Eurofish Magazine 6 2011

Decem

ber 6 / 2011

Eurofish M

agazine

is a member of the FISH INFO network

Spotlight on technology and certifi cation at fi sh international 2012

Processing: Will newer materials replace traditional cans?

www.eurofi shmagazine.com ISSN 1868-5943 December 6 / 2011 C 44346

Project: Stakeholders debate the future of marine coldwater aquaculture

Diversity of fl eets and gears complicates fi sheries management

ItalyE

UR

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H International O

rganisation

Reach the Entire Seafood Industry... no matter how they seek information

Discover new ways to meet all of your seafood needs. s.

Source the largest variety of seafood products, equipment and services at the world’s largest seafood events.

Stay informed with essential resources providing current news for seafood professionals worldwide.

Diversified Business Communications | 121 Free Street, PO Box 7437 | Portland, ME 04112-7437 Tel: 207-842-5500 | Fax: 207-842-5505 | E-mail: [email protected] | www.divbusiness.com

March 11 - 13, 2012Boston, MABoston Convention & Exhibition Center www.bostonseafood.com

24-26 April, 2012 Brussels, Belgium Brussels Exhibition Centrewww.euroseafood.comwww.europrocessing.com

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11 - 13 September, 2012Wanchai, Hong KongHong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre www.asianseafoodexpo.com

15-17 October, 2012Barcelona, SpainFira de Barcelonawww.seafoodbarcelona.com

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Decem

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Eurofish M

agazine






Diversity of fl eets and gears

complicates fi sheries managementItaly

EU

RO

FISH

International Organisation

Reach the Entire Seafood Industry...

no matter how they seek information

Discover new ways to meet all

of your seafood needs.

s.

Source

the largest variety

of seafood products,

equipment and services

at the world’s largest

seafood events.

Stay informed with essential resources

providing current news

for seafood professionals

worldwide.

Diversified Business Communications | 121 Free Street, PO Box 7437 | Portland, ME 04112-7437

Tel: 207-842-5500 | Fax: 207-842-5505 | E-mail: [email protected] | www.divbusiness.com

March 11 - 13, 2012

Boston, MA

Boston Convention & Exhibition Center

www.bostonseafood.com

24-26 April, 2012

Brussels, Belgium

Brussels Exhibition Centre

www.euroseafood.com

www.europrocessing.com


11 - 13 September, 2012

Wanchai, Hong Kong

Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre

www.asianseafoodexpo.com

15-17 October, 2012

Barcelona, Spain

Fira de Barcelona

www.seafoodbarcelona.com

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10. FAO Africa Summit – outlook for fisheries and aquaculture

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www.eurofishmagazine.com Eurofish Magazine 6/ 2011 3

In this issue

Fisheries and aquaculture in Italy face challenges on several fronts

Italy – The fishing and aquaculture industries in Italy face several challenges. The fishing sector is suffering from over capacity, diminishing catches, low profitability, high fuel costs and a lack of young people entering the trade. Stagnant production, competition from Greece and Turkey, inadequate planning at the national level, and poor collaboration between industry and the research establishment are some of the issues affecting the marine fish farming industry. While production of seabass and seabream showed no change from 2008 to 2009, both volumes and values of freshwater trout increased in 2009 compared to the previous year, one of the few positive developments in the industry. Solutions to these issues are not easy to find or implement. Transferable quotas that have contributed to the fisheries sector’s profitability in other countries are regarded with suspicion by parts of the industry in Italy. But better planning and coordination between industry, administration, and the research establishment could improve the conditions under which the aquaculture sector operates. Read more on page 25

Azerbaijan is the largest of the Southern Caucasian nations, yet the one with the lowest reserves of freshwater, a significant constraint for the development of the aquaculture industry. The sector comprises private industry that produces farmed fish, mainly cyprinids but also trout, and the state-run hatcheries that breed fingerlings of many different species for restocking purposes. The lack of freshwater has created an interest among fish farmers in modern technology that saves and reuses water. Azerbaijan has a long Caspian Sea coast that supports a marine fishery based on kilka and sprats, two small pelagic species. Sturgeon stocks in the Caspian Sea have been decimated and efforts to revive them are under way. Read more on page 45

Aquainnova – Representatives from Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Scotland, and Spain as well as the host country Norway got together to discuss the future of marine coldwater aquaculture on 21 and 22 September in Oslo. The meeting was one in a series organised under an EU FP7-financed project, Aquainnova that seeks to facilitate dialogue between the aquaculture industry, policy makers, the research establishment, administrators and others. The meeting discussed how the marine coldwater aquaculture sector could contribute to achieving the Vision for European Aquaculture in 2030. Among the conclusions of the discussion were that production of European coldwater marine species would increase significantly over the next couple of decades and that European aquaculture would increase its contribution to global production of farmed fish. As a fraction of global output aquaculture, production in the EU-27 has been declining steadily, from 18.4% in 1970 to 2.4% in 2008, according to the FAO. Read more on page 23

Aquaculture – The concept of insuring stock in the fish farming industry is far from widespread as farmers consider it expensive and complicated. However, in his report on aquaculture insurance Manfred Klinkhardt argues that insurance should be considered a part of a famer’s risk management strategies. The global value of stock in 2009 was estimated at USD110bn while the level of insurance premiums was only US142m. It is mainly farms in Western Europe, Japan, Canada, Turkey, Australia and New Zealand that invest in insurance. The proliferation of standards and codes that many farmers produce to could be part of the reason that they feel insurance is unnecessary, but this is the wrong approach… Read more on page 56

Processing – The humble tin can has proved its worth many time over during the course of the last 200 years. Metal cans offer several advantages over other packaging materials, such as glass or plastic, but today new materials or combinations of materials offer all the advantages of metal plus a few more, such as requiring less energy to produce, sterilise, or distribute. However, use of the metal can is far too widespread for it to be replaced any time soon, far more likely is that new packaging products will slowly chip away at the market for metal cans and other traditional materials. Read more on page 49

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4 Euro� sh Magazine 6/ 2011

Table of ContentsNews 6 International News

Events 19 � sh international 2012, 12-14 February, Bremen, Germany

Emphasis on aquaculture technology, certi� cation, and processing

21 Alimentaria 2012, 26-29 March, Barcelona, SpainIs food a way out of the crisis for Spain?

22 Iceland Fisheries Exhibition, 22-24 September, Kópavogur, IcelandYou had to be there

Project 23 Aquainnova workshop in Oslo

The future of marine coldwater aquaculture

Italy 25 Causes behind falling � sheries production in Italy and the

industry’s responseDiversity of � eets, gears, and species hampers e� ective management

27 Energy audits on board � shing vesselsEnergy pro� ling can lead to reduced fuel consumption

30 Italian aquaculture and � sheries face challenges on several frontsNo easy answers

34 Bivalves from the Venetian lagoonVenetian vongole veraci, fasolari, and mussels should be better known in Europe

36 Acqua Azzurra is the leading producer of seabass and seabream in ItalyA culture of constant innovation and experimenting

39 Iasa continues a 42-year old traditionTwelve-month matured anchovies for gourmets

42 Salvatore Pappalardo targets tuna and small pelagicsBlue� n tuna � shermen weary of restrictions on their activities

44 Interview with Valentina Tepedino, Director and Managing Editor of Euro� shmarketInvestigating fraud in Italy’s seafood sector

Salvatore Pappalardo’s catches of anchovies are immediately packed on ice for sale to the local market.

Front cover picture courtesy Alessandro Lucchetti and Antonello Sala, National Research Council – Institute of Marine Research (CNR-ISMAR), Ancona, Italy.

Caption: Fish caught by Italian trawlers in the Mediterannean often includes a mixture of European hake (Merluccius merluccius), hornet octopus (Eledone cirrhosa) and mackerel (Scomber scombrus)

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Euro� sh Magazine 6 / 2011 5

Table of ContentsAzerbaijan 45 Lack of freshwater means aquaculture in Azerbaijan depends

on new technology to expandRevival of interest in � sheries and aquaculture

Processing 49 Tinplate or glass, aluminium or plastic

Which material is best for preserves?

52 Polish project investigates use of � sh scraps to produce high value productsGenerating value from waste

Fraud 54 Fraud in the seafood trade

Guarding against dishonest business practices

Aquaculture 56 Guide to Recirculation Aquaculture

Chapter Five: Running a recirculation system

58 Aquaculture insurances as part of risk managementInsurance companies o� er customised solutions

Fish Info Network News 61 Projects 61 Events 61 Publications

Guest Pages 64 Dr Lahsen Ababouch: FAO is committed to the global network

of Fish Infocentres of which Euro� sh is partBuilding on a long relationship

Service 63 Diary Dates 66 Imprint, List of Advertisers

Worldwide Fish News

Belgium page 6, 11, 14, 16

China page 7

Croatia page 18

Denmark page 6, 9, 10, 12, 16

Estonia page 12

Italy pages 10

Moldova page 8

Norway page 12

Poland page 18

Romania page 14

Spain pages 8, 15

UK page 9, 10, 14

USA page 18

45

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6 Euro� sh Magazine 6 / 2011 www.euro� shmagazine.com

[ NEWS INTERNATIONAL ]

Belgium: Bjørn Myrseth receives FEAP annual award for excellence in European aquaculture

Denmark: Biomar hosts delegation of Armenian aquaculturists

From left, Arnault Chaperon, FEAP President; Bjørn Myrseth; and Robin Wardle, Director of Technical Services and Customer Support for MSD Aquatic Animal Health.

His Excellency Mr Hrachya Aghajanyan, the Armenian Ambassador to Denmark.

Mr Aram Gharibyan (right), Senior Advisor to the President of Armenia.

� e Federation of European Aquaculture Producers’ (FEAP) has announced that the Federa-tion’s annual prize for excellence in European aquaculture has been awarded to Bjørn Myrseth in recognition of his contribu-tion to European aquaculture. Mr Myrseth has had a long and illustrious career in the aquacul-ture industry since he graduated from the University of Bergen in 1971. He founded Stolt Sea Farm which specialized in the produc-tion of salmon smolts � rst in Nor-way, then in Scotland, USA and Canada. Under his leadership the company produced market-sized � sh in Canada and USA and started the production of sturgeon in California. Another company he started, Lax AS, had

investments in Greece, UK and Chile and later became Marine Farms AS, which he headed from 1987 to 2010. Mr Myrseth has been a long-time supporter of cooper-ation and openness in developing aquaculture and, already in 1976, was a co-founder of the European Mariculture Society – the precur-sor of the European Aquaculture Society (EAS). He was active in founding regional and national aquaculture associations in Nor-way, and was elected President of EAS in 1992. Today his expertise and experience as one of the pio-neers of the modern � sh farming industry are much sought after by his colleagues. Acknowledging the award Mr Myrseth expressed mild surprise at being selected for doing what he considered

to be his job – and added that he was not yet � nished! FEAP’s annual award is supported by

MSD Animal Health known as Merck Animal Health in the USA and Canada.

A delegation of Armenian aqua -c u lturists recently visited Denmark to meet their stra-tegic partner Biomar, one of the leading suppliers of high performance � sh feed to the

aquaculture ind ustry. At the meeting Lars Rahbæk, Biomar’s Managing Director, presented the main business areas of Bio-mar, which are feed for salmon and trout in Norway, the United

Kingdom, and Chile, and feed for trout, eel, sea-bass, and sea-bream in continental Europe. Mr Rahbæk also introduced some of the recent developments in the company including a new

feed for tilapia which will be produced in a newly built factory in Costa Rica.

� is visit by the Armenian aqua-culturists was strongly supported

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Euro� sh Magazine 6/ 2011 7www.euro� shmagazine.com

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The German Seafood Show

Tel: +494213505-260 www.fishinternational.com [email protected]

Eurofish184x124.indd 1 10.11.11 13:01

China: Asian Seafood Exposition features fi rst Japanese seafood promotion campaign since tsunami

by His Excellency Mr Hrachya Aghajanyan, Ambas sador Extraor-dinary and Plenipo tentiary of Armenia in Denmark and Mr Aram Gharibyan, Senior Adviser to the President of Armenia.

During the meeting Mr Gharibyan pointed out that the Armenian aquaculture sector has strong potential for growth by using

underexploited water resources (amounting to 2,700 ha water area) more e� ectively. In Armenia there are 5,424 deep wells of which 3,500 are used for � sh farming. All in all, this could facilitate a several fold increase in � sh production. Proper use of Lake Sevan alone could considerably increase the pre-sent production levels of farmed � sh, which in 2010 were about 5.6

thousand tonnes. At present there are about 250 � sh farms.

During the discussions with Bio-mar special attention was drawn to the necessity to develop an overall plan or vision for the sector and design an action plan to achieve it. The main species under consideration are sturgeon, Lake Sevan trout

(Salmo ischachan) and rainbow trout. Entry to the EU market is one of the top priorities for the fish farmers. They have already developed markets in neigh-boring CIS (Commonwealth of I ndependent States) countries and Georgia, with whom they have concluded free trade agreements, and negotiations with Iran are ongoing.

� ere were 156 exhibiting com-panies from 23 countries and over 5,000 visitors from 50 coun-tries at the Asian Seafood Expo-sition which ran 6-8 September in Hong Kong, China. � is is the second edition of Asian Seafood to be held and the organisers,

Diversi� ed Business Communi-cations, expressed their satisfac-tion with the outcome. � is year eight new countries exhibited and there were 14 country pavil-ions, according to SeafoodSource.com, which quotes Mary Larkins, VP Seafood Expositions, as saying

that there had been a 45 increase in space sold compared to last year. � e quality of attendees was good with a strong showing by sen-ior executives authorised to make purchasing decisions. Diversi� ed is also behind the world’s big-gest seafood show, the European

Seafood Exposition, in Brussels, as well as the Boston Seafood show and will inaugurate a show in Barcelona next year. � e Hong Kong event featured a range of new products that highlighted some of the recent products and trends to be seen in the region.

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The Japanese pavilion at the Asian Seafood Exposition hosted the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ media event to demonstrate the health and safety of Japanese seafood.

Moldova: NACEE holds its second general assembly meeting in Chisinau

Participants at the second general assembly of NACEE, the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Central and Eastern Europe, in Chisinau, Moldova.

Spain: New seafood event to launch in Barcelona in autumn 2012

� ese included frozen van-namei, smoked salmon, and Taiwan � ying � sh caviar. At the Japanese pavilion that hosted nine companies, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries had organised a media event to demonstrate the health and safety of Japanese seafood – the � rst since the tsu-nami and nuclear plant accident in March. Hong Kong is the big-gest importer of Japanese seafood in terms of value and therefore an important market in which

to promote the message that Japanese seafood is safe to eat. At the event well-known chefs cooked a variety of dishes using Japanese seafood.

� e next edition of the event is sche duled on 11-13 September 2012 and will be held in conjunction with Restaurant & Bar Hong Kong, a trade show for the region’s hos-pitality sector; and Frozen Food Asia, a newly-launched event featuring frozen foods across all categories.

� e Network of Aquaculture Cen-tres in Central and Eastern Europe (NACEE), which recently � nalized its transformation into a registered NGO, held its Second General Assembly in Chisinau, Moldova, on 17-18 October 2011. � e Gen-eral Assembly was hosted by the Institute of Zoology of the Acad-emy of Sciences of Moldova and the Chisinau Branch of the State Research and Production Enter-prise “Acvacultura-Moldova”, and was attended by 62 participants representing 24 institutions and organizations from 10 countries.

� e participants discussed a number of organizational and strategic issues. In particular, they made important decisions on membership issues; adopted the annual progress report of the Executive Board; established a Technical Advisory Committee

and elected its members, who have already started the devel-opment of a NACEE research agenda. In addition they spoke about project opportunities and NACEE’s possible involvement and considered ways of coopera-tion with FAO, with special regard to the improvement of the qual-ity of statistical data from NACEE member countries. Participants also adopted the action plan and budget for the next year. NACEE members were also acquainted with the activities of the Aquaex-cel project, which aims at map-ping the research infrastructure in Europe, including NACEE member countries.

� e members also had an oppor-tunity to visit the state-of-the-art recirculation system of Aquatir Ltd., a new member of NACEE, in Tiraspol.

In conjunction with the Gen-eral Assembly, an FAO-supported workshop on the role of aquacul-ture in rural development was held on 19 October. After the presenta-tions, which included overviews

of speci� c development progr-ammes and case studies from di� erent countries, a forum was held on the possible involvement of NACEE in development pro-grammes in developing countries.

Two of the biggest names in sea-food event organisation, Diversi-� ed Business Communications and Alimentaria Exhibitions, have joined forces to launch Sea-food Barcelona, an event that will bring together buyers and sellers

interested in the Spanish market in particular, but more gener-ally in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean region. � e event will take place 15-17 October, 2012 at Fira de Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain. � e inaugural event, which

is expected to attract 300 exhibiting companies from all aspects of the seafood and seafood processing industry, will draw high-volume level seafood buyers from super-markets, hypermarkets, restaurants, brokers, importers, distributors and

wholesalers. It will cover all sea-food categories including fresh, frozen, processed, value- added seafood products; seafood pro-cessing & packaging equipment; companies with services for the seafood industry and more.

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Denmark: Oyster Trophy Week promotes Danish oysters across the country

Oyster Trophy Week highlighted Danish oysters and their role in new Nordic cuisine.

UK: New export director at Lossie Seafoods and Moray Seafoods

Henry Angus, newly appointed export director of Lossie Seafoods Ltd. and Moray Seafoods Ltd. is responsible for implementing a development plan for the two Buckie, Scotland-based companies.

Alimentaria Exhibitions already organises the annual Alimen-taria Barcelona event in spring which focuses on food in general and includes a seafood compo-nent. Another major Spanish seafood event is the Conxemar

show in Vigo in autumn, where the focus is on frozen � sh. Spain is a major seafood producing and consuming nation with a per capita consumption among the highest in Europe. Data from the Ministry of the Environment

and Rural Marine A� airs shows that seafood is consumed in 70 of Spanish households and consumption is recorded at 1.2 kg per capita per month. � e nation is also a major trader of seafood importing USD5.9bn

worth in 2009 and exporting for USD3.1bn, according to a recent report from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. However, whether the market is quite big enough to accommodate three international events remains to be seen.

Organised by Food Organisa-tion of Denmark and the Asso-ciation of Danish Fishmongers the � rst edition of the Oyster Trophy Week took place from 14 to 22 October to focus both national and international attention on one of the most delicate and exquisite foods from Denmark and a promi-nent feature of the rejuvenated

Nordic cuisine – oysters from Limfjorden. � e week started with the launching of the � rst oyster bed in Copenhagen fol-lowed by a celebration of Dan-ish oysters in numerous restau-rants across the country and by a Wild Oyster Safari: a two-day tour to the homes of oysters in Denmark, Vadehavet and Limf-jorden, with Michelin chef Mads

Refslund. � e oysters are not farmed, but live in a protected Natura 2000 habitat, a Euro-pean special natural reserve. � e stock varies greatly: every year � shers have to apply for a special license to harvest the oysters, and as yet no licenses have been issued for the 2011/12 season, except for a small quantity just for the Oysterweek.

The Buckie (Scotland) com-panies Lossie Seafoods Ltd. and Moray Seafoods Ltd. have appointed Henry Angus as export director to drive exports into new markets around the world. Lossie Seafoods special-ises in smoked salmon which is exported to a number of destina-tions. It has a workforce of about 50 employees. Moray Seafo -ods processes fresh and frozen

langoustine for the domestic UK as well as export markets and also employs about 50 peo-ple. The two companies were recently acquired by Associ-ated Seafoods Ltd and are going through a phase of restructuring and development. Victor West, managing director of Associated Seafoods says Henry Angus will play a key role in implementing the plans.

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UK: Vigorous opposition in Scotland to further reduction in days at sea in 2012

Denmark: Stricter requirements for mussel fishers in Limfjord’s Natura 2000 areas

Italy: Mediterranean Seafood Expo highlights Italy’s huge import requirements

The Mediterranean Seafood Exposition in Rimini is the place to be for exporters interested in a piece of the Italian seafood market.

� e Scottish Fishermen’s Fed-eration has expressed its oppo-sition to the continuation of the automatic reduction in the number of days that � shing ves-sels can put to sea that is set to come into force in 2012 under European regulations. Under the automatic mechanism intro-duced by the EC as part of the Cod Recovery Plan, Scottish

white� sh and prawn boats stand to lose further days that they can put to sea in 2012. Vessels will face having to work with a 45 reduction since the introduc-tion of the scheme at the start of 2009. � e industry feels that the Commission is not taking into account the measures that have been introduced by the Scottish � eet to conserve stocks. � ese

include real-time area closures to avoid cod, more selective nets in the white� sh � eet, a really serious set of self-help trials and innovation by the prawn � eets and the use of CCTV to avoid discarding. Alan Coghill, Presi-dent of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, doubts that the nor-mal channels of discussion with the Commission are going to be

able to bring about a change in the regulation. He will there-fore take the matter up with the Scottish and UK governments and urge them to convince their counterparts in the Council of Ministers to � nd a mechanism to freeze the automatic reductions in the days at sea due in 2012 until a review of the plan has been completed.

In 2010 approximately one third of the mussel � shery in the Limfjord was in protected Natura 2000 areas, a practice which the European Commission has frowned upon, if su� cient measures are not taken to pro-tect the environment in these areas. Mette Gjerskov, Minister

of Food, Agriculture and Fisher-ies, has now introduced stricter requirements for mussel � sher-men, that will make the � shery more sustainable in 2011, yet at the same time maintain employ-ment in the area. � e new demands include a GPS receiver on the � shing vessels which will

allow the vessel’s position to be monitored to see that it does not enter vulnerable areas. � e devices have to be installed by 1 March 2012 at the latest. Fish-ers will also have to use a di� er-ent kind of � shing gear that does less damage to the environment when collecting the mussels.

If the Commission does not approve the new measures we will have to look at them again, says Ms Gjerskov, emphasising that in the long term more environmentally friendly mus-sel � shing gear will have to be deployed in the interests of a sustainable mussel � shery.

� e Italian seafood market is dom-inated by imports, which have been approximately 73 of app-arent consumption for the last few years. In 2010 Italy imported 941 thousand tonnes of seafood with a value of almost EUR4bn, accord-ing to Ismea, (Istituto di Servizi per il Mercato Agricolo Alimentare) using data from the Italian National Institute for Statistics. � e Mediterranean Seafood Expo-sition (MSE) in Rimini provides a platform for seafood exporters to enter or expand into the Italian market and pro� t from the Italian seafood trade. Fresh seafood is a major import, amounting to 21 of the total import volume in 2010, but there is also a signi� cant and increasing interest in pro-cessed � sh and seafood includ-ing frozen products, dry products, salted or pickled products, prepa-rations and preserves, as well as

fresh � sh � llets. In volume terms imports of processed products increased by 2.5 in 2010 com-pared to the previous year and by nearly 11 in value. � e MSE will

be held from 25 to 28 February 2012 in conjunction with Sapore, an event dedicated to eating out, and will cover the entire sea-food value addition chain and

associated technologies. In addi-tion, the event will feature several workshops and seminars where both technical as well as policy issues will be discussed.

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[ NEWS INTERNATIONAL ]NEWS INTERNATIONAL[ NEWS INTERNATIONAL ]

Belgium: Baltic Sea fi shing quotas for 2012 agreed

RIMINI-ITALY

FEBRUARI 201225/28www.saporerimini.it

� e Council of Fisheries Minis-ters agreed on catches and quota for certain � sh stocks in the Baltic Sea for 2012 at a Council meeting in October in Luxembourg. � e � shing e� ort limits for Baltic Sea cod, which is governed by a multi-annual plan, were also agreed at the meeting. � e agreements took into account scienti� c advice from ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) and the Scienti� c, Technical and Eco-nomic Committee for Fisheries (STECF). � e herring TAC in the Eastern Baltic except the Gulf of Bothnia was reduced by 27 com-pared to 2011 to 78,417 tonnes. In the Gulf of Bothnia and the West-ern Baltic the TAC was increased by 2 to 106,000 tonnes and by 32 to 20,900 tonnes respec-tively. While in the Gulf of Riga the

herring TAC was reduced by 16 to 30,576 tonnes. For cod the TAC was increased by 15 in the East-ern Baltic to 67,850 tonnes and by 13 in the Western Baltic to 21,300 tonnes. TACs for Baltic Sea salmon were slashed by 51 to 122,553 individuals in the subdivisions 22-31 and were maintained at the 2011 level of 15,419 individuals in subdivision 32. While for sprat the TAC fell by 22 to 225,237 tonnes.

� e reductions in herring and sprat stocks were less than those originally suggested by the Com-mission as several nations were opposed to those proposals. According to Keit Pentus, Estonian Minister of the Environment, Esto-nian � sh resources have remained stable for the last 20 years and some even exceed the long term

average. � e Commission also abandoned its suggestion for quo-tas to be automatically reduced by 25 when data on the stock was lacking as member states felt it was not based on science. � e UK � sh-eries minister said the proposal also risked increasing discards as � shers might not have the quota to cover the � sh they caught and may have to throw it back.

“� is is a very emotional point, as always,” said Marek Sawicki, Minister for Rural Development of Poland, who presided over the meeting, referring to the nego-tiations. “� is has to be very bal-anced, because on the one hand side we have to protect the stocks of the Baltic Sea, and on the other – we have to make sure that the interests of the member states

are provided for. � is was a very di� cult compromise,” Maria Damanaki, EU Commissioner for Maritime A� airs and Fish-eries, called the agreement “an historical achievement” and said that all the quotas were based on scienti� c advice. Oceana, the marine environment protection organisation, however, said in a statement that the agreement was not ambitious enough to end the over� shing in the Baltic Sea. � e organisation would like to see TAC’s introduced for more of the 50 species that are commer-cially � shed in the Baltic Sea. In 2012 only � ve species, herring, cod, sprat, salmon, and plaice are managed with quotas. Oceana has therefore urged � shery min-isters to introduce management plans for national � eets.

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www.euro� shmagazine.com12 Euro� sh Magazine 6 / 2011


Denmark: Small-scale fi shers benefi t from Council of Ministers agreement

Estonia: Environmental authorities urge fi shers to spare young salmonids

Denmark: Cabinplant wins Danish award for robot trimming and packing line

Norway: Oceana proposes additions to list of Marine Protected Areas

Gorgonians (Leptogorgia lusitanica) at the edge of an underwater passageway. Punta Sonabia, Cantabria, Spain.

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At the Council of Fisheries Min-isters meeting, where � shing quotas for certain Baltic Sea species were agreed, it was also decided to allow individual countries to manage the days at sea given to small � shing vessels. � is will bene� t the small scale

sector in Denmark in particular as some thirty vessels � shing in the western Baltic Sea, the Sound, and the Belts have not used up their quotas. Days at sea will now be transferred to their vessels allowing them to fully � sh their quotas.

