eurofish magazine 3 2011

June 3 / 2011 E

urofish Magazine

is a member of the FISH INFO network

Poland: Carp promotion campaign draws support from children

Croatia: Organically-farmed seabass and seabream for western markets

Ambitious plans to expand trout production in Turkey

www.eurofi shmagazine.com ISSN 1868-5943 June 3 / 2011 C 44346

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International Organisation

IcelandicFisheriesExhibition 2

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Smárinn, Kópavogur, IcelandSeptember 22-24

www.icefish.is

ICELANDIC FISH RELATEDEXPORTS ARE THRIVING!Meet the complete supply chain at the IcelandicFisheries 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 FisheriesAwards, covers everything for the commercial fishing industryincluding 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 eventThe Old Mill, Lower Quay, Fareham, Hampshire PO16 0RATel: +44 (0)1329 825335 www.mercatormedia.com

Official Freight Carrier OrganiserOfficial 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

High Pressure Processing: Higher yields from shellfi sh

Antalya Balik

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June 3 / 2011 E

urofish Magazine




Ambitious plans to expand trout production in Turkey


EU

RO

FISH



011

Smárinn, Kópavogur, IcelandSeptember 22-24

www.icefish.is

ICELANDIC FISH RELATEDEXPORTS ARE THRIVING!Meet the complete supply chain at the IcelandicFisheries 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 FisheriesAwards, covers everything for the commercial fishing industryincluding 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 eventThe Old Mill, Lower Quay, Fareham, Hampshire PO16 0RATel: +44 (0)1329 825335 www.mercatormedia.com

Official Freight Carrier OrganiserOfficial 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


Antalya Balik

01_Cover 4p.indd 1 26/05/11 12:42 PM

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

www.eurofishmagazine.com Eurofish Magazine 3 / 2011 3

In this issue

Deepwater Horizon – the consequences become apparent

USA – The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the worst of its kind ever, caused huge damage to the marine ecosystem in the Gulf. Some of the destructive effects have been quantified, but much harder to calculate is the long term impact on marine flora and fauna of, not only the oil, but also the interventions used to combat the spill. For example, the chemical dispersants used to remove the oil from the surface, and the by-products from burning the oil, could well have unforeseen consequences for the local environment that may only become apparent well into the future. The fishing industry in the Gulf is relieved that chemical and sensory analysis of samples taken during and after the spill reveal that contamination does not pose a threat to consumers. However, the image of seafood from the Gulf has taken a huge knock and it will take time and a substantial marketing effort to reverse the damage. Read Dr Manfred Klinkhardt’s article on page 45

PathogenCombat – Companies in the food manufacturing sector use food safety management systems to reduce the risk that the products they make will pose a hazard to consumers. These systems vary widely across the industry depending on the product, but they all comply with the legal requirements and standards that are common to their particular branch. But how effective are these systems? In the European research project, Pathogen Combat, scientists have devised a technique to analyse company food safety management systems. The tool helps to identify weak points and can thereby contribute to improving the system. It does this by distinguishing between three basic control strategies for pathogenic activity, prevention, intervention, and monitoring. While prevention aims to stop the entry, spread, or multiplication of pathogens, intervention applies to the measures used to inactivate or eliminate pathogens that have entered the chain. Finally, monitoring provides information on the current status of the system and enables individual processes to be corrected. Read more on page 49

Fisheries certification – The Marine Stewardship Council is today a byword in the sustainable certification of fish stocks. Dozens of fisheries have been certified to the MSC standards and over 9,000 products carry the MSC logo certifying that they are derived from stocks that are sustainably managed. While the MSC sets the standards, the actual certification work is carried out by independent agencies called certification bodies. These bodies translate the MSC standards into practical measurable terms, which are used to define the working practices in the client’s operations. The certification process also takes into account the view of the other stakeholders to formulate as clear and objective a picture as possible of both the fishing operation itself and the context in which it operates. Read more on how fisheries are certified to the MSC standard on page 52

Fraud in the seafood sector – While mistakes can and often do occur when trading in seafood, deliber-ate attempts at defrauding partners is also something with which traders occasionally must contend. Dishonesty can involve a product that is underweight, of poorer quality, or for which the buyer does not wish to pay – there are countless ways of perpetrating fraud. The astute businessman will however try to avoid problems from cropping up in the first place rather than trying to solve them afterwards. Some measures are easily taken, such as independent pre-inspection of the goods to verify quality and quantity. Others are more complex, and how does a buyer react if he is the injured party? Read the next part of our column on fraud by Alexei Sergeev page 55





4 Eurofi sh Magazine 3/ 2011

Table of News

6 International News

Cover Story

15 Antalya Balik aims to reach 25,000 tonnes production in 5 yearsVertically integrated producer of trout for markets abroad

Poland

19 Funds for fi sheries areasEU assistance encourages local development

22 Polish laboratory to create database to eliminate import fraudGenetics-based identifi cation of fi sh and seafood

25 Fish processing in PolandSteady increase in exports to the EU

28 Results of a Polish survey on fi sh consumptionPromote fi sh as a natural source of omega-3

30 Development of intensive aquaculture in PolandNew technology fosters opportunities for growth

32 Promotional campaign draws nationwide attentionMr Carp fi ghts imported fi sh

34 Mare Foods’ new coldstore is set to open in weeksNiche importer of exotic seafood products

Croatia

35 Interview with Tonči Božanič State Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Rural DevelopmentAdding value to fresh fi sh is the only way forward

38 Conex Trade specialises in marinated and frozen small pelagicsCustomised production of Adriatic sardines and anchovies

40 Viribus d.o.o. looks forward to EU accessionLean portion-sized trout for the EU market

42 Riba Mljet is Croatia’s only organic producer of seabass and seabreamExports to target German-speaking markets

The Neptun I is one of two 42 m vessels that were recently purchased by Conex Trade and are equipped with all the necessary equipment to fi nd, catch, and store the fi sh.















Eurofi sh Magazine 3 / 2011 5

ContentsUSA

45 The Gulf of Mexico oil spill and its consequencesBillions of dollars damages to the fi shery

Project

49 PathogenCombat: Reducing food-borne diseases in EuropeTool for self assessment of Food Safety Management

Systems

Fisheries

52 Certifi cation procedure based on transparency andindependent oversightSustainability – the MSC model

Fraud

57 Fraud in the seafood tradePressing claims against dishonest suppliers

Processing

57 High pressure processing – Technology with great potentialLonger shelf-life and higher yield

Aquaculture

60 Guide to Recirculation AquacultureChapter Two: The recirculation system step by step

(continued)

Guest Pages

64 Alistair Lane, European Aquaculture SocietyCFP reform looks promising for European fi sh farmers

Service

63 Diary Dates

66 Imprint, List of Advertisers

Worldwide Fish News

Australia page 9

Brussels pages 12, 14

China page 6

Denmark pages 8, 10, 11, 13

Germany page 10

Japan page 9

Latvia page 7

Norway page 8

Poland page 6

Spain pages 11, 12

Switzerland page 6

Thailand page 10

Turkey page 9

UAE page 13

UK pages 7, 8, 12, 14

USA pages 10, 13

Viet Nam page 7




































6 Eurofi sh Magazine 3 / 2011 www.eurofi shmagazine.com

[ NEWS INTERNATIONAL ][ NEWS INTERNATIONAL ]

Hong Kong: Asian Seafood Exposition set to open doors in September

Poland: International Carp Conference in September

The second edition of the Asian Seafood Exposition will take place 6-8 September at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The show is organised by US firm Diversified Business Communications, organisers of the European Seafood Exposi-tion in Brussels and the Inter-national Boston Seafood Show. The Hong Kong event this year is expected to exceed the 100 exhibitors and 5,000 buyers that attended the event last year, said the organisers in a press release. The show brings buyers from the retail, foodservice, and dis-tribution sectors together with suppliers of live, fresh, frozen and packaged seafood products and services looking to access the prosperous Asia-Pacific and

Hong Kong seafood market. This year the organisers are introduc-ing a Key Buyer programme that will target high volume buy-ers from the retail, foodservice, hospitality, and, government sectors. The programme will facilitate these buyers to ef-ficiently source seafood at the event. New country representa-tion is expected from Chile, Bel-gium, Thailand, and Turkey this year and many of the exhibitors from last year are returning. The event will be held together with another Diversified event, Restaurant and Bar Hong Kong, which focuses on goods and ser-vices for hospitality operators in Macau, Hong Kong, and the southeastern part of Mainland China.

About 70,000 tonnes of carp are produced annually in the Eu-ropean Union by 11 countries. The biggest producers are Po-land and the Czech Republic followed by Germany, Hungary and France. These five coun-tries are together responsible for almost 90 of the total EU pro-duction. Carp production has been more or less stagnant the last several years and farmers are seeking ways of encouraging consumption. Traditionally carp has been eaten around Christ-mas, sold in many cases as live fish which makes the logistics a real challenge. Carp farmers are suffering from emerging prob-lems such as, cormorant pres-sure, and diseases, answers to which can only be found at the international level. Carp faces increasing competition from imports both from within and outside the EU and to face off the challenge producers have to

develop new marketing tactics and novel and convenient prod-ucts that attract customers both old and new.

