rural population. The types of aquaculture that have become most successfully established and produce the greatest volumes of fish for domestic consumers have rarely received direct support from government or donors because they are not perceived

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Food Security.indd 53

improvements in the availability, accessibility, “Huge and stability of ﬁsh supply have been achieved ”

to represent the poor, nor offer the possibility of generating export earnings. Aquaculture was once widely considered to have failed in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), but is now expanding rapidly in Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, and South Africa. Between 2004 and 2014 there was a seven-fold increase in farmed fish production in SSA, concentrated mainly in these countries, with an average annual growth rate of 21 per cent. The growth of aquaculture in this region parallels the recent emergence of a substantial middle class and their demand for more diverse diets. Fish production serving this market was pioneered mainly by large, vertically integrated farms, but the value chain infrastructure established to facilitate these operations (hatcheries, feed mills, cold storage) has allowed significant numbers of medium scale producers to emerge in some locations. Poorly developed supply chains and logistics, and consequent difficulties in accessing inputs and end markets, remain a challenge in other areas of SSA. However, where these hurdles have been overcome, the high value urban market segments targeted by large farms are starting to become saturated, leading to some diversification into production and marketing of smaller, cheaper fish that are accessible to consumers in lower income brackets. There is also a small but growing role for aquaculture exports from southern nations to SSA, which is now ranked as China’s second most valuable tilapia market after the US. Conclusion The rapid rise of aquaculture has focused attention on the sector’s potential to contribute to food security, as well as its perceived failures to do so. As demonstrated here, most science and policy in this sphere lags far behind current empirical realities and fails to recognise the scale and nature of contributions that aquaculture already makes

to global food security. In fact, aquaculture development in the main fish farming countries of the global south has already averted severe declines in food and nutrition security. Part of the disconnect between narrative and reality stems from an excessive focus in the literature on the international seafood trade, and on farmed aquatic commodities produced for export. Export focused research has directed attention toward a relatively small and unusually problematic set of technologies and commodities, and away from a domestic demand led ‘quiet revolution’ in farmed fish production, in which huge improvements in the availability, accessibility, and stability of fish supply have been achieved. Instead of emphasising aquacultural reform based on outdated narratives about the planned development of extensive small-scale aquaculture, we argue for recognition that diverse and increasingly intensive forms of commercial fish farming already make important contributions to the diets of low and middle income urban and rural consumers in southern countries home to more than half the world’s population. These latter forms of farming have the greatest potential to augment nutrient supplies from capture fisheries, and will continue to do so, whether or not much needed improvements in capture fisheries governance and management are achieved. The transformation of fish supply, already far advanced in Asia, is now also beginning to emerge in nascent form in several of the more populous and rapidly growing countries in Africa. This is an edited version of the paper, ‘Not just for the wealthy: Rethinking farmed fish consumption in the Global South’, published in the current issue of Global Food Security (www.elsevier.com/ locate/gfs) Ben Belton, Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, Michigan State University; Simon R. Bush, Environmental Policy Group, Wageningen University; David C. Little, Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling. FF

05/12/2017 15:14:24

Europharma – Advertorial

BY NIKOS STEIROPOULOS

Taking

stock

Year of growth supporting fish health needs

HE final days of 2017 are an opportune time to look back at the achievements of this year and, of course, to look forward to the challenges of 2018. This year has been another exciting one of growth for our teams at Europharma UK, as our enthusiastic workforce continues supporting the fish health needs of Scotland’s aquaculture industry. We’ve seen some changes to our team in 2017 and I’m pleased to welcome Dr Anna Kintner as our new analytical services manager. Anna has a great breadth of experience and our paths have crossed on many occasions over the years during her studies. She will split her time between managing our analyses in the lab, engaging with customers and assuming a principal role in our Fishguard team, particularly around our fish health and welfare training courses, but also as we achieve the best results from our fish health and welfare programmes. Much of her work will focus on our exciting q16 project, a portable technology which provides rapid diagnosis of pathogens in salmon tissue samples. The q16 testing encompasses a comprehensive list of diseases occurring in fish farms and the platform is now in use across Scotland. We’d be happy to talk to any farm which feels it can benefit from this device. Europharma in the UK has also strengthened its pharma distribution and logistics team in 2017, with the addition of Mark Crawford and the restructure of Customer Services with Karen McKay. The new team designates our focus in quality reliable distribution of a larger and stronger portfolio of products offered to a substantially grown customer base.