Salmon and trout smolts released into water courses have very poor chances of survival, reports Estonian Public Broadcasting. Several thousand smolts were released into the Valgejogi river on 1 October, but Ene Saadre, Deputy Director of Pohula Fish Farm says that of the 18,000 sea trout and 10,000 salmon smolts

released probably not more than 6 will survive. � e young � sh are caught by � shermen in the spring, which is a popular time for anglers. Although the rules state that trout must be 37 cm and salmon 60 cm, the authorities fear that many 20-30 cm � sh will be poached and therefore urge � shers to respect the rules to preserve the stock.

� e Danish engineering prod-uct prize 2011 has been awarded to Cabinplant A/S for its robot trimming and packing line. � e prize is o� ered by Mediehuset Ingeniøren, publishers of the trade journal Ingeniøren (� e Engineer), a magazine focusing

on developments in the � elds of science and technology. � e award, which is o� ered only to products developed in Denmark or to products developed over-seas with Danish resources, seeks to encourage engineers and others in Danish companies to develop world-beating products, where technology, design, and commercial viability are all taken into account. � is year the award was o� ered in collaboration with the Danish Design Centre to high-light the signi� cance of design in product development.

Cabinplant, a supplier of tailor-made manufacturing solutions to the food processing industry, won the award for its robot han-dling system for � sh and shell� sh that combines various process-ing steps and reduces waste by

10-12. While robot systems are traditionally used for pick and place operations Cabinplant introduced further steps into the processing sequence. As a result the machine streamlines � sh processing operations, replaces manual labour with an auto-mated process, and improves operational e� ciency. Depen-ding on the product type, size and

weight, the robot can process and pack between 40-50 pieces per minute. By combining multiple robot modules, the average sys-tem will be capable of handling 300 � sh per minute. � e com-pany believes that the system can also be used in meat processing facilities and even for cut veg-etables, as well as for other kinds of � sh.

OSPAR, the convention for the protection of the marine environ-ment in the North-East Atlantic, has � fteen contracting parties. � ese are the governments of Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, � e Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom, together with the European Com-munity. Among the convention’s achievements are signi� cant reduction in phosphorus and heavy metal inputs; a radical reduction of discharges from nuclear plants; regulation for o� shore oil and gas activity; and a growing net-work of OSPAR Marine Protected Areas. � e marine environment protection organisation Oceana, has recently proposed a further 28 areas for protection under OSPAR. � ese habitats in the Atlantic waters of Spain and Portugal, as well as the

Kattegat were � lmed by Oceana using underwater robots and show the rich biodiversity of these sites, which are at risk from pollution and commercial � sheries. � e � nd-ings were presented at an OSPAR workshop to better de� ne habi-tats such as “gorgonian gardens,” and “deep sponge aggregations.” Clearer de� nitions will facilitate the identi� cation of these habitats and enable measures to protect them to be implemented. Accord-ing to Oceana, northern European countries such as the UK, Germany, and Norway have extensively stud-ied their marine biodiversity and identi� ed important habitats in the North-East Atlantic, while in Spain and Portugal more remains to be done. � e organisation hopes that its � ndings will enable these countries also to create marine protected areas to safeguard the unique biodiversity found there.

Cabinplant’s robot handling system for fi sh and shellfi sh introduces heading, tailing, and gutting in between picking and placing the fi sh.

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Romania: Doripesco launches brand exclusively for traditionally-made products

The Doripesco brand “Delta in the Carpathians” will be used to market products prepared following traditional recipes.

Farming and processing com-pany Doripesco launched its “Delta in the Carpathians” brand at a fishery festival held in September in the town of Brasov, Romania. The event was organised not only to launch the company’s trademark, but also to promote fish and fish prod-ucts as healthy components of a daily diet.

At the launch the company offered participants locally produced fish prepared both traditionally and following modern recipes: fish goulash, fish borsch, grilled trout, trout coated in corn flakes, fish chips, fish sausages, and many others. “The new range is a step for-ward in our strategy to become competitive not only nationally, but also at European level,” said

Dorin Crizbasan, the CEO. In addition to changing the pack-aging, the recipes of products have been improved. “Our strat-egy is to keep the traditional product line. We have already certified six products: carp roe salad, smoked trout, Transyl-vanian trout, smoked fillets of bighead carp, trout roulade and smoked bighead carp of Barsa; for the latter we are on course to obtain the protected designation of origin (PDO) certification,” says Ruxandra Coc, the Business Develop-ment Director. All products that are marketed under the Delta in the Carpathians brand use traditional regional recipes. For example, they are smoked with sawdust beech and celery leaves, and for spreads a mini-mum of preservatives are used.

UK: New managing director at CarnaudMetalbox Engineering

CarnaudMetalbox Engineering Ltd is a UK-based manufacturer of can-making machinery that is exported to can manufacturers on six continents. � e company has recently appointed Jim Cozier as managing director. Mr Cozier has a long track record in the can-making machinery indus-try and in his new role intends to focus the company on tech-nological innovation, employee development and comprehensive customer support and service. Product innovations will continue to contribute to increased � exi-bility, line e� ciency and reduced down time for customers allowing

them to improve productivity and product quality. Customer service will be strengthened with services ranging from the design of new technologies to the customisation of solutions with installation and on-site support. � e company intends to expand its apprentice-ship programme and increase the investment in training in order to ensure that it has the highly trained employees it needs also in the future. Our employees are our greatest asset, says Mr Cozier, and investing in them will allow us to address the needs of our customers both now and in the years to come.

Belgium: EU seafood imports amount to 62% of total supply

� e European Fish Processors and Traders Association (AIPCE-CEP) publishes an annual study on � n� sh documenting the trends in the supplies of white-� sh in Europe. � e Association uses the report to bolster its case for the import of � n� sh, and particularly white� sh, for the European processing industry to produce value-added seafood within Europe. � e 2011 report that was released in September shows that European processors sources of seafood have changed signi� cantly re� ecting changes taking place around the world as well as within Europe. Among the species that have become highly important for the processing industry are wild Alaska pollock and farmed Atlantic salmon and pangasius. Among the key � nd-ings of the report are that Europe now imports 62 or 9.4m tonnes of its � sh and seafood require-ment and the supply to the market

has grown 1 to 15.1m tonnes. Catches in EU countries have declined by 2.3 to 5.2m tonnes, while aquaculture production has increased 5 to 1.5m tonnes. Cod is the most popular white � sh fol-lowed by Alaska pollock. Imports of wild white� sh species were 2.8m tonnes in 2010 amounting to 89 of total supply. If imports of other important white� sh species Nile perch, pangasius, and tila-pia are included the proportion of imported white� sh in the total supply increases to 91. Over the years however, the range of species consumed in Europe has increased from traditional favour-ites like cod to include other white� sh such as Alaska pollock, pangasius, and tilapia. Salmon plays a major role in the fresh/sector in some European markets and a growing awareness of the health bene� ts of eating oily � sh has promoted pelagic species like mackerel and herring.


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Spain: Study recommends increasing meagre production to 10,000 t by 2020

The Andalusian Aquaculture Technology Centre, Ctaqua, and the Spanish Association of Marine Aquaculture Producers (APROMAR) have published a study detailing how to promote the consumption of meagre, a new farmed species, in Spain.

Marine � n� sh aquaculture in Spain is dominated by the pro-duction of gilthead seabream and European seabass. Accord-ing to data from the FAO over 23,000 tonnes of seabream and about 12,500 tonnes of seabass were farmed in 2009. � e other main species are turbot (7,200 tonnes) and meagre (Argyroso-mus regius) (1,350 tonnes). With � rm white � aky � esh and a high content of polyunsaturated fatty acid meagre is a versatile � sh which can be processed and pre-pared in a variety of ways. How-ever, according to the Andalusian Aquaculture Technology Centre, Ctaqua, public awareness of this species needs to be improved. Although meagre is well known by wholesalers, large super-markets and retailers, only � nal consumers in certain areas are aware of the advantages of this

species, including Andalusia, the Canary Islands, Galicia and the coasts of Catalonia and the Levant region. � ese are among the � ndings in a study by Ctaqua that was commissioned by Span-ish Association of Marine Aqua-culture Producers (APROMAR) and � nanced by the Regulation and Organisation Fund for the Fish and Marine Cultures Mar-ket (FROM) and the association itself. To remedy this the study recommends promotion cam-paigns for the � sh under the brand “Crianza del mar.” � e study also found that meagre represents an opportunity for seabass and seabream farmers to diversify their production. Mea-gre production and handling is similar to seabass and seabream and the study suggests increasing production to 5,000 tonnes by 2015 and doubling that by 2020.

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Belgium: Black Sea littoral states meet in Brussels to discuss collaboration

Belgium: Europe’s fi sheries areas showcase outcomes of Axis 4 projects

Maria Damanaki, European Commissioner for Maritime A� airs and Fisheries, addressed a high-level meeting of politi-cal leaders, economic players, and civil society representatives from the countries around the Black Sea in October. � e meet-ing was to develop a shared vision for the future of the Black Sea. In her speech Ms Damanaki acknowledged that the Black Sea had a lot of assets, as a tour-ist destination and as a node for the movement of people and goods including � sh, and oil and gas, but the basin also has sev-eral problems that could only be solved jointly. In the case of � sheries, for example, EU coun-tries catch a small proportion of the stocks in the Black Sea, but to improve the stock situation

it is necessary for all the di� er-ent countries around the Black Sea to exchange data on stocks. In this way a more complete picture of the resource can be developed and measures to improve the situation can better be discussed. A possible solution could be the Fisheries Advisory Council for the Black Sea which Ms Damanaki has undertaken to set up. � is could lead to sci-enti� c cooperation with other Black Sea countries for the col-lection of data and the prepara-tion of accurate scienti� c advice. Ms Damanaki also emphasised her interest in creating a regional dialogue that will promote cross border maritime spatial plan-ning and integrated coastal zone management to allow businesses in the region to thrive.

More than 350 stakeholders in the European Fisheries Fund’s Axis 4 initiative came together in Brussels on the 3-4 November to showcase some of the initia-tive’s � rst results and to consider its future potential. Axis 4 repre-sents a new, experimental com-ponent in the EFF toolkit, which seeks to mobilise stakeholders within � sheries communities to

work together to develop tai-lored, local responses to the challenges facing their areas.

� ese responses have taken a number of di� erent forms. In Denmark communities on sev-eral small islands under one Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG), as well as on Bornholm under a second FLAG, have got

together to explore the potential of commercially exploiting sea-weed. A FLAG in Estonia seeks to develop the infrastructure to make the Lake Võrtsjärv area more attractive for tourists. In Spain cockle pickers in Anllons, Galicia have used Axis 4 to add value to the bivalves and popu-larise them among local con-sumers, while barnacle pickers

in Baiona, Galicia, developed new products from low value barnacles. To date, more than 200 � sheries areas in 16 di� er-ent Member States have been granted support under Axis 4 to develop and implement local strategies and a selec-tion of 30 projects from these areas was presented during the conference.

DanFish International, the Dan-ish trade fair for the � sheries sector this year included for the � rst time a section dedicated to the aquaculture industry, Dan-Aqua. � e combination of the two events drew 350 exhibitors and almost 13,700 visitors, an

increase of 1,100 compared to 2009. Both the events were sold out and exhibitors expressed sat-isfaction with the volume of sales achieved. Visitors came from 45 countries emphasising the inter-national character of the event, and a select few were invited to

Denmark: Increased visitor numbers at DanFish International and DanAqua

DanFish and DanAqua attracted 350 exhibitors and almost 13,700 visitors to Aalborg in Jutland, Denmark.

a special programme for inter-national buyers. At a seminar at DanAqua, Karl-Iver Dahl Mad-sen, chairman of the Organi-sation of Danish Aquaculture (ODA), said he was hopeful that the Danish aquaculture industry would start growing in the future, according to a report in Fiskeri Tidende. � e rules and regulation governing the sector have made it di� cult to for the industry to grow at a time when aquaculture is the fastest growing food production sector in the rest of the world.

Mr Madsen said that the current rules placed strict requirements on the inputs into the industry, but now it would be the envi-ronmental impact of the outputs that would determine how the rules would be formulated. Par-ticipants at the Dutch pavilion at DanFish were also very satis� ed with the event which had brought plenty of visitors to their stand. � e Dutch representative said he intended to invest in more space the next time the show is held in 2013.

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Lowri Evans, Director-General of the European Commission’s Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Directorate, tastes seaweed from Denmark produced with support from Axis 4.

Opening the conference, Lowri Evans, Director-General of the European Commission’s Mari-time Affairs and Fisheries Directorate, underlined the importance of this local devel-opment approach and stressed the Commission’s commit-ment to promoting jobs and growth in fisheries areas. She also emphasised that the fish-eries sector and fishing com-munities remained at the heart of Axis 4, while embracing cooperation and partnership with other sectors. More infor-mation about the event and the projects featured in the exhibition (including 5 video clips on local projects) can be found on the FARNET website, www.farnet.eu.

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� e Croatian aquaculture sec-tor, in particular cyprinid farm-ing, needs to be revitalised to improve its capacity to meet international requirements for aquaculture products and food safety. � is will increase opportunities to export the � sh to the EU. Carp consumption also needs to be boosted, both domestically and internationally. In recognition of this the Food

and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, Euro� sh International Organization and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fish-eries and Rural Development of Croatia organized a regional workshop with the title “Food safety management in carp farms and processing” on 26-28 Octo-ber. � e workshop was held in the Croatian city Daruvar located in the region with the largest

Croatia: Food safety for producers and processors of carp

Speakers at the regional workshop on food safety management in carp farms and processing plants in Daruvar, Croatia, organised by FAO, Eurofi sh, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development.

production of farmed freshwater � sh in the country.

� e main topics of the workshop were the EU hygiene package and its application in carp farms and in carp processing; health manage-ment of carps, principles of Good Hygienic Practices (GHP), HACCP and their application in � sh pro-cessing. � e latest requirements for the export of � sh (including live � sh) and � shery products into the EU were presented. Marketing carp in Europe, developments in carp prices on various markets and sev-eral examples of carp campaigns

aimed at increasing carp consum-ption were discussed in the section on market issues. � e workshop attracted 32 participants represent-ing the competent authorities at the regional and national level, and the carp farming and processing industry. � e last two days of the workshop were dedicated to prac-tical visits to companies – a pro-cessing plant and a carp farm. � e workshop concluded with the mes-sage that the industry needed to consolidate to be better placed to meet increasingly stringent health and hygiene requirements, and to compete internationally.

Poland: Carp conference highlights the importance of carp farming

� e international carp confer-ence in Kazimierz Dolny, Poland in mid-September attracted close to 200 participants from Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Ukraine, Estonia and Romania. It was apparent from the conference that carp farm-ers across Europe face common problems such as cormorants and disease. Participants were also informed about existing EU funding opportunities as well as estimations of what the Euro-pean Fisheries Fund (2014-2020) will bring in terms of � nancial support. Marketing of carp was also an important discussion point with several speakers pre-senting case studies on how to promote carp. � e Polish cam-paign Mr Carp which has now been running for 5 years was one of the highlights of this session. � e conference ended with a declaration that sought to outline the most important issues facing carp farmers. Among them is the status of traditional pond farm-ing, which participants felt was not adequately considered in the reform of the common � sheries policy and the European Fisher-ies Fund, despite being one of the

oldest and most environmentally friendly ways of farming � sh. Pond � sh farming is usually on soils whose quality is too low to support agriculture. In addition, this type of farming contributes to biodiversity, watershed man-agement, and � sh restocking, apart from providing consumers with a fresh, healthy and locally produced source of protein. � e declaration also re� ected the widespread concern among pond farmers that environ-mental protection of predators including cormorants, beavers, otters and herons, was jeopard-ising their livelihood and should be scaled back. Public support for the sector through EU sup-port mechanisms also needs to improve, given that pond farms also play a role in water man-agement in a community as well as provide employment in areas that are often isolated and underdeveloped. Finally, the declaration calls for the creation of a Pond Aquaculture Advisory Committee that could represent the sector in di� erent fora, pre-senting the problems faced and looking for solutions. � e full text of the declaration is available at www.carpinternational.eu.

USA: Temperature monitoring label with in-built USB connectorPakSense, a company manu-facturing sensors for packag-ing has announced the launch of a new product, the Xpress PDF temperature monitoring label. Approximately the size of a packet of sugar the label monitors time and temperature of food and other perishables during distribution and stor-age. � e label is equipped with a USB connection point and when inserted into a computer automatically generates a pdf � le with the times and tempera-tures recorded together with a

graph and summary statistics. � e advantage of the label is that it eliminates the need for special readers or even special software that has to be installed on the computer. Small and waterproof the label does not require any modi� cation to the packaging into which it is inserted and can be used to monitor pallets, car-tons, or individual items. In case of a temperature deviation a light will � ash on the label prompting the user to connect it to a com-puter and generate a record of all the cold-chain data.

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Eurofi sh Magazine 6/ 2011 19www.eurofi shmagazine.com

[ EvEnts ]

One important issue, which increasingly concerns the seafood sector, is the

certifi cation of aquaculture pro-duction, since consumers are paying ever greater attention to organic and quality seals. Exhi-bition organizer Sabine Wedell has therefore placed particu-lar emphasis on all the diff erent aspects of this issue. “We saw there was a need for comprehensive information on this topic as many of our visitors had mentioned it,” she says.

Retailers increasingly demand certifi ed farmed

products

To provide an opportunity to answer questions and to make

suggestions, senior staff from the two main certifying organizations Global G.A.P. and the Aquacul-ture Stewardship Council (ASC) are expected to be present at the fair. While Global G.A.P. operates as a business-to-business plat-form, the relatively new certifi ca-tion programme of the ASC is a business-to-consumer orientated platform, says ASC’s CEO Chris Ninnes. Th e ASC certifi cation pro-gramme will allow farmers who are farming in an environmentally and socially responsible manner to be certifi ed. According to Mr Ninnes, the ASC logo will make it easy for consumers to identify responsibly farmed fi sh in the store. “Retailers increasingly ask for certifi ed products,” he says, “and this strong market signal

into the supply chain is encour-aging farmers’ interest in seeking certifi cation to the ASC stand-ards.” Th e ASC is actively prepar-ing its certifi cation program so that the fi rst farm audits can be undertaken later this year. “It’s

very likely that the fi rst ASC-cer-tifi ed products will be available on the market by the time of the Bremen show.”

In addition to the emphasis on certifi cation, the fair will for the

Every two years in February almost all of the fi sh industry turns its attention to Bremen. That is when fi sh international, Germany’s only trade fair for fi sh and seafood, takes place – offering an information platform and meeting place for producers and processors, trade, gastronomy and catering. In just a few months, from 12 to 14 February 2012, the Bremen Exhibition Centre will open its doors for the 13th fi sh international which will present tried and tested but also new topics such as aquaculture.

Emphasis on aquaculture technology, certifi cation, and processing

fi sh international 2012, 12-14 February, Bremen, Germany

Meeting point for the fi sh industry – new trends and innovation for trade and retail can be found at fi sh international 2012 in Bremen, Germany.

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[ EvEnts ]

first time be specifically con-cerned with technology and equipment for fish farming. One of the leading suppliers, Aquaculture Fischtechnik GmbH from Nienburg, will display the latest equipment and even a complete recirculation system in operation at its 320 sq. m stand. The company will also present the world’s most comprehensive catalogue of fish farming equip-ment with more than 400 pages at the fair. “A lot of passion has gone into this project and it is almost complete,” said Aquaculture CEO Dr. Ulrich Kronert in October.

Also among the exhibitors is Baader - Nordischer Maschinen-bau Rud. Baader GmbH + Co. KG, the world leader in fish process-ing. The Lübeck company, whose customers for aquaculture pro-cessing lines up to now mainly came from abroad, recently for the first time installed processing equipment at a farming facility in Mecklenburg, North Germany. “To our knowledge this is the first time that African catfish is being farmed in Germany, and the farm uses waste heat from biogas,” says Baader Managing Director Robert Focke. An excit-ing project – and for that reason the company will be showing a film of the facility at its stand and is also organizing a profes-sional forum. Visitors will be able to learn more about the use of biogas in fish farming and experi-ence the Lübeck company’s com-petence in the field of processing technology for farmed fish.

Numerous first-time exhibitors

Two of about 300 companies that will exhibit in Bremen in February 2012… The exact number is not yet clear for, according to Sabine Wedell, experience has shown that companies postpone their

decisions to exhibit until closer and closer to the fair. But the team of organizers has had a lot of posi-tive feedback, and Ms Wedell has also been able to gain many new exhibitors. At the time of going to press in November Ms Wedell was confident that after a difficult 2010 the trade fair would finds its way back to its former size. That year, 300 exhibitors from 28 nations gathered in the Weser metropo-lis, and about 9,300 trade visitors from 45 countries attended the event.

But back to the Bremen new-comers. Among them are a num-ber of German companies like Nottorf smokehouse or delica-tessen supplier Friesenkrone. Companies from outside Ger-many are also showing consid-erable interest. From Denmark, for instance: the company Uhr-enholt will present their organic shrimps in Bremen, Chrisfish their cold water shrimps, and Seafood-Line their squid and mussels. Aquaculture compa-nies Kilic and Agromey from Tur-key will display sea bass and sea bream, and, with Nilkamal, the list of exhibitors even includes a transport specialist from India. “Today there are a lot of prod-ucts from aquaculture on the market and we are putting a spe-cial spotlight on German prod-ucts this time, too,” says Sabine Wedell, pointing to another new focus at fish international. Regional products are very popular with consumers, cater-ers and retailers. Environmental arguments such as shorter trans-port distances, for example, are one reason for this.

“We want to show the high stand-ard of production and marketing in Germany”, says Jens Schrader, Manager of the traditional fish trading house Möller & Reichen-bach in Hamburg. He has joined

At fish international, new products as well as technical solutions for production and processing will be on display.

forces with other exhibitors for the fair. His own company will be exhibiting trout and char from East German farming facilities, and Peitzer Edelfisch will be presenting their carp in Bremen. The fishes will be displayed in tanks supplied by Karl von Keitz Nachf. GmbH from Lower Fran-conia. Visitors will also be able to gain information on German production of delicatessen and smoked fish.

Modern processing of smoked salmon

Among the well-known and pop-ular features of fish international which will be taken up again in 2012 is the walk-in production line that is organized by the Ham-burg company Salmco. Here visi-tors get the opportunity to see a complete salmon processing line in action. This is the result of a co-operation between numerous technology companies. There will

also be a new edition of the special show of the fish retail trade. The Bremerhaven shop fittings spe-cialist Erich Schich will display the latest counter concepts. And Edeka Minden-Hannover which belongs to the largest food trade association in Germany will pro-vide the fish and seafood for the displays. For the catering sector Sabine Wedell has developed a completely new format: the Seafood Masterclass, which is aimed at chefs and other inter-ested people from gastronomy and catering. “We are proud that with Thomas Ruhl we were able to gain an expert who is sure to pre-sent a superb show together with top chefs”, says Sabine Wedell confidently.

Ruhl is the head of the highly acknowledged German gourmet magazine Port Culinaire. He will bring with him to the Port Culi-naire Stage in Bremen four top chefs who will demonstrate what

05_News_EV.indd 20 24/11/11 11:16 AM

Eurofish Magazine 6/ 2011 21www.eurofishmagazine.com

[ EvEnts ]

It is well known that Spain is hit hard by the economic crisis, but just how hard was

described by Mr. Antoni Argab-doña from the IESE Business School. Unemployment rates have rounded 21% with no major decrease foreseen before the end of 2012. Real-estate prices have fallen back to 2005 prices mak-ing it nearly impossible to sell without incurring major losses. All in all Mr. Argabdoña estimated that the chance of Spain going into a recession was as high as 60%. And unlike other countries, Spain would not get any help from abroad.

Strong growth in food and drinks industry

These are all bleak facts, but there is hope. And the food and drinks industry has a leading role in that hope. The indus-try recorded growth rates of 18% compared to last year and as the country’s second larg-est industry, only exceeded by tourism, this has a substantial positive impact on Spain’s situ-ation. Companies have adapted to the new circumstances and are focusing on new and grow-ing markets like Russia, India and China.

cooking techniques and spices they use to draw fine aromas from fish and seafood. “We want to put across our own enthusiasm for the products and offer cooks con-crete support, provide ideas on

how they can give their customers something new”, said Ruhl.

And another “first” has been pla n- ned for after the fair. Sabine Wedell and her team have

christened it the “Trawl Party”. It will be held directly after the fair closes on Sunday. Exhibi-tors can sponsor barrels of beer, guests will be able to get some-thing to eat at catering stands

and participants can chat, make plans, negotiate and conclude agreements in a casual after-work atmosphere. More informa-tion about the fair is available at www.fishinternational.com.

On 30 September Eurofish attended the international presentation of the upcoming Alimentaria 2012 International Food and Drinks Exhibition in Barcelona along with other journalists from leading food and beverage magazines. The presentation introduced the background of the event along with new features and included discussions by industry leaders and journalist on the economic situation and possible solutions.

Is food a way out of the crisis for Spain?

Alimentaria 2012, 26-29 March, Barcelona, Spain

Alimentaria 2012 will as in previous years be divided up into 14 different areas, of which three relate to fish, Interpesca, Expoconser, and Congelexpo.

In conjunction with this, Ali-mentaria has made substan-tial efforts to increase the 2012 event’s international focus. The food and drinks event expects to attract over 4,000 exhibi-tors from 75 different countries. An estimated 140,000 buyers (a 25% increase from 2010) are anticipated to visit the event during its four days from 26-29 March. Alimentaria 2012 will as in previous years be divided up into 14 different areas, of which three relate to fish. Interpesca, the fish, seafood, aquaculture, and farmed fish products show; Expoconser, the preserves and semi-preserves show; and Con-gelexpo, the frozen foods show.

Spanish food export revenues soar in first

quarter

Interpesca will host a mix of Spanish companies with regional stands from autonomous com-munities like Andalusia, the Basque country, and Galicia in the 1,700 sq. m show. The Span-ish companies ride on a wave of success with increased exports totalling 239,000 tonnes for the

first quarter of 2011 and revenues 17% higher than the previous year, according to ANFACO, the Spanish National Preserve and Seafood Manufacturers Associa-tion. The international participa-tion will feature an increasing number of first time exhibitors from leading producers such as China.

FROM (The Spanish acronym for the Regulation and Organisation Fund for the Fish and Seafarm Product Market) will organise an Interpesca Conference as in previous years. The main goal of this conference is to present the beneficial impact that fish and seafood have on health and show how to get the most out of the raw material in the kitchen. Another conference will focus on the Med-iterranean diet and healthy habits for people.

Alimentaria 2012 will take place on 26-29 March 2012 at Gran Via in Barcelona, Spain. More information is available at www.alimentaria-bcn.com.