The challenges faced by the in-dustry and possible solutions will be discussed at a conference to be organised by the Polish Inland Fisheries Institute and Aller Aqua in Kazimierz Dolny, Poland on 15-16 September. The time has come to bring European carp farmers togeter so they can present a strong and unified voice in defence of their sector, says Prof. Boguslaw Zdanowski, director of the Inland Fisher-ies Institute. The conference is expected to draw producers, administrators, veterinarians, scientists, and representatives from the European Commission. For more information about the event and to register visit www.carpinternational.eu.

Carp production in the EU amounts to about 70,000 tonnes per year. An international conference in Poland in September will discuss the challenges faced by the sector.

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Switzerland: Several species of Mediterranean fi sh at risk of extinctionA report from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says that nearly 40 species of marine fish could disappear altogether from the Mediterranean over the next few years due to overfishing, degradation of marine habitats and pollution. In a press release the organisation said that almost half the sharks and rays and 12 species of marine fish are threatened with extinc-tion. Commercially important species such as bluefin tuna, dusky grouper, seabass, and hake are considered threatened or near threatened with extinc-tion in the region mainly due

to overfishing. Bluefin tuna in particular has suffered from overfishing and under report-ing of the catch. Other species of little or no commercial value including sharks, rays, and fish, as well as turtles, whales, dol-phins and birds are threatened by fishing lines, gill or trawl-ing nets, and illegal drift nets. Trawls are indiscriminate in their capture of marine life and also damage the sea floor where many species feed and reproduce. The study recom-mends the creation of marine preservation areas, the reduc-tion of pollution, and the rein-forcement of fishing regulation.

Eurofi sh Magazine 3 / 2011 7www.eurofi shmagazine.com


Under a plan put forward by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development pangasius export-ers will contribute 1-2 US cents per kilogram of fi sh sold to a fund for the promotion and support of pangasius exports, reports the Th anh Nien. Viet Nam produces 95 of the pangasius on the world market and has an annual pro-duction of 1.5m tonnes. Th e new fund will be used to promote the

fi sh on markets in the US and the UK and to develop strategies to help exporters counter trade barriers and allegations of poor food safety. In a fi sh consump-tion guide produced by the WWF, pangasius initially had a “Don’t Buy” recommendation resulting in a fall in consumption of the fi sh in Europe. Th e evaluation was subsequently revised and the fi sh removed from the red listing.

Viet Nam: Plans for a fund to market pangasius in Europe and the US

Latvia: Brivais Vilnis posts profi t in 2010

Th e fi sh processing company Brivais Vilnis has reported a profi t of LVL350,761 (about EUR500,000) in its annual report for 2010. Th e com-pany processes and cans fi sh and seafood including fi nfi sh, shellfi sh, and molluscs. In 2010 the company produced 22.4m units of canned fi sh of which almost half was sprats. Th e company is certifi ed to the International Food Standard (IFS) and is working on the implementa-tion of the ISO9001:2000 quality management system.

UK: Banning discards too simplistic, says SFF

Th e Scottish Fishermen’s Federa-tion has warned in a press release that the consequences of inap-propriate legislation being used to

control discards could be severe for the fi shing industry. While the SFF is completely against dis-carding, it warns that measures

regulating the practice should be sensible or the impact on fl eet structure and coastal communi-ties could be serious. Accord-ing to Bertie Armstrong, the SFF chief executive, the problem has been “…that the European Com-mission’s approach to the issue has been alarmingly superfi cial, giving scant recognition to in-novation from the industry and many Member States in pursuit of

discard reduction.” In his view the culprit is not the fi shermen, but the regulations for mixed fi sher-ies that make discarding unavoid-able. Th e SFF would liked to have seen some commitment from the Commission to address the regu-latory issues that lead to discard-ing in the fi rst place. A discussion on a ban on discards between all the stakeholders took place 3 May 2011 in Brussels.

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8 Eurofi sh Magazine 3 / 2011

Denmark: New aquaculture event, DanAqua, to showcase Danish knowhow

With its expertise in recircula-tion systems and fish feed Den-mark is a major player in the high tech world of intensive aq-uaculture, a sector that is devel-oping rapidly in many parts of the world. In Denmark too the sustainable development of the sector was recommended in an official report from 2009 and is backed by the government. In-terest in aquaculture and Dan-ish knowhow will be combined at a new event, DanAqua, that is being organised in conjunc-tion with the international fish-ery trade fair, DanFish Interna-tional. The two events will be held 12-14 October in Aalborg and are being organised by the Aalborg Congress and Culture Centre together with the Danish Export Association.

The aquaculture sector is the fastest growing food sector in

the world and the prospects for exports of Danish technology and equipment to the industry are excellent, says Ulrik Dahl, managing drector of the Danish Export Association. The value of farmed fish production within the country on land and in the sea amounts to some DKK1bn (EUR134m), a figure that is set to grow. Denmark is also the fourth largest exporter of fish in the world and is home to some of the best known companies in the field of processing fac-tory equipment. At DanAqua there will be a number of stands featuring manufacturers of aq-uaculture equipment, but also a rich and varied programme of seminars and workshops where the latest developments in the field will be discussed includ-ing trends, new products, as well as recent and forthcoming initiatives.

DanAqua will be held every second year and will combine the presentation of the latest knowhow with the purchase and sale of equipment for the aquaculture industry.

www.eurofi shmagazine.com

[ NEWS INTERNATIONAL ]

A study on rainbow trout’s tol-erance to white lupines in their diet has revealed that high lev-els of white lupines (50) do not have any negative impact on the feed intake, nutrient digestibility, growth performance or health of the fi sh. Th e study was part of a doctoral thesis by a Chilean student at the Norwegian Aqua-culture Protein Centre. Th e fatty acid profi le of the muscles was however slightly altered when the level of lupine exceeded 30 of the feed. A legume like peas or beans, lupines are interesting for researchers because of their high protein content. Salmon and trout need high protein diets and lupines could be a good vegeta-ble substitute for fi shmeal. How-ever, lupines also contain several alkaloids which taste bitter, but

protect the plant from grazing animals, insects and fungi. Th e study included experiments where pure alkaloids were mixed with the feed. Th e results of these tests showed that the bitter taste reduced feed uptake, thereby lowering growth rates, but did not pose any short-term risks to the health of the fi sh. Current fi sh feeds typically use sweet lupines, which are bred with lower con-centrations of alkaloids making them more vulnerable to patho-gens and increasing the need for pesticides. Th e Norwegian study shows that semi-bitter lupines may be the answer. Th ese have a higher concentration of alkaloids aff ording the plants more protec-tion, yet not high enough to im-pact on the acceptability of the feed to the fi sh.

Food Certifi cation International (FCI) recently expanded its global network with the opening of an offi ce in Spain to serve the Span-ish and Latin American markets. Th e new offi ce complements ex-isting representations in Turkey and Italy. Th e company has also become the fi rst European based certifi cation body to be awarded accreditation to inspect and cer-tify aquaculture feed production plants against a new Global Feed Manufacturers Standard. Based in Scotland, FCI has over 15 years ex-perience of certifying the farmed salmon industry including the compound feed production plants supplying the sector and it was a natural progression for FCI to apply for an extension to its ex-isting GlobalG.A.P. accreditation to include the new GlobalG.A.P

Compound Feed Manufacturers Version 2 standard.

News that FCI was applying for this new scope has generated interest from feed production plants across Europe and already certifi cation has been issued for plants based in Turkey and the Faroe Islands. For compound feed manufacturers not par-ticipating in GlobalG.A.P. rec-ognised benchmarked schemes such as the Universal Feed As-surance Scheme, FCI can now provide an alternative route to gaining GlobalG.A.P. certifi ca-tion. In the near future, Martin Gill, managing director of FCI expects to complete the scope extension to include the new GlobalG.A.P. IFA Version 4 – Aquaculture Standard.

Norway: Study opens possibility for higher lupine percentage in feeds

UK: FCI offi ces in Italy and Turkey joined by one in Spain



Radioactive fallout from the earthquake-, and tsunami-hit nuclear power plant in Japan’s Fukushima prefecture has been recorded in a small fi sh called konago or sand lance from the sea in the area. Th e fi ndings have prompted the government to issue a ban on its sale and consumption, reports the news agency AFP, as samples of the fi sh were measured with higher than permitted levels of radio-active iod ine. Workers at the nuclear plant have had to dump water with low levels of radioac-tive contamination into the sea

in their eff orts to contain the damage to the plant caused by the natural disasters. Th ere has also been some leakage of ra-dioactive runoff into the sea, but government offi cials are confi -dent that the action of the tides, winds and currents will soon disperse the radioactivity so that it does not pose any threat to ma-rine life in the area. Th e nuclear crisis has precipitated bans in dif-ferent countries, as well as within Japan itself, on trade in various foodstuff s from the area that have been found with higher levels of radioactive iodine.

Raptis, a fi shing and seafood trading company in Northern Australia, has secured Friend of the Sea approval for its banana and tiger prawn fi shery, that will add value to the company’s ex-ports to Europe. Th e fi shery is

managed by the Australian Fish Management Authority (AFMA) under the Northern Prawn Fish-ery Management Plan, that im-poses and polices several limi-tations on the fi shery including seasonal closures, permanent

area closures, and gear restric-tions. Nets used by the company are equipped with Bycatch Re-duction Devices and Turtle Ex-cluder Devices in keeping with FOS requirements, and the stocks have been assessed by the Austral-

ian Bureau of Sciences as being neither overfi shed nor subject to overfi shing. Th e independent au-ditor also found that the company had exceeded its social, legal and traceability requirements under the FOS standard.