Europharma - PED.indd 54

From within the same pharma distribution business perspective, we also marked, earlier this year, the one year anniversary of our partnership with MSD Animal Health to establish a new supply chain for trout vaccines as their exclusive partner. This new partnership has worked well for customers, by not only offering a quality product but also backing it up with Europharma’s experience and specialist knowledge. Back in October we surveyed all our trout customers from all levels of the business, from company management to the front line admin- Above: Keeping fish istrative teams. The overwhelming theme was healthy. that our teams at Europharma and Fishguard delivered an excellent service to support them - with 100 per cent of respondents agreeing

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/12/2017 15:09:55

Taking stock

It is incumbent upon us all to highlight “ the positive contribution that our industry makes, not only in an economic sense but in a societal one too

”

that deliveries arrived on time and in a good condition. This is down to a great deal of hard work on the part of our team. We were also delighted that the vast majority of our customers felt prepared to recommend our services to others and we look forward to a strong period of growth in 2018 Needless to say that in 2018 we will continue working with our customers on our proprietary smoltification programme, ‘Supersmolt Feed Only’, which induces optimal smoltification of Atlantic salmon without the need for a winter photoperiod. The feedback on the SuperSmolt programme has been fantastic and the bottom line is that the savings in both time and money for our

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

Europharma - PED.indd 55

customers come from tangible biological benefits in seawater adaptation and, consequently, in growth performance and fish health. In closing, many of you will be aware of the relentless attacks on our industry in the media; I have been reasonably vocal about the need to talk up the achievements of the aquaculture sector and we should go on board on this effort in 2018 as we come under increasing scrutiny from not only the public but also our lawmakers at the Scottish parliament. It is incumbent upon us all to highlight the positive contribution that our industry makes, not only in an economic sense but in a societal one too. Nikos Steiropoulos is CEO of Europharma UK FF

05/12/2017 15:10:12

GOAL 2017 – Dublin

The right business Keep on innovating to address challenges, conference delegates told BY NICKI HOLMYARD

ORE than 400 seafood professionals from over 30 countries enjoyed a taste of famous Irish hospitality at the recent GOAL (Global Outlook for Aquaculture Leadership) conference in Dublin, organised by Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA). The event celebrated 20 years of GAA in helping to facilitate and deliver sustainable aquaculture practices around the world, and looked at how the next 20 years would shape up. The message put across by all 60 plus speakers over three days was that aquaculture does have a bright future, but that there is definitely room for improvement if the industry is to achieve its full potential. Inspirational keynote speaker Dr Pearse Lyons, founder of global biotech, feed and animal nutrition company Alltech, hammered home this message, arguing that no matter what global uncertainties, issues and shortages exist now and in the future, people still have to be fed. ‘Aquaculture is good because it is the most efficient protein converter out there and that means we are absolutely in the right business,’ he said. Lyons urged the industry to continue to innovate to address challenges such as replacing fishmeal and fish oil, addressing environmental sustainability, and minimising pollution- for which RAS could hold many of the answers- and fixing the sea lice issue. ‘I predict that we will conquer sea lice within six months because all things are possible now we have gene chips and novel nutritional solutions,’ he said.