Thomas Jensen, [email protected]

05_News_EV.indd 21 24/11/11 11:17 AM


[ EvEnts ]

Any show is a show whether it is a theatrical performance, opera or…

fisheries exhibition. The stage is there, the producers, patrons, backstage crew, performers and spectators are assembled, and before the spot-lights are on and the curtain is rung up everybody is wondering “What awaits me behind that curtain?”

Entire fisheries sector present

At IceFish this year everybody was wondering what the show would bring this time as memo-ries of the 2008 edition held in the middle of the financial colla pse in Iceland were still alive. Appar-ently, there must have been a lot of optimism as the scope of the fair was very comprehensive – fishing and processing equip-ment manufacturers, shipping companies, banks and national institutions all showed up.

“It is natural for us to be here and it is an important show for us. We participate every time, and we have expectations. You have to show up, you have to be here,” says Reynir Gudjonsson, Sales and Marketing Manager from Optimar Iceland. For Trausti Eirik sson, President of Traust Know-How, being at the exhi-bition is “to meet customers mainly. Nowadays you can see all our machines almost live on the Internet, but you never see people on the Internet. It is more a social happening than selling during the show”.

Both exhibition halls were quite busy during the fair. “I’m very impressed with the number of people we see here, the audience, the number of visitors is very high. Our booth is flooded with people and it is really nice to see, but our point of view is still the restrictions to transfer money. So when they have to invest into foreign machin-ery it is hard for our customers to transfer the money abroad. They have to apply for almost every-thing and this makes the whole thing a bit difficult”, says Uwe Wal-lis, Area Sales Manager for Baader.

Equipment sales buoyant

However, whether one had expec-tations or rather came to estab-lish an eye-level contact with the customers, whether there are problems with investments or

The 10th edition of Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition took place on the 22-24 September 2011 in Smárinn, Kópavogur. Organised by Mercator Media Limited and with support of the Icelandic Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture the fair attracted around 500 exhibitors and over 13,500 visitors from 52 countries.

You had to be thereIceland Fisheries Exhibition, 22-24 September, Kópavogur, Iceland

not, success stories did happen. Danish company Iras sold two machines at the fair, Pon Pétur O. Nikulásson sold three forklifts, and Icelandic Ásafl ehf and Samhentir Packaging sold all the equipment from their displays and were still taking orders for more.

Moreover several large sales con-tracts were signed at the show. “The exhibition is an excellent end-point to negotiate some con-tracts and say “Yep, we’ll finish it at the exhibition! This is amaz-ing, this is what we love to do!” exclaims Hilmar Gudmundsson, Sales and Marketing Director for Promens Dalvik ehv. Fridrik A. Jonsson (Simrad) made two sales for fishfinding equipment, as had Varma og Vélaverk ehf., and the Faroese company Rock Trawl Doors sold a pair of their newly

launched Sea-Lion trawl doors to Qajaq Trawl in Greenland.Apart from the “trade compo-nent,” the show also included an “intellectual component” – a con-ference - “Cod Farming in Nordic Countries,” and a seminar on “Icelandic Responsible Fisheries Programme,” as well as a “festive component” – “The 2011 Icelandic Fisheries Awards,” recognising and rewarding excellence within the Icelandic and international commercial fisheries, which drew 17 nominations.

And now, after the final curtain, we all have to wait for the dates of Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition 2014 to be announced…, to come there again.

Aleksandra Petersen, [email protected]

Din

a Sa

ndho

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Michael Hansen, leader of the Danish Export Association Pavilion, which won the award for Best Group Stand.

05_News_EV.indd 22 24/11/11 11:17 AM

www.eurofishmagazine.com

[ PROJECT ]

Financed by the Knowl-edge-Based Bio-Economy component of the EU FP7

programme, the objectives of ‘Aquainnova’ are: to facilitate the dialogue between the aquacul-ture industry, the research com-munity, policy makers and other stakeholders; to examine and exploit the potential for innova-tion and technological develop-ment in European aquaculture through actively promoting the exploitation, dissemination and communication of the results of

aquaculture Research and Tech-nological Development (RTD); to improve how RTD and innova-tion knowledge is managed, dis-seminated and transferred.Organised by the European Tech-nology and Innovation Platform - EATiP (www.eatip.eu) an inter-national non-profit association dedicated to developing, support-ing and promoting aquaculture while focusing on technology and innovation in aquaculture in Europe - the consultation was a lively and open dialogue on

the current position of European aquaculture, how European poli-cies affect its development and the potential for innovative responses to challenges.

Where do we want to be in 2030?

The Vision for European aquacul-ture in 2030 and its associate goals were presented to the participants and debate was made on how to fit these desires within cold-water marine aquaculture was

Aquainnova workshop in Oslo

The future of marine coldwater aquacultureFollowing up on the successful workshop dedicated to freshwater aquaculture, the second multi-stakeholder consultation of the ‘Aquainnova’ project - “Supporting governance and multi-stakeholder participation in aquaculture research and innovation” – took place in Oslo, on 21 and 22 September 2011. The event brought together many key representatives involved in the marine cold water European aquaculture. Notwithstanding Norwegian dominance among the participants, representatives of Belgium, Denmark as well as France, Ireland, Scotland and Spain had equally the chance to express their opinion.

discussed. Additional ideas and needs for improvement of differ-ent proposals were assessed. In his opening address, Courtney Hough, the General Secretary of EATiP reiterated the complete

The Aquainnova workshop in Oslo on the future of marine coldwater aquaculture brought together many key representatives involved in the marine cold water European aquaculture sector.

Eurofish Magazine 6 / 2011 23

06_Project_PRJ.indd 23 24/11/11 11:17 AM

http://issuu.com/action/openurl?url=www.ratz-aqua-polymertechnik.de


[ PROJECT ]

transparency of the multi-stake-holder consultation and how eve-ryone’s input will assist EATiP in its transformation from a think-tank towards an action-oriented organisation with a positive and constructive role in shaping the European aquaculture value-chain of tomorrow. Aquacul-ture’s role is increasing within European policies and strategies and, therefore, EATiP is prepar-ing to assist the European Com-mission in designing specific guidelines for aquaculture’s sus-tainable development within the proposed reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. Aquaculture is now recognised as a core pillar within this European Policy that covers both fisheries and aqua-culture production and seafood supplies.

Having as a motto ‘where do we want to be in 2030 and what are the tools to reach our goals’ par-ticipants were invited to reflect on the Vision documents, to pri-oritise the key goals identified, to highlight the strengths - as well as potential missing points - on all aspects encompassing coldwater aquaculture, from consumption and production, including social-economic and environmental aspects as well as knowledge management and communication.

After 1.5 days of intense work, discussions and active partici-pation, the general consensus was that European production of coldwater marine species will grow considerably, possible even more than doubling in the next 10 – 20 years, while Europe’s share of global aquaculture production will also grow. Aquaculture will not only be socially acceptable, but also socially demanded – both for its demonstrated health ben-efits and also to meet the growing seafood demand with improved ethical and environmental stand-ards. Future generations will see the absolute need for sustainable, industrial food production.

Farmed fish needs to be robust and customised to suit the mar-kets and the environments. In the cold water marine sector, it is not thought possible to have completely disease-free fish, nor are genetically-modified or only herbivorous species considered to be ‘the future’ for this sector. Tech-nology systems will trend towards more integrated multifunctional farms, where some of these could use water recirculation solutions but mostly staying in the sea. Husbandry and management will become more remote, automated (particularly if moves occur to higher (wave) energy sites) and multi-functional, but there are

several challenges here that have not been addressed to date. Logis-tical support measures still need evaluation and development.

A stimulating process

“This workshop has been a stimu-lating working process and opened further opportunities for work in the Thematic Areas established in ‘Aquainnova’ and EATIP; last but not least it is always interest-ing to meet new positive people” is the opinion of Noralf Rønnin-gen, Aqualine, Project and Devel-opment Manager. “Aqualine AS is committed to participate in the development of the aquaculture industry, both locally and interna-tionally, and especially in Europe”.

Supporting research that generates information

New knowledge and technology innovation leads to sustainable growth and aims at tackling the big challenges facing Europe in general – as examples, health, food security, climate change and energy. Aquaculture can make sig-nificant contributions to several of these. Europe has a key role in the global food security – and there-fore maximising health benefits, and especially communicating them to the consumer, need to be highlighted in the Vision. Efficient technologies to support growth must be implemented, without compromising on animal welfare.

“Scottish salmon farmers have a long and successful history of supporting research that gener-ates information and results that can be applied to further improve their efficiency and sustainability. By bringing industry, research-ers and policy makers together to discuss and agree future research priorities, the AquaInnova project helps ensure that research under-taken within Europe remains

focused on satisfying indus-try’s needs” thinks Iain Berrill, researcher at the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation.

More SMEs and

sectoral providers?

“The workshop in Oslo was a quite unique opportunity to gather together professionals, researchers and decision makers, sharing views, fears and expecta-tions around a common vision for Aquaculture in Europe for the next 20 years. My only regret is that, for this 1.5 days intensive and dynamic workshop, we have not seen around the table more representatives from SMEs, farm-ers, equipment, technology and service providers. Every one has a role to play and should feel com-mitted to bring their own view and comments on the table.” Fré-déric Gaumet, Project Manager, AquaOptima AS.

In summing up, Courtney Hough thanked the participants for their contributions and the enthusi-asm and quality of their inputs, which will be incorporated into the ‘Aquainnova’ documents. He also reminded that the Vision documents as well as the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) and Action Plans are still available for consultation on the EATiP website (www.eatip.eu). The opportunity to contribute will remain open until early in 2012.The workshop on Mediterranean aquaculture was held in Madrid on 16-17 November 2011 and another on shellfish aquaculture will take place in Bordeaux in February 2012.For further information on Aquainnova and the consulta-tion process on the Vision and Strategic Research and Inno-vation Agenda for European Aquaculture, please contact: [email protected]

06_Project_PRJ.indd 24 24/11/11 11:17 AM


ITALY

The Italian � shery sec-tor presents the following characteristics: predomi-

nance of small and relatively old vessels, wide distribution of the � eet along the coastline, frag-mentation of landing sites and sales, high degree of polyvalent techniques. � e scienti� c com-munity is highly concerned by the intensity and persistence of � shing pressure in many regions, not only because there is a pro-gressive reduction of the com-mercial resources available, but also because of all the collateral damage more or less irreversibly.

Too many boats chasing too few fi sh

Fishermen recognize that the main reason for falling pro-duction is the massive � shing pressure. In order to face this situation, in some regions � sh-ermen cooperative-associations have adopted a kind of self-control by reducing � shing e� ort (days per week). However this is not the common approach adopted overall and commonly � shermen work � ve days per week (it is forbidden to � sh on Saturdays and Sundays). � ere are no technical solutions or modi� cations to � shing gears that � shermen have adopted voluntarily to reduce bycatch and bottom impact.

Causes behind falling fi sheries production in Italy and the industry’s response

Diversity of fl eets, gears, and species hampers effective managementItalian artisanal fi sheries are complex considering the diversity of fi sh caught, fi sh sizes, gear used, and the fact that some stocks are shared between countries. Managing Italian fi sheries is complicated by the presence of a great number of different fi shing fl eets in the same shared fi shing areas using a diverse array of fi shing gears.

Closed seasons and the temporary suspension of � shing operations are measures designed to ease pressure on � sh stocks by stopping � shing operations for a speci� ed period of time. Closed seasons are intended to allow species to repro-duce and thus coincide with the breeding periods of major com-mercial species. Presently in the Adriatic a ministry decree prohib-its sea bottom and pelagic trawling in the last two months. � e decree includes some rules after the closed season: three � shing days per week for two months; a ban

on the use of towed gears within 4 nautical miles of the coast (instead of 3 miles) or within the 60 m iso-baths (instead of 50 m); from Janu-ary 2011, however, by derogation the use of trawl nets between 0.7 and 1.5 nautical miles o� the coast (at a depth greater than 50 m) is authorised in the Regions Liguria, Sicilia, and Calabria.

In response to the depletion of the common sole (Solea solea) stock usually targeted in the Adriatic sea, some � shing vessels using rapido trawl (multi-rig trawl)

have decreased the width of the beam from 4 to 3-3.5 m in order to decrease bottom contact and fuel consumption. Furthermore, they often switch their target from common sole to the gastropod Bolinus brandaris which is less important from a commercial point of view, but much more abundant. Rapido trawler towing speed is about 6-8 knots and a single vessel may tow four rapido gears simultaneously. In this case, even though this � shing gear has a high impact, no national legislation was applied.

Most of fi sh are European hakes (Merluccius merluccius), horse mackerels (Trachurus spp), Red bandfi sh (Cepola macrophthalma), hornet octopus (Eledone cirrhosa), and tub gurnard (Chelidonichthys lucerna).

07_IT.indd 25 24/11/11 11:29 AM


ITALY

Catch of undersized fi sh remains common as

regulations are ignored

In order to reduce mortality rates for juveniles and discards of dying marine organisms by � shing ves-sels, Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006, concerning manage-ment measures for the sustainable exploitation of � shery resources in the Mediterranean, estab-lishes that “…from 1 July 2008, the net referred to in point 1 (that is “towed nets”) shall be replaced by a square-meshed net of 40 mm at the cod-end or, at the duly justi� ed request of the ship-owner, by a dia-mond meshed net of 50 mm.” Ital-ian � shermen were not prepared for this change and most of them did not accept the modi� cation to the traditional mesh, mainly in the south of Italy. � e Council Regulation (EC) No. 1967/2006 establishes the minimum landing size (MLS) of marine organisms. However, the increase in L50 (50 retention length) with square-mesh would not avoid some of the existing contradictions in allow-ing the use of codend mesh which leads to a lower L50 than the MLS. In Italy, the square mesh codend is clearly demonstrated to be more selective than the traditional dia-mond mesh codend). However, the in� uence of 50 mm diamond mesh codend on selectivity, which

is the type of net chosen by most Italian � shermen, is poorly inves-tigated. Fishermen have expressed concern at losses of marketable � sh species such as squid and red mullet. � erefore they usually try to avoid EC regulations concern-ing the codend mesh size. � e result is that the catch of under-sized � sh remains very common. � e � shing � eets of central-north-ern Italian seas were more collab-orative, but they did not accept the square mesh. For this reason they are changing the codend meshes from 40 mm to 50 mm mesh open-ing, even if the EC Regulation states “at the duly justi� ed request of the ship-owner,” which is some-what ambiguous.

Furthermore, the misinterpreta-tion of certain technical measures leads to the ine� cacy of some new rules. Given that the length of the codend is not well de� ned, the � shermen have adopted shorter netting panel (about 50-100 cm) at the � nal part of the codends with legal mesh size, leaving the rest of the net unchanged. In the meantime the circumfer-ence of the codend in relation to the circumference of the exten-sion piece is hardly controlled by � shery inspectors. � erefore the technical changes introduced with the EC Reg. 1967/06 remain practically ine� ective.

Concerning the bycatch of pro-tected species, some � shermen of the central Adriatic Sea operating with demersal and pelagic trawls, on a voluntary basis have started to use the pingers to deter marine mammals, because they believe that the e� ciency of their nets can improve.

Currently among the main prob-lems a� ecting the sector are:

– � e future control of engine power (EC Reg. 1224/2009 and UE n. 404/2011).

– Price for fuel. – � e di� cult allocation of � sh-

ing production to the markets (mainly for anchovies).

– � e number of vessels, which is too high.

– Fishery controls which are not uniform in di� erent regions.

– � e EC Reg. 1967/2006 brought several problems to traditional � sheries includ-ing: banning since June 2010 the use of towed gears within 3 nautical miles o� the coast in the northern Adriatic; prohib-iting since June 2010 the use of beach seine and boat seine targeting Aphia minuta (Gobi-dae) and juveniles of sardine (Sardina pilchardus) without a speci� c management plan; and the same problems for boat seine � sheries in the Lig-urian sea.

– Management issues such as � shing areas for dredges. Fishermen asked for a com-plete derogation of the article of Reg. 1967/2006 prohibiting the use of boat dredges and hydraulic dredges within a distance of 0.3 nautical miles from the coastline. � is limit strongly a� ects the catch e� -ciency for razor clams and clams.

– Con� icts among di� erent � eet sectors and � shing activities (dredges vs. � xed gear, bottom trawl vs. � xed gear etc.)

� e potential impact of the pro-posed reform to the CFP intro-ducing zero discards is simply not considered by � shermen to be a feasible solution for the Mediter-ranean. However, the proposal is generating concern among � sh-ers because it is unclear what they are supposed to do with the discard.

Changes that are taking place in the fl eet

Although there are no major changes, there have been altera-tions in the kind of gear used. For example in 2011 some � shing ves-sels changed their activity from rapido trawl to mid-water pelagic trawl due to the depletion of com-mon sole stock. Others changed their activity from mid-water pelagic trawl to bottom trawl for commercial reasons. Over the last 3-4 years some Italian bottom trawlers of the central-northern Adriatic, switched their activity from single- to twin-rig trawl-ing (called “Americana trawl” by Italian � shermen). � e main characteristic of the twin-rig are that it is a four-faced trawl with small or large lateral faces, and large meshes in the wing section. It is made with Raschel knotless-PA and knotted-PE netting. � e wings are built from two/three panels, which have bar cutting along the � shing and � oatline and in the selvedge opposed to the one-panel wings in the tra-ditional style Italian trawl. � is change has been introduced to increase the bosom height as well as the horizontal opening of the trawl and was made following more advanced drawing designs.

Alessandro Lucchetti and Antonello SalaNational Research Council – Institute of Marine Research (CNR-ISMAR)60125 Ancona, Italy

The codend (the catch is composed of anchovies) of pair pelagic trawlers.

07_IT.indd 26 24/11/11 11:29 AM


ITALY

Replacing � shing vessels with new and more e� cient constructions is not possi-

ble due to European Commission regulations. Fishermen can reduce fuel consumption only by reduc-ing � shing vessels energy usage. � e total amount of energy used by a � shing vessel will vary depend-ing on the size (and engineering) of the vessel, weather conditions, type and size of � shing gears, loca-tion, skill, and knowledge. Fur-thermore, similar � shing vessels could have di� erent energy usage, due to di� erent engineering solu-tions such as di� erent hull design and propulsion systems, di� erent propeller types and sizes, di� erent techniques and tactics. To achieve energy saving on existing � shing vessels a methodical approach is necessary.

Start by defi ning the energy profi le

First of all, it is necessary to de� ne the energy pro� le of the vessel. Once the energy pro� le is de� ned it is possible to state how energy (and the fuel) is used and heavy energy users can be identi� ed. For these energy users technological improvements can be discussed and solutions proposed. � ese solutions must also be evaluated from an economic point of view with a business plan, taking into

account economic savings and investment costs. � e energy pro-� le is de� ned through an energy audit, an engineering test for the monitoring of energy usage dur-ing normal � shing activities.

� e � shing technology unit of the National Research Institute (CNR – ISMAR) of Ancona, Italy, is deeply involved in energy saving in � sheries. An energy audit tem-plate was conceived and applied to some � shing vessels. � e main goal is to de� ne the energy pro-� les of the central Adriatic � sh-ing � eet as a baseline for further analysis, aimed mainly at � nding and evaluating improvements.

� e energy audit is organized in few steps. A preliminary interview of � shermen is necessary to col-lect information about vessel size, power, propulsion system, target species, activities, crew, machin-ery on board etc. A measurement kit is prepared according to the vessel characteristics. During normal � shing activities energy users are monitored with data col-lection software that controls and synchronises the data acquired. It is also necessary to write a regis-try event to relate speci� c energy usage to a particular event (sail-ing, trawling, hauling, search-ing phases). � e data acquired is processed to de� ne the energy

consumption and the energy pro-� le of the vessel. � e energy pro� le is de� ned using two energy per-formance indicators. With these indicators it is possible to evalu-ate future improvements on the energy usage.

Four Adriatic vessels participate

in investigation

From January to June 2011 four vessels were audited for energy use representing the main � eet sectors in the Adriatic coast � sh-ery of the Marche Region. Two

vessels are involved in bottom trawling and other two in pelagic pair-boat trawling, with the latter belonging to two di� erent pair trawlers. Table 1 shows the main characteristics of the � shing ves-sels monitored.

During the energy audits four parameters were measured: the fuel consumption, the power required for the propulsion, the hydraulic power used by rope winch and net winch, electric power used by electric uses such as water pumps for main deck, light, hotel etc. During the � shing

Energy audits on board fi shing vessels

Energy profi ling can lead to reduced fuel consumptionThe current situation in the fi shing industry is very problematic due to several factors. Overfi shing and the economic crisis affect revenues, while the obsolescence of fi shing vessels and their high fuel consumption combined with the continuous rise in fuel prices increase management costs. For many fi shermen the trade is not profi table at the moment. Due to the impossibility of infl uencing the market, fi shermen can only try to reduce the costs of their activities, mainly by cutting fuel consumption.

Figure 1. Torque meter and RPM counter for shaft power measure: the straing gauge applied on the propeller shaft (top left) is connected to the transmitter (top right); the receiver (bottom right) is connected to the laptop with an RS 232 cable.

07_IT.indd 27 24/11/11 11:30 AM


ITALY

cruise a GPS data logger measured speed, course, and position of the vessels. � e fuel consumption was measured using two portable ultrasonic � ow meters for measur-ing of the fuel � ow rate to and from the main diesel engine. Each � ow meter uses two sensors working as sound transmitters and receivers. Sensors receive the sonic impulse at di� erent time due to the fact that one sonic impulse is counter � ow. � is di� erence is directly related to the � ow rate.

� e power delivered from the main engine to the propeller for the propulsion thrust is measured with a shaft power meter which has a battery powered shaft-mounted strain gauge. It utilizes a short range radio transmission for data (torque and rotational speed) transfer from the rotating shaft to a data recorder. Shaft rotational speed is measured by the recorder, which has an optical proximity sensor (Figure 1). � e hydraulic and electric power analyzer (Fig-ure 2) consists of a sensor array that provides � ow and pressure from the hydraulic pipe line, and two clamp-on ammeters for meas-uring the real electric power sup-ply from the alternator connected with the main diesel engine.

Electronic load cells were used to measure the warp loads during � shing operations. After shooting, load cells were mounted on the warps in order to measure the total gear drag resistance. A personal

Table 1. Main characteristics of the monitored fi shing vesselsLOA LPP B GT PB D(m) (m) (m) (-) (kW) (m)

OTB1 21.5 17.02 5.72 82 478 1.78

PTM1 28.6 21.2 6.85 99 940 2.18

OTB2 22.8 19.58 6.21 91 574 1.8

PTM2 28.95 24.32 6.86 138 940 2.2

Table 2. Average values in one hour of trawlingVS PD FC TTF ECI FCI(kn) (kW) (l/h) (kg) (kJ/(GT*kn)) (l/(h*GT*kn))

OTB1 3.8 248 60 3994 4.08 192

PTM1 4.3 391 105 5693 4.82 246

OTB2 3.8 333 64 3802 5.16 183

PTM2 4.4 620 126 7225 5.14 207

In order to assess the energy performance of each � shing ves-sel investigated, two customized energy indicators were de� ned and calculated. � e � rst is an energy consumption indicator, named ECI (kJ/(GT*kn)), which is the overall energy used standard-ized for the gross tonnage and the speed. � e second is a fuel con-sumption indicator, named FCI (l/(h*GT*kn)), which is the fuel consumption standardized for the gross tonnage and the speed. Energy performance indicators, ECI and FCI, are de� ned both for steaming and trawling phases.

Bottom trawlers more effi cient than pelagic

trawlers when trawling

� e performance of the moni-tored vessels was evaluated dur-ing typical daily � shing trips. Table 2 shows the average values of the parameters obtained, in one hour of trawling. Pelagic trawlers are more energy intense than bottom trawlers during trawling phases, due to di� erent gear size (higher

gear drag) and to di� erent tech-niques (higher trawling speed). As a result pelagic trawlers have the highest power delivered and the most fuel consumption. � e parameters recorded during the sailing phase are shown in Table 3 (average values of one hour of sailing phase). � e parameters of sailing phases are obtained through a regression analysis and evaluated at 10 kn.

Higher fuel consumption for the pelagic vessels (85-95 l/h) com-pared to bottom trawlers (around 55 l/h) is due to higher vessel and engine-size. Pelagic trawlers are con� rmed as more energy intense than bottom trawlers. � e two pelagic trawlers had much the same power delivered and fuel consumption while in the trawling phase the pelagic trawler 2 has more power request than pelagic trawler 1, due to a di� er-ent propeller design and gear size.

A ranking for the four vessels monitored is obtained summing the indicators of both the trawling

computer automatically controls data acquisition and provide the correct functioning of the system in real time through appropriately developed software. � e engine room is the heart of the ship pro-viding mechanical, hydraulic and electrical power for the entire ves-sel. Generally is located aft of the ship and contains the main diesel engine coupled to a � xed pitch propeller through a reduction gearbox with inverter. Electrical generators, hydraulic pumps, and other machinery are connected to the engine.

Software developed in-house

� e data acquisition software con-ceived at CNR – ISMAR, Ancona, is useful for the synchronisation of data from di� erent instruments, to control the correct functioning of the acquisition and the instru-ments. � e software output is a series of strings of data every � ve seconds. So every � ve seconds it is possible to know the overall energy consumption of the vessel.

LOA: length overall; LPP: length between perpendiculars; B: maximum beam; GT: gross register tonnage; PB: engine brake power; D: diameter of the propellerOTB: bottom otter trawler; PTM: midwater pelagic pair trawler.

VS: vessel speed; PD: power delivered; TTF: total trawling force; ECI: energy consumption index; FCI: fuel consumption indexOTB: bottom otter trawler; PTM: midwater pelagic pair trawler

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and sailing phases. � e energy performance indicators have shown large di� erences in fuel consumption within each � shery. Bottom trawlers have the best performances in energy usage and fuel consumption.

Fishers keen to test improvements

As a reaction to the energy audits and results obtained the � sher-men decided to implement some improvements. In pelagic trawler 2 the � sher decided to change the propeller with another of the same diameter and lower pitch to increase the propulsion sys-tem e� ciency during the trawl-ing phase. In the bottom trawler 2 the � sher decided to control and modify his � shing gear due to the fact that the drag resistance meas-ured was too low for his expe-rience. He also found that the ropes were not the same length. Both pelagic trawler 2 and bottom trawler 2 want to repeat the audit once the � sheries re-open, to eva-luate the e� ect of their actions.

All the � shermen decided to reduce steaming speed once they saw how much the e� ective fuel consumption responds to small reductions in the speed, mainly during sailing phases. A � sher-man asked for an energy audit to decide if it was better for his activ-ity to use an auxiliary engine, or a hydraulic power generator, cou-pled to the main engine, to run an alternator for electric power.