Environmental activists and fi sh-eries scientists have urged the government to extend the ban on fi shing by large vessels in Turkish waters to allow fi sh to reproduce, reports the Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review.. Th e ban originally extended from 1 April to 1 September, but was pushed back to 15 April following pro-tests from the trawler industry. According to Greenpeace Tur-key, the April to October period is when the fi sh spawn, so vio-lations of the ban have a drastic impact on the long term health of the stock. Last year the start of

the ban was not postponed but the trawling fl eet was given spe-cial permission to fi sh in “inter-national waters,” to the outrage of the small coastal fi shers. Th ey have this year petitioned the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Aff airs to ensure that this does not happen again. Th e Turkish Marine Research Foundation feels that the original length of the ban must be reinstated if not extended to 1 October as many Turkish fi sh species are at risk of extinction due to excessive fi sh-ing pressure from a fl eet that is too large.

Japan: Ban on consumption of sea lance

Turkey: Demand for prolongation of fi shing ban

Australia: Tiger prawn fi shery gains Friend of the Sea approval

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The sensor gates improved weighing accuracy and reduced give-away.

Multivac can now offer high pressure processing (HPP) modules integrated into automatic packaging lines. Single chamber systems are available with capacities of 55, 160 and 350 litres, while a tandem system has a capacity of 700 (2 x 350) litres.


Cabinplant, a Danish manufac-turer of high quality processing equipment has further refi ned its screw feeding multihead weigher with a feature that results in sig-nifi cantly higher weighing accu-racy and a considerable reduction of give-away for large products in ‘few piece’ portions. Th e new feature comprises a sensor gate

mounted on each assembling pan that gives feedback about the content of the pan. Th is minimises the number of duplet, triplet and empty fi llings. Tests with customer products showed a much higher incidence of a single piece being fed into each pan, improved prod-uct fl ow, higher weighing accuracy and reduced give-away.

Multivac, one of the world’s lead-ing suppliers of packaging solu-tions, has succeeded in integrat-ing high pressure processing (HPP) into automated packaging lines and has also developed a method to use HPP on modifi ed atmosphere packaged (MAP) products. Both refi nements are the result of several new develop-ments for which patents are pend-ing. HPP is recognised as one of the most promising techniques to reduce the incidence of harmful bacteria in food products. It deac-tivates pathogens such as listeria or salmonella without aff ecting the nutritional value or taste of

the product. Multivac together with Uhde High Pressure Tech-nologies has developed a process whereby the packaging material is placed under signifi cantly less stress and retains its functional-ity even after the high pressure treatment. Th e second develop-ment, related to the integration of HPP into automated packaging systems, called for a rethink of the transport containers as well as the defi nition of specifi c packag-ing loading patterns. Multivac can now off er single chamber systems of 55, 160 and 350 litres, as well as a dual chamber system with a capacity of 700 (2 x 350) litres.

Th e Fisheries Department has warned the fi shing and process-ing sector that spot checks by the European Union inspectors to verify that the permits held by fi shing vessels, and process-ing factories are valid, are likely to increase in intensity in the future. Th e EU system of fi sher-ies control is now fully opera-tional and ensures traceability throughout the chain from catch to consumer. Th e checks will

verify that the fi shery process in Th ailand from capture through processing to export is legiti-mate and that the operators have the requisite licences and cer-tifi cates that can document that the fi sh is not illegal. Somying Piamsombun, director-general of the Th ai Fisheries Department, said that EU would also moni-tor the Th ai state’s mechanisms for dealing with illegal fi shery activities.

Ray Hilborn, a professor of aquatic and fi shery sciences at the University of Washington, writes in the New York Times that while the world’s fi sh stocks on average seem to be stable those in the US appear to be growing and, in some cases, growing rap-idly. Federal legislation in the US bans foreign fi shing within 200 miles of the shore and has cre-ated fi sheries management coun-cils to regulate federal fi sheries. Partly as a result of this the pic-ture of American fi sh stocks since the 90s has been largely positive, with few stocks being overfi shed and a quarter at less than the desired abundance. Conservative

management practices have ena-bled stocks to rebuild on both the east and west coasts, but have also held down harvests of species that are plentiful. Lower availability of fi sh will probably mean that con-sumers switch to other sources of protein such as beef, poultry and pork. But livestock production has signifi cant environmental conse-quences including “…lost habitat, the need for ever more water, pes-ticides, fertilizer and antibiotics, chemical runoff and “dead zones” in the world’s seas.” Th e question those involved in the industry have to address is whether fewer fi sh in the seas is not in fact prefer-able to these impacts.

Denmark: Screw feeding multihead weigher with greater accuracy

Germany: Integration of HPP modules into automatic packaging lines

Thailand: More stringent traceability may mean more checks on Thai exports to EU

USA: Trade-offs in fi sh stock management


Phone: +45 9737 1799 · www.runi.dk · [email protected]

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Henrik Høegh, the Danish Min-ister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries will be in the lime-light when negotiations on the reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) take place under the Danish EU-presidency in the fi rst half of 2012. Denmark has proposed that cameras on board fi shing vessels document a fi shers catches and that the en-tire catch is landed and counted against the quota. Th is could replace other regulations such as the kilowatt-day as well as requirements with regard to the

size and type of gear. Th e idea is to simplify the existing control regime, not add to it, says the Minister, who would like to make life easier both for the fi sherman as well as the controlling author-ities. Several years talk of sim-plifying the CFP has so far not led anywhere, so the Minister is keen that the Danish proposal on the use of cameras is im-plemented and that it replaces other ways of monitoring the fi shers to give a better function-ing yet more economic system of control in the future.

Th e Environmental Justice Foun-dation (EJF), a UK-based NGO working to combat IUU (Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported) fi shing, reports that a consign-ment of 500 tonnes of high value seafood has been seized by the Spanish authorities in Las Palmas on the Canary Islands. A press re-lease from the EJF states that the multi-million euro consignment, which is believed to include oc-topus, squid, sole, shrimp and grouper, was destined for Euro-pean fi sh counters, restaurants and hotels. Th e vessel and its suspected illegal cargo were brought to the notice of Spanish and European authorities by the EJF, which had been investigating

the fi shing activities of several vessels operating in Sierre Leone in inshore areas reserved for arti-sanal fi shers without the consent of the Sierre Leone government. Th ese catches may have been ille-gally transferred to the vessel that is under investigation in Las Pal-mas. Under the new EU regulation to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fi shing, which entered into force on 1 January 2010, the fl ag state is required to validate catch certifi cates that confi rm that the fi sh is legal. If the fi shing vessels are found to have been operat-ing illegally, possible measures include legal action against the operators, blacklisting the vessels concerned or identifying states as

Spain: Suspected illegal consignment of fi sh seized in Las Palmas

Denmark: It should be easier to be a fi sher

‘non-cooperating third countries’, which would mean they could no longer export seafood products to

the EU. Th e investigations by the EU and the Spanish authorities are continuing.

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www.eurofi shmagazine.com12 Eurofi sh Magazine 3 / 2011


Since 1976, the European Aquacul-ture Society (EAS) has been pursu-ing its core objectives to promote contacts among all involved in aquaculture; to disseminate infor-mation and to promote multi-dis-ciplinary research for the benefi t of the sector. As EAS enters its 35th year, a new logo has been developed. As EAS President, Yves Harache com-mented “While the original EAS logo showing a focus on Europe on a global sphere has served EAS well over the years, a more mod-ern and highly visible logo was felt

necessary, as aquaculture is a truly global sector, and as EAS also creates new partnerships with organisations that are outside of the aquaculture sector.” Th e new logo will fi gure on all digital images of the society, and will be progressively introduced on all printed material over the com-ing year. Logo formats and detailed technical specifi cations for use will be provided on the EAS web site www. easonline.org for download and use with permission.

Belgium: European Aquaculture Society gets new logo

Alimentaria, the trade show for the food and drinks industry, returns to Barcelona from 26-29 March 2012.

Spain: Alimentaria expands with two new exhibition hallsAlimentaria, the International Food and Drinks Exhibition, will return to Barcelona 26–29 March 2012. Alimentaria 2012 will include two new exhibition halls at the Fira Gran Vía venue which will add 40,000 gross sq. m of exhibition space. In total there will be close to 100,000 sq. m of product off er-ings and culinary, business, and innovation activities, which will reinforce Alimentaria’s reputation as the think tank for the entire agri-food industry. Th e trade fair will focus all its attention on competi-tiveness, international expansion and brands in the food and drinks industry. Th e trade show promises once again to attract the sector’s major global operators. With an anticipated 4,000 companies –one third of them from abroad – and 140,000 buyers – 25 inter-national, the show will confi rm its position as an international hub for business transactions. Sixty percent of the show’s exhibitors intend to expand into the interna-tional market before long. To assist them the show includes Interna-tional Projects, more than 8,000 business meetings to promote the international expansion for food and drinks companies.