Goal.indd 56

Shrimp expert and GAA president George Chamberlain outlined the latest global shrimp and finfish production data, and looked at the issues impacting growth, particularly diseases such as early mortality syndrome (EMS), enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP) and tilapia lake virus (TiLV). Disease remains the number one challenge in the industry. In China, for example, environmental factors have seen a downturn in production; water quality remediation, improved larval quality and shrimp better adapted to local conditions are among the solutions needed to overcome such issues. Panel discussions formed an important part of GOAL 2017, providing lively discussion on subjects including investment, sustainability, markets, leadership and innovation. A panel on aquafeed sustainability, chaired by F3 Fish-Free Feed Challenge head Kevin Fitzsimmons, debated the need to find alternative sources of protein. Aquaculture is the world’s largest user of fishmeal and fish oil, and novel feed ingredients – such as insect meal, microalgae and single-celled organisms - are increasingly being developed as alternative sources of DHA and EPA. ‘We need to find more nutrients that are easily absorbed,’ said Fitzsimmons, praising IFFO, the Marine Ingredients Organisation, for working to eliminate overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) catch, forced labour and unsafe working practices. But he also argued that such work increased the cost of the product and reduced the volume available. Taking exception to Fitzsimmons ‘demonisation’ of the industry, Andrew Mallison from IFFO said that F3 used negative messaging about fishmeal and fish oil, and it misinformed people about marine ingredients. ‘We want to widen choice, not narrow it,’ said Mallison. ‘F3 claims that marine ingredients are not sustainable, but this is not borne out by UN Food and Agriculture Organisation figures. ‘We now have 45 per cent of the world’s fishmeal and fish oil independently certified as being safe and environmentally responsible, and this far exceeds any other source of feed ingredients,’ he said. ‘In addition, the cost of production came down last year and will continue to do so as we get better at recovering biproducts. We expect to be using 50 per cent biproducts within a few years, up from 35 per cent today.’ Will Rash from the Big Prawn Co, Jeremy Ryland Langley from Waitrose, Scott Williams from BJ’s Wholesale Club and Jennifer Wandler from US Foods all took part in the marketplace panel, chaired by Iain Shone, from GAA. This looked at challenges and opportunities for aquaculture, particularly in terms of production trends and social responsibility. Social responsibility initiatives were also covered in a breakout session chaired by GAA’s Melanie Siggs and in a plenary by consultant Birgitte Krogh-Poulsen. Poulsen outlined that poverty, discrimination and acceptance of inequality are drivers of forced labour and child labour in seafood supply chains, and lamented that too many workers on fishing vessels and in processing units still work in unsafe conditions and for low wages. However, individual perceptions were that they were better off than with no

“thatI predict we will

conquer sea lice within six months because all things are possible now we have gene chips and novel nutritional solutions

”

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/12/2017 15:08:42

The right business

Opposite page: Dr Pearse Lyons. Above: The marketplace panel led by Iain Shone. Right: Packed hall at the seminar. Photos: Gail Hannagan of Preferred Freezer Service

work, which perpetuates the issue. The solution is to treat the problem, not the symptoms, by creating safer working conditions, tackling gender equality, putting in place protection for young workers, and encouraging more community led development projects. The day two keynote speaker, Jim Power, looked at how global macroeconomic trends will impact the production, distribution and sale of farmed seafood over the next 20 years. He spoke of the dilemma created by the consumer requirement for cheap food and the need of producers to balance price, quality and food safety. Power acknowledged that food production is a challenging business and said that efficiency was key to survival and success. Neil Manchester of Hendrix Genetics kicked off a fast paced session that outlined the lifecycle of a fish from egg to plate, and gave seven presenters just 20 seconds to put each of 20 slides across. Advances in genetics, novel proteins, oils and new feed ingredients, marine probiotics encapsulated in seaweed, offshore and open ocean production systems, traceability and fraud prevention, and marketing and branding, were all covered in a session thoroughly enjoyed by the audience. Professor Jim Griffin, from Johnson & Wales University, outlined the ‘mixed’ results of a survey undertaken with UK chefs that looked at their understanding of sustainability. The results showed that only a handful knew what a range of eco-labels actually meant, just over half recognised the GAA’s Best Aquaculture Practices label, and only one third registered a positive opinion of farmed seafood. ‘There is a great opportunity here for education,’ he concluded. On this theme, Sarah McCabe from Cavan was presented with an award for preparing the best