It is important for � shermen to know their � shing vessels’ energy pro� les. Usually � shing vessels are not e� cient because of outdated technology. By de� ning a base-line it is possible to evaluate and verify improvements in the energy usage. Today � shermen only can reduce energy usage because there is no possibility to invest in modern vessels, due to Euro-pean Commission restrictions and to the costs. At the same time, new IMO regulations demand a smaller carbon footprint, so � sher-men must modernise their vessels. It is clear that saving is the key to maintain acceptable pro� tability

in � sheries. An energy saving strat-egy is necessary and an energy audit is the tool to � nd areas where improvements can be made.

Table 3. Estimated values at 10 knots of vessel speedPD FC ECI FCI(kW) (l/h) (kJ/(GT*kn)) (l/(h*GT*kn))

OTB1 217 54.1 1.33 64.5

PTM1 366 94.0 1.93 95.9

OTB2 268 55.4 1.51 59.7

PTM2 378 84.5 1.41 61.3

Table 4. Ranking of vessels monitoredECI Rank FCI Rank(kJ/(GT*kn)) (l/(h*GT*kn))

OTB1 5.42 1 256.37 2

PTM1 6.75 4 341.40 4

OTB2 6.66 3 242.56 1

PTM2 6.55 2 268.07 3

Results suggest greater fuel effi ciency

is realistic

These results suggest several ways for achieving fuel-use reductions, such as technical improvements in the efficiency of the propulsion system, in par-ticular in the engines and the propeller, substitution of fish-ing gear types, and innovation and research into better fishing practices. Fishers must also pay attention to the surroundings, reducing speed in rough sea conditions. Other systems that use energy (hydraulics and elec-trical systems) do not seem to have much influence on energy consumption compared with propulsion systems.

E. Notti, A. Sala, G. BuglioniNational Research Council – Institute of Marine Research (CNR-ISMAR)60125 Ancona, Italy

Figure 2. Hydraulic power analyser (above) and clamp-on ammeter for electric power (below).

PD: power delivered; FC: fuel consumption; ECI: energy consumption index; FCI: fuel consumption indexOTB: bottom otter trawler; PTM: midwater pelagic pair trawler.

ECI: energy consumption index; FCI: fuel consumption index OTB: bottom otter trawler; PTM: midwater pelagic pair trawler.

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Production volumes of farmed � n� sh in 2009 according to the Associa-

tion of Italian Fish farmers (Asso-ciazione Piscicoltori Italiani – API) were 41,000 tonnes of trout, 9,800 tonnes of seabass and 9,600 tonnes of seabream. Comparing the data from 2009 with 2008, trout production increased by 4.1 in volume terms while pro-duction of marine � sh was stable.

Administration of farmed sector varies from region to region

Commercial cage farming in Italy dates back to the late 80s and early 90s. Most of the marine cage farms are located in the south of the country and produce seabass and seabream as well as fatten blue� n tuna. � e national admin-istration provides the guidelines and the strategic plan for the development of the sector, while the regional administrations at the local level are responsible for the implementation of subsidies and investments. Of course, reg-ions have their own environmental and planning policies which may or may not concretely support the sector. � is can lead to an uneven administrative regime, with some regions actively supporting the development of the sector and others being more obstructive. In the worst case even getting a license to farm � sh can take two to three years to be granted. For aquaculture farmers or potential

farmers there is no one-stop shop where they can submit their appli-cation and have the whole thing processed. � ey will need to go to several di� erent o� ces seek-ing permits and clearances mak-ing the whole process immensely time consuming, says Francesco Cardia, an aquaculture consultant and the co-author of a 2007 paper on cage aquaculture in the Medi-terranean published by the FAO).

Better collaboration needed between

industry and research establishment

Another issue the industry faces is the lack of a close relationship with the public research sector. As in any other countries it is the research provided by the indus-trial sector producing aquacul-ture products which plays the most important role in terms of innovation. This is corroborated by Dr Plinio Conte, Head of Unit in the Directorate General of Fisheries and Aquaculture in the national agriculture minis-try in Rome. His colleague, Isa-bella Verardi, Head of Unit for International Affairs, says that the administration has more to do with biological, veterinary and market research which will be later transferred to the industry. Apart from important technological improvements, much of the development and testing of ideas or equipment is carried out and financed by

Italian aquaculture and fi sheries face challenges on several fronts

No easy answersThe aquaculture sector in Italy comprises both marine and freshwater farming. The latter consists primarily of trout farmed in raceways, while the former includes both shellfi sh such as mussels and clams, as well as fi nfi sh. By far the most widely farmed marine fi sh species are the European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and the gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata).

Francesco Cardia, an aquaculture consultant and the co-author of an FAO paper on cage aquaculture in the Mediterranean.

Quantities and revenues for the main farmed species reared in ItalySpecies Tonnes Change % Euro (million) Change %

2009 09/08 2009 09/08 Finfi sh total 74.170 2,3 351,44 1,9

Trout 41.000 4,1 139,00 5,9

Seabass 9.800 0,0 70,00 2,9

Seabream 9.600 0,0 62,40 0,2

Mullet 3.800 8,6 13,30 10,8

Eel 1.400 -12,5 12,50 -6,0

Sturgeon 1.350 0,0 10,20 -27,1

Molluscs 158.000 -4,2 249,20 -4,9

Mussels 116.000 0,9 81,20 5,5

Clams 42.000 -16,0 168,00 -9,2

Total 232.170 -2,3 600,64 -1,0

Source: Ismea, based on data from API

the industry itself with little or no help from the local or fed-eral government. There are no government-sponsored efforts to find better, cleaner, and more efficient ways of production. Italy has an open coast without fjords or many islands. Tech-nology used for farming semi-offshore or offshore in a high energy environment, for exam-ple, is therefore tested by the industry producing cages for commercial production.

Intense competition from Greek seabass

and seabream

� e administrative burden faced by Italian � sh farmers is only one of the issues they have to deal

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with. Seabass and seabream pro-ducers also face intense compe-tition from producers in Greece and to some extent in Turkey as well. � e Italian market for sea-bass and seabream in 2008 was roughly 50,000 tonnes, whereas domestic production that year according to the FAO was 12,300 tonnes. However, production � gures vary considerably. � e Association of Italian Fish farm-ers records a production of 19,400 tonnes in the same year. Accord-ing to Mr Cardia the average cost of production of seabass and seabream in Italy is EUR4.5-5.5 a kilo, although there are signi� cant variations within the average as some farms produce 100 tonnes while others produce up to 2,000 tonnes annually. Imported � sh arrives on the markets at EUR4.0-4.5. � is could be because pro-duction costs in Greece are lower, but it could also be a tactic to acquire market share. Having to compete with lower-priced � sh has had an impact on the Italian industry with some producers

going under. � e consolidation in the market has pushed prices upwards slightly, but production in Italy has stayed more or less stable the last few years.

Italian consumers are willing to pay a premium for Italian � sh. At retail outlets seabass and sea-bream produced in Italy are often priced higher than � sh that is imported, re� ecting their greater freshness Some producers such as Orbetello in Tuscany are label-ling their product, highlighting its origin and thereby di� erentiating it from other � sh on the market. Generally bigger producers that can supply around the year have more negotiating power with the big distributors and can ask for a higher price, while smaller producers that cannot produce around the year must accept more stringent terms.

� ere are three main hatcheries in Italy which supply the industry with � ngerlings to be on-grown. � e biggest hatcheries produce

with disease that need to be overcome in the case of sharp-snout seabream. Pilot-scale pro-duction is possible, but when you produce it commercially in large volumes, this problem crops up, says Francesco Cardia. Meagre on the other hand grows well, uses the same feeds as seabass and seabream, has good quality meat, but the market is reluctant to accept a new species. � is can partly be attributed to the distrib-utors who hesitate to push a � sh they are uncertain they can sell, and would rather stick to the spe-cies they are familiar with and for which they know the demand.

Bluefi n tuna farming under fi re from

conservationists

Italy also has a blue� n tuna farm-ing industry which started in 2001. � e FAO Technical Paper Cap-ture-based aquaculture de� nes tuna farming as the practice of capturing tuna from the wild, con� ning the � sh in cages and feeding them until they reach the desired weight. � e � sh are then harvested, frozen and sent usually to the Japanese market. Alessandro Lovatelli, Aquaculture Industry O� cer at the FAO, says that in the past the tuna season would bring a lot of tuna on to the market causing the price to fall. � e tuna fattening industry

35-50m fry a year which is used in their own production as well as sold to local � sh farmers and also exported to, for example, Greece, Tunisia, Malta, and Cro-atia. Smaller hatcheries have a production of up to 10m fry. In addition to seabass and seabream the industry is also experiment-ing with other species including sharp-snout seabream (Puntazzo puntazzo) as well as meagre (Argyrosomus regius) and greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili). Currently there are still problems

Dr Plinio Conte, Head of Unit in the Directorate General of Fisheries and Aquaculture, and Isabelle Verardi, Head of Unit for International Affairs.

Alessandro Lovatelli, Aquaculture Offi cer, FAO.

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was established partly as � sh-ers discovered that if they could keep the � sh and grow them big-ger they could then be sold dur-ing the Christmas season when prices were highest. A distinction is drawn between tuna farm-ing, where the � sh captured are smaller and are kept for longer, often more than 20 months, and tuna fattening, where the � sh are bigger at capture, but are only kept for nine to ten months before being harvested.

Due to restrictions by ICCAT (the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) the � shing season in 2011 by purse seines was for one month, from 15 May to 15 June. � e tuna are usu-ally caught in purse seines, which allow them to be captured live, and are then transferred to tow-ing cages in which over a period of weeks they will be transported from the � shing area to the farm-ing site. Depending on the dis-tance to be covered the journey can take several weeks to complete as the towing speed does not usu-ally exceed 1-1.5 knots to prevent excessive mortality in the � sh. At the farming site they are trans-ferred to aquaculture cages which vary in size from 30-90 m in diam-eter and with net depths of up to 30 m depending on the depth of the water at the site. � e � sh are fed on a diet of small frozen pelag-ics including sardine, herring, mackerel, pilchard, or sardinella.

Prof. Massimo Spagnolo, Director of the Institute for Economic Research in Fisheries and Aquaculture in Salerno.

equitable as it does not penalise the � sher if bad weather, for exam-ple, prevents him from going out. � is has been the case for the 2011 tuna season when vessels � sh-ing in the Maltese area have not caught their quota due to bad weather with huge � nancial draw-backs. Furthermore, says Professor Spagnolo, the prohibition on the use of spotter aircraft needs to be explained, as it makes little sense under the current management regime. While vessels would still have to respect individual quotas, using aircraft to � nd schools of tuna would allow � shers to pollute less and reduce the cost of � nding the � sh.

Big vessel owners and coastal boats have different interests

� e big vessels that target tuna and other species are viewed with a degree of suspicion by the small coastal � eet. In Catania on the east coast of Sicily Stefania Mas-simino heads the regional o� ce of UN.I.COOP (Unione Italiana Coop-erative) an association of coastal � shers. � is counts some 1,500 � shers as members, most of whom � sh up to 20 miles targeting blue � sh, small pelagic species such as anchovies, sardines, and mackerel. Big vessels using bottom trawls do more damage to the environment and cause the � sh to relocate mak-ing it more di� cult for the smaller coastal � eets. Ms Massimino says

Over the last � ve years ICCAT quotas have decreased steadily and the price of tuna has been climbing. Farms in Italy have not been able to get hold of the � sh either because it was too expen-sive or because it was not avail-able, and some farmers have had to cease operations. Mind the Gap, a 2011 study by the Pew Environment Group, reported that in 2009 and 2010 the amount of blue� n tuna traded at 70,646 t was twice the ICCAT quota allo-cation in the Mediterranean Sea and Eastern Atlantic for those two years (35,306 t) . � is � gure did not include the tuna that is sold on the black market which for obvious reasons is extremely di� cult to calculate. According to the report, despite a decline in the legal and illegal � shing of tuna due to measures taken by ICCAT including a shorter � shing season, the presence of monitors on board, a ban on spotter planes, and lower � eet capacity, the gap between the quotas allocated by ICCAT, the amount of blue-� n o� cially reported by � shing nations and the reported amount of blue� n tuna traded on the international market continues to widen. In 2008, the amount of eastern Atlantic blue� n tuna traded on the global market was

31 percent greater than the legal quota. By 2010, that di� erence had increased to 141 percent (Mind the Gap, An analysis of the gap between Mediterranean blue� n quotas and international trade � gures; � e Pew Environ-ment Group, October 2011).

� e current tuna management regime has its detractors not only among conservation groups who feel that it does not do enough to protect the � sh, but also research-ers who feel that some of the restrictions are useless and oner-ous, penalising the industry with-out any bene� t for the resource. Massimo Spagnolo, director of the Institute for Economic Research in Fisheries and Aquaculture in Salerno, says that the situation varies greatly all over the Medi-terranen. In the case of small or larger longline � shermen � shing for tuna, it can prove to be di� -cult to apply the same rigid control rules and procedures that exist for larger seiners. In the latter case it makes little sense for � shers to have quota as well as e� ort restric-tions. If they are only allowed to catch a certain quantity of tuna, let them have a larger window in which to do it, rather than just the one month from mid-May to mid-June, he says. � is would be more

Stefania Massimino, Head of the Sicilian branch of the fi sheries cooperative UN.I.COOP (Unione Italiana Cooperative).

Michele Taccone, Mayor of Porto Palo, Sicily, and leader of the fi sheries cooperative Marisud.

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that the big boats’ activities should be closely monitored and infringe-ments must be punished severely. At the moment the punishment takes the form of a small � ne, which is in no proportion to the value of � sh that gets taken. Far more e� ective would be con� sca-tion of the vessels, she adds.

She herself has seen illegal � sh-ing and illegal � sh in the market and the restaurants, but despite complaining, she says noth-ing gets done. And it is the small � shermen who su� er the most. While some of the big vessels may indeed indulge in illegal activi-ties, members of UN.I.COOP are hardly blameless themselves. Illegal � shing is not uncommon as members, most of whom are poorly educated, struggle to ful� l all the regulatory requirements imposed on them by not only the local, regional, and national administrations, but also from Brussels. Sometimes they just give up, says Stefania Massimino, they deregister from the system, but continue to � sh illegally. Membership of UN.I.COOP has fallen by 30 over the last � ve years. Some of the � shers retire, but others leave the association to continue their activity illegally.

� e reform of the common � sher-ies policy that is currently being � nalised includes the possibility

to introduce transferable quo-tas. � ese ideas are viewed with concern by the small-scale sec-tor as these � shers fear that the big � shing companies will buy up the quotas. � is is dangerous says Ms Massimino as the control of the � shery will then belong to a small group of big vessel owners. She would like to see a simpli� ca-tion of the rules and regulations governing the coastal � shery � eet, so that � shers in this sector are less burdened with paper-work. For them even maintaining a paper logbook is di� cult, she says, yet now they are expected to maintain an electronic logbook.

Interest in fi shing appears to be declining

Falling membership in � shing cooperatives seems to be com-mon. In general, the number of boats in the Italian � eet has dropped from 14,873 in 2004 to 13,301 in 2009, according to Irepa, the Institute for Economic Research in Fishery and Aqua-culture. In Porto Palo, a town on the south eastern tip of Sicily, the mayor, Michele Taccone, also heads the � shing cooperative Marisud. � e number of vessels has fallen from 55 in 2005 to 45 today and a further � ve vessels are expected to be decommissioned shortly. � e high costs of fuel and the low price for � sh are among the

reasons that � shers are leaving the trade. Giovanni Basciano manages the � shing and aquaculture mem-ber cooperatives of the General Association of Italian Coopera-tives on Sicily. He says that � shers left the cooperative because they decided that it was more ben-e� cial to take the compensation o� ered for decommissioning than to continue � shing.

� e issues are slightly di� erent for another cooperative based in Salerno. Campania Pesca has boats with all kinds of gear with the exception of purse seines. � e cooperative’s president Ivo Gentile Pellegrino says that the main species the vessels target are crustaceans and demersal � sh. � e members also use � xed gear like gill nets that are � xed close to the coast. For � shers the advantage of being members of the cooperative is that it takes over many administrative tasks such as payments for the � sh and insur-ance contributions, preparation of documents and lobbying on behalf of its members. Over the last 10 years the composition of the cooperative has changed, catches have been declining by 2-3 per year and membership as well as the number of boats has reduced by 20-25. However, the � shing e� ort has in fact increased as the average engine power has gone up and the � sh-� nding instruments

are much more e� cient now compared with a decade ago, says Mr Pellegrino.

Campania Pesca is facing a prob-lem that a� ects � sheries in a number of countries in Europe, the lack of young blood joining the profession. As the older � sh-ers retire, they are not replaced. � e reasons are the same as everywhere else. � ere are other options available to young people that are better paying, much safer, and involve less physical hard-ship. Less attractive returns from � shing due to the combination of low prices for � sh and high prices for fuel is another reason. Mr Pellegrino says a vessel spends EUR500 on fuel per day and if it catches only EUR550 worth of � sh, then it is clearly not viable.

� e Italian � shing sector is fac-ing a number of challenges. Fish prices are stagnating yet at the same time production costs, especially the cost of fuel, have been increasing. Domes-tic production is falling creating a dependency on imports and technical restrictions on � sher-ies are forcing � shers to adapt their � shing methods, � shing areas, and target species. Con-� icting interests between coastal � shermen and bigger operators adds further complications to the picture. bt

Ivo Gentile Pellegrino, Head of Campania Pesca S.c.a.r.l., a fi shing cooperative in Salerno.

Giovanni Basciano, Vice President of the Sicilian chapter of the General Association of Italian Cooperatives (AGCI-Sicily).

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Bivalves from the Venetian lagoon

Venetian vongole veraci, fasolari, and mussels should be better known in EuropeWith a solid and oval shell, extremely variable in pattern, shape and colour both inside and outside, the vongole veraci, generally known as Manila clams are regarded as a premium product in the eastern regions of Italy surrounding the Venetian lagoon. Fresh farmed clams are nutritious and healthy food and they are easy to cook; they are highly appreciated, mostly in Italy, for their tasty, fi rm and tasty fl esh. Unfortunately they are little known to most of the consumers outside Italy, except perhaps in restaurants that serve the classic spaghetti alle vongole.

T he Manila clam, also known as Japanese carpet shell originates from south-

eastern Asia (it is native to Japan). According to the FAO wild popu-lations are found in the Philip-pines, South and East China Seas, Yellow Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, and around Southern Kuril Islands. Manila clams – commonly called clams - belong to the Veneridae family of bivalves containing over 400 species, of which most are edible molluscs. Twenty-six species are known in the Mediterranean basin; two of them belong to the order Tapes. T. decussatus, which is a native European (Mediterranean-Atlan-tic) species and T. philippinarum which has been imported into the European waters in the 70s for aquaculture purposes since it has a high commercial value. � e Japanese carpet shell proved to grow faster than the endemic species and it expanded rap-idly, particularly in Italy, France and Ireland, and is currently the

biggest contributor to European clam landings, both from � shery and aquaculture.

Biological features

� e Manila clam, like all bivalve molluscs, is characterised by the presence of a shell composed of two distinct valves and hinged together by ligaments and joints. � e valves open and close due to the action of the strong dor-sal muscles called adductor muscles. � e particular char-acteristics of the shell are often necessary to identify the various species of bivalve molluscs. In the case of T. philippinarum the concentric thin lines are visible, making the growth stages very clear. Shells can be white, yellow or light brown, sometimes with rays, steaks, blotches or zigzags of a darker brown, slightly pol-ished; inside the shell is polished white with an orange or purple tint. Clams feed on particles sus-pended in water or deposited

on the seabed, mostly unicel-lular algae and microorganisms. Temperature and feeding are the main parameters that in� uence their reproduction. Clams spread the eggs directly into water and fertilization and embryonic development take place in the external environment. Sexual maturity is reached around the age of one year when clams are between 15 and 20 mm.

Water in the lagoon is carefully monitored

Clam farming is a typical exam-ple of how aquaculture can be

done in a sustainable manner. Clams live in sand, muddy gravel and littoral lagoons and they feed on plankton and natural micro-organisms which are naturally present in the waters and are carried along the bottom by cur-rents. � e waters of the Venetian lagoon o� er excellent conditions for growing clams and repre-sent a guarantee for good prod-ucts. � e coastal waters in which farming takes place are regularly monitored and tested to ensure that they are free of any toxins and molluscs grow in a clean environment. Concomitantly, great care is taken to preserve

After the pre-growing stage, the clams are transferred in a different area of the lagoon where they are laid on the sea bottom and are covered by nets against predators. This represents the growing stage which can lasts between 20-15 months and results in commercial-sized molluscs of 30 – 50 mm.

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the environment surrounding the mollusc farms so that the sea bottom is not disturbed.

Farmed with respect for the environment

Extensive experience, but also know-how and dedication are the main features of the ten people who sta� Venetoacquacoltura, a consortium of two coopera-tives (Clodiamare 1 and Mareblu) involved in mollusc farming and one company responsible for the safety and quality control aspects (Geotekno). Great care goes into the operating practices and use of equipment to protect the animals and the environment. In addition, members of Venetoaquacoltura bene� t from concessions issued by the “Magistrato delle Acque” (a public body governing the entire lagoon system) which acknowl-edges the right of the consortium and its members to manage � sh-eries in the Venetian lagoon. � is means that individual members have exclusive rights of access to the � shing zone for baby clams.

As for other less known interna-tionally, but equally appreciated bivalves, such as fasolari which

are collected in open Adriatic Sea, there is a similar manage-ment system, based on Territo-rial User’s Rights for Fisheries (TURF). In this case, � shermen have exclusive access rights which are especially appropriate for relatively sedentary species, such as molluscs and crustaceans; this gives members the opportunity to customise their � shing gears according to the characteristics of the area and thus ensuring the sustainability of the � sh-ery by reducing over� shing and introducing management rules which are fully respected by the consortium members.

Consumer safety is paramount

Venetoacquacoltura works closely with the Veneto Region Food Inspection Agency to ensure the production of the � nest, fresh, cultured clams. � is means safety comes � rst. Strict seafood safety policies, including traceability, regulations and inspection stand-ards ensure that the molluscs are kept free of foreign organisms, harmful bacteria and toxins. Since the product is bought fresh, in addition to their commitment

of producing safe and healthy products, the consortium provides advice to its customers regarding storage, transportation and prep-aration to ensure that clams are consumed at their freshest.

� e consortium distributes their products to wholesalers and other structures who are experi-enced in the distribution of fresh seafood and who have adequate facilities for cleaning and depu-ration. Although when harvested clams do not retain a lot of sand, additional cleaning is needed before they reach the � nal con-sumer. � is operation is usually made close to the point of sale, to ensure the customer gets a prod-uct of premium quality.

� e calms produced by Veneto-acquacoltura are mainly sold on the Italian market, both to the

HORECA sector, but also to retail (supermarkets, open markets, etc). “We have a premium prod-uct which is highly appreciated by our customers” says Paolo Tiozzo, president of the consortium. “We produce around 300-400 tonnes of clams per year and last year our turnover was EUR1,100,000. We are con� dent that our products are of excellent quality at a good price. Recently we started exporting clams to the UK, where our prod-ucts are distributed to over 120 Italian restaurants in London. We are planning to promote vongole veraci in other foreign markets and to let customers discover other “secrets” of the Venetian lagoon, including fasolari and mussels.For more information please contact:[email protected].

Anca Sfetcovicianca.sfetcovici@euro� sh.dk

Afterwards the seeds are put in sea beds - metallic structures also called “poches” - where the pre-growing stage takes place till clams reach a size of about 8-10 mm. The process can lasts between 2 and 3 months, depending on the water temperature, the month of the year and the availability of nutrients.

After they are removed from the water clams are graded by a conveyor belt and further on they are selected manually according to their size, to ensure the product has a consistent and premium quality. On the boat clams are placed in holding tanks until they’re ready to be shipped.

07_IT.indd 35 24/11/11 11:33 AM


ITALY

Located just outside Pachino, a small town in the south eastern corner

of Sicily, that is famous for its cherry tomatoes, Acqua Azzurra has existed since 1988, when it produced 300 tonnes of � sh. Over the years the company has grown, investing in new technol-ogy, increasing the capacity of the hatchery, and expanding out-put, so that today it accounts for 12-13 of the total Italian produc-tion of seabass and seabream, according to Gianluca Fortino, who is in charge of quality con-trol for the company. Today the hatchery produces 28m fry per year of which 7m to 8m is used for the company’s own production.

� e remaining 20m goes to sup-ply farmers in Tunisia, Malta, and Croatia as well as other produc-ers in Italy.

Fully integrated production

� e hatchery is the start of the production cycle. It is divided into four areas, explains Dr Fortino, the brood stock tanks which hold the brood stock and where the eggs are collected; the larval rearing centre where the eggs are moved and the fry are grown for about 55 days; the weaning area is where the larva are weaned o� live prey and introduced to commercial feed; and � nally the

production area for algae, rotifers and artemia. Outside the hatch-ery are the pre-ongrowing tanks where the � sh are moved once they have reached 2 g. How long they stay in these tanks depends on whether they are going to be sold or are intended for the company’s own use. Production capacity at the hatchery is actu-ally 35-40m fry, but we prefer to produce less to concentrate on producing better, says Dr Fortino. At Acqua Azzurra the preferred size at which to put the � sh in the on-growing cages is 2/4 g. At this size they grow faster and mortality is lower. However, the on-growing is also dependent on the season at which the � sh are put into the

Acqua Azzurra is the leading producer of seabass and seabream in Italy

A culture of constant innovation and experimentingAcqua Azzurra is the biggest producer of seabass and seabream in Italy with an annual production of 2,000 tonnes divided approximately equally between the two species. The company is fully integrated with its own hatchery and by the end of the year will also have a fully equipped processing facility.

Seabream brood stock in the hatchery. At Acqua Azzurra the seaabream brood stock start their season at 2-3 years and are kept for 8-9 years, after which the batch is changed.

Seabass broodstock. Most of Acqua Azzurra’s brood stock is caught from the wild and the fish can reach 4 kg for bream and 10 kg for bass.

Dr Gianluca Fortino, a veterinarian, is responsible for quality at Acqua Azzurra.

sea. � e favoured time is in spring as the best growth is in sum-mer when the water is warmer.

07_IT.indd 36 24/11/11 11:33 AM


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The Acqua Azzurra hatchery produces 28m fry per year of which 7m to 8m is used for the company’s own production.

Twenty million of the 28m fry produced in the Acqua Azzura hatchery goes to supply farmers in Tunisia, Malta, and Croatia as well as other producers in Italy.

Altogether the cycle takes 16-22 months for a market-sized � sh. � e facility has both on-shore and o� -shore production to cater to customers who also need � sh in winter. In the cold season it is not always possible to feed or harvest the � sh, and the tanks on land provide a back-up.