Grieg Seafood Hjaltland, the largest salmon farming and pro-cessing company in Shetland has acquired Skelda Salmon Farms Limited and G Duncan (Salmon) Limited for £2.19m (EUR2.45m). Th e two licenses will increase the company’s farm site pro-duction to over 23,000 tonnes in 2012-13. Th e company is fore-casting to increase production to over 24,000 tonnes by 2014-15. Th e purchase also includes farm

equipment, including a work boat, feeding barge, and cages. Th e Grieg Seafood Hjaltland group already produces over one third and processes over 50 per-cent of Shetland’s total salmon production. Michael Stark, man-aging director of Grieg Seafood Hjaltland, says that the new ac-quisitions will strengthen the company’s market position as well as enable it to off er more customised products.

UK: Grieg Seafood Hjaltland acquires two farms

www.eurofi shmagazine.com Eurofi sh Magazine 3 / 2011 13


UAE: Caviar production facility to go on-stream in Abu Dhabi Construction of a large recircu-lation aquaculture system for the production of sturgeon and sturgeon caviar has reached the stage when the fi sh are now being transported from Europe to take up residence in the tanks.Th e plant has been built by the German company United Food Technologies AG, that special-ises in the planning and design of aquaculture projects, for the Bin Salem Group in Abu Dhabi, one of the United Arab Emirates. Some of the 140 tonnes of fi sh are being fl own from Europe to Abu Dhabi in specially designed and equipped containers, that

maintain a temperature between 10 and 15 degrees C. Th e rest will be transported by sea from Europe, again in special con-tainers that guarantee stable conditions in terms of water quality and temperature. Th e plant when running at capacity will produce 32 tonnes of caviar and 490 tonnes of sturgeon per year. Th e fi rst production of cav-iar is already expected in 2011. Th e caviar will be marketed not only internationally but also to the many 5-star hotels and expensive restaurants in Abu Dhabi, as well as to the many cruise ships that drop anchor there.


The new plant when running at capacity will produce 32 tonnes of caviar and 490 tonnes of sturgeon per year.

Denmark: Enzymes in fi sh diets have environmental benefi ts

Salmon and trout can now be fed with enzymes so they can better absorb the phosphorus in their diet allowing fi sh farmers to save money and ensuring cleaner water, reports the Danish journal Th e Engineer. Danish Novozymes has been granted EU permission to supply phytase (an enzyme that helps the release of phosphorus

from its compounds) for fi sh feeds. Phytase has been added to pig and poultry feeds for years. Animals, like humans, need phosphorus to grow, but much of the phosphorus in the plant-based ingredients of feed is bound so that it can not be absorbed. Feed producers there-fore add extra phosphorus, which animals can absorb and thereby

grow faster. Th is means however that excess phosphorus is released into the water, which contributes to oxygen depletion. At the same time it is huge waste of phospho-rus, a limited resource. ”When you add phytase to feed the animals can absorb the phosphorus, which is not otherwise available. Th is saves farmers money on feed and

substantially reduces the environ-mental impact,” says Sebastian Soederberg, marketing manager for feed enzymes at Novozymes. Phytase works by supplement-ing the animals’ own digestive enzymes and helps to release oth-erwise indigestible phosphorus from the plant-based ingredients of the feed.

US dietary guidelines for 2010 released earlier this year urge Americans to eat greater varie-ties of seafood and to increase the volume of seafood consumed by using it to replace some meat and poultry products in the diet. Dietary Guidelines for Ameri-cans is published every five years by the US Departments of Agriculture, and Health and Hu-man Services. This latest edition appears against a background of rising concern that American diets are increasingly unhealthy and levels of physical activity are too low. By eating less and better, and being less sedentary Americans (and others) can

maintain a healthy weight, re-duce the risk of chronic disease, and promote overall health. One of the recommendations asks people to replace the consump-tion of saturated fats with mon-osaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). PUFA are found in fatty fish such as her-ring, mackerel, and salmon and are associated with a number of health benefits, such as the reduced risk of heart disease. In 2009 Americans consumed just over 7 kg of fish per capita of which 1.9 kg was shrimp, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

US dietary guidelines recommend Americans to increase consumption of seafood

Wegmans Food Markets, a regional retail chain based in Rochester, NY, with 77 stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jer-sey, Virginia, and Maryland, has entered into a partnership with the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) to develop guidelines for its aquaculture programme. Th e programme requires suppliers

to source their seafood from environmentally sustainable sources. Hatcheries, farms and processing facilities will all need to conform to the sustainability requirement. Wegmans is the latest in a growing list of retail-ers that seek to offer respon-sibly farmed seafood to their customers.

USA: Wegmans partners with GAA to offer responsibly-farmed seafood



An overwhelming majority of EU citizens want the fi sh they buy

to come from sources that are sustainable and not overfi shed, according to an independent poll commissioned by WWF and carried out in 14 EU countries. Yet, most citizens feel they do not have adequate information on whether the fi sh on sale comes from such sources. Not surpris-ingly a large majority support a reform of Europe’s Common Fisheries Policy to ensure the sustainability of fi sh products in future, reports megafi shnet.com referring to the WWF poll. With 88 of respondents believing it is important that fi sh products on sale within the European Un-ion come from non-overfi shed stocks, WWF believes a clear signal is being given to the Eu-ropean Union that ambitious reform of the failing Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is urgently needed. Th e poll comes as the European Commission is about to hand over its reform proposal to the European Parliament and Member States for approval. Th e results of the poll are especially impressive in Southern European countries (Portugal 92, France 93, Spain 91, Italy 95) and in Belgium (91) where over 90 of respondents think it is important that fi sh on sale comes from non-overfi shed sustainable stocks. Th e ongoing reform of the CFP is a once-in-a-decade opportunity to fi nally start managing fi sh in a responsible way, as a precious natural resource, says the WWF.

Brussels: Clear majority of Europeans support sustainable fi sheries

UK: Evans Vanodine products fi rst on new listing scheme

A new UK Aquaculture Disin-fectant Listing Scheme now ena-bles manufacturers to publicly list products that have demon-strated efficacy against bacte-rial and/or viral fish diseases. To achieve listing, a product is sub-ject to an intensive independent technical review that validates

the effectiveness of that prod-uct against certain pathogens. It must be independently proved that the product does what it says it will do. Such a listing by the Fish Health Inspectorate (FH) based at CEFAS (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science) ensures

that the fish industry can now purchase products completely confident that they will maintain high standards of hygiene and biosecurity. Evans Vanodine International plc is the first man-

ufacturer to submit products for evaluation under the new scheme and Fam 30 and Vano-quat New Formulation were the first products to be formally listed on 10 December 2010.

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Eurofish Magazine 3 / 2011 15www.eurofishmagazine.com

COVER STORY

The trout-farming industry is fragmented into compa-nies with large production

volumes, some of which are listed on the stock exchange, and others which are small family-run opera-tions with limited production. One of the bigger companies produc-ing trout is Antalya Balik, based as the name suggests in the province of Antalya on the southern coast of Turkey.

Antalya Balik was established in 1985 by two partners who started

the business selling wild-caught fish to hotels and restaurants. Fish farming in Turkey was started to grow up at the time and the partners decided this was the field to be in. After consider-ing both sea bass, seabream and trout, they felt that trout with its shorter production time, lesser fat content, and lower price was the more interesting species. Today, while trout is the company’s main product, it also supplies seabass and seabream, which it produces on contract.

Product assortment with 230 different items

The company’s ambitions are increasing as its production grows, and it is seeking to become one of the biggest farmers of trout in Turkey. M. Zafer Erel, the CEO of Antalya Balik, explains that under the name Antalya Balik there are three different activities – farm-ing, processing, and the hatchery. Currently there are two processing facilities, one with a production capacity of 7,000 mt/y including

Antalya Balik aims to reach 25,000 tonnes production in 5 years

Vertically integrated producer of trout for markets abroadFrom 2000 to 2009 aquaculture production in Turkey has doubled from 79,000 mt to 158,000 mt, according to the Turkish Statistical Office. The main species contributing to this growth are seabass, seabream, and trout. Inland trout farming first started in the 70s, and now annual production amounts to 75 thousand tonnes.

COVER STORY

The processing factory is equipped with the most modern machinery. Here the fish are being gutted prior to being processed further.

smoked trout. This factory serves the company’s export markets. The second factory produces 2,000 tonnes of products per year, which are sold on the domestic market. Antalya is prized for its weather and its sandy beaches which draw some 20 million tourists a year. The area hosts a number of up-market hotels, bars, and restaurants to cater to the more affluent of these tourists, and this is where Mr Erel also sells the company’s wide

Mr. M. Zafer Erel, Chief Executive Officer of Antalya Balik

COVER STORY


range of products. Today these number 230 diff erent items.