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

Goal.indd 57

dish featuring farmed seafood in a student chef cook-off, at the Dublin Institute of Technology’s School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology. The event, which took place in September, was the brainchild of Mike Berthet, who works on BAP Market Development in the EU. ‘My eyes were opened to an industry I barely know existed, and during the competition I learned so much and met so many passionate people striving to produce the future chefs of Ireland and the world and introduce them to the best possible farmed seafood,’ said McCabe. ‘I met fish food suppliers, farmers, famous chefs, huge food company owners and restaurant owners from all over the globe, and was honoured and privileged to take first prize.’ According to Berthet, the essence of the competition was to broaden student chefs’ understanding about the breadth of aquaculture and how it affects their thinking in designing everyday menus. ‘It was a wake-up call to the lecturers to include more aquaculture education in their curriculum and to us to communicate better to the sector. ‘We now intend to create a range of tools to help us engage with catering colleges around the world,’ he said. FF

05/12/2017 15:09:05

From the archive – March/April 1998

Irish look to French market Connemara’ image helps smoked salmon exporter worldwide, reports Colin Ley

FRENCH pop song (if they’re still called that) has played a significant part in the creation of a strong market image for Irish farm salmon produced in Connemara. Ten years ago, the song ‘Les Lacs du Connemara’ was a big hit in France and ever since any product which could be associated with Connemara has enjoyed a definite sales advantage among French consumers. One company to put that image to good use in recent years is Irish Seaspray, whose specialist smoked salmon business draws its fresh supplies from throughout the Connemara area. ‘The word Connemara itself is actually a registered trade name in France so we have to be careful how we use it, but no one can prevent us from identifying our Connemara location, which we do loud and clear on all our presentation packs and materials,’ Sean Gavin, Irish Seaspray’s managing director, told Fish Farmer. With a headquarters operation at Leitir Moir, Connemara, and a packing plant at Kilkieran, Connemara, the company loses no time in publicising its roots. ‘The French market is very important to us as a part of an export business which takes our product around the world,’ said Mr Gavin. ‘Currently, for example, we produce 200 tonnes of smoked salmon a year and export 95 per cent of that. By the end of 1998 we hope to have increased our smoked salmon output to 400 tonnes, again based on export sales.’ Even with such expansion programmes in process, however, Irish Seaspray is determined to hold up its Connemara based image for high quality, including a commitment to keep hand slicing its smoked salmon, despite the time and costs involved in training new staff. ‘It takes 12 to 18 months to train a new hand slicer,’ said Mr Gavin. ‘In addition to the time involved, it’s a costly process when you allow for the amount of waste which has to be accepted, especially during the early part of the training period.’ Irish Seaspray, nevertheless, maintain a team of 12 hand slicers and are determined not to forsake the traditional skill in favour of machine processes. ‘Only traditional hand slicing and interleaving is fine enough for our product,’ declares the company’s marketing brochure. ‘The resulting delicacy of texture and freshness of flavour more than justifies the labour involved.’ Once fully trained, Irish Seaspray’s hand slicers work to incredibly tight standards. For example, the company’s smoked salmon range includes an 80g pack and a 160g pack. The 80g pack must consist of just two slices, while the 160g pack contains four slices. In each case, however, the slicers are allowed a meagre 2g tolerance in producing their finished pack contents. A wholly Irish owned company, Irish Seaspray is controlled by Mr Gavin and three co-ordinators, each of whom are also directors of their own individual salmon farms. The three farms they represent supply Irish Seaspray with a