Full traceability of all the hatchery batches

Within the hatchery each batch takes about 150 days and there are several batches running simulta-neously. � is year, says Gianluca Fortino, we had 12 batches of bream and six of bass. Our brood stock season is from October to May and our larval and wean-ing stages run from December or January to July. � e batches are all kept separately from each other and are tracked constantly so that the market-sized � sh can all be traced back to a speci� c batch. � e hatchery follows the philos-ophy “all full all empty.” Before starting the new production, the

hatchery is drained, cleaned, repaired and disinfected, start-ing with the algae production, the larval centre, the weaning area, and � nally the brood stock. � e brood stock is the heart of the operation so they are disturbed as little as possible. Within a couple of days the tanks are cleaned and the brood stock moved back into them. � ese are huge � sh, much bigger than the 300-500 � sh typi-cally on display at a � shmongers shop or a retail chain’s fresh � sh counter. Brood stock can reach 4 kg for bream and 10 kg for bass, says Dr Fortino. At Acqua Azzurra the brood stock from seabream start their season at 2-3 years and are kept for 8-9 years, after which the batch is changed.

Fish selected for their suitability for farming

� e brood stock are mostly obtained from the wild and for some years now Acqua Azzurra has been selecting some brood stock batches from the di� erent

wild batches for characteristics such as growth, morphology, and the ability to adapt well to being farmed. � e next target is to select � sh with a shape that enables more e� cient processing and work has already started with some batches where the � sh are shorter and larger. � ere are qual-ity checks throughout the process to ensure that the � sh meets the standards set by the company’s

customers. � ese are often the big retail chains such as Coop, Conad, SMA, Auchan and Carrefour, which take 70 of the production, while local and regional chains, as well as other companies pick up the remainder. Our contracts with the big chains typically also de� ne the maximum permissible limits for impurities not only in the � sh, but also in the water and the feed, says Dr Fortino. Our own internal limits are even stricter. � e company’s limits are in fact so stringent that it is supplying a baby food producer with � sh without needing to adjust these limits.

New processing plant to go on-stream end 2011

Currently the company is supply-ing whole round � sh packed on ice, but by the end of the year a new processing facility will become operational where the � sh will be gutted and � lleted as well. We are responding to changes in the market and in consumer require-ments, says Dr Fortino. Italy has changed in the last � ve years and the � sh market has changed too. You now � nd fresh � llets of other species such as salmon or trout, which you would not have seen � ve years ago. � e processed � sh

07_IT.indd 37 24/11/11 11:34 AM


ITALY

will however only supplement and not replace the main produc-tion which will continue to be whole round � sh. Here too there are changes as the market today is demanding bigger � sh. While some years ago the standard size was 300-400 g, today this has changed and the company o� ers � sh in 400-600, 600-800, 800-1,000 and even above 1,000 g sizes.

� e company is also considering vacuum or modi� ed atmosphere (MA) packaging as a step that would follow the production of the � llets. We see these changes in the market and are responding to them, says Dr Fortino, as we think there will be a gradual increase in demand for � llets and products that are ready to cook or ready to eat. On the production side

A computer-controlled system regulates the feeding. A certain quantity of feed depending on fi sh size, the species, temperature, oxygen, etc. is delivered automatically at regular intervals.

Developments in the feed industry are followed closely at Acqua Azzurra as small improvements in food conversion ratios can make a signifi cant difference to costs.

Acqua Azzurra S.P.A. Company Fact FileC. da Vulpiglia s.n.Strada Prov. 97 I 96018 Pachino-SR Italy

Tel.: +39 0931 804 111 Fax: +39 0931 804150 [email protected] www.acquaazzurra.it

Managing Director: Gianni RussoHead of Quality: Dr Gianluca

Fortino Sales and Marketing: Flavia

CannarellaActivities: Production of seabass

and seabream, hatchery for fry

Production volumes: Seabass and seabream, 2,000 tonnes per year; 28m fry, small volume of organic fi sh

Products: Whole round, headed gutted*, fi llets*

Packaging: On ice in boxes, vacuum packaged*, modifi ed atmosphere packaged*

Main markets for fi sh: ItalyMain markets for fry: Italy,

Croatia, Tunisia, MaltaMain customers: Big retail

chains (70%), local and regional retailers and others (30%)

*Will come on-stream at the end of 2011

the company is following closely developments in the feed industry and is trying with its suppliers to � nd the best solution in terms of feed conversion ratio, and price. Acqua Azzurra is also conducting trials with a couple of other spe-cies, meagre (Argyrosomus regius),

and greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili). � e company is also trying to capitalise on the market for organic � sh and has one cage each of seabass and seabream that are produced to ICEA (Ethi-cal and Environmental Certi� ca-tion Institute) standards, which follow EU legislation in this area. � is experiment started at the end of July and the � sh will be certi� ed in 2012.

� e company is committed to supplying the freshest possible � sh. In less than 24 hours the � sh is harvested, packed on ice, and transported to the � sh market in Rome to be there early morning the next day. To ensure the pro-duction is smooth and without hiccups Acqua Azzurra is con-stantly innovating and experi-menting to make processes more e� cient. It invests in new ideas and technologies that show prom-ise, building equipment and car-rying out trials which could lead to greater e� ciencies and lower costs. In the long run this is what will help it maintain its position as one of Italy’s leading producers of seabass and seabream.

07_IT.indd 38 24/11/11 11:34 AM


ITALY

The factory at the Iasa premises in Salerno, Italy is a hive of activity as lines

of employees process anchovies, peeling them into � llets and removing the central bone. � e

work is done literally by hand as the workers do not even use knives to separate the � sh into � llets, but rely on their � ngers. � e � llets are arranged neatly in lines on strips of cloth which are

collected and delivered to the packing station where they are packed by hand in small slender jars. Working at incredible speed a worker � rst lines the walls of the jar with the � llets and then

� lls up the space in the middle. � e � lled jars are collected in a tray, topped up with extra virgin olive oil, and passed through a machine which seals them with a lid.

Iasa continues a 42-year old tradition

Twelve-month matured anchovies for gourmetsThe company Iasa was founded in 1969 in Salerno, Italy, by the father of the current owners, Francesco Di Mauro. At the time it processed anchovies, salting the freshly caught fi sh for the local market. In the early 80s Iasa expanded into the production of tuna, cooking and immersing chunks of tuna into jars of olive oil. Today, Iasa is owned and managed by the daughter and the two sons of the founder and in addition to the traditional items the product range includes anchovy extract (colatura), and hot peppers.

The only mechanical operation in the production of anchovies is the sealing of the jars.

07_IT.indd 39 24/11/11 11:34 AM


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Slabs of tuna thaw preparatory to being processed in steam cookers. Anchovies in brine are headed and gutted, but not fi lleted.

Processing is still exclusively by hand

� is is the only mechanical step in the whole process, says Salvatore Di Mauro, the general manager of Iasa, otherwise everything, as you can see, is done by hand. We are one of the only companies left that is still producing overwhelmingly by hand, most of the others have mechanised their operations, he continues. � is traditional way of manufacturing characterises the company and the artisanal products it makes, which are of very high quality and taste. At the same time Iasa is ready to introduce innovations and new practices if they contribute to making a better product. Back in his father’s time, recounts Mr Di Mauro, the � shers were asked to use ice in order to preserve the � sh better. � is was unusual for that time, but his father could see the advantages and insisted that the � shers follow his instructions.

Anchovies are what Iasa started their production with and it still forms an important product group. � e � sh are sourced locally and are processed immediately to prevent the onset of decay. � e initial process consists of heading and gutting the � sh and placing it under a layer of dry salt. Fish and

salt are placed in alternating lay-ers in large bins and subject to a certain amount of pressure from a weight placed on top. � e weight is important as it slows down the a maturation process. � e � sh stays in the salt for 12 months, again something that few manufactur-ers do. Other producers may store their � sh for 15, 30, 60, or 90 days, but we are the only ones who keep the � sh for a year under salt, says Vincenzo Di Mauro, the produc-tion manager. � e advantage of keeping the � sh under salt for a longer period is that the taste of the salt is milder and the � nal product is smoother and more palatable. � e company produces about 40 tonnes of anchovies a year in di� erent formats – in jars under oil, or in brine, and in cans under salt. � e latter is not � lleted, but is headed and gutted.

Tuna products from albacore and yellowfi n

In 1984 the company moved into tuna processing, cooking and placing chunks and nuggets of tuna into glass jars and cans. � e tuna used for these products are yellow � n (� unnus albacares), albacore (white tuna, � un-nus alalunga), and blue� n tuna (� unnus thynnus) though for some years now only very little

of the latter has been used. � e yellow� n is sourced in the Indian and Atlantic oceans and imported either directly or through brokers. � ey company uses about 600 tonnes of yellow� n and about 30 tonnes of albacore, which is obtained locally from the sea around Calabria at the toe of the Italian boot. � e local � sh is however only available in sum-mer while the yellow� n can be imported frozen round the year. It is frozen whole on board and has to be thawed when it comes to the factory. Once thawed it is cut up into smaller pieces and steam cooked, a process that takes seven hours. During the cooking process the � sh is subject to a temperature of 100 degrees centigrade so that the interior of the pieces register a temperature of 70 degrees. Cooking starts late in the evening and by the morn-ing the � sh has cooled enough for it to be processed further. � e skin is removed and the � sh is cut into chunks or cubes and placed in jars or tins. After that the � sh is allowed to mature for 6-12 months in the case of albacore and for 3-6 months in the case of yellow� n. During the maturation the salt penetrates the � esh, the texture softens, and the smell of sulphur disappears. � e company also used blue� n tuna in the past, but

Among Iasa’s products are pungent red peppers chopped in oil.

The anchovy fi llets are arranged by hand in jars that are topped up with extra virgin olive oil.

07_IT.indd 40 24/11/11 11:34 AM


ITALY

now it is impossible to get as the quotas have fallen and many � sh-ermen are now catching the � sh to fatten and sell to the Japanese.

Producing quality can be expensive

Raw material prices have been � uctuating from year to year and it is di� cult to see a trend. Five years ago, the cost of the raw material was EUR2.2 per kilo, three years ago it was EUR1.3 or 1.4, this year it is EUR2.5 and the price of blue-� n was between EUR3 and EUR5 a few years ago. � e cost of the raw material is only one of the uncer-tainties the company faces. We keep our anchovies under salt for a year, this ties up a lot of capital as it is twelve months before we can realise the proceeds, says Sal-vatore Di Mauro. In addition, the longer the � sh stays in salt, the less it weighs when it is packaged as the salt pulls the liquid out of the � sh, thus reducing its weight. Also the recession has made our cus-tomers reluctant to make contracts for longer periods where they buy a � xed amount each month. � ey would rather purchase only when they know they can sell. And so instead of supplying 1,000 car-tons a month, for example, Iasa sells 1,000 cartons one month, none the next, and 2,000 the third, which makes it di� cult to plan the

production. In addition the settle-ment of bills is taking longer and longer. It used to be after 30 days, but now, more often than not, it is after 60 days. Iasa’s customers are mainly small shops, restaurants, catering, gastronomy, as well as retailers. In addition, small vol-umes, about 10 of the produc-tion, are exported to Australia, Canada, France UK, Germany, Japan, and USA.

Colatura, a speciality product from the

anchovy juice

Layering the anchovies in salt releases results in the production

of a liquid, with very small quanti-ties of which it is possible to cook. � is essence, called colatura, is a speciality of Cetara, a town not far from Salerno. � e juice from the anchovies is collected in wooden barrels and allowed to absorb some of the tannins from the wood. A good colatura has the � avour of the tannins and the properties of the anchovies, says Lucia Di Mauro, sales and mar-keting manager. It is not salty like the anchovies but should taste like clams (vongole). Although colatura can be made from salt-ing di� erent kinds of � sh, it is best made from anchovies because of the low fat content.

Iasa’s production is under constant surveillance by the inhouse laboratory, which is responsible for product taste product and the visual analy-sis. More detailed chemical and biological tests are carried out at external laboratories, which among other parameters also keeps an eye on the presence of histamine. If we find histamine in any of the fish we remove it from production altogether, says Vincenzo Di Mauro. Our products are high quality and we cannot risk jeopardising our reputation. The quality of the products is such that Salva-tore Di Mauro says frankly that if customers want to prepare a pasta, for example, then they should not mix it with an Iasa product, but use something cheaper. The taste and qual-ity of our products make them more suited to be eaten alone, he explains.

Iasa has no immediate plans to use more automated production methods or to widely diversify its product portfolio. Instead, says Mr Di Mauro, we will try and improve our process manage-ment to become more e� cient. Our products will remain time-consuming to produce, over-whelmingly of Italian origin – and of very high quality.

IASA Srl Company Fact FileVia Nofi lo 43 I 84080 Cologna di Pellezzano (SA) Italy

Tel.: +39 089 566347Fax: +39 089 567058 [email protected] www.iasa.it

Managing Director: Salvatore Di Mauro

Production Manager: Vincenzo Di Mauro

Sales and Marketing Manager: Lucia Di Mauro

Products: Anchovies, tuna, peppers, colatura

Product forms: In oil or brinePackaging: Jars, cansRaw materials: Anchovies, bluefi n

tuna, peppers, albacore tuna from Italy; yellowfi ntuna from Asia and Latin America

Volumes: 40 tonnes of anchovies, 600 tonnes of yellowfi n, 30 tonnes of albacore

Markets: Mainly Italy, but also Australia, Canada, France UK, Germany, Japan, and USA.

Employees: 45

Salvatore, Vincenzo, and Lucia Di Mauro the owners of Iasa, a producer of high quality anchovy and tuna products.

The anchovies are separated manually into fi llets that are laid in neat lines on a piece of cotton.

07_IT.indd 41 24/11/11 11:35 AM


ITALY

Salvatore Pappalardo targets tuna and small pelagics

Bluefi n tuna fi shermen weary of restrictions on their activitiesSalvatore Pappalardo is the owner of three fi shing vessels, one built in 1972 and two more recent boats build in 2003. Based in the harbour of Cetara along the Amalfi coast Mr Pappalardo targets bluefi n tuna which he catches for his tuna fattening farm located to the south of Salerno. Tuna quotas are allocated by ICCAT, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, that is responsible for the management of tuna and tuna-like species in the Atlantic and neighbouring seas. Since 2004 the quotas allocated by ICCAT have been steadily decreasing and restrictions on the fi shery have been increasing.

Salvatore Pappalardo and his two sons Gilles and Alex aboard their tuna fi shing vessel.Mr Pappalardo has this

year a quota of 130 tonnes of tuna, a vol-

ume he says he could catch in one day in one of his boats. Since � shing for tuna is restricted to one month in the year, the rest of the year Mr Pappalardo targets small pelagic � sh such as ancho-vies and sardines. � e catches are small and the � sh are caught mainly to support the crew on board the vessel.

Drastic reduction in tuna fi shing fl eet

� e tuna catching � eet has been reduced drastically, says Mr Pap-palardo from 80 to just 9 vessels. He himself has consolidated his tuna quota of 130 tonnes onto one vessel. Of the other two he is planning to scrap the older one and is trying to sell the other, as there is no need to maintain three vessels when the quota can

be caught with one. Mr Pappa-lardo maintains the restrictions on � shing tuna are too onerous as there is plenty of tuna in the ocean. “If you were to fall in the sea right now, you would be able to walk on the tuna, they are so numerous,” he says. When he � shes for anchovy using lights to attract the anchovy he can see the tuna preying on the anchovy, and because of the restrictions on catching tuna he has to give up catching the anchovy as well for fear of accidently netting some tuna.

� e blue� n tuna � shery is highly controversial. On the one hand environmental organisations claim that rampant over� shing has decimated the stock, while � sher-men say there is plenty of blue� n in the sea, so much so that it is eating small pelagic � sh such as sardines and anchovies and reducing the abundance of these. � e restric-tions on tuna � shing have included a reduction in the e� ort, a ban on spotter planes, reductions in the quota, a very small window, from 15 May to 15 June, in which to catch the � sh, and on-board inspectors

Salvatore Pappalardo Company Fact FileActivities: Family-owned bluefi n

tuna fi shing and fattening company

Quota 2011: 130 tonnesVolumes of fattened tuna 2011:

500 tonnes

Markets: Japan

Vessels: One active tuna fi shing vessel, another is for sale, and a third has been decommissioned

Catches of anchovies are immediately packed on ice for sale to the local market.

07_IT.indd 42 24/11/11 11:35 AM


ITALY

monitoring the catch. � e tuna Mr Pappalardo catches goes to stock his farm which he owns jointly with three other vessel owners who also catch tuna to supply the farm. � e farming activ-ity started � ve years ago, when it became apparent that buyers of the � sh he caught then were pay-ing EUR3 per kg for the � sh, which they then fattened and sold to the Japanese for EUR30 per kg. Sensing an opportunity the four partners got together and decided to start fattening the � sh themselves. � e � sh are fattened on a diet of small pelagics from June to October, when they are harvested. � e buy-ers are Japanese who have their own factory vessels, where the � sh are processed and frozen at minus 60 degrees. � e factory vessel picks up � sh from di� erent farms in the Mediterranean with which it has arrangements and � nally transfers the products to boats that will take it back to Japan.

Fattening tuna for the Japanese market

Mr Pappalardo stocks his cages with about 100 tonnes of tuna, which he says consume about 10 tonnes of feed a day. � e feed is usually sardines � shed o� West Africa and mackerel. � e quality of the feed is important as it deter-mines the quality of the tuna and also the speed at which the tuna

gain weight. Up until the harvest in October the farm was holding between 500 and 550 tonnes of tuna in cages. Mr Pappalardo has his own theory as to why there are so many restrictions on tuna � sh-ing despite the apparent abun-dance of � sh. He lays the blame on a lobby for yellow� n tuna which is interested in higher prices for that product. Restrictions on blue� n tuna mean consumers will switch to yellow� n, he argues, and result in higher prices. FAO statistics show that the average price of yellow� n tuna increased from USD2050 per tonne in 2000 to USD2643 in 2008. Over the same period the dollar lost 26 of its value against the euro.

While accepting the need to pro-tect the resource Mr Pappalardo � nds some of the restrictions placed on tuna � shing unneces-sary. � e quota he feels is too low, but having both a quota and a limited time to catch it in works against the � sherman. If we have a quota and an inspector on board to see we do not exceed the per-mitted catch, I should be allowed a longer period in which to catch the � sh, he says. Five years ago he had a quota of 450 tonnes, but this has decreased over the years. His current vessel requires a crew of 16 people, but working with a smaller vessel is not really an option as bigger vessels o� er more in terms of safety and comfort.

The family owned company has a quota of 130 tonnes of tuna.

When the tuna quota has been used up Salvatore Pappalardo targets small pelagics.

The company owned three vessels, but with tuna quotas as low as they are, one has been decommissioned and another is up for sale.

07_IT.indd 43 24/11/11 11:35 AM


ITALY

Euro� sh: Since when have you been the managing editor of Euro� shmarket Magazine? What is the story of this magazine? Where is its head o� ce?

Valentina Tepedino: I founded the magazine Euro� shmarket together with the Medesima Com-pany in 2004. I realized from my previous experience in the � eld of o� cial monitoring that the � shery industry in Italy lacked a source of useful information, a scienti� c, technical, up-to-date, regulatory magazine. Especially after the implementation of legis-lation regarding labelling require-ments the need for reliable infor-mational increased signi� cantly. � e magazine has since been joined by a website that is updated daily by our experts.Our head-quarters are in Bologna although Euro� shmarket works throughout Italy covering relevant issues.

EF: How is it possible to access the contents of the magazine?

VT: � e magazine can be received exclusively through subscription. Some articles from previous edi-tions can be viewed on our web site for free.

EF: What is the role of Euro� sh-market Magazine? To whom is the magazine addressed primarily?

VT: � e magazine is addressed to all operators in the � shery sector, from controlling bodies to buyers, from quality and product manag-ers to wholesalers, to consumer associations and to journalists. � is is because Euro� shmarket deals with every aspect of the sec-tor: from the latest restrictions introduced in the � sheries sector and new species in aquaculture through new types of processed products, to market surveys that highlight the weaknesses or strengths of the system. We are always investigating and verifying product quality.

EF: What is Euro� shmarket’s position internationally?

VT: Eurofishmarket documents the news, research, innovations, updates on new regulations that are international and have primarily value for the Italian market. Both on the website and in the magazine information is provided in two languages, Italian and English. Eurofish-market also organises work-shops to assist importers and buyers in doing business on the Italian market.

EF: What are the most important issues that are discussed in the magazine? What subjects will you be investigating in the future?

VT: � e magazine conducts dif-ferent kinds of surveys and also undertakes investigations to iden-tify and expose fraud in the � shery industry. � ere are also inter-views with major players in the industry both public and private, reports on innovative products and production systems as well as on processed products. We discuss sustainability and quality certi� ca-tions and many other interesting topics. Certainly I would say � sh quality and sustainability are the topics of the future in this sector.

EF: Euro� shmarket also publishes interesting guides for the � sh sec-tor and other types of publications.

VT: Euro� shmarket has recently published two books covering all the commercial species that are present on the European market. Each has more than 400 pages and over 2,000 colour images. Each species is comprehen-sively described to allow easy recognition. In addition, their nutritional characteristics, and sensory aspects are detailed. � e text of the books is mainly aimed at companies working in the � sh trade, but they have also generated interest among o� -cial monitoring bodies as well as consumers. Both products can be requested by sending an email to libri@euro� shmarket.it

Interview with Valentina Tep edino, Director and Managing Editor of Eurofi shmarket

Valentina Tepedino has a degree in veterinary medicine and has specialised in the inspection of fi shery products and in veterinary legislation. After working for fi ve years as an offi cial veterinary in food quality she left to establish and manage Eurofi shmarket, a company focused on consultancy, research, training and information related to the fi shery sector. In Italy Eurofi shmarket collaborates with almost all the TV channels, with journalists in this fi eld, as well as with major retail, production, and processing companies. She is the managing editor of Eurofi shmarket Magazine, a journal that collaborates with numerous universities and public bodies for research, and especially with harbour offi ces of ports, which in Italy deal with problems of fraud in the fi sh trade.

Investigating fraud in Italy’s seafood sector

Valentina Tepedino, Director and Managing Editor of Eurofi shmarket, a company researching and publishing information about the entire Italian seafood sector.

EF: What do you think of the pro-posal to collaborate with Euro� sh? For us collaboration with Euro� sh is an opportunity for the research and investigations conducted by Euro� shmarket to be recognised internationally. � ese studies are certainly of interest to other European and non-EU markets. We can also promote information from Euro� sh that is of interest to our readers, opening opportu-nities for companies in the sec-tor to participate in the projects and workshops conducted by Euro� sh. Certainly, at the interna-tional level, Euro� sh is a valuable source of practical and specialised information for those who work in the � shery industry.

07_IT.indd 44 24/11/11 11:36 AM

www.euro� shmagazine.com Euro� sh Magazine 6 / 2011 45

AZERBAIJAN

Azerbaijan is the largest of the Southern Caucasian states in terms of its size and pop-

ulation, but has the lowest reserves of fresh water. It has a coastline of 840 km along the Caspian sea, which is an important � shing area

for sturgeon and kilka (Clupeonella cultriventris). Other sources of � sh are the country’s rivers, the most important of which in terms of � sh-eries are the Kura and Araz, the two biggest rivers. Lake Sarysu and the two reservoirs, Mingachevir and

Shamkir, are the other water bodies that are used for commercial � sh-eries. � e smaller freshwater bod-ies are used for recreational � sh-ing. An FAO review of � sheries and aquaculture in Azerbaijan found that the use of better management

as well as stocking programmes will increase the output of � sh from inland waters. In particular the report mentions the 66,000 km of irrigation canals that are used for cotton production as an excellent possibility to expand aquaculture.

Lack of freshwater means aquaculture in Azerbaijan depends on new technology to expand

Revival of interest in fi sheries and aquaculture With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990 fi sheries production in Azerbaijan was reduced to a tenth of its original size, and the decline in the aquaculture sector was similar. Fish consumption fell to 3.4 kg per capita. More recently there has been an increasing interest in both fi sheries and aquaculture as measures are taken to develop the sector. These include a draft law on aquaculture, collaboration with international programmes, greater use of technology, and the role of the state in fi sh breeding. Improved purchasing power due to the growth in the economy has also contributed to greater demand for fi sh and seafood.

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AZERBAIJAN

Table 2. Catch percentage composition 2006-2010

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010Clupeidae (%) 92.5 84.95 79.9 66.2 66.8

Cyprinidae (%) 5.27 9.54 12.1 22.3 24.7

Acipenseridae (%) 0.22 2.24 2.2 0.4 0.6

Mugilidae (%) 0.59 2.07 4.12 7.4 6.2

Persidae (%) 1.14 0.97 0.75 1.2 0.5

Siluridae (%) 0.07 0.13 0.56 1.7 0.6

Esocidae (%) 0.2 0.1 0.37 0.8 0.6

Total (%) 100 100 100 100 100

Source: FAO

Table 3. Total freshwater and marine fi sh production between 2007 and 2010

2007 2008 2009 2010

Freshwater fi sh production (tonnes) 385 444 334 222

Mmarine fi sh production(tonnes) 877 1.267 1.043 972

Source: State Committee of Statistics

Table 4. Aquaculture production between 2006 and 2010 (processed fi sh volume included), thousand tonnes Year 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

1.2 1.7 1.3 1.3 0.9


Efforts to improve Caspian Sea sturgeon

stocks underway

Currently, Azerbaijan has 21 � sh species which are of commercial value. Most belong to the Clupei-dae, Acipenseridae and Cyprinidae families, although in terms of vol-ume the vast majority of the catch is composed of Clupeidae (Table 2). � e country’s sturgeon stocks are close to extinction despite several measures to prevent their decline. Farming sturgeon is the only way to reduce the pressure on wild stocks and to produce caviar sustainably. Sturgeon catches have been declin-ing since the 1950s and, as a result of habitat destruction and limited access to breeding grounds, natu-ral reproduction has been reduced to almost nothing. After receiving recommendations from CITES, the Ministry of Eco logy and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan is imple-menting a two-pronged approach to improve the condition of stur-geon stocks in the Caspian Sea. Firstly, natural spawning sites are being cleaned, inventoried, and protected. In addition to natural spawning ground protection, the delta of the Kura river is also being deepened to make the river acces-sible for � sh migration. However, since there are many dams on the Kura river, the complete restoration of natural spawning grounds will be hard to accomplish. � e sec-ond step the ministry is taking is to upgrade and repair older sturgeon hatcheries to produce young stur-geon for restocking.

Currently however, insu� cient freshwater makes it di� cult to expand aquaculture production. In addition the lack of a legal frame-work to exploit marine areas, under-ground reservoirs, or lakes prevents an increase in the availability of freshwater for farming � sh. Finally, there is no knowhow or experience with cage culture, nor with recircu-lation technology, which would be another way of using limited fresh-water resources to grow � sh. Some inland waters are also su� ering from excess salinity making them unsuitable for � sh cultivation.