In addition to the two process-ing units which are both based in Antalya, the company has its

own hatchery in Korkuteli, about 60 km from Antalya, with a pro-duction currently of 24 million fi ngerlings. Th e Korkuteli hatch-ery gets the eggs for the produc-tion from companies in USA,

Denmark and Spain. After the eggs hatch the young fi sh grow to a weight of about 1-2 gram in the hatchery and are then transferred to the grow-out farm. Th e fi sh are transferred into the tanks where they remain until they reach selling size and are then moved to net cages in trucks equipped with oxygen systems and special suspensions to ensure a smooth ride. Antalya Balik has its own farms located in three dam lakes. Th e fi rst farm was established in 2007 in Burdur Karacaören dam lake and has a capacity of 1,800 mt/y. Th e second farm was established in 2010 in the Yamula dam lake in Kayseri in the middle of Turkey, and can produce 4,750 mt/y, while the third and fourth farms are in the Karkamis dam lake close to Turkey’s borders

with Syria and Iraq. Th e lat-ter were established in 2011 and production here will start at the end of the year. Th eir combined capacity is 3,400 mt/y. Th e fl esh of freshwater trout is normally white in colour and the produc-tion from the company’s older farms is also fi sh with white fl esh. However, at the Karkamis dam lake the presence in the water of certain algae on which the trout feed causes the fl esh of the fi sh to turn red, which makes it attrac-tive for the French and German markets, says Mr Erel. Th e total production at the four sites is just under 10,000 tonnes, which the company hopes to increase to 25,000 tonnes in the space of the next fi ve years. Th e fi rst step towards achieving this has already been taken with a new

Antalya Balik has its own hatchery at Korkuteli, about 60 km from Antalya, with a capacity of 24m fi ngerlings a year.

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COVER STORY

grow-out facility being estab-lished in Ermenek dam lake in the south. When fully operational this site will have a production of 5,000 tonnes a year. The net cages in which the fish are raised have a diameter of 20m and a capacity of 30-40 tonnes of fish. But we are now trying bigger cages that were developed for the marine farm-ing industry, says Mr Erel, which have a diameter of 30 m and a capacity of 75 tonnes.

Markets in twelve European countries

The extreme Turkish summer can cause some problems for

the trout. For the fish the tem-peratures should be around 16 degrees C; beyond that the fish react badly. The water in the Karacaören facility can get unpleasantly warm for the trout in summer. The company has therefore devised a way whereby water from the depths of the dam lake, where it is 12 degrees, is pumped up and mixed with the warm surface water to obtain an acceptable temperature for the fish.Under optimal conditions the trout grow to market size of 280-340 g in the space of about six months. This is the size that is in demand in Europe, says Mr Erel,

but we can also deliver larger fish of 400 g if the client demands. At the moment sales are to 12 coun-tries in Europe including Ger-many, the Netherlands, Poland, France, and set to start in Russia. The company has already sent several trucks to Russia and Mr Erel says that Antalya Balik is one of four companies approved to export fish there. As the produc-tion facilities in the Karkamis dam lake are so close to Iraq and Syria, he is of the opinion that selling fresh fish to these coun-tries is also a real possibility. The fish are available in several different product forms. These include gutted fish, butterfly and

single fillets, that are vacuum packed and frozen. The process-ing facility at Antalya includes smoking chambers and the com-pany also supplies smoked trout fillets. Leading retailers such as Metro, Real, Edeka, and Aldi among others, are among the company’s customers for whom Antalya Balik makes private label products. Of course we would like to sell under our brand, but it is a very long and expensive pro-cess to build a brand, especially on markets in the west, explains Mr Erel. On the other hand in Russia, Poland, and Romania, the company is selling under its own label.

The factory has a production capacity of 7,000 tonnes including smoked trout.

The farms are located in four dam lakes and have a total capacity of 10,000 tonnes of trout. A new farm soon to go into production will add a further 5,000 tonnes to capacity.

The processing factory is certified to the IFS, BRC, and the American FDA standards. Quality control is carried out by technicians from the inhouse laboratory.

One of the products made by Antalya Balik is whole, gutted trout that is vacuum packaged and frozen.

18 Eurofish Magazine 3 / 2011 www.eurofishmagazine.com

COVER STORY

First to get GlobalG.A.P. certification

We were the first trout farming company in the world to hold the GlobalG.A.P. certificate, says Zafer Erel proudly, and the processing factories are also certified to the IFS, BRC and the US FDA stand-ards. Applying the GlobalG.A.P. standard commits a producer to minimising the deleterious effects of his operations on the environment, to reducing the use of chemicals inputs, and to taking seriously the welfare of employees as well as the animals on the farm. The certification also requires that the eggs for the hatchery are a certain standard.

Vertical integration has many advantages

There are many companies that either farm fish or process it, but being fully integrated as Antalya Balik has several advantages. We can control the whole pro-cess from egg to final product, to ensure that the quality never suffers at any point in the production chain, says Mr Erel. And if there is a problem our internal traceability system enables us to rapidly find the source of the trouble and rectify it. We try to ensure that growth is spread evenly so that we do not run into bottlenecks in the pro-duction process. If we expand

the farm, then we also need to expand the processing capac-ity, and the hatchery. The new project at Ermenek dam lake, for example, also includes a hatch-ery with a capacity of 150 million fry/year.Antalya Balik obtains all its feed from high quality suppliers. How-ever, as Mr Erel says, we need to start considering our own feed production unit. In Turkey if you produce 30,000 tonnes of fish they say you should have your own feed production plant as you will need approximately 30,000 tonnes of feed. Our planned expansion will result in a produc-tion of 25,000 tonnes by 2016, so we need to start planning for a feed production plant from now itself. The cost of the feed is a major component of the cost of producing the fish and controlling

the feed price will be an important factor in the profitability of the company. By investing in a feed production facility, the company will also be in a better position to start experimenting with the feed, reducing the amount of expensive ingredients and using more plant protein.

Skilled employees form the core strength

Expanding production will not only include the volume of fish, but will also involve superior equipment and technology and better international marketing. Our strength lies in the skill of our team and their ability to rapidly adapt to new challenges, says Mr Erel. It is because we believe in the company, the product, and the process.

Organize Sanayi Bolgesi 2. Etap 24. Cad.TR 07190 AntalyaTurkey

Tel.: +90 242 258 19 20 Fax: +90 242 258 19 51 info@ antalyabalik.com.trwww.antalyabalik.com.tr

Chief Executive Officer: Mr M. Zafer Erel

Hatcheries: 1 (24m fry per year)Grow-out farms: 4 (10,000 t /

year capacity)Processing factory: 2 (1 for

export, cap. 6,000 t + 1,000 t of smoked products; 1 for domestic market, cap. 2,000 t)

Products: Frozen vacuum-packed trout, trout fillets, smoked trout fillets, sea bass, seabream.

Employees: 300Turnover: USD 45m

Antalya Balik AS Company Fact File

Smoked trout fillets are supplied to several retail chains including Metro, Real, Edeka, and Aldi as private label products.

The delicate smoked fillets are carefully packed by hand to ensure that they are not damaged.

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EUR313m allocated for prior-ity axis 4 are disbursed via fi sheries local action groups

(FLAGs) operating in municipali-ties (gminas) where the fi sheries sector is an important element of the local economy. In the fi rst call for proposals for FLAGs to imple-ment local development strategies for fi sheries areas (LDSFA), the Minister for Agriculture and Ru-ral Development selected 26 as-sociations which received FLAG status. For each of them the Min-ister secured a budget starting from over 10 million (EUR2.5m) to several dozen million zlotys.

A FLAG is mainly a meeting plat-form for partners representing the social, public and economic sectors. Partners from each sec-tor present varying points of view, have diff erent interests and problems. Th e FLAG prepares a local development strategy for fi sheries areas (LDSFA), i.e. a document taking into account various interests and defi ning the main sectors of the econ-omy which should use the aid off ered by axis 4. Th e approved LDSFA are implemented in the gminas of 11 provinces (voivode-ships). Th e second and fi nal call

for proposals will be completed soon to select other FLAGs which will receive funds for implement-ing their LDSFA.

Financial assistance under priority axis 4

All inhabitants of the area covered by the LDSFA, as well as persons from outside the area, who wish to invest or start an economic activ-ity in the area where the FLAG operates, may apply for fi nancing of their operations. Eligible bene-fi ciaries include both natural and legal persons, research or cultural

institutions, non-governmental organisations involved in the development of a given area, as well as municipalities and local councils (poviats).

A special place among the benefi -ciaries is reserved for representa-tives of the fi sheries sector, i.e. farmers, fi sh processors, vessel owners, inland fi shers and their employees. Important benefi -ciaries of axis 4 of the OP Fisher-ies 2007-2013 include also those providing services to the fi sh-eries sector, e.g. repairing fi sh-ing equipment. Th ey can obtain

Funds for fi sheries areas

EU assistance encourages local developmentUntil recently there was no special programme offering fi nancial assistance from the EU funds to fi sheries areas. The situation has now changed thanks to priority axis 4 of the Polish Operational Programme Sustainable Development of the Fisheries Sector and Coastal Fishing Areas 2007-2013 (OP Fisheries 2007-2013).

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funds to assist in the restructur-ing of their activity and to create additional jobs outside the sector.

Examples of initiatives implemented in the

fi sheries sector

LDSFA are adapted to local spe-cifi c characteristics and the problems and assets of a given fi sheries area. However, several universal development policies are supported by all FLAGs.

For many of the fi sheries areas tourism is an opportunity, since they are often located in beautiful regions which attract tourists with their abundance of fl ora and fauna. Th erefore, many LDSFA include support for operations such as:

Increasing opportunities for recreational angling, build-ing “catch and release” fi shing areas and furnishing such fi sh-ing areas with the necessary equipment; Purchase of watercraft, crea-tion or extension of infrastruc-ture of companies off ering rental equipment for water tourism, including boats and fi shing vessels; Angling tourism on fi shing vessels, both at sea and on lakes and rivers; Increasing the attractiveness of the off ers for tourists; Building and modernisation of tourist infrastructure; Promotion of the area by means of media campaigns, creation of websites and publi-cation of tourist brochures.