Archive - December.indd 58

Above: Part of Irish Seaspray’s wide selection of smoked salmon products

total of 400 tonnes of fresh salmon a year, while the company buys both farm salmon and white fish from other carefully controlled sources to service a total output of 600 tonnes of fish a year. In addition to its smoked salmon, the company produces an extensive range of added value products, such as smoked salmon parcels (smoked salmon slices stuffed with dill cream cheese and moulded into half moon parcels), salmon and vegetable stir fry, salmon pickle and fresh salmon schnitzel. ‘We have our own new product development unit, equipped to give us one good new product a year to market,’ said Mr Gavin. ‘As with our smoked salmon operation, we are constantly looking to expand this aspect of our business.’ Like others who rely on Ireland’s farm fish industry for their livelihood, Mr Gavin would dearly love to see his company’s commitment to expansion being mirrored by an equally enthusiastic increase in fish consumption by Irish consumers. ‘While we accept that we will always have to be heavy exporters in keeping with most other sectors of the Irish economy, it would be good to see a real growth in home based fish consumption,’ he said. ‘Thanks to the efforts of BIM, through some quite major advertising campaigns, we have seen fish consumption rise a little, from 8.5kg per person per year to 8.75kg. I would hope we can keep that upwards trend moving so that we reach 10kg per person during the next two to three years.’ For the time being, however, Irish Seaspray is intent on making sure that the beauty of Connemara, French pop songs and all are put to the very best commercial use. FF

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/12/2017 15:07:32

SuperSmolt® Feed Only – All the benefits, now simpler

The new SuperSmolt® Feed Only programme additionally delivers: • REDUCED EFFORT – All the benefits of SuperSmolt® without the need for mineral treatments. • INCREASED PLANNING AGILITY – The programme can now also be applied in freshwater loch cages.

For the last 10 years, the Scottish Aquaculture industry have been using the SuperSmolt® programme to produce tens of millions of optimally smoltified salmon from tank-based systems. SuperSmolt® continues to provide clear benefits for both smolt producers and ongrowers:

Flexibility SuperSmolt® fish never desmoltify, giving you greater control over seawater transfer dates.

Improved health and welfare SuperSmolt® reduces stress, disease susceptibility and mortality following transfer.

Better smolts SuperSmolt® fish come on to feed quicker and more evenly post transfer.

Design / Trykk:

Europharma Scotland Ltd Clydebank Business Park G81 2QP Ph: +44 (0) 141 4357 100 supersmolt@europharma-uk.com

med helse som fag

Untitled-1 45

05/12/2017 10:12:08

.no / Andenes

Contact the Europharma Scotland Team for further information:

A1.

Job description: Business Support Manager

Company background ACE Aquatec Limited is a leading supplier of innovative products and services to aquaculture operators throughout the world. Further information on our innovative propositions and international activities can be found on our website (http://www.aceaquatec.com/ ). Headquartered in Dundee (Scotland’s “coolest” city according to the Wall Street Journal), ACE seeks to introduce an experienced Business support manager to lead the company’s support activities, including finance, IT, HR and office management. It is anticipated that suitable candidates will expect to earn in the region of £50k to £60k, reflecting their expertise and experience of underpinning the growth of an innovative, internationally oriented company. Scope of responsibility The Business Support Manager will lead on the following activities: • Financial administration and reporting • Human resources management • Information systems management • Quality and health & safety management • Office management The role will demand self-starting capability, curiosity and a desire to continue to optimise the performance of the company’s support systems as it grows and extends reach around the world. The role will be based at the company’s headquarters in Dundee. Qualification requirements Suitable candidates will have expertise in financial administration (likely management accounting) and have prior experience of managing information systems and asset tracking. Prior experience of working with a company that operates a rental business model would be beneficial. Applications Applications should be submitted electronically to nathan@aceaquatec.com. The closing date for applications is 10th December 2017. It is anticipated that interviews will be carried out during December with a view to making an appointment in January 2018. Candidates will be invited to commence employment at the earliest possible date in 2018.