Production from fi sheries and aquaculture declines

Roughly 100 � shing vessels operate on the Caspian Sea of which 60 target kilka using seines, while the rest catch carp, perch, and shad, using trawler nets. As can be seen in Tables 3, 4 and 5 catches from captive � sheries and aquaculture production are declining in vol-ume while imports are increasing. Sprats are also an important spe-cies for � shers in the Caspian Sea, though catch volumes have been declining steadily. � e � shing � eet is composed primarily of boats that are less than 6 m in length, that are active 2-3 miles o� the coast. Vessels between 24 and 30 m form the second most numerous cat-egory and they are used to catch sprats. However as the resource has declined the number of vessels has also fallen as can be seen in Table 6. Since 1992 Azerbaijan has been a member of the Caspian Sea

Table 5. Imports of fi sh and fi sh products from 2006 to 2009

2006 2007 2008 2009Fish, ton 4124,4 4167,1 6075,4 6912,2

Import volume in USD 1430,0 1965,3 3831,6 4322,1

Canned fi sh and meat, ton 4796,4 5904,9 7400,8 6937,8

Import in USD 2829,7 6101,2 10189,5 10208,6


Table 6. Fishery fl eet compositionLength 45-60m 24-30m >60m >6mYear 2007 2008 2009 2007 2008 2009 2007 2008 2009 2007 2008 2009Number 4 4 2 34 28 22 1 - - 563 624 633

Total tonnage 2890 2890 1545 3112 2596 2082 1115 - - - - -

Power, kW 3408 3408 1704 4945 4109 3515 852 - - - - -

Source: Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, Department of Reproduction and Protection of Aquatic Bioresources

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www.euro� shmagazine.com Euro� sh Magazine 6 / 2011 47

AZERBAIJAN

Water Bioresources Commission. � is Commission aims to identify � sh stocks and create consistency between the littoral states of the Caspian Sea with regard to total catch limits. � e Commission has devised an action plan to achieve the targets for joint management, conservation and the sustainable use of marine biological resources.

� e inland � sheries � eet consists of some 140 vessels most of which are small with limited engine power. However, about 45 vessels have an engine capacity of 80 HP or more. In addition to motorised vessels there are 20 row-boats that � sh on inland waters. � e total catch by inland vessels was about 220 tonnes in 2010 (Table 7a) and the main gear used was keep nets and fykes. � e Kura River is also used for com-mercial � shing purposes. � e main catch here is migrating sturgeon. Other species include roach (Rutiles rutiles), bream (Abramis brama) and pike-perch (Sander lucioperca) (Table 8). Catches here have declined from 222 tonnes in 2006 to 96 tonnes in 2010. � e smaller inland rivers are too small to sustain

commercial � shing and are used mainly for recreational purposes. Apart from rivers, two reservoirs, Mingachevir and Shamkir, are used for commercial � shing. Catches include bream, pike perch (Sander lucioperca), roach (Rutiles rutiles) and common carp (Cyrpinus car-pio). One lake, Lake Sarysu, also has a commercial � shery for pike (Esox lucius), roach (Rutiles rutiles) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Annual catches from the lake are between 10 and 15 tonnes.

Recreational fi sheries are popular

Recreational � shers in Azer-baijan use the Caspian Sea and inland waters. Popular target spe-cies include: pike-perch (Sander lucioperca), common carp (Cyrpi-nus carpio), bream (Abramis brama), roach (Rutiles rutiles), vimba (Vimba vimba), asp (Aspius aspius), kutum (Rutilus frisii), mul-let (Liza auratus), shemaya (Chal-calburnus chalcoides), pike (Esox lucius), cat� sh (Silurus glanis), shrimp and cray� sh. According to the Regulation for Amateur and

Table 7a. Production (tonnes) from inland capture fi sheries

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010Rivers 168.7 227.2 257 167 112

Reservoirs 153 141 186 163 110

Lakes 10.4 12.1 0.8 4.3 -

Total 321.7 368.2 443.8 334.3 222


Table 7b. Exports of fi sh and fi sh products from 2006 to 2009

2006 2007 2008 2009Fish, ton 538,0 851,1 514,4 489,8

Export volume in USD 292,0 816,3 361,6 294,8

Sturgeon caviar, ton 0,3 3,9 2,0 2,9

Export volume in USD 365,8 5027,1 5238,6 5658,8


Sports Fishing, recreational � sh-ers are allowed to use several rods, but with the rule that no more than seven hooks are used at the same time. Furthermore, for non-predatory species the daily catch is limited to � ve kilograms. When � shing for predatory � sh (pike, sander, perch and Wels cat� sh) there is no daily catch limit.

Recreational � shing is supported by restocking and other conserva-tion measures. While there are no records of catches by anglers, the Society of Hunters and Fishermen estimates that at least 100 tonnes of � sh are caught annually by pleasure � shers. Much of the � sh caught by rural anglers is probably used for personal consumption, especially along the Caspian Sea coast, and close to lakes, areas that have a long � sh-eating tradition.

Aquaculture activities in Azerbai-jan are divided into (a) hatcheries for restocking waters to sustain

commercial � sheries, which are under state control, and (b) com-mercial � sh farms, which are now part of the private sector. � e transi-tion to the private sector has meant that many farms are in poor shape and are under-performing due to a lack of investment. However, along the Kura river several smaller farms have started to come up that produce European carp, silver carp and grass carp. Farming grass carp serves two purposes, (1) as food source, and (2) as a natural con-trol on aquatic vegetation. Despite these developments, the commer-cial aquaculture sector in Azerbai-jan still has low productivity. Since 2002, production has increased, but total production in 2008 was still only a modest 1,000 tonnes (Table 9). � e range of farmed spe-cies includes trout, which is grown in raceways fed by mountain rivers. � ere is also an interest in sturgeon farming, which should develop as legislation is passed and new tech-nologies are introduced.

Table 8. Composition of catches (tonnes) on the Kura river

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Sturgeon 68 67 70 2.48 2

Carp 23.8 17.5 9.5 4.52 3.75

Roach 19.6 22 29 21.26 12.33

Bream 62.7 75.1 76 65.22 45.9

Asp 2 3.5 3.3 1.1 3

Pikeperch 39.5 24.6 26.5 26.6 19.84

Shemaya 6.5 6.1 11.5 14.55 9.2


Table 9. Aquaculture production (tonnes) from 2006 to 2008Aquaculture products 2006 2007 2008Common carp 400 700 700

Silver carp 160 130 250

Grass carp 40 70 50

Total 600 900 1000


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Effi cacy of restocking programmes questioned

� e restocking programme run by the 13 state-owned hatcheries strengthens natural stocks and sus-tains capture � sheries. � e hatch-eries produce juvenile sturgeon, Kura salmon and cyprinids and � ngerlings from eight other species belonging to the three families Aci-penseridae, Cyprinidae and Salmo-nidae for release in the Kura river, reservoirs and the Caspian Sea (Table 10). Most of the hatcheries were constructed under the Soviet era and have large production capacities. However, they do not produce to capacity for a variety of reasons, including outdated man-agement practices, � nancial restric-tions, and technical problems.

Recently, the e� ectiveness of restocking has become an impor-tant issue. Despite the release of millions of juvenile � sh, overall � sheries production keeps declin-ing. � is has raised questions as to whether restocking is a good tool for sustaining capture � sher-ies. Very limited research has been done in the past on the survival rate

of juvenile � sh and on the ideal release age/weight. In the past few years some research has been devoted to these topics, but results are di� cult to obtain and analyse.

Imports exceed exports by a wide margin

� e processing industry in Azer-baijan focuses mainly on marine species. Processed products incl-ude packaged, � lleted, canned, and smoked � sh using sturgeon, kutum, bream, shemaya, roach, asp, sander and sprat. Imported � sh such as mackerel, herring, and salmon are also used by the bigger processors. � e large processing companies are not interested in farmed � sh, but several smaller companies based inland are processing and storing aquaculture products. � e trade in � sh is heavily skewed in favour of imports which increased from 4,000 tonnes in 2006 to nearly 7,000 tonnes in 2009. Over the same period exports fell slightly from 538 tonnes to 490 tonnes. � e main exported products are sturgeon caviar, � sh meal, and various forms of processed sprat (Clupeonella cultriventris) - canned, frozen and

smoked. � e main export markets for sturgeon products are in the USA, Canada, and Germany, while the sprat products go to Russia and Georgia. � e export-import trade in � sh products is dominated by the four major processing compa-nies in Azerbaijan. Live � sh, mainly common carp, silver carp, big head carp, and grass carp, are bought and sold on domestic markets in both rural and urban areas, but the vol-umes are only around 100 tonnes.

� e main channels for the distribu-tion of � sh are the wholesale mar-kets which supply the local retailers, restaurants, and markets. Fish is also sold directly by the � shermen themselves on local markets or to processing companies. � e proces-sors in turn sell their products to the wholesalers, who distribute it further. � e supply of � sh tends to be seasonal and largely from local sources. About 15 of the supply of processed � sh and � sh products is imported from Russia and the Bal-tic States. Fish distribution tends to be concentrated in the capital Baku, with only few companies maintain-ing stores in other parts of the coun-try. Fish products are transported

Table 10. Numbers per species (in million fi ngerlings) restocked between 2000 and 2010.Species Unit Year

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010Acipenseridae in total Mln. Specimens 16,032 9,68 12,458 7,68 1,523

Huso Huso - - - - -

A. nudiventris - 0,270 - 0,57 -

A. persicus 12,676 7,670 8,976 5,44 0,887

A. stellatus 3,356 1,74 3,482 1,66 0,636

Salmo trutta Thousands 94,85 118,47 174,475 182,1 173,61

Cyprinidae Mln. Specimens 432,13 435,91 409,68 402,8 429,186

Carp 51,02 56,97 41,56 62.26 58,904

Bream 15,56 6,43 6,32 10.7 10,232

Kutum 50,6 85,54 58,15 54.11 43,48

Roach 253,25 203,12 221,7 233.02 249,5

Asp 11,5 38,2 17,5 - 2,3

Phytophagous Mln. Specimens 50,2 45,64 56,6 5,65 5,7


between the locations in refriger-ated trucks, while live � sh is moved around in regular trucks.

Demand and consumption

� e annual consumption of � sh in Azerbaijan is about 3.4 kg per capita. In areas along the coast and in regions close to inland water bodies consumption is higher, but it is very low in the rest of the country, though uno� cial observations suggest that this is slowly changing. Tastes are deter-mined by the availability of � sh, which is generally eaten during the cooler parts of the year and on special occasions. Imports of Rus-sian Far East salmon pink (Onco-rhynchus gorbuscha) and sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka), mackerel (Scomber scombrus), cod (Gadus morhua) and sea bass (Dicentrar-chus labrax) have resulted in peo-ple developing a taste for these marine species. � e output from aquaculture, mainly grass and sil-ver carp, is limited and prices are high. Most farmed � sh is sold at restaurants rather than directly to consumers.

� e � sh industry is particularly important in rural areas where � shing provides a source of emp-loyment and food security. For ang l ers � shing is probably also a source of support for their house-holds. Estimates of employment in the processing industry also run to some thousands of people. Taken as a whole the industry is then an important provider of jobs and live-lihoods and has an important role to play in maintaining some rural communities. A healthy � sheries and aquaculture sector bene� ts rural economies and deserves to be encouraged by the country’s politi-cal leadership.

Summarised from the FAO review of � sheries and aquaculture in Azerbaijan

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Eurofish Magazine 6 / 2011 49www.eurofishmagazine.com

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The process of sterilizing and preserving foods in an au-toclave has undeniable ad-

vantages. Foods treated in this way keep well for years, they are pro-tected from oxygen, and they do not need to be kept constantly cool during storage. This is a significant advantage over frozen products that only keep for 12 or 18 months and whose storage consumes a great amount of energy. Preserves are among the safest foods that we know. Whilst oily fish can even become rancid when frozen, this problem does not occur in tinned herrings, sardines or mackerel. Canned foods are also highly con-venient in that they can normally be consumed immediately after opening. This is a definite advan-tage over frozen products which have to be thawed first.

There are not many product ideas that were developed over 200 years

ago and have survived almost unchanged to the present day. Although “modern” canned foods do not have very much in com-mon with the “original” invention of Nicolas Appert, which was more the shape of a bottling jar, despite all technological progress the prin-ciple behind preservation tech-niques works the same way today as it did then. Fish, fruit, vegeta-bles or other foods are filled into a hermetically sealable container, if possible so that when closing the lid as little air as possible remains inside, and then heated to 100° C or more to kill bacteria and other germs. Once this has been done the contents are reliably preserved and protected from spoilage for a long time. In 1938 several cans of food were found in the Arctic, the leftovers from an expedition undertaken in 1820. Their contents had not spoiled and are said to have still been edible. Durability

of more than 118 years is quite amazing for products that were produced in the days when the first cans were just coming onto the market and the technology for their production was still in its infancy.

Today in Germany alone, about 3.9 billion tinplate cans and 1.3 billion glass jars of preserves are placed onto the market every year. In the United States the beverage industry fills about 100 billion aluminium cans with beer and soft drinks each year. Not only are the huge quanti-ties remarkable, but also the variety of materials from which these food containers can be produced.

In the beginning was the preserving jar

The process of preserving foods in sealable jars, for which the French chef and confectioner Nicolas Appert was awarded the sum of

12,000 gold francs by Napoleon in 1810 for “the art of preserving all animal and vegetable substances ... with all their freshness, flavour and individual attributes for several years” has lost none of its signifi-cance today. In Germany, the pro-portion of glass jars compared to tins or other types of preserves has even risen slightly in recent years. Fish, sausages and meat preserves only rose by 4.5%, but the market share of fruit, vegetables, pickles and sweet bread spreads grew last year by between 8.7 and 13.1%.

The advantages of preserving foods in glass jars are obvious. The material glass is tasteless and resistant to all the salts and acids (vinegar) that are used in the food industry. Because of these properties glass jars are particularly well suited to semi-preserves such as salted fish and pickled products (rollmops, Bis-marck herring). In addition, glass

Which material is best for preserves?For two centuries, tin cans and jars proved to be an excellent way of preserving foods safely over a long period of time. In the meantime, how ever, more and more food products are appearing on the market packed in other materials, especially plastics in bag or can format. What advantages do these materials offer? Are they just as safe as the traditional cans, or is the good old tin can era possibly coming to an end?

Tinplate or glass, aluminium or plastic

One advantage of the relatively light, thin pouch is its light weight, but the contents inside have little protection against mechanical damage.

Tinplate and aluminium cans are robust, tried and tested. They can be recycled, but are sometimes difficult to open.

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[ PROcessing ]

is usually transparent and allows the consumer a visual assessment of the product in the jar. This may well be beneficial, but sometimes also a problem, depending on the state in which the product is pre-sented and how it was processed. Whereas chunks and flakes of tuna, for example, are usually packed in cans, large attractive fillet pieces are often packed in glass jars that allow the consumer to see the outstanding quality of the contents. Another advantage of glass is that it can easily be recycled.

The market share of glass jars would probably be even bigger if glass did not also have some signific ant dis-advantages. For example: transpar-ent material is not always suited to photosensitive pro ducts that fade or decompose under the influ-ence of light. Glass is also relatively heavy, which puts a burden on the CO2 balance during transport, and also fragile, meaning that glass containers have to be handled with great care. The fragility of the mate-rial must also, of course, be taken into account already during the production of bottled preserves, although the process more or less corresponds to that of other types of food preserves. Canned foods can be strongly cooled immedi-ately after autoclaving to prevent

overcooking which would have a negative effect on the consistency of the contents. This is often not possible in the case of glass contain-ers because temp erature changes of over 50 degrees put a strain on the glass and can cause it to break.

Cost is another significant aspect: closing glass jars is a relatively expensive process. Twist-off metal lids are usually used today. The lid is held in position by the vacuum within the jar and by a slight turn which holds it firmly on the jar like a screw top. The safety of the seal depends on several factors. The upper edge of the jar must be clean and the rubber ring in the lid intact. The lid must be placed onto the jar perfectly horizontally and should snap into position correctly when twisted. Only then will the vacuum remain intact and this is the pre-requisite for the perfect condition of the preserve. That is why there should an audible click when the twist-off lid of a jar of preserves is opened for the first time.

Cans have to be laminated

In the same year in which Napo-leon bestowed on App ert the impressive prize for the success-ful testing over a number of years of his preservation process the

tin can was invented. The British merchant Peter Durand had taken up the idea, only he did not put the food into jars, but sealed them airtight into metal containers. He sold the patent which he received for his invention in August 1810 to Bryan Donkin and John Hall who, three years later in Bermondsey opened the world’s first canning factory that used containers made of tinplated sheet iron to make food durable for a long time.

Tinplate, cold rolled thin steel sheet, whose surface is coated with tin by means of electrolysis to prevent corrosion, is still the pre-ferred material for cans used in the food industry. The technology for producing tinplate is in the mean-time so sophisticated that one gram of tin is enough to coat one square metre of steel plate with a 0.15 mm thin layer. For additional protection tin cans are often var-nished on their interior or coated with a thin plastic film (full seal) because some foods that contain fruit acids can dissolve tin from the can metal. Although tin is vital for human beings and has to be absorbed with the diet the necessary intake is extremely low and can be covered easily. The World Health Organisation therefore recommends limiting the daily intake of tin from food to

2 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. Cans with an interior plastic coating release practically no tin into the food they contain.

However, more recently, some of the substances that are used to coat food cans have come under criticism. The BADGE (bisphe-nol-A diglycidyl ether) that they contain can be passed on to the preserves in small amounts and this substance is suspected of being a possible carcinogen and mutagen. In the opinion of many experts this will not lead to any acute health hazard but the con-tamination is generally “unde-sirable.” The problem of slow poisoning by substances which pass from the cans into the food they contain is not new. In 1845, Sir John Franklin and his compan-ions set out on an Arctic expedi-tion to search for the Northwest Passage. Within three years, dur-ing which time they lived almost exclusively from canned food, they all died of lead poisoning. The con-tents of the cans were edible and not in any way spoilt, but at that time cans were soldered with lead.

Opening the cans remains a problem

Today efforts are made to find bet-ter solutions to this problem and

In Thailand and other supply countries tuna is generally packed in flat round cans.

In France, where the preserve was “invented” over 200 years ago, well-known producers market their products in their own specialized shops.


thus limit and control the result-ing risks. One approach is to pro-duce aluminium cans, which first emerged in the late 1950s and are now – hardly noticed by many consumers – taking over more and more of the market. Aluminium is lighter and cheaper than tin, and offers the same protection against corrosion. In addition, it is much more malleable than tinplate. This makes it possible, for exam-ple, to form cans from a single aluminium plate, in contrast to tinplate cans which always have to be shaped and folded in sev-eral labour-intensive steps. Alu-minium cans often have a conical shape so that the blanks can be stacked together to save space.

Regardless of that the variety of shapes and sizes of cans is today immense. Not only are there preferences for certain formats in individual countries, but also preferences for certain shapes for individual products. Tuna, for example, is most often to be found in shallow cans, wild salmon usually in tall round cans, and herring products in flat oval cans. The most important advan-tage of all metal cans is probably their mechanical stability which makes them virtually indestruct-ible. This is, however, also their biggest disadvantage and genera-tions of inventors have put a lot of

effort into developing an effective can opener. Ring-pull openers, a slotted key around which a pre-scored metal strip can be wound for opening sardine tins, and other devices have solved the problem to some extent, but countless fin-gernails are still broken every year while opening cans.

Both tinplate and aluminium cans have the advantage that they can be completely recycled and can be used repeatedly without loss of quality. In the U.S., about every second aluminium beverage can and almost two thirds of all tin cans are recycled. In Germany the recycling ratio for cans is even well above 90%.

Pouches have good barrier properties

About ten years ago pouches, which have been known in Asia for some time, became popular in North America as a packaging material for food preserves. Pouches are lighter than cans, their production requires less energy and their con-tents do not need to be heated for so long to preserve them. While canned tuna is usually cooked twice, the contents of the pouch are usually heated only once, which is reflected in a better product qual-ity. After a suitable piece of fillet has been placed into the bag it just

has to be closed under vacuum and then sterilized by heating.

If the plastic film of which the bag is made is not punctured, torn or otherwise mechanically damaged, the manufacturer guarantees a shelf-life as long as that given for conventional cans. That is usually a minimum of four years. The mul-tilayered material from which the pouches are made already makes sure of this. In general, it consists of polyester film that is laminated with aluminium and sealed with poly-propylene. This makes the ma terial resis tant to tempe rature and very resilient. Pouches have good bar-rier properties against light, gases, micro-organisms and odours. And the bags can be easily opened by tearing along a notch on the side or using scissors. However, the flexible material does not serve as sufficient protection of the pouch’s contents against pressure or similar external influences. If a customer presses or squeezes the bag to convince him-self of the shape and consistency of its contents the product may be damaged. This is probably the rea-son why at present, it is mainly tuna and salmon, i.e. fish species with relatively firm flesh, that are pre-served in pouches.

Meanwhile pouches are avail-able in a further developed form as stand-up pouches with a big base that allows for upright presentation and storage of the bags. Stand-up pouches are hardly used so far in the seafood sector and are mainly used for packing beverages, liquid soaps, detergents and the like, but it will probably not take long before the fish industry also discovers the potential of this packaging.

Plastic boxes of all shapes and colours

For several years tin cans and glass jars have had to face new competition. At FachPack 2007

the packaging specialist Weiden-hammer presented a can made of ‘Perma Safe’ plastic which offers huge advantages. Perma Safe is lightweight, dimensionally stable and can be sterilized (it is even said to be able to withstand micro-wave), it can be formed to produce various shapes and can be printed on. With the Perma Safe packaging Weidenhammer is making use of the advantages of plastic materi-als for preserves for the first time. The plastic packaging is just as stable and robust as conventional sterilizable cans made of solid materials, but much easier to han-dle, more lightweight and more cost efficient. Perma Safe packag-ing which is made using injection moulding is virtually imperme-able to oxygen and water vapour. Using the removable sealing film the packs can be opened very easily. Previous tests have shown that sterilized and pasteurized foods preserved in plastic con-tainers have a shelf-life of at least one and a half years. This is not as long as traditional tinplate cans or glass jars but the plastic pac kaging offers considerable advantages in terms of weight and stackability, energy balance during processing, transportation and storage.

Like all packaging materials, plas-tic cans also have certain advan-tages and disadvantages. The ideal material for preserves that meets all requirements and is absolutely superior to all others does not exist. Depending on the product and intended use, one thus has to decide from case to case which packaging material is most suit-able. Only one thing is certain: with each new material, with each addi-tional packaging that comes onto the market, tinplate and glass, the “classic” materials for food contain-ers, lose a bit more of their market share. That they might eventually disappear altogether, is currently not very likely however... mk


[ PROcessing ][ PROcessing ]

Before the cans are sealed they are filled up with brine so that there is no more air left in the interior.



[ PROcessing ]

The raw materials from headed and gutted salmon, which in rec ent years have become the basis for the fish processing indu-stry in Poland, are particularly suited for more profitable explo-itation. In recent years there has been a steady increase in imports of salmon into Poland for use by the processing industry. Each tonne of fish regardless of how it is processed generates 120 kg of heads, 100 kg of spines, 40 kg of raw scraps resulting from trim-ming the fillets with skin, and 60 kg of raw or smoked skins. In 2010 imports of fresh gutted salmon into Poland amounted to appro-ximately 106 thousand tonnes, of which 100 thousand tonnes were used for processing. The amount of waste raw material thus amounted to 12,000 tonnes of heads, 10,000 tonnes of spi-nes, 4,000 tonnes of raw scraps resulting from trimming the fillets with skin, and 6,000 tonnes of skins with the subcutaneous meat and fat tissue.

Many uses for salmon processing left-overs

In total, 32 thousand of ton-nes of raw materials containing considerable amounts of valuable substances were produced. These include 5,120 tonnes of protein, 7,040 tonnes of fish oil, and 960 tonnes of mineral substances. Sal-mon skins, constituting about 19% of the waste, can be used as the raw material for the production of oil, fish collagen, and fish gelatine that can be used in a variety of appli-cations. However, salmon waste raw materials can be used in the production of higher value semi--finished products such as fish oil (a dietary supplement); natural mineral preparations; gelatine for human consumption or non-food purposes; and fragmented salmon meat for human consumption.

The University of Technology and Life Sciences in Bydgoszcz and the Sea Fisheries Institute in Gdynia started a pilot project with

the objective of extracting quality products from waste generated by the salmon processing industry. The project was financed by the Agency for the Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture. Under the project a new system for obtaining semi-finished and finished products from salmon waste will be developed for test-ing on a commercial scale. The new system will conform to all the currently valid hygiene and food safety requirements.

Maximise returns by proper handling of

raw material

The main project goals were to improve the economic effective-ness of the use of fish waste raw material. The project subjected the raw material to chemical and microbiological analysis and determined procedures for

handling the waste that conform to sanitary and hygienic regu-lations. In addition the project determined how to use each frac-tion of the waste most rationally. Preliminary results suggest that the waste material from fresh salmon processing gives signifi-cant amounts of fish oil, of fat-soluble vitamins, and may be used for the production of natu-ral mineral preparations rich in calcium, phosphorus, magne-sium, potassium, selenium, and other mineral. This suggests that salmon waste can indeed be used for the production of products that represent a higher value than fish meal. In Poland the presence of large salmon processing plants will secure the raw material sup-ply and the waste is expected to be fresh and of high quality. With its large population and thriving economy Poland could also be a market for dietary supplements.

Polish project investigates use of fish scraps to produce high value products

A pilot project run by the Polish University of Technology and Life Sci e nces in Bydgoszcz and the Sea Fisheries Institute in Gdynia established that waste generated by the salmon processing industry could be used for the production of high value products rather then just fish meal.

120 600

500

400

300

200

100

0

mln

eur

o

thou

sand

tonn

es

thousand tonnes mln euro

100

80

60

40

20

02006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Generating value from wasteFish processing for human consumption generates huge quantities of waste raw materials, which are used both in Poland and worldwide as raw materials for the production of fish meal or as ingredients in the feeds of animals, bred for their fur, or fish. There is evidence to suggest that these waste raw material can be used more rationally as products intended for people, rather than as fodder.


Mr Zdenko C oban, Director of Irida, Ms Jelena Lukic, and Mr Slavek Holecek both technologists.Irida

Ul. Petra Zrinskog 3443500 Daruvar CroatiaTel: +385 43 331 766Fax: +385 43 331 [email protected]

Director: Mr. Zdenko Coban

Activities: imports, processing, distribution of fish and seafood products, exports.