One of the key elements of axis 4 of the OP Fisheries 2007-2013 is the diversifi cation of economic activities of companies in the fi sheries sector. Its objective is to

diversify the sources of income of fi shing companies and fi sh farms, without aff ecting their main activities. Many LDSFA include support for operations which will result in fi shers undertaking additional activity, e.g. off ering agrotourism and catering services or selling fi nished food products. Support under axis 4 is allocated for programmes consisting of :

Retraining of fi shers;Training of the unemployed; Starting new businesses, in particular in services provided to local communities;Development of trade services; Development of craftsmen’s services.

Readily available fresh fi sh can attract tourists

to local areas

Projects fi nanced under prior-ity axis 4 include those aimed at adding value to fi sheries products. Local foodstuff s with fi sh as the main ingredient are a treasure of fi sheries areas. How-ever, numerous FLAGS point out to a certain paradox in their LDFSA, i.e. that it is impossible to try fresh fi sh in areas with a centuries-old tradition of fi sh-ing or aquaculture. Th e popu-larisation of those products is a great chance not only for fi shers. Such culinary delicacies increas-ingly act as a magnet attracting crowds of tourists and consum-ers willing to discover new fl a-vours and traditional dishes. Th erefore, FLAGs support activi-ties related to:

Promoting fi sh consumption; Developing distribution net-works for fi sh products; Improving catering infrastruc-ture where local products are off ered;Promoting local dishes;

Creating the possibility to try dishes from freshly caught fi sh in local catering establishments.

Nature is the chief asset of fi sheries areas, which very often was only slightly modifi ed by anthropo-genic activity. Fishing activity was often conducive to the develop-ment of fl ora and fauna by attract-ing rare species of birds to fi shing areas and ponds. Th e authors of numerous LDFSA are aware of this fact and therefore off er funding for programmes that:

Preserve and improve the environment, in particular lakes and rivers, and make them available for tourists; Use natural and cultural herit-age for local development; Mark out tourist trails, and build bird hides to allowing bird watching; Support organisation promot-ing ecological activities and educating youth in this regard.

Fishing is not only a trade, but also a way of life with a centuries-old traditions. Fisheries areas may off er great culture, folklore and customs. In an era of progressive globalisation and standardisa-tion of behaviour, fostering local specifi c characteristics requires fi nancial support. In many areas, fi shing has an ancient history, which will perish, if it is not writ-ten down and protected.Th erefore, numerous FLAGs pro-mote project that seek to:

Create memorial halls, fi sher-ies museums, exhibition and open air museum dedicated to the history of the area; Organise local folklore clubs, song and dance ensembles and associations reconstruct-ing historical events; Write down the history of fi sh-eries in a given area;

Organise classes for young people which will familiarize them with the fi sher’s trade and the history of this sector in the region.

How to obtain fi nancing

Th e fi rst place to obtain more information on opportunities off ered by axis 4 is the FLAG offi ce. Information about the location of the FLAGs is available at the municipality offi ces which actively participated in the crea-tion of the FLAGs and the prepa-ration of the LDSFA, as well as the provincial governments and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Each FLAG has the fi nancial resources and an obli-gation to run an offi ce, the tasks of which include, apart from the selection of projects to be carried out under the LDSFA, also assis-tance to potential benefi ciaries in preparing the applications for fi nancing.

If a potential benefi ciary lives in the area where no FLAG was created, the benefi ciary may carry out the operation in one of the municipalities covered by LDSFA. Th e competent mar-shal’s offi ce which processes applications for fi nancing pro-vides information about the municipalities which were cov-ered by LDFSA in a given prov-ince. Provincial governments closely cooperate with the Min-istry of Agriculture and Rural Development which is the Man-aging Authority for the entire OP Fisheries 2007-2013.

Information about axis 4 of the OP Fisheries 2007-2013 is avail-able at: www.minrol.gov.pl and www.rybactwo.info and at the websites of the marshal’s offi ces.


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An extension of the control capacity is very important to the Customs Offi ce in

Szczecin as the Szczecin port is one of the largest fi sh tranship-ment centres in Europe. Last year, over 160,000 tonnes of frozen fi sh and fi sh products with an ap-proximate value of PLN1 billion (EUR255m) were brought into the Polish customs territory through the Szczecin - Swinoujscie Port. As the origin or the declared con-tent of some of these goods may be misstated, duties and deriva-tive taxes are at risk of being cal-culated incorrectly. Only regular control based on contemporary genetic methods can reduce the scale of fraud and impose the cor-rect duties.

Reliable fi sh product identifi cation can impact

customs revenues

Th e purpose of the project is to create a genetic database and to develop new effi cient methods of fi sh product identifi cation for the needs of customs services and other state control bodies. A fi sh identifi cation system would also be very useful to proces-sors, importers and other enti-ties involved in the fi sh product trade as it would allow control and verifi cation of imported and

Polish laboratory to create database to eliminate import fraud

Genetics-based identifi cation of fi sh and seafood The Department of Aquaculture has been cooperating with the Szczecin Customs Offi ce in the area of genetic identifi cation of fi sh species for several years now. A new project involving both organisations seeks to create a reference database against which import samples can be compared. The purpose is to detect fraud in the form of food adulteration. An earlier collaboration between the two to detect illegal traffi c in European eel was a huge success.

In spite of the extensive experience of customs offi cers in clearing fi sh products, there is a risk that a false declaration on the identity of unprocessed fi sh would go unnoticed if the goods are only subject to physical control.

processed raw materials. Th e application of genetic methods allows the early identifi cation of fi sh samples and can eliminate low-value fi sh, marketed as valu-able, from imports.

Th e project will include collect-ing reference samples of ref-erence fi sh material from the largest producers and export-ers worldwide. Researchers will

closely cooperate with the Szc-zecin Customs Offi ce as well as foreign universities and research institutes and will use FAO sta-tistics to determine the most important species in interna-tional trade. Additionally, data on current imports provided by the Szczecin Customs Offi ce will be used to populate the list of species brought into Poland particularly frequently. In-depth

studies of local markets in par-ticular countries will identify fi sh with higher risk profi les.

Th e measures are expected to result in a reference database which would facilitate detect-ing irregularities in international trade and reduce the adulteration of imported products. Th e scien-tists plan to collect and process approximately 10,000 samples of

POLAND


various fi sh species. On that basis, they will attempt to recognise local stocks and races to facilitate the identifi cation of imported goods and to be able to determine the origin of specifi c fi sh products. Such a database will be the fi rst of its kind. Th e European Commis-sion is highly interested in creat-ing eff ective procedures in the EU and this project will allow the cre-ation of unifi ed rules of handling and identifi cation of fi sh products throughout the European Union in the future. In spite of the exten-sive experience of customs offi c-ers in clearing fi sh products, there is a risk that a false declaration on the identity of unprocessed fi sh would go unnoticed if the goods are only subject to physical con-trol. Th e risk is even higher in the

case of fi sh product identity recog-nition. Apart from lower customs

revenues, the fraud also aff ects importers and fi nal consumers,

who are unaware that they are actually buying fi sh dishonestly imported.

Tissue samples from around the world

Th e study envisages collecting 10,000 samples of fi sh tissue. For absolute certainty as to the place where fi sh were harvested, material will be collected directly from fi shing vessels and, should that turn out to be impossible, from local markets. Fish species (selected for particular countries on the basis of FAO data analy-sis) will be photographed on the spot and geotagged (geographical location data added); the collec-tion site will also be described. Once the samples are provided to

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The database will serve as the reference point to compare samples from goods brought into Poland, which will confi rm or rule out the species (or fi shing ground) declared in the customs declaration.

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The study envisages collecting 10,000 samples of fi sh tissue directly from fi shing vessels or from local markets.

24 Eurofi sh Magazine 3 / 2011

of Amplifi ed Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) will be conducted. Th is is a very mod-ern method applied in molecu-lar biology to evaluate features which require the analysis of large quantities of polymorphic uncoupled qualitative features. Data in the form of sequences assigned to particular samples will create a reference sequence database in which data will be catalogued and ordered for par-ticular countries. Th is database will serve as the reference point to compare and align sequences of goods brought into Poland, which will confi rm or rule out the species (or fi shing ground) declared in the customs dec-laration, on the basis of which duties and other taxes are cal-culated. Th e fi sh and fi sh prod-uct genetic identifi cation system can also be used by the Customs Offi ce to enforce the Conven-tion on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Th e staff of the Fish Genetics Labora-tory are already experienced in this regard as they used genetic methods to prevent the smug-gling of several tonnes of Euro-pean eel (Anguilla anguilla) declared as Japanese eel (a spe-cies not covered by CITES) into Poland.

Project coordinators: Jolanta Kem-pter, PhD; Maciej Kiełpinski, PhD

Project Offi ce:West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin Faculty of Food Sciences and Fisheries Department of Aquaculture, ul. Kazimierza Królewicza 4dr Magdalena Wielopolska, Tel. : +48 91 449 66 [email protected] sh.pl; www.celfi sh.eu

the laboratory of the West Pomer-anian University of Technology in Szczecin, they will be labelled to assign material imported into the Polish customs territory to a spe-cifi c geographical region. Th us, a reference sample database will be created with benchmark data. Characteristic parts of the fi sh species genome will be collected to form the public database.