A2. Job

description: International Markets Executive

Company background ACE Aquatec Limited is a leading supplier of innovative products and services to aquaculture operators throughout the world. Further information on our innovative propositions and international activities can be found on our website (http://www.aceaquatec.com/ ). Headquartered in Dundee (Scotland’s “coolest” city according to the Wall Street Journal), ACE seeks to introduce an experienced International Markets Executive to play a key role in the company’s international expansion ambitions. It is anticipated that suitable candidates will expect to earn in the region of £40k to £45k, reflecting their expertise and experience of developing and implementing results-focused, international market development effort. Scope of responsibility The International Markets Executive will lead on the following activities: • Researching and prioritising target markets • Qualifying international market opportunities (to include assessment of risk; how risk might be mitigated; best fit business model to adopt within each territory) • Establishing and managing routes to market • Establishing and maintaining relationships with key intermediaries and end customers • Development and delivery of the international growth plan The role will demand self-starting capability, curiosity, proactivity, cultural adaptability, a keen interest in international market development and a burning ambition to make Ace Aquaculture a global market leader. The role will be based at the company’s headquarters in Dundee. Qualification requirements Candidates are expected to have significant experience in each area of the scope of responsibility. Moreover, they should be able to point to a track record of achievement and detail how they have gone about these activities for a business of similar status and standing as ACE Aquatec. Whilst no formal qualifications are sought, candidates must demonstrate the knowledge and expertise required to fulfil against this scope of responsibility. Applications Applications should be submitted electronically to nathan@aceaquatec.com The closing date for applications is 10th December 2017. It is anticipated that interviews will be carried out during December-January with a view to making an appointment in the new year. Candidates will be invited to commence employment at the earliest possible date in 2018.

Ace Aquatec - Recruitment.indd 60

05/12/2017 10:21:12

DON’T MISS THE UK’S LARGEST AQUACULTURE EXHIBITION AND CONFERENCE

Untitled-2 61

05/12/2017 14:55:29

Processing News

Scottish and Grimsby processors link up

Hilton seals £80m purchase of Seachill

TWO of Britain’s leading seafood organisations have formed a closer bond to prepare for Brexit

JIMMY Buchan, Scotland’s TV star skipper and now business manager of the Scottish Seafood Association, was the guest of Seafood Grimsby and Humber and the Grimsby Fish Merchants association when he visited the Humber port a few days ago. The visit comes just two weeks after Grimsby Seafood and Humber signed a memorandum of understanding with the Iceland Ocean Cluster. Buchan met processors and representatives of the local supply chain over fish and chips. Despite the wide geographical gap, the two groups found common ground on a variety of topics linked to the UK’s seafood processing sector. The two groups agreed to continue dialogue, with the support of Seafish, and plan another meeting in the New Year. They said: ‘With Brexit being a hot topic, both organisations recognised the importance of a joined

Above: Jimmy Buchan

up message for the processing sector on each side of the border. ‘Common themes discussed included the supply of labour and the ability to transport cargo in and out of the UK after March 2019. ‘The parties also discussed the automation in fish processing and future governments funding mechanisms to support innovation.’

Simon Dwyer, representing the Grimsby and Humber based organisations, said: ‘I’d like to thank the Seafish Industry Authority for facilitating this meeting. ‘We have a common cause with Jimmy and his members, and that’s to sustain our processing sectors beyond Brexit and work with our governments

to create conditions for growth. ‘The UK consumer market is big enough for both clusters to support an increase in seafood consumption and remain competitive towards processors abroad.’ Buchan replied: ‘On visiting the Humber and meeting Simon Dwyer and colleagues, I’m pleased to have found common ground to champion our seafood sectors. The visit has helped me to better understand the Grimsby and Humber processing industry.’ Before leaving, he later paid a visit to the Grimsby Seafood Village at the invitation of its directors. The Scottish Seafood Association represents more than 70 mainly small and medium processors, while Seafood Grimsby and Humber, employing over 5,000 people in the region, is the UK’s main fish processing centre. Buchan, skipper of Amity II, starred in the BBC television series Trawlermen. He entered

Young’s launch frozen shellfish lines YOUNG’S Seafood has set out to further boost the growing frozen seafood category with the launch of three new shellfish lines, timed for the approach of the festive season. The Grimsby based company said the introduction of the new lines comes after the brand undertook research that showed consumers lacked inspiration, with two out of three saying they’d like to see new and exciting products. Shoppers in Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose are now able to choose from a scallop dish and a fruits de mer product - that are complemented with restaurant inspired butters - to jumbo tiger prawns. Jason Manley, head of Frozen Brand at Young’s, said: ‘We want to inspire more people to love fish, and when consumers told us they lack that inspiration, we’ve used our seafood heritage to develop the best shellfish products that they can be confident in using to make delicious dishes at home.’ According to the latest data from Kantar, frozen seafood is growing by more than 9.5 per cent in value and 5.5 per cent in volume over the last three months - the fastest growth for more than seven years.