Products: frozen and smoked fish and seafood using Patagonian gre-nadier, Golden redfish, mackerel, sar dines, Patagonian fish, squid, octopus, shrimps, surimi; local fre-shwater trout and common carp

Volumes: 3 600 tonnesMarkets: Croatia, Slovenia,

Hungary, Serbia, Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Brands: Ledo, Irida, Kplus and others

Employees: 170

Established in 1979 in the Daruvar region of Central Croatia, Irida was the first

and the largest fish processing plant on the Croatian mainland. Initially occupied with primary processing, branding, and freez-ing of freshwater fish, Irida in the past decade has expanded into processing marine fish, cepha-lopods, crustaceans, molluscs and other fish and seafood prod-ucts. In 2002 Irida became part of Ledo, one of the biggest frozen food manufacturers in Southern Europe. Ledo is now the main brand of the company along with Irida, KPlus and others. The own-er of the company is the Agrokor Group, one of the largest privately held companies in Croatia with 40,000 employees.

Irida was the first company to imp-lement HACCP as well as ISO901

and 14001 standards in the Croatian fishery industry. Annual produc-tion of the company varies between 3,500 and 4,000 tonnes, and marine fish and seafood comprise the bulk of the production. Patagonian gren-adier (Macruronus magellanicus) from Argentina accounts for 70% of the company’s production. For

example, two headed fish are frozen in a package of 500 g. Patagonian grenadier fillets and breaded prod-ucts are new product variants avail-able to Croatian consumers.

Freshwater fish production is esti mated at 5% of the company’s to tal output and is based on local

rainbow trout and common carp. Production of carp is currently 4-5 tonnes per year, and the main product is frozen carp steak. Packages of carp steaks of 150 g are distributed to the Ho-Re-Ca sector, while the retail sector is supplied with packages of 500g. “Although the level of freshwa-ter fish consumption in Croatia is low, we feel that carp has huge potential both on the local mar-ket and abroad,” says Mr Zdenko Coban, the director of Irida.


[ PROcessing ]

Wide range of products allows Irida to meet all needs

Ribnjacarstvo KoncanicaKoncanica 48843505 KoncanicaTel: +385 43 325 181Fax: +385 43 325 184ribnjacarstvo.koncanica@bj.

t-com.hr

Director: Mr. Davor Rohlik

Volumes: 500 tonnesActivities: carp farming (bighead

carp, silver carp, grass carp, catfish, pike and pike-perch.

Products: live carp, fresh and chilled carp

Markets: CroatiaEmployees: 40

Situated along the river Ilova, Ribnjacarstvo Koncanica is one of the oldest fish farms

in Croatia. The first ponds were hand-made by Hungarian and Czech specialists in 1900.

Today, the farm covers a total of 1,400 hectares and each pond has an area of 150 hectares. The area is famous for its many different species of animals, plants, and especially birds of which there are more than 170 species. The main activity of Ribnjacarstvo Koncanica is the production of carp, which is bred in a 3-year cycle. Carps account for 80-90% of the company’s total produc-tion; grass carp, silver carp and crucian carp are the main spe-cies. Other species include big-head carp, catfish, pike-perch and pike.

Estimated production for 2011 is 500 tonnes including the production of juvenile fish. Ribnjacarstvo Koncanica plans to increase production in the future and to this end has already built a nurs-ery for juveniles, and renovated the ponds, wintering ponds, and channels on the farm. Production capacity is 8 million juveniles per term, and the newly built nursery will help the company plan its own production. Moreover, the juveniles

will be offered to other producers. The company is also constructing a fish processing plant to diversify its range of fish products to include frozen fish.

The company’s fish are sold on the local Croatian market through the its own chain of retail stores. “Croatia has a limited market for freshwater fish. We have started modernising our production in order to comply with the standards

as our goal is to export directly,” says Mr. Davor Rohlik, the director of Ribnjacarstvo Koncanica. “We have several innovative ideas that we want to implement. For exam-ple, the production of organic carp is one of our priorities as it will offer consumers a high quality, tasty, and environmentally friendly product.”

Ribnjacarstvo Koncanica has invested in renovating ponds, wintering ponds, and channels to increase production and export the fish.

Ribnjacarstvo Koncanica plans to produce organic carp



[ FRAUD ]

Guarding against dishonest business practices

By purchasing the product from a small, unknown and � nancially weak trad-

ing company seafood importers can expose themselves to serious � nancial risks. � is scam pattern is often used by dishonest trad-ers to avoid responsibility for the goods or any other claims.

“I am not to blame, ask the producer!”

� e main idea of this “business” is very simple: if there is a prob-lem with the quality or quantity of the product sold, the trader tries to keep himself aloof from the problem and tells the buyer to claim compensation directly from the producer. Alternatively

the trader may agree to pay the compensation, but only if the pro-ducer accepts the claim. When the importer tries to talk to the pro-ducer, he receives the answer that the contract was made with the trader and the producer has noth-ing to do with the contract between the importer and the exporter.

If the buyer and the seller can-not reach the agreement and the importer decides to initiate a court case, the seller may go bankrupt and the buyer will have to write the losses o� . In many cases when the amount of the claim is not very high, the buyer will prefer to forget about it (and the exporter) rather than starting court procedures against the overseas company.

Dishonest business practises exist in many industries and the international seafood trade is no exception. Deceitful companies do their best to steal money or products and, unfortunately, for some of them such behaviour becomes a pattern. There are many techniques used for cheating an unaware business partner and this article will explain some of them.

Fraud in the seafood trade

Another variation of this “trick” is when the trader accepts the claim, but due to a lack of liquidity refuses to pay the com-pensation immediately. Instead he offers to compensate the loss by giving a discount on future purchases. By doing this he tries to guarantee future busi-ness with the buyer and avoids paying the compensation. In such situation the buyer has either to accept this solution or, most likely, he will never see his money.

Importers and producers can both be victims

� is trick can be used against the producer as well if he sells the

goods to the middleman on credit or for a partial payment. If the trader was not paid by his buyer he may refuse to pay the pro-ducer in full until he is paid by the importer. It often happens that the trader was fully paid but he wants to use the money to � nance other deals and makes the pro-ducer wait for the payment to the bitter end.

However, this type of trouble can be avoided. When working with a middleman make sure that the company is reputable and financially sound and if there are any problems with the product the counterparty will usually be able to stand for his obligations.

The risk of entering into a business deal with a dishonest partner can be reduced by using some common sense.

10_FRD.indd 54 24/11/11 11:42 AM


[ FRAUD ]

“I am not a decision maker, ask my boss!”

� is method is often used to win time in claim handling, to prolong credit terms, to pay compensa-tion, to return prepayment etc. When there is a problem with the consignment or the payment the manager in charge tells the coun-terparty that he cannot make the � nal decision. He has sent the claim to his superior who will revert with the comments soonest. Time passes and there is no reply. � e boss is di� cult to get in touch with as he is always travelling, sick, on vacation etc. Very often the only way to receive reply is to send a registered mail to the company.

Unfortunately, such behaviour is sometimes di� cult to avoid. � e only hedge is to be careful when choosing your business partners and to use secure payment meth-ods. A clause in the contract that sets time limits for claim handling and for other sensitive issues may also make the counterparty act

consignment was not ready. � e seller explained that the � shing was poor, the demand was high, that his competitors were paying better prices for the raw material etc. � e result was that the exporter asked for a few extra days to � nish the lot.

� en the manager of the exporting company stopped communicat-ing with the buyer. Any attempts to talk to other personnel of the com-pany failed as they could not speak the language. � e only message the buyer received in poor English was that Ms. Z was in the hospi-tal and nobody knew when she would be back. � e buyer called the company every day, and sent letters asking for the return of the prepayment, but all in vain. Finally the buyer decided to use the com-mercial services of his embassy in the supplier’s country, and within a few days he received his money.

� is problem could be avoided by using a Letter of Credit as a payment for the � sh. If the pro-ducer demands pre-payment, the Advance Payment Guarantee could be a good solution to secure the money.

“We were cheated ourselves”

� is type of behaviour can be used by small traders that use the buyer’s money to � nance deals. By collecting and holding on to pre-payments from several

buyers the company can easily obtain working capital for further transactions.

An overseas trader o� ering com-petitive prices for seafood products managed to make several import-ers transfer partial and sometimes full pre-payments into his account. � en the trader informed the buy-ers that his supplier had gone bankrupt with all the money he transferred to him. � e trader was an “honest company” and prom-ised to return the money to the buyers. � e problem was that he was short of cash and could not repay the total sum immediately. If any of the buyers threatened him with legal action, the trader replied that were that to happen he would go bankrupt and nobody would receive a penny. � en he started to repay the money in small portions so that it took him several months to repay the entire sum. In fact no supplier really existed and the trader used the money to � nance his operations and earn solid prof-its. We can see that he managed to receive interest-free credit and used it to his favour.

Unfortunately, the entire range of murky practices cannot be covered in a short article. How-ever, many scams can be avoided by using secure payment meth-ods, using common sense when choosing business partners, and remembering that if the o� er seems too good to be true – it probably is.

promptly especially if there is a penalty for delays.

“Me speak no English! (French, German etc)”

� is trick is often used by over-seas suppliers when for some reason they cannot ful� l the con-tract terms, have no intention of handling the claim or returning the prepayment. � is is especially the case with smaller trading companies. Here is one example. Importer A made a contract with an overseas supplied B for delivery of two containers of frozen � llets. � e seller was found on the inter-net and the buyer communicated only with one manager, Ms. Z from the exporting company. � e rest of the personnel, including the boss, spoke almost no English. Accord-ing to the contract, the buyer had to send a 30 prepayment to the seller, which is what he did. � e exporter received the money and told the buyer that the � sh was under production. However, when the shipment day came, the

BL International Ltd. Company Fact File518, Eurotowers, Europort AvenueGibraltarTel: +350-54015717

+44-20-32395902Fax: +350-21628708

+44-20-30148627Email: [email protected]

Business activities: Anti-fraud consulting services, interna-tional claim exchange, debt recovery and confl ict settlement assistance.

Manager: Alex SergeevArea of activity: worldwideClients: importers, exporters,

traders, and manufacturers

June 3 / 2011

Eurofish M

agazine


Poland: Carp promotion campaign draws support from children

Croatia: Organically-farmed seabass and seabream for western marketsAmbitious plans to expand trout production

in Turkey

www.eurofi shmagazine.com

ISSN 1868-5943

June 3 / 2011 C 44346

EU

RO

FISH


IcelandicFisheriesExhibition 20

11

Smárinn, Kópavogur, Iceland

September 22-24

www.icefish.is

ICELANDIC FISH RELATED

EXPORTS ARE THRIVING!

Meet the complete supply chain at the Icelandic

Fisheries Exhibition & Awards 2011

489 exhibitors from 33 countries*

12,429 attendees from 50 countries*.

This is your opportunity to join the Icelandic Fishing Industry –

can you afford to wait another 3 years?

The Exhibition, which incorporates the 3rd Icelandic Fisheries

Awards, covers everything for the commercial fishing industry

including the chance to network with customers and

colleagues and friends old and new

* 2008 figures

For further information contact: Marianne Rasmussen-Coulling

tel: +44 (0)1329 825335 email: [email protected]

Icefish is a Mercator Media event

The Old Mill, Lower Quay, Fareham, Hampshire PO16 0RA

Tel: +44 (0)1329 825335 www.mercatormedia.com

Official Freight Carrier

Organiser

Official International Publication

Official Icelandic Publication

Official airline/air cargo handler

& hotel chain

_Icefish 184 x 275_27-04-11_Icefish 27/04/2011 16:02 Page 1

High Pressure Processing: Higher yields from shellfi sh

Antalya Balik

01_Cover 4p.indd 1

26/05/11 12:42 PM

“Our cover story in the Eurofish Magazine brought an instant and very favourable response. We look forward to working with Eurofish Magazine again in the future.” Mr M. Zafer Erel, CEO, Antalya Balik, Turkey

Contact Eurofish: Ms A. Petersen on +45 33377763, [email protected] Mr E. Preuss on +49 (0) 4149 8020, [email protected]

10_FRD.indd 55 24/11/11 11:42 AM

Moving from traditional fi sh farming to recir-culation signifi cantly

changes the daily routines and skills necessary for managing the farm. Th e fi sh farmer has now become a manager of both fi sh and water, and the task of manag-ing the water and maintaining its quality has become just as impor-tant, if not more so, than the job of looking after the fi sh.

Th e traditional pattern of doing a good day’s job on the fi sh farm and then going home has changed into tuning a machine that runs constantly 24 hours a day. Surveil-lance of the whole system ensures that the farmer has access to infor-mation concerning the state of the system at all times, and an auto-matic alarm system will call him if there is an emergency.

Make checklists of routine tasks

Th e most important routines and working procedures are listed below. Many more details will occur in practice, but the over-all pattern should be clear. It is essential to make a list with all the routines to be checked off each

day, and also lists for checking at longer intervals.

Daily or weekly:• Visually examine the behav-

iour of the fi sh• Visually examine the water qua -

lity (transparency/turbidity)• Check hydrodynamics (fl ow)

in tanks• Check distribution of feed from

feeding machines• Remove and register dead fi sh• Flush outlet from tanks if fi tted

with stand-pipes• Wipe off membrane of oxygen

probes• Registration of actual oxygen

concentration in tanks• Check water levels in pump

sumps• Check nozzles spraying on

mechanical fi lters• Registration of tempera ture

• Make tests of ammonia, nit -rite, nitrate, pH

• Registration of volume of new water used

• Check pressure in oxygen cones• Check NaOH or lime for PH

regulation• Control that UV-lights are

working• Register electricity (kWh) used• Read information from coll-

eagues on the message board• Switch on the alarm system

before leaving the farm

Weekly or monthly:• Clean the biofi lters according

to the manual• Drain condense water from

compressor• Check water level in buff er tank• Check amount of remaining

O2 in oxygen-tank• Calibration of pH-meter

• Calibration of feeders• Calibrate O2 probes in fi sh

tanks and system• Check alarms – make alarm

tests• Check that emergency oxygen

works in all tanks.• Check all pumps and motors

for failure or dissonance• Check generators and make a

test-start• Check that ventilators for

trickling fi lters are running

Table 5.1 Indication of preferable levels for different physical and chemical water quality parameters in a recirculation system.Parameter Formula Unit Normal Unfavourable

Level Temperature °C Depending on species

Oxygen O2 % 70-100 < 40 and > 250

Nitrogen N2 % saturation 80-100 > 101

Carbon Dioxide CO2 mg/L 10-15 > 15

Ammonium NH4 + mg/L 0-2.5 (pH infl uence) > 2.5

Ammonia NH3 mg/L < 0.01 (pH infl uence) > 0.025

Nitrite NO2 - mg/L 0-0.5 > 0.5

Nitrate NO3 - mg/L 100-200 > 300

pH 6.5-7.5 < 6.2 and > 8.0

Alkalinity mmol/L 1-5 < 1

Phosphorus PO4 3 mg/L 1-20

Suspended Solids SS mg/L 25 > 100

COD COD mg/L 25-100

BOD BOD mg/L 5-20 > 20

Humus 98-100

Calcium Ca++ mg/L 5-50

56 Eurofi sh Magazine 6 / 2011 www.eurofi shmagazine.com

[ AQUACULTURE ]

Figure 5.1 Water quality and fl ow in fi lters and fi sh tanks should be examined visually and frequently.Top plate of traditional trickling fi lter before water is trickling down through the fi lter media.

Figure 5.2 Oxygen generator. Control and service of special installations must be taken care of.

Chapter Five: Running a recirculation system

Guide to Recirculation Aquaculture

11_Aquaculture.indd 56 24/11/11 11:42 AM

Guide to Recirculation AquacultureThe Guide to Recirculation Aquaculture is the result of a collaboration between EUROFISH, Thomas Moth-Poulsen, FAO Fisheries Officer for Central and Eastern Europe, and Jacob Bregnballe, Akva Group, who authored the book.The stringent environmental restrictions to minimize pollution from hatcheries and aquaculture plants in northern European countries have sparked the rapid technological development of recirculation systems. However, recirculation also secures a higher and more stable aquaculture production with less diseases and better ways to control the parameters that influence growth. State-of-the-art of the recirculation methods use far less water than conventional flow-through farms and sophisticated filter-ing technologies are used to treat the water. Recirculation systems thereby offer two immediate advan-tages: cost effectiveness and reduced environmental impact. However, running these systems calls for additional skills and training and the hope is that the Guide to Recirculation Aquaculture will provide readers with some useful insights into the workings of recirculation systems.The Guide is being serialised in the Eurofish Magazine. It is also available as a hard copy from the shop on the EUROFISH website, www.eurofish.dk, for EUR35.

Table of ContentsChapter 1: Introduction to recirculation

aquaculture (EM5 2010)Chapter 2: The recirculation system step by step Components in a recirculation system -Fish tanks (EM6 2010) -Mechanical filtration (EM1 2011) -Biological treatment ( ˝ ) -Degassing, aeration, and stripping (EM3 2011) -Oxygenation ( ˝ ) -Utraviolet light ( ˝ ) -Ozone ( ˝ ) -PH regulation ( ˝ ) -Heat exchange ( ˝ ) -Pumps ( ˝ ) -Monitoring, control and alarms ( ˝ ) -Emergency system ( ˝ ) -Intake water ( ˝ )Chapter 3: Fish species in recirculation (EM4 2011)Chapter 4: Project planning and implementation (EM5 2011)Chapter 5: Running a recirculation system

Chapter 6: Waste water treatmentChapter 7: DiseaseChapter 8: Case story examples Salmon smolt production in Chile Turbot farming in China. Model trout farms in Denmark Recirculation and re-stocking Mega farmsReferences Appendix - Checklist when implementing a recirculation system.

• Grease the filter elements and bearings on mechanical filters

• Search for “dead water” in sys-tem and take precautions

• Check filter sumps - no sludge must be observed

6-12 months:• Clean UV sterilizer (see man-

ual), change lamps yearly• Change oil and oil-filters and

air-filter on compressor.• Check if clean inside (sump)

the cooling towers• Clean biofilter thoroughly if

necessary• Renew electrolyte, zinc, and

membrane in oxygen probes• Rinse nozzles on drum filters

Managing the recirculation sys-tem requires continued regis-tration and adjusting to reach a perfect environment for the fish cultured. For each param-eter concerned there are certain margins for what is biologically acceptable. Throughout the pro-duction cycle, each section of the farm will be shut down and started up again for new batches of fish. These changes affect the system as a whole, but especially the biofilter is sensitive to altera-tions. In figure 5.3 the effect on the concentration of nitrogen com-pounds leaving a newly started biofilter can be observed.

The impact of fluctuations in different

parameters depends on many factors

Fluctuations will occur for many other parameters of which the most important can be seen in Table 5.1 on the previous page. In some situations parameters may raise to levels which are unfavorable or even toxic to fish. However, it is impossible to give exact data on these levels as the toxicity depends on many things, such as fish species,

temperature and pH. Adapta-tion of fish to the environmen-tal conditions in the system will also influence the toxicity. The toxicity of the nitrite peak can be eliminated by adding salt to the system (see also Chapter Two in Eurofish Magazine EM1 2011). An indication of preferable levels for different physical and chemi-cal water quality parameters in a recirculation system is shown in Table 5.1.

Ammonia Nitrite

Time

Con

cent

ratio

n Risk of nitritetoxicity

Nitrate

Figure 5.3 Fluctuations in the concentration of different nitrogen compounds from start-up of a biofilter.

www.eurofishmagazine.com Eurofish Magazine 6 / 2011 57

[ AQUACULTURE ]



[ AQUACULTURE ]

In September 2011 the white spot virus caused damages to-talling several hundred thou-

sand dollars in numerous shrimp cultures east of Zamboanga City in the Philippines. A month be-fore that, there had been mass mortality of farmed fish in opera-tions along the Minjiang River in the Chinese province of Fujian. The reasons for this were unclear but the damage was immense, especially since the river serves as a drinking water reservoir for the densely populated area. In the year 2009 a violent thunderstorm caused the Fisibach near Zurich to burst its banks, carrying away with it 125,000 char, rainbow and brook trout from an organic farm. The operator had to bear the costs of the damages alone (which amounted to 200,000-300,000

Swiss Francs) because the fish stock was not insured.

It is not known whether the Phil-ippine and Chinese businesses were insured. It is to be doubted, however, because insiders esti-mate that more than three-quar-ters of all fish farms worldwide are not insured against disease and other risks. Robert Gare, who works as a broker for Catlin, a leading insurance company in the field of aquaculture, claims that the vast number of Chinese farms, which account for about 70 per cent of global aquacul-ture production is not insured or is not insurable. Although aquaculture was carried out in a risk-laden environment the industry appeared to put risk management at the bottom of its

list of priorities, said Neil Hopkins from reinsurance brokers AHJ in an interview with Fish Farming International. Among the coun-tries where a relatively large num-ber of farms is covered by insur-ance are Norway, Chile, Canada, Scotland, the Faroe Islands, Denmark, Spain, Malta, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. The best pro-tected species are salmon, sea bream and sea bass, tuna, trout and turbot. However, a look at aquaculture as a whole reveals the dimension of the problem: most companies have no, or only inadequate, insurance cover-age. This is already to be seen in the low level of insurance premi-ums that the industry pays each year. They are said to amount to about EUR 142 million EUR

worldwide – which is just a frac-tion of the value of the fish stocks in the farms. That was approxi-mately 110 billion USD in 2009.

FAO study points to the need to catch up

The FAO study entitled “Review of the current state of world aqua-culture insurance” (FAO Technical Paper 493) estimated that in 2006 there were 8000 aquaculture insur-ance policies throughout the world. Even if this figure has increased in the meantime it is still not nearly enough to protect this fast-growing, technology and knowledge based industry against the threat of losses. Global aquaculture has made tre-mendous progress in all areas, be it in responsible farming practices and feeding, in farm management,

One of the perils covered by liability insurance is the risk posed by offshore farms to shipping.

A farm’s net cages and technical equipment represent a considerable value which is exposed to numerous risks in the sea.

Aquaculture insurances as part of risk management

Insurance companies offer customised solutions The possibility to protect oneself against financial losses through an insurance policy is not new and is practised in almost every area of life. Many aquaculture companies choose to do without this risk insurance however because they feel the requirements are too high, the procedure too complicated or the premiums too expensive. But taking out insurance in the aquaculture sector can definitely be worthwhile and should be a part of risk management.


Where some fish species are concerned the value of the fish stock in a farm can amount to several million dollars.

Floods, sudden temperature changes or failure of a ventilation system can lead to total loss of livestock.


[ AQUACULTURE ]

or preventive medicine. In many farming facilities the continuous monitoring of water quality has become as standard as the regular disinfection of the equipment or the preventive vaccination of the fishes. The number of companies that have implemented Best Man-agement Practices (BMPs), Codes of Conduct and Codes of Good Practice, Standard Operational Procedures or Traceability Rou-tines and achieved certification in accordance with various guide-lines is growing continuously. In the face of these developments many people in the industry seem to believe that they can do without insurance protection.

But wrongly so, for the risks that aquaculture has to face are grow-ing at least as fast as the progress that is being made. The spectrum of farmed species is constantly expanding, new farming technol-ogies require even higher invest-ments, production intensity is increasing, and farming locations are shifting more and more into the offshore regions. This almost inevitably increases the risk of economic losses resulting from power failure or other technical defects, disease, water pollution and flooding, storms or other natural disasters, long periods of frost, summer heat or vandalism. In order to at least partially guard

against such losses, farm opera-tors should thus see aquaculture insurance as part of their corpo-rate risk management.

“All Risks” or “Named Perils”?

But what may sound simple often in practice proves to be harder than imagined. Although in principle almost anything can be insured it is not very advisable because this soon makes the poli-cies unaffordable. Even the insur-ance type “All Risks” (insurance companies distinguish between “All Risks” and “Named Perils”) does not by any means protect against all eventualities: each pol-icy has exceptions. The two cate-gories differ only in the approach they take for defining the claims. In the case of “All Risks” the ini-tial position is that the insurance covers all risks and then excludes those claims that the policyholder does not consider to be so impor-tant. In the case of “Named Perils” it’s the other way round: at first nothing is protected, and then the claims are picked out one by one that are to be covered by the insur-ance policy. For example, liability insurance and live fish transpor-tation, technical equipment from the feed and work boats to net cages, tanks and raceways, aera-tion, cooling and filtering devices.

It does not make sense to cover all types of claims in every case. Some insurance companies offer policies covering damage claims in case of earthquakes, fires and explosions, or jellyfish invasions, ship collisions and tidal waves. To save money, farm operators should do without such claims if the named risks are negligible or can even be ruled out.

The requirements for taking out insurance are high. The insur-ance provider will not only be interested in the basic risk level of production (e.g. tried and tested farming techniques such as salmon or shrimp farming or new, not yet technologically perfected methods), but also the location (close to the coast and protected, net cage or pond, offshore or onshore) and the general man-agement standards on the farm. It is thus easier for companies with well trained employees in developed and strictly regulated countries to take out insurance than family businesses in devel-oping countries, although these are often in much greater need of risk protection. One of the most important issues for insurance providers is the safety of the fish stock. Regular controls are abso-lutely essential but only suffice if everything is always meticulously documented.

Detailed records and logs are indispensable

A farm might be exemplary, the fish healthy, and the production risk negligible but if a farm opera-tor is not quite sure at a defined point in time how many fish he has in the water or how big the fishes are he will stand very little chance of being insured. Exact information on the fish stock is just as important for the insur-ance provider as for the policy holder because in the event of a claim that is the only way to demonstrate clearly what losses actually occurred during the farming process. And these data are an important basis for any compensation claims. In addi-tion, the insurance provider will require further information that confirms that the inventory data are correct (e.g. on the basis of the purchased fry and feed) and that the farming conditions were optimal and correct for the spe-cies in question (e.g. by provid-ing long-term measurements of temperature and oxygen). To protect themselves against unreasonable demands insur-ance companies will require not only insight into the protocols, but will also set their customers specific requirements, such as the installation of a monitoring system that alerts the operator



[ AQUACULTURE ]

immediately if important param-eters get out of control. Anyone who does not follow the agreed clauses in the insurance contract has little chance of receiving com-pensation for losses in the event of damages. It is thus essential to read all the small print in the contract, too, and to implement the requirements as quickly and completely as possible.

Together with the insurance agent the aquaculture producer should try to determine the value of the fish stock and the farm and this value should be stated in the contract. After an accident there may otherwise be a risk of being classified according to industry-standard averages.

Even the best insurance can hardly be expected to pay for each and every dead fish in the farm. As with household, vehicle and other insurances, the pol-icy holder has to pay a certain amount himself in aquaculture. How high the deductible, i.e. the portion of any claim that is not covered by the insurance pro-vider, is depends on the specific design of the policy. Viewed internationally it often amounts to 10 to 20% of the stock value. In the case of new, barely tested farming techniques with high risk of loss, the parties some-times agree to even higher levels. This practice has certain advan-tages for both sides. The policy holder’s premium will be consid-erably lower and the insurance provider only has to pay for any damages in excess of the deduct-ible. The price of aquaculture insurance is thus dependent on many factors and can only be determined on a case by case basis. The reliability of the farm-ing method, potential risks, the farm location, the value of the fish stock and the technical facil-ities and equipment, the level of

management, the deductible and various other things affect the size of the premium the policy holder has to pay.