Additionally, a market analy-sis will be performed for each species that will determine the average price of 1 kg on the local market and, if possible, specifi c features will be determined which would help to confi rm species affi liation. Trips to collect sam-ples are planned for three years: 2011, 2012 and 2013. Material will be collected by six people who are directly responsible for pro-ject implementation. In 2011 trips for three groups of two: to Asia (two trips), South America (one trip) and Africa (three trips) are proposed. Samples from 16 coun-tries will be brought to the Fish

Genetics Laboratory of the West Pomeranian University of Tech-nology in Szczecin in 2011. In the fi rst year of the project 3,000 samples will be collected. In 2012 4,000 samples of fi sh from ten countries (Asia, South America and Africa) will be collected, while in 2013 3,000 samples will be collected from nine countries representing fi shing grounds and aquaculture centres in Asia, Oceania and North America.

Sophisticated analysis to determine origin,

species

Once the samples are delivered, each sample will be processed in the following order: DNA isola-tion, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing. If the processing stages are suffi cient to determine molecular diff er-ences that allow verifi cation of the place of origin, the procedure will be completed. If the dif-ferences in the genome are not defi ned, an additional analysis

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Fish processing in Poland

Steady increase in exports to the EUFish processing in Poland has a relatively short tradition, just over 100 years, and cannot be compared with, for example, an already well-developed early nineteenth century meat industry. The fi rst business to be offi cially registered was a fi sh smokehouse in Puck established by Jakub Gojke in 1898. Then in 1932, in rapidly-developing Gdynia, a very modern fi sh freezer was launched, which allowed for the increase of fi sh imports. Around this time the herring salting and smoke-curing industries also developed and by 1935 there were 42 smokehouses and 30 fi sh canneries and the annual production value amounted to a million dollars.

Average annual consump-tion of fi sh and fi sh prod-ucts per capita in Poland

after World War II steadily inc-reased from 1.7 kg in 1950 to 8.1 kilograms in 1980; thereafter con-sumption declined and in 1989 was 6.1 kg/product per person. Th e decade 1991 - 2000 saw an ini-tial decline but then the intensive development of the Polish fi sh processing industry which is cur-rently considered to be of primary importance to the entire fi shing industry. For several years now, it has been among the fastest grow-ing industries of the national food sector.

Employment rises in the processing

sector

According to the data of the Chief Veterinary Inspectorate (GIWet) of January 2010, there are 255 pro-cessing plants in Poland allowed to export to the EU, 9 plants deal with fi sh farming and 6 with shrimp processing. Th e number of establishments authorised to sell only on local markets increased from 164 to 217 according to data from GIWet of January 2010. Th is group is dominated by farms and

of them employ over 49 perma-nent staff while only 3 employ more than 250. According to the Institute of Agricultural Econom-ics and Food Economy (IERiGEZ) employment in the fi sh process-ing industry rose from 9 thousand in 2003 to nearly 15 thousand at the end of the decade.

Production of highly value-added products

climbs

Th e production volume of the pro-cessing industry in the fi ve years 2004 – 2009 has ranged from about

Despite a thriving processing industry Poland is among the EU countries with the lowest consumption of fi sh per capita.

fi shing companies engaged in the sale of live and fresh fi sh. Th e larg-est number of such companies is in the provinces of Wielkopolskie and Opolskie. Th e geographical distribution of the companies is uneven; nearly 60 of the plants

are located in two coastal prov-inces, while in the south-east there are only a few plants.

Polish processing plants, as in other EU countries, are mainly small local businesses; only 70


POLAND

300 to 390 thousand tonnes per year. Th e value of production has seen signifi cant progress due to the introduction of more and more highly refi ned products which add proportionately more to the pro-duction value. In 2009 the main products by volume from the pro-cessing industry were: marinades (21), canned fi sh (16), smoked fi sh (23), and fresh and frozen fi sh fi llets (12). Th e production of traditional salted products for the Polish market has declined sig-nifi cantly, which could be because consumers are seeking to reduce salt consumption.

According to the IERiGEZ, the economic situation of the fi sh

processing industry been rela-tively stable and 2009 was be the best year for the industry since Polish accession to the Euro-pean Union. In the 5 years after accession a signifi cant invest-ment boom has been observed; in 2007-08 alone the value of invest-ments exceeded 250 million zl (EUR64m), four times more than in the years preceding accession. As a result of the pre-accession SAPARD program, in the pro-cessing and distribution indus-tries, nearly 120 million zl worth of EU and domestic funds were invested. Signifi cantly higher amounts (273 million zl) were pro-vided by the Sector Operational Programme "Fishing and fi sh-

processing 2004-2006." Accord-ing IERiGEZ, investment expend-iture, aimed mainly at improving competitiveness amounted to nearly PLN240m. Th e policy of obtaining credits, and subse-quently the aid funds, enabled a large number of Polish processing facilities to improve the competi-tiveness of Polish products on the Community market.

Domestic consumption lags the EU average

Today the Polish fi sh process-ing industry is one of the lead-ers in Europe and prospects for growth, especially on the common European market are

strong. Th e export of fi sh and fi sh products to EU countries over the last decade has grown stead-ily and now accounts for over 50 of the sector’s revenue. Th e value of production in 2009 was a record 4.8 billion zl. However, according to the FAO Poland is among the EU countries with the lowest consumption of fi sh per capita. While global con-sumption is approximately 16 kg/person, and in the EU around 22 kg/person, in Poland for the year 2008 it was about 13.5 kg/person; and in 2009 it was 13.18 kg/person. However, in recent years consumption in Poland has grown by about 1.5 kg per person. Consumption of fi sh and fi sh

For several years fi sh processing has been among the fastest growing industries in the Polish food sector.

There are 255 processing plants in Poland authorised to export to the EU.


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products depends on wealth and on the socio-economic group, to which the consumer belongs. In Poland the highest consumption, around 50 of the total, has been reported among retired people, and the lowest among agricul-tural workers. Similar results appear in studies carried out in Germany. For several years the consumption of fi sh in Poland has been dominated by marine fi sh with about 70 of consump-tion. In 2009 this was mainly pollock with 3.08 kg/person, followed by herring at 2.48 kilo-grams/person, then mackerel and sprat. According to IERiGE

.Z

a Pole eats about 1.94 kg of fresh-water fi sh, 1.1 kg of which is panga and tilapia. Th e consumption of traditional Polish fi sh, carp, has not changed for years and amounts to about 0.5 kg/person.

Opportunities and threats

Among the factors that will aff ect the further development of the Polish fi sh processing industry are:

– Th e interest in health and nutrition, coupled with the low domestic consumption should lead to an increase in demand for fi sh products.

– Demand from other EU coun-tries will create opportuni-ties for the Polish processing industry to export.

– Managers of Polish fi sh pro-cessing plants have proven that they are adept at using EU funds to keep their factories up-to-date and develop inno-vative products.

However, there are also a num-ber of threats that could have a negative impact on the Polish fi sh processing industry.

– Th e primary threat to the fi sh-ing industry is the persistent problem of the lack of raw material, which in the future will be even more expensive and even less available. Th e Polish processing industry is already 90 based on fi sh imports. Hence, greater use of domestic resources such as Baltic fi sh, freshwater fi sh and the further development of aquaculture, is neces-sary. It is also necessary to introduce a wide range of certifi cation measures of raw materials earmarked for pro-cessing.

– Increased automation is important. Another problem is the lack of qualifi ed person-nel with higher education. Th is is particularly important because of the introduction of more advanced quality management systems.

– Adapting the manufactur-ing process to the current requirements of environmen-tal protection. Compliance with these regulations will require costly investments.

– Th e constant increase in reg-ulation especially concerning the protection of consumer health and safety of manufac-tured products.

– Requirements related to the globalisation of trade and the removal of barriers and restrictions will cause, for example, the enforcement of rules and the implementation of so-called "anti-terrorist" measures to food products, which will add to the costs of production.

Prof. Piotr J. BykowskiVice-President Polish Association of Fish Processors

Polish Association of Fish Processors

Th e Polish Association of Fish Processing (PAFP) was estab-lished in 1998, as a trade organ-isation for registered Polish fi sh processing companies. It currently has 42 members. Th e Association represents the inter-ests of its members at the local, national, and EU levels, by shap-ing proposed legislation, initiat-ing favourable laws, and fi ghting rules inimical to its members’ interests. Th e association pro-motes the sector at home and abroad, and works to popularise fresh and processed fi sh and sea-food. It organises training to keep

its members abreast of the latest developments in the industry and disseminates information about EU politics, programs and support funds. Th e Association works closely together with aca-demic institutions including the Sea Fisheries Institute in Gdynia, the Agricultural Academy in Szc-zecin, and the Technical Univer-sity of Szczecin for the benefi t of its members. PAPF is itself a member of AIPCE, the EU Fish Processors Association and CEP-EU, the Federation of National Organisations of Importers and Exporters of Fish.

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The dietary awareness of the public is increasing as a result of educational

programmes, various claims on food labels, and other sources of

information. Food and nutrients are an increasingly discussed top-ic. Th e issue of nutrition claims in the context of omega-3 acids consumption was discussed in

an article What is actually proven and what is just speculation? pub-lished in Eurofi sh Magazine issue 6/2010.