Processing News.indd 62

Ongoing dialogue Themes discussed “included the supply of labour ”

politics in 2009, campaigning unsuccessfully for the Banff and Buchan seat for the Conservatives. Earlier in the month, the Iceland Ocean Cluster in Reykjavik and Seafood Grimsby and Humber agreed to develop collaboration between the two centres. This new partnership will undertake to achieve stronger cooperation against the backdrop of Brexit. At least 70 per cent of Grimsby’s fish supply comes from Iceland. Iceland Ocean Cluster chief Thor Sigfusson said: ‘Our mission is to create value by connecting together entrepreneurs, businesses and knowledge in the marine industries.’

THE Icelandic Group has formally completed the sale for cash of its UK based subsidiary Icelandic Group UK (Seachill), to Hilton Food Group, a leading specialist international meat packing business. The deal, said Icelandic, has an enterprise value of £84 million although the cash figure is reported to be £80.8 million. Seachill will become a standalone division of Hilton, with the existing Seachill management team remaining in place. Simon Smith, the current Seachill CEO and Saucy Fish creator, will continue to lead the Grimsby based business. Hilton has already declared that growth is top of its agenda. It is also a major employer in the town. Robert Watson, chief executive of Hilton, said earlier: ‘The processing and supplying of fish and seafood into the UK is an attractive and growing market and one where we see considerable opportunities to build Hilton’s business. ‘Our initial discussions with key customers support this view and we look forward to broadening our offering.’

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/12/2017 15:06:07

Processing News

Processors urged to release labour data SEAFOOD processors are being asked to provide data on their workforces to help get a clear understanding of labour availability in the UK in the light of Brexit. In response to industry and government requests, Seafish will collect the information in a series of surveys, which will be used to inform government decisions about staffing in the sector. In early 2017, a labour nationality survey by Seafish found 66 per cent of UK seafood processing sites employed workers from other EU countries. The same data revealed that 42 per cent of the 10,000 employees in the survey were from other EU countries. The research also revealed wide regional variations in the proportion of workers employed from outside the UK. For example, in the Grampian region, where much of Scotland’s seafood processing is located, 70 per cent of the total reported workforce were citizens of other EU countries, whereas in the Humberside (mainly Grimsby) region, 17 per cent of workers – or about 1,000 employees – were from other EU countries. While both these statistics differ from the UK average, they are likely to change in the near future, with multiple businesses expressing concerns about labour availability and the flow of workers into the seafood processing sector slowing in recent months. The new Seafood Processing Labour Reports will track trends in the number, proportion and ease of recruiting both UK and non-UK workers in the seafood processing sector in the period before and immediately after the UK leaves the EU. These reports will focus on the nationality of permanent, temporary and seasonable workers. The whole workforce review survey will be conducted annually, with additional quarterly update questionnaires helping collect data on the ease or difficulty of recruiting, staff turnover and the business impacts of changes in labour availability. Seafish will also use the information to produce case studies from individ-

Above: Uncertain future for the processing workforce

ual businesses, and is calling for all seafood processing businesses interested in contributing to this research to get involved. Nigel Edwards, technical and CSR director at Icelandic Seachill, said: ‘We are facing an uncertain future and we must get a comprehensive overview of our workforce to be able to tackle any labour supply issues before they become a big issue. I would encourage all processors to be involved in this vital survey so a clear picture of the industry’s workforce can be formed and our concerns can be heard.’ Seaﬁsh chief economist Hazel Curtis said: ‘We are aiming to ensure government decisions in the run up to Brexit are well informed by robust quantitative and qualitative data and analysis, concerning labour and associated business practices throughout the UK seafood processing sector.’