Insurance companies specialize in

aquaculture needs

In the event that a disease occurs in a fish stock or other problems arise, it is advisable, even with the best insurance policy, to inter-vene as quickly and persistently as if one were not insured at all. Anyone who informs their insur-ance provider immediately and keeps them constantly informed of further developments saves themselves a lot of bother and explanations later on. For these reasons it is wise to make con-tracts only with insurance com-panies that already have experi-ence in aquaculture. Anyone who knows anything about this risky and complicated business does not need to be told about the basic set-up and this saves a lot of tedious explanations. On top of that, it also prevents possible misunderstandings.

An insurance company that has extensive knowledge in the field of aquaculture is Catlin Europe, which operates as part of the Cat-lin Group in the international insurance and reinsurance busi-ness in over 30 specialized divi-sions. As one of the world’s largest aquaculture insurance providers Catlin offers specialized insurance solutions for fish farming both in inland and in coastal waters. It is possible to insure almost any part of an aquaculture operation, from the biomass (fish stock), feed barges, work boats and floating devices to live fish transport. Cat-lin’s service also includes liability insurance for fish farms.

The international Willis Group, a leading industrial insurance

broker, has in its portfolio customized insurance solu-tions that are tailored to the risks involved in aquaculture. Among other things, Willis provides insurance for the risk of mortal-ity in onshore and offshore fish farms. Lloyd’s broker Swingle-hurst Ltd. has a department called Aquarius Insurance Services that has specialised in insurances for aquaculture operations since the year 2000. Their portfolio targets both small family farms and large, multinational companies and can be divided into three categories:• onshore farming (hatcheries

and farms on land), produc-tion in tanks, ponds and race-ways, as well as recirculation plants

• Offshore farming (farming facilities in waters from lakes to the open sea), production in floating net cages

• Hatcheries and nurseries (similar to onshore farming) The spectrum of insurance claims ranges from risks of pollution, disease (with the exception of ectoparasites such as salmon louse), storms, losses due to sudden changes in water parameters (oxygen, temperature, pH and salt con-tent), or mechanical damages (ice drift, ships, power failure).

With offices in the UK, New Zealand, Australia and the USA Sunderland Marine is one of the major international aquaculture insurance providers. The com-pany’s experts assess several hundred farming enterprises in the industry every year and have a wealth of experience with regard to species such as abalone, salmon, tuna or kingfish, which are either produced in recircula-tion systems on land or in floating farms in the sea. Logan Livestock Insurance Agency, an Australian insurance broker, also provides insurances which are tailored to

the needs of onshore and offshore operations. For almost all sectors of aquacul-ture – small and large operations, onshore and offshore farms, as well as various different species – Global Aquaculture Insurance Consortium (GAIC) offers suit-able insurance deals that cover the mortality risk of the fishes, the technical facilities and possible recalls of products, as required. The group mainly insures producers of edible and orna-mental fish as well as shellfish (mussels, scallops, oysters) and abalone farmers. The insurance spectrum offered by the company A.I.E., which belongs to Meslee Insurance Services, is similarly widespread.

A particularly finely tailored ins-urance product that was designed solely for tilapia farming in Cen-tral America, was developed by the insurance provider First Rein-surance Service (FRS). Tilapia farms in this region can protect themselves against, among other things, the partial or complete loss of the fish stock.

Whether, and how much, an insurance provider will actually pay in case of damages depends on many factors and is usually only decided after a thorough examination of the situation. The basic prerequisite is, of course, that the farmer has complied with all contractual obligations and has followed all of the insurance provider’s requirements. In the event of accidents or disease in the fish stock he should be able to prove that he has done everything possible to avert or min imize the loss. Anyone who –relying on their insurance coverage – hesitates too long and fails to act quickly and professionally runs the risk of being left empty handed in case of damages despite their insurance policy. mk


www.eurofishmagazine.com Eurofish Magazine 6/ 2011 61

[ FISH INFONetwOrk NewS ]

Projects

Eurofish co-organises workshop on the future of cold water aquaculture

World Seafood Congress, Washington DC, USA

The Aquainnova project aims to provide the support and the methodologies required to facilitate the development of vision documents and strategic research priorities for European aquaculture. One of the ways of achieving this is to improve the dialogue between national and European policymakers, researchers and other stakeholders in the aquaculture sector. To facilitate this dialogue Eurofish has coorganised two workshops, one on freshwater aquaculture in June and one on the future of coldwater

aquaculture in Oslo in September. The latter lasted 1.5 days and was attended by 36 people, the majority from Norway, though with participants from Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and UK as well. Most of them were representatives of research institutes. The workshop was conducted with the help of a professional facilitator who ensured the active participation of all the participants in the discussions. There will be four workshops in total, with the third to be held in Madrid, Spain, in November.

John Ryder, FAO, making his presentation at the World Seafood Congress.

Market evaluation including tasting sessions of Chilean corvina in Madrid

The Chilean Corvina Project funded by Fundación Chile, brought Santiago Caro from Infopesca to Madrid, Spain, to organize and coordinate the market evaluation of this product. Samples of freshly gutted croaker were dispatched from the production site in Tongoy, Chile and arrived at Barajas airport in Madrid very fresh and in perfect condition. The fish was received by different wholesalers

who had expressed their interest in participating in these commercial trials. A certain amount was reserved for a tasting session, for which a professional chef had been hired. This activity was coordinated with ANMPE (the association of seafood wholesalers of Mercamadrid). Some 15 people participated at the tasting session including fishmongers, importers and wholesalers.

The International Association of Seafood Professionals (IAFI) in cooperation with the US National Fisheries Institute (NFI) presented the World Seafood Congress (WSC) 2011. The event took place 16 October 2011 in Washington, DC and was attended by over 200 participants from 30 countries including five from Latin America.

As in previous sessions, workshops, training sessions and meetings of Latin America, AsiaPacific, and Africa networks were organized

prior to the Congress. Latin America has the highest per capita production of fish, but the lowest per capita consumption of all regions in the world. At the Latin America network meeting it was agreed to increase focus on regional and domestic markets for fish products as a good alternative to export markets. There is an interest to promote fish consumption locally, and divert some of the focus on meeting expensive certification demands from fish importing countries.

Fish wholesalers discussing the quality of the Chilean corvina at a tasting session organised by Infopesca.


Events

Publications

World Aquaculture 2010Global production of fish from aquaculture has grown substantially in the past decade, reaching 52.5 million tonnes in 2008, compared with 32.4 million tonnes in 2000. Aquaculture continues to be the fastestgrowing animal food producing sector and currently accounts for nearly half (45.6 percent) of the world’s food fish consumption, compared with 33.8 percent in 2000. With stagnating global capture fishery production and an increasing population, aquaculture is perceived as having the greatest potential to produce more fish

in the future to meet the growing demand for safe and quality aquatic food.

According to FAO, it is estimated that by 2012 more than 50 percent of global food fish consumption will originate from aquaculture. Although precise data are lacking, it is acknowledged that, with growth in volume and value of aquaculture production in the past decade, aquaculture has made a positive contribution to national, regional and global economies, poverty reduction and food security. Nonetheless,

12_News FIN.indd 61 24/11/11 11:43 AM

62 Eurofi sh Magazine 6 / 2011 www.eurofi shmagazine.com


The Fish Infonetwork ( FIN )The FIN consists of 7 independent partner organizations. They cover all aspects of post-harvest fi sheries and aquaculture. With more than 50 governments support-ing the network, which also has strong links to the private sector, the activities are truly international. The FIN pages, which are a regular feature in the four network magazines – Infofi sh International, Infopesca Internacional, Eurofi sh Magazine, and Infosamak Magazine – present the FIN-wide spectrum of activities, showing actions and results. The FIN has more than 80 full-time staff and works with more than one hundred inter national experts in all fi elds of fi sheries. Through its link from FAO Globefi sh to the FAO Fisheries Department, it also has access to the latest information and knowledge on fi sheries policy and management issues worldwide.

FIN executes donor projects, prepares market research for private companies, and organizes training courses on marketing and quality assurance. All seven services offer different possibilities for co-operation with the private sector, institutes, government offi ces and donors.

Globefi shFishery Industries Division FAOViale delle Terme di Caracalla I 00100 Rome, Italy Tel.: (+39) 06 5705 6313/5059 Fax: (+39) 06 5705 5188 globefi [email protected] www.globefi sh.orgPartners: Seafood Services Australia, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada; Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Denmark; European Commission (DG FISH); OFIMER, France; Norwegian Seafood Export Council; Ministero de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, Spain; National Marine Fisher-ies Service, Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, USA; VASEP, Viet Nam

InfopescaCasilla de Correo 7086Julio Herrea y Obes 1296 11200 Montevideo, Uruguay Tel.: (+598) 2 9028701/2 Fax: (+598) 2 9030501 [email protected] Member Countries: Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Uruguay, Venezuela

Infofi sh Menara Olympia, Level 28 Jalan Raja ChulanKuala Lumpur 50200, MalaysiaTel.: (+603) 20783466Fax: (+603) 2078 6804infi [email protected] sh.orgMember Countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Maldives, Malaysia,Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand

InfopecheTour C -19éme étage, Cité Administrative, Abidjan 01, Cote d‘Ivoire Tel.: (+225) 228980 / 215775Fax: (+225) 218054 [email protected] sh.org/index.php?id=1113

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

InfosaSouthern African suboffi ce of InfopecheP.O. Box 23523, Kenya HouseRobert Mugabe Avenue, 4th FloorWindhoek, NamibiaTel: (+264) 61 279430Fax: (+264) 61 [email protected] www.infosa.org.naMember Countries: Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Sey-chelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Eurofi shH.C. Andersens Boulevard 44 - 46DK-1553 Copenhagen V, DenmarkTel: (+45) 333 777 55Fax: (+45) 333 777 56info@eurofi sh.dk, www.eurofi sh.dkMember Countries: Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Turkey,

InfoyuRoom 203, Bldg 18, Maizidian Street, Chaoyang District Beijing 100026, P.R. China Tel.: (+86) 10 64195140 Fax: (+86) 10 64195141 [email protected] www.globefi sh.org/index.php?id=2074Member Countries: China

Infosamak71 Boulevard Rahal Meskini B.P.16243 Casablanca, MoroccoTel.: (+212) 22540856 Fax: (+212) 22540855 [email protected] Countries: Algeria, Bahrain,Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Yemen

Italy: FAO guidelines on the use of wild fi sheries resources for capture-based aquaculture

This document provides an overview of the global aquaculture status and development trends resulting from a series of regional reviews; Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Near East and North Africa, North

America and Sub-Saharan Africa, conducted by FAO in 2010. The global production of fish from aquaculture has grown substantially during the past

decade and aquaculture continues to be the fastest growing animal food producing sector, currently accounting for nearly half of the world’s food fish

consumption. Over the past decade, a number of developments have contributed to the significant growth of the global aquaculture sector, namely: the

formulation and implementation of better policies, strategies, plans and legislation; dissemination and use of applied research; and emergence of new domestic and international markets. Achieving the global aquaculture sector’s long-term goal of economic, social and environmental sustainability depends

primarily on continued commitments by governments to provide and support a good governance framework for the sector. It is encouraging that the experience of the past decade indicates that many governments remain committed to good governance. As the sector further expands, intensifies and diversifies, it should recognize the relevant environmental and social concerns and make conscious

efforts to address them in a transparent manner, backed with scientific evidence. This document discuses the general characteristics and trends of the sector including, among others, the resources, services and technological needs,

environmental aspects, markets and trade patterns, food security and economic development issues, information and training opportunities and governance and

management challenges of the sector.

500/1

FAOFISHERIES ANDAQUACULTURE

TECHNICALPAPER

World aquaculture 2010

500/1FA

OW

orld

Aq

uacu

lture 2010

ISSN 2070-7010

BA0132E/1/09.11

ISBN 978-92-5-106997-4 ISSN 2070-7010

9 7 8 9 2 5 1 0 6 9 9 7 4

Aquaculture’s growth in volume and value has clearly helped reduce poverty and improve food security in many parts of the world. The report can be downloaded from http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/ba0132e/ba0132e.pdf

Th ese technical guidelines have been produced to supplement the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (the Code). Th e Code and many international agreements and conferences highlight the benefi ts of and need for adopting an ecosystem approach to fi sheries and to aquaculture. Th e objective of the guidelines is to assist countries to develop aquaculture, in particular that involving signifi cant use of natural resources, in a sustainable way that produces the greatest social and economic benefi ts without compromising the underlying resource base for future generations. Th e heavy dependence of capturebased aquaculture (CBA) on wild resources and its implications for wild populations have been increasingly recognized in the last decade. Th ese guidelines address the actual and potential impacts of wildseed harvest on target and nontarget (bycatch) species (including threatened species), on biodiversity, and on the environment and marine ecosystem. Th e guidelines also consider harvest

and postcollection practices, growout, feed and broodstock, social and economic factors, and governance considerations. Th ey identify CBA principles and guidelines for good practices, and provide numerous illustrative case studies from a diverse range of species and fi sheries. A PDF version of the guidelines can be freely downloaded from http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/ba005e/ba005e.pdf

FAO TECHNICAL

GUIDELINES FOR RESPONSIBLE

FISHERIES

5 Suppl. 6

BA0059E/1/09.11

ISBN 978-92-5-106974-5 ISSN 1020-5292

9 7 8 9 2 5 1 0 6 9 7 4 5

AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT6. Use of wild fi shery resources forcapture-based aquaculture

These technical guidelines have been produced to supplement the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (the Code). The Code and many international agreements and conferences highlight the benefi ts of and need for adopting an ecosystem approach to

fi sheries and an ecosystem approach to aquaculture through the principles and concepts elaborated therein. The objective of the guidelines is to assist countries to develop

aquaculture, in particular that involving signifi cant use of natural resources, in a sustainable way that produces the greatest social and economic benefi ts without compromising the

underlying resource base for future generations. The heavy dependence of capture-based aquaculture (CBA) on wild resources and its implications for wild populations have been

increasingly recognized in the last decade. These guidelines address the actual and potential impacts of wild-seed harvest on target and non-target (bycatch) species (including threatened

species), on biodiversity, and on the environment and marine ecosystem. The guidelines also consider harvest and post-collection practices, grow-out, feed and broodstock, social

and economic factors, and governance considerations. They also identify CBA principles and guidelines for good practices, and provide numerous illustrative case studies from a diverse

range of species and fi sheries.

ISSN 1020-5292

Aquaculture that depends on natural resources for seed or broodstock can pose a threat to the environment in different ways. These guidelines explore the actual and potential impact of wild-seed harvest on marine ecosystems.

it is recognized that proper positioning of the aquaculture sector’s contributions, based on precise data, is important to formulate wellinformed policies, strategies and plans that governments and development partners will consider favourably for increased support and funding.

Th e release of the global synthesis of aquaculture development is accompanied by the release of six regional aquaculture reviews, which can be viewed at http://www.fao.org/fisher y/regionalaquaculturereviews/aquaculturereviewshome/en/


12_News FIN.indd 62 24/11/11 11:43 AM

Add your event to www.EurofishMagazine.com

Diary DatEs

8-10 December, 2011Shanghai International Fisheries & Seafood Expo 2011Shanghai, ChinaTel.: +86-21-34140855Fax: [email protected]

13 December, 2011Ocean SilverLondon, UKTel: +44 1738 472032 [email protected]

1 February, 2012Marel Salmon ShowhowNørresundby, DenmarkTel.: +45 98921511Fax: +45 [email protected]/salmonshow

12-14 February, 2012Fish InternationalBremen, GermanyTel.:+49 421 3505 264 [email protected]

25-28 February, 2012Mediterranean Seafood Exhibition Rimini, ItalyTel.: +39 0541 744 [email protected]

6-8 March, 2012North Atlantic Seafood ForumOslo, [email protected]

11-13 March 2012Boston Seafood ShowBoston, USATel.: +1 207 842 [email protected]

26-29 March, 2012Alimentaria BarcelonaBarcelona, SpainTel. +34 93 452 18 [email protected]

27-30 March, 2012Anuga Food TecCologne, GermanyTel. +49 221 821 [email protected]

19-21 April, 2012Seoul Seafood Show 2012Seoul, KoreaTel.: +82 2 6000 2800Fax: +82 2 6000 [email protected]

24-24 April 2012European Seafood ExpositionBrussels, BelgiumTel.: +1 207 842 [email protected]

23-24 May 2012Aquaculture UK 2012Aviemore, Scotland, UKTel.: +44 1862 [email protected]

7-9 June 2012Future Fish EurasiaIzmir, TurkeyTel.: +90 212 347 10 54 Fax: +90 212 347 10 [email protected]

11-13 June, 2012AquaVision 2012Stavanger, NorwayTel.: +47 9137 [email protected]

1-5 September 2012AQUA 2012Prag, Czech [email protected]

15-17 October, 2012Seafood BarcelonaBarcelona, SpainTel.: +34 93 452 18 00Fax: +34 93 452 18 01www.alimentaria.com

13_Dairy_dates.indd 63 24/11/11 11:43 AM

http://issuu.com/action/openurl?url=www.fishinternational.com

http://issuu.com/action/openurl?url=www.bostonseafood.com

http://issuu.com/action/openurl?url=www.alimentaria-bcn.com

http://issuu.com/action/openurl?url=www.saporerimini.it

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64 Eurofish Magazine 6/ 2011 www.eurofishmagazine.com

Guest PaGes

Since 2000, when he joined the FAO, Dr Lahsen Ababouch has been involved first with FAO EASTFISH, and then its successor, Eurofish. The FAO was and continues to be a very important partner for Eurofish. Together the two organisations have worked on projects in diverse fields including food safety, aquaculture, and certification. As Eurofish enters its tenth year, we turned to Dr Ababouch to find out how the collaboration between FAO and Eurofish can evolve and improve for the benefit of the Eurofish member countries.

In 2012 Eurofish will mark the tenth year since it was estab-lished. The FAO was instrumen-tal in setting up this organisation for the Central and Eastern Euro-pean region. Looking back, can you summarise the ideas that led to the creation of Eurofish and of the network of Fish Infocentres in general?

Although I was not at FAO at the time, I assume with confidence that the main reasons and ideas that led to the creation of the previous Infocentres drove the decision regarding Eurofish, formerly Eastfish. As most central and Eastern European Countries were embracing a free market economy, opportunities to reap economic and social benefits from fisheries and aquaculture materialized, but many countries lacked the expertise, know how, access to information, technology and market intelligence needed.

Building on the older Infocentres’ experience, FAO was able to support the creation of Eastfish. Soon, the benefits became evident to the Eastfish member countries and their industries and Eurofish was created in 2002.

How would you like to see the Fish Infocentres develop over the next decade? What chal-lenges do you foresee the Centres will have to face and how should they prepare to overcome these challenges?

I would like to see the Fish Infocentres develop into centres of expertise and technical advisory services in support of fisheries and aquaculture industry. We need to overcome several challenges, not least being the support of the member countries of each Infocentre. Nowadays, with the financial and economic crises, funding is also becoming an important issue.

To overcome these challenges, we need to build the best capacity in the Infocentres and be competitive in providing valuable information, services and technical support. In this regard, FAO and the fisheries and aquaculture department are committed to work with the Infocentres.

Who would you say were the main driving forces behind the establishment of Eurofish and what was their contribution?

Dr Lahsen Ababouch, Director, Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy and Economics Division, FAO.

To my understanding the main brain behind the concept of regional Infocentres was Dr Wolfgang Krone, former FAO fisheries staff and senior manager. He launc hed the concept, carried forward the ideas and developed the various processes to turn the concept into reality. Obviously, this would not have been possible without the support of donors such as Denmark and Norway, and the dedication and commitment of various colleagues, who contributed hugely to the performance of all the Infocentres.

From an FAO perspective would you say that Eurofish has ful-filled the expectations that pre-vailed at its launch in 2002?

From my wide experience with the Infocentres since I joined FAO in June 2000, Eurofish has performed beyond expectations. The membership base has been stable. It has managed to diversify products, services and technical advisory outputs to adapt to the ever changing needs of the member countries and their fisheries and aquaculture industries.

FAO is committed to the global network of Fish Infocentres, which include Eurofish

Building on a long relationship

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FAO and Eurofish have a long track record of cooperating on projects. Here, participants at a WTO workshop organised by FAO, Eurofish, and the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, in Istanbul at the beginning of November.

Guest PaGes

Europe is a much-changed place since Eurofish was lau nc hed, in particular with the exp ansion of the EU, and the inc reased globalisation of the fisher-ies trade. How do you see Eurofish’s role in this changing environment?

You are right that the world in general and the EU in particular are changing fast. So are the challenges facing the industry. Shifting purchase power, increased demand for fisheries products, diversification of products, tec hnological developments, incre a sed supply from aquaculture, all these are changing the landscape of the supply chain in Europe and worldwide. These changes required adapted and timely approaches for the provision of advisory services and technical support to the industry and the donor community.

What kind of impact do you anticipate the current crisis in Europe will have on the fish trade in the Eurofish member countries (Italy, Estonia, Spain)

that use the euro, which has been very closely linked to the crisis?

It is difficult to foresee the impact of the current crisis in Europe on fish trade in countries such as Italy, Estonia, and Spain and Eurofish should be a very good source of expertise to study and forecast these impacts. But, given that dem and for fish is ever increasing and FAO predicts it will be sustained, especially in countries with a tradition of high fish consumption such as Spain and Italy, then it is likely that consumption patterns will shift towards a cheaper fish species such as small pelagics, tilapia, and pangasius. Further technological developments will lead to better fields, better utilization of fish waste and an increasing supply of fish from the aquaculture sector.

Eurofish has been cooperating with FAO on a variety of projects including food safety, quality assurance, traceability, aqua-culture, certification, and trade. Can you envisage new ways of

collaboration between FAO and Eurofish?

The issue of market access is still high on the agenda of FAO, Eurofish and their member countries. This is likely to continue to be an important area for collaboration. As aquaculture expands, including in Eurofish member countries, consumers’ demands and concerns about environmental protection will continue to grow. Other topics such as dissemination, capacity building in clean technologies, organic aquaculture, sustainable sourcing, and corporate social responsibility are likely to gain importance for both FAO and Eurofish.

Taking into account global developments in capture fisher-ies and aquaculture, the status, in particular, of European stocks of fish for human consumption, and the imports of fish from all over the world into Europe, do you have a few words of advice to consumers on what fish to eat and what to avoid?

Fish and seafood in general are healthy and nutritious. The evidence that benefits from fish consumption outweigh by far the risks is overwhelming. It is amazing that in many parts of the world, consumers disdain the consumption of small pelagics, some of the most nutritious and delicious fish.

Having said that, intensification of fishing and aquaculture is exacerbating some of the risks, including for resource sustainability. These aspects should be carefully assessed to minimise the risks. There are several websites that provide excellent advice on what to consume and what not to consume to avoid various types of risks and maximise the benefits of eating fish.

The FAO has been going thro-

ugh a major restructuring pro-cess and you have just been appointed director of the Fishe-ries and Aquaculture Policy and Economics Division. What would you say has been the most rewarding aspect of the time you have spent at the FAO?

Fisheries and aquaculture is a very fascinating and challenging area. Developing and collaborating with networks of experts, such as the Fish Infocentres, to address problematic issues and help vulnerable coastal populations to create livelihoods and improve nutrition and diets has been very rewarding, In addition, having the possibility to draw expertise and advice from a wide range of sources and make it available to support development in fisheries and aquaculture has been both challenging and rewarding. Working through the Infocentres such as Eurofish to reach out to Eurofish member countries, their institutions and industries, is certainly an achievement of which both FAO and Eurofish should be proud.

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Editorial board Lahsen Ababouch, Audun Lem

Translation Yvonne Bulmer

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Advertising rates and technical data available on www.euro� shmagazine.com. A soft copy is available on request to aleksandra.petersen@euro� sh.dk

ISSN 1868-5943

Order your free trialFax: +45 333 777 56

info@eurofi sh.dk

eurofi shmagazine.com

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Eurofi sh Magazine eurofi sh.dk

Alimentaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Diversi� ed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Back cover

Fish International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

InterFresh Concepts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Maas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Marel Salmon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

NASF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inner front cover

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The fastest way to advertise in Eurofish MagazineEckhard PreußMarderstieg 7, D-21717 Fredenbeck, Germany

Tel.: +49 (0) 4149 8020, Fax: +49 (0) 4149 7292

[email protected]

Aleksandra PetersenH.C. Andersens Boulevard 44-46, DK-1553 Copenhagen V, Denmark

Tel.: +45 333 777 63, Fax: +45 333 777 56

[email protected]

Crustaceans

� � � � � � � � � � SUPPLY SOURCES � � � � � � � � � �

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Salmon slicers

SALMCO Technik GmbHReinskamp 1D-22117 HamburgTel.: +49-40-713 14 72Fax : +49-40-712 98 70Internet: www.salmco.deE-Mail: [email protected]

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Liquid smokeBBQ-OilHickory-SmokeSmoke PowderLiquid-Smokers

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Decem

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Diversity of fl eets and gears

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Reach the Entire Seafood Industry...

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SALMON-SLICERS worldwide

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welcome to the 7th North AtlANtic seAfood forumthe world´s lArgest seAfoodbusiNess coNfereNce oslo, Norway march 6-8 2012

this is NAsf

NAsf provides everybody connected to the seafood industry with a unique meeting place to:

• Get insights into vital developments forming the future of the industry;

• Hear the latest in innovative and commercial developments;

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• Understand the financial and economic issues affecting the market;

• Connect with leading seafood companies in the world.

Innovation

financepolicy

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pricing

sustain-ability

NASF

For program and registration – go to www.nor-seafood.com

NAsf oVerView

• NAsf is a leading meeting place for global seafood top executives attracting more than 500 delegates from 300 firms and 30 countries

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commercialization, innovation, policy and finance – giving key insights into the future

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NAsf coNfereNce semiNArs 2012

1. Pareto corporate seafood finance seminar2. msc sustainability & communication seminar3. eu common fisheries Policy reform workshop4. global salmon, supply & Pricing seminar5. fAo Pelagic industry summit6. FAO Global Whitefish Summit7. 1st biomarine innovation Pre-conference workshop8. industry captain`s – “the View from the bridge”9. european seafood Policy makers – ministerial outlook

10. FAO Africa Summit – outlook for fisheries and aquaculture

NAsf busiNess PlAtform

nor-seafood.com

Organisers In cooperation with

Main sponsors

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Documents

Eurofish Magazine 6 2011