Promote fi sh as a natural source of omega-3In Poland fi sh is considered “healthy”. A popular Polish saying goes “as healthy as fi sh”. Apart from high quality protein, some species of fi sh also contain important nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, a fact that needs to be promoted among Polish consumers. This article is based on the results of surveys conducted at the Faculty of Human Nutrition and Consumer Sciences of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences.

Results of a Polish survey on fi sh consumption Foods with supplements are increasingly

widespread

Nutrients occurring naturally in unprocessed foodstuff s and substances in processed prod-ucts were the basis for developing dietary recommendations. Clear guidelines created an opportu-nity to shape lasting dietary hab-its. However, the widespread use of food enrichment technologies results in the production of inno-vative, functional foods containing nutrients which do not occur in them naturally. Th is revolution-ary change in establishing nutri-tional value aff ects the approach to dietary recommendations. Th e sources of omega-3 acids currently include dietary supplements, spreadable fats (including marga-rines), eggs, dairy products (e.g. cheese), cold meats (also with high saturated fats), cereal products (e.g. pasta), crisps and many other products in which those acids do not occur naturally.

A 2008 survey conducted in Poland on a group of 1020 con-sumers showed that for almost half the respondents fi sh was the primary source of protein (Chart 1). For many respondents fi sh was simply a substitute for meat, while a slightly smaller group of consumers stated that fi sh was a source of fat. Th e comparison of results broken down by gen-der reveals that men more often consider fi sh to be a substitute for meat, while for women fi sh are mainly a source of fat.

Another question from the survey asked the respondents to state their own associations concern-ing the primary role of fi sh in the diet. Answers were received from 131 persons, of whom only 48 stated that fi sh are the sources of omega-3 acids. Th e respondents also answered that fi sh are the sources of essential fatty acids

Table 1. What consumers associate with omega-3 acidsProducts associated with omega-3 acids Number of answers

Men Women Total

Not heard about omega-3 acids. 67 67 134

Drugs 19 42 61

Supplements for athletes 9 1 10

Dietary supplements 86 250 336

Milk 3 1 4

Eggs 4 6 10

Spreadable fats (e.g. margarine, blends) 39 110 149

...(Own answer in the subsequent question)

81 198 279

Total 308 675 983

As a source of protein

As a source of fat Don't know OtherSubstitute meat

600

184

501

163

41

129

500

400

300

200

100

0

Num

ber o

f ans

wer

s

Chart 1. The primary role of fi sh in diet


(21 answers), that they are tasty (16), provide Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) (15), are a source of miner-als (respondents stated which minerals) (15), have a positive impact on the body (respondents provided various examples) (15), are a source of protein (10), con-tain minerals (without providing their names) (9) and add variety to the diet (8). The results reveal a low level of awareness about the nutritional value of fish among consumers in Poland. Women more often answered that fish are a source of omega-3 acids, while the taste proved to be the most important for men.

What are omega-3 acids?

The questionnaire first asked respondents about the primary role of fish in the diet. The results are presented in Table 1. The sub-sequent part of the questionnaire consisted of two questions solely concerning omega-3 acids. The first asked about the presence of omega-3 acids in the listed prod-ucts (Table 1), while the second could be answered freely.

The largest group, i.e. over one third of the respondents, declared that they associated omega-3 acids with dietary supplements. As many as 61 persons associate them with drugs which could also include supplements for some respond-ents. Many respondents associ-ate omega-3 acids with spread-able fats or do not know them at all (“I have not heard about omega-3 acids”). Since the sur-vey concerned fish and fish products, the answer "they are found in fish" was intentionally excluded from the set of availa-ble answers. The consumers had to freely answer the second ques-tion, to which 325 responded. They associated omega-3 acids mainly with a positive impact

on health (99 answers), fish (97), EFA (54), fatty fish or fish fat (31), healthy or good fat (31), fatty acids or fat (26), well-balanced diet (20), sea fish or consump-tion of certain fish (18), cod liver oil (17) and oils (10).

What are the sources of omega-3s?

The so-called nutrient profiles have not been established yet for products which may be enriched with omega-3 acids and labelled with nutrition or health claims. In the case of fish products naturally rich in omega-3 acids, such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), the EU regulations only allow to use the term „naturally/ natural“ as a prefix to the nutrition claim stating “source of omega-3 fatty acids” or “high omega-3 fatty acids”. Taking into account the research results presented above and the increasing range of prod-ucts enriched with supplements, the fish industry should focus on promoting fish by putting an emphasis on the natural nutri-ents they contain. This concerns not only omega-3 acids, but also high quality protein, vitamins and minerals. Omega-3 acids are currently associated with dietary supplements and spreadable fats in Poland. Nutrients occurring naturally in fish now add value to other products, which may cre-ate inappropriate dietary habits. At the same time, a new type of competitiveness has appeared on the food market where com-panies compete for the highest nutritional value of products. This represents an opportunity for fish and seafood producers, which they should exploit.

Monika KołodziejczykDepartment of FisheriesMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development

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POLAND

The aquaculture sector in Poland is highly polarized between the traditional farms and intensive fish production facilities. The former are earthen ponds man-aged by companies or small family enterprises dealing with different fish species on a small scale. They often have diverse income sources. The second kind includes intensive grow out farms producing mainly trout, and recirculated farms, also with heated water, that are designed for the production of other spe-cies. The two groups differ in terms of technology, costs struc-ture, market position, legislative and administrative burdens, and each has its own set of problems. The differences are even more evident when considering the potential for development.

Limited scope for development of

traditional aquaculture

The scale at which traditional aquaculture is conducted in Poland and neighbouring countries, mainly carp farm-ing in ponds, is unprecedented in other parts of Europe. Large areas of ponds and open water

used for fishery purposes pose several problems. It is difficult to protect them from predators, the risk of disease is very high, pressure from environmental-ists to restrict professional fish farming is increasing - although the attractiveness of many natu-ral areas stems from the fact that ponds are being used for fish production. Carp ponds play also a role in micro-retention of water, have an impact on the climate and biodiversity of flora and fauna. It is, however, increasingly difficult to main-tain the economic feasibility of fishery activities. It is hard to imagine any growth in this type of activity.

Intensive aquaculture uses adv-anced levels of technology, often due to the fact that the farmers are relatively young, and with a higher education in fisheries. There is also the high prestige associated with this type of activity in Poland. How-ever, despite the good develop-ment prospects and very strong growth of the industry in the last twenty years, there is now a stagnation of production levels in spite of new investments.

The development strategy for intensive aquaculture in Poland

Intensive aquaculture has solid growth potential in Poland. The barriers that now cause the stag-nation of output, are possible to overcome in the short term. New technologies including the rapidly growing field of envi-ronmental protection engineer-ing open new directions for the development of aquaculture. One of the barriers, the impact of aquaculture on the environ-ment, can practically be neutral-ized. Another issue is the need to present a reliable analysis of the environmental load of aqua-culture businesses, for example, by comparing this pressure with other branches of agriculture and farming. The legal envi-ronment that is often poorly matched to the specific char-acteristics of the sector, both in Poland and at the EU level, should also be reviewed.

Falling production from capture fisheries

Another issue to be considered is the perspective for aquacul-

ture development in the context of the market for fishery prod-ucts. Shrinking marine capture resources and little hope for their fast recovery are evident. A falling supply of marine capture fish leaves the market depend-ent on fish farming to meet its needs. But is farmed fish nec-essarily to come from Europe? Until rece ntly, aquaculture pro-duction in Europe was consid-ered to be economically ineffi-cient especially in comparison with the global giants China and Norway. It was a common argument against the financial support for the sector which was supposed to influence mar-ket mechanisms. But the much higher production costs within the EU related to the environ-mental and sanitary require-ments cannot be ignored. These affect in particular the rate of return on investments in aquaculture.

Th e second very important fac-tor in the market for fi sh is the changing income structure in the countries of the Far East. With the culture of fi sh consumption in that region of the world, and increasing standards of living,


New technology fosters opportunities for growthThe Polish farming sector is half way through the implementation of the fi nancial support mechanism for the aquaculture and fi sheries sector, defi ned in the Operational Programme under the European Fisheries Fund (EFF). The shape and size of the support provided to Poland was unprecedented, but now it is time to analyse how the EFF has infl uenced professional aquaculture and what its prospects are for development in the future.

Development of intensive aquaculture in Poland

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these societies can completely change the balance of power in the market. Is it certain that in a few years Europe can still aff ord to import fi sh? Of course it is pos-sible to survive without fi shery products, but this would aff ect the nutritional security and health of European societies, as well as employment in the fi sh process-ing sector, which already has problems with the purchase of raw materials.

Impact of the EFF on aquaculture

development in Poland

The financial support for aqua-culture in Poland implemented in 2007-2013 was designed to influence the intensive develop-ment of the sector. The Opera-tional Programme assumed

a 50 increase in production and a 35 growth in revenue for aquaculture (target 2013). There is a high risk that these targets are not going to be fully achieved. There are several reasons for this. Difficult years for the sector, the financial cri-sis and the resulting insecurity which do not foster the courage to take investment initiatives. Delay in the implementation of the EFF for political reasons and the chosen system for pro-ject selection (not dividing the financial resources into tranches and the lack of competitive pro-cedures) resulted in the release of the support at an unfortu-nate moment - the culmination of the financial crisis. Investors