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Opinion – Inside track

Don’t pay for détente BY NICK JOY

OR those of you who don’t know the word, it means relaxing of tense relations. A little bird, or several, have told me that there are moves within the industry to create a fund to disperse to the wild salmonid lobby by some route or other. It has further been suggested that this fund would be handled at a national level and then distributed to worthy projects and organisations. I cannot say that I have heard of a worse idea in a long time. Let’s leave aside that those who want to enter the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) might wish to get it changed and need the wild salmonid lobby on their side. Let’s also ignore the fact that the wild salmonid lobby have been making their usual claims and producing fake news by the bucket load. The reason that this is a bad idea is because the basic principle is fundamentally flawed. Détente is achieved by discussion and two parties trusting each other and developing win:win positions. It has never succeeded where one party effectively punishes the other party until it pays up. So let’s look at the issues we face.The national wild salmonid lobby is effectively controlled by the big three rivers.Through whatever national organisation, they raise the issue of the west coast and salmon farming ‘on behalf’ of the small proprietors or trusts on the west coast. During my tenure in such a trust, I can say that the number of times their representative has been to visit can be counted on one hand and the number of times that one of the big hitters has come has been a big fat resounding zero. I should pay tribute to the proprietors in the area of our trust.They are reasonable, thoughtful people and, here’s the surprise, the farming businesses in our area match them.We receive a very significant level of funding from them. Each business, whether wild salmonid or farmed, knows and has to sign a document saying that they do not expect their contribution to affect what the trust does. All believe that the trust should be uninfluenced by who funds it and our biologist is clear that she and she alone decides on the projects put forward for funding. This has resulted in a new tracking project to look at where sea trout go in a loch that contains a fish farm.The fish farm is helping to fund it and make it work, despite the fact that the outcome might be deleterious to them. The issue is a local one and should be resolved locally. It is clear that some lochs with fish farms cannot have been affected. I use the example of Loch Eriboll, where there is a farm site but the Polla has been on 50-year record catches for quite a while now. The wild salmonid lobby will not be bought off. If they aren’t just using the argument to beat government then they must genuinely believe that the salmon farming industry is causing an issue. Why would money stop them continuing to campaign? Further to this, the fund would appear to be a tacit acceptance by the industry that salmon farming has affected the migratory returns. Does the industry intend this? Then there comes the most basic issue of all.This money will quickly be regarded as owing to the salmonid lobby and then subject to demands for growth to match putative impact. It will have layers of people deciding its appropriate use and adding layers of cost. It will not earn any respect or gratitude and will not result in a positive dialogue. For the sake of generations of future aquaculturists and business people, please do not do this. Someone said that the issue is about time poor and cash rich people trying to find a solution. It is an intelligent view.What is

Nick Joy.indd 66

The wild “salmonid

lobby will not be bought oﬀ ’

”

needed is time spent at a local level building trust and ﬁnding pragmatic solutions. There are hard liners out there. Some do not believe that there should be any truck with the salmon industry at all.They believe that if the money is passed to a national organisation, somehow the money will be laundered bright white and this leaves them with their hand unblemished. These are people who believe that their hands are unsullied while working to conserve a species solely for the purpose of catching it on a hook and releasing it again. Morality is seen peculiarly by those who wear distorted lenses. A good world is one where people who deeply disagree can discuss and understand each other’s position, while trying to progress.Those who refuse to see others as having any redeeming qualities rarely make good peace makers and rarely produce useful solutions. I believe that most people are good and want good to happen.We need to meet and talk just as we have in our trust for the last 21 years.We don’t agree on everything and in some cases passionately disagree, but we always respect each other and we always leave wanting to meet again. Don’t ruin this because of expediency or because the needs of tomorrow don’t weigh heavily enough on your conscience. FF

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/12/2017 15:02:24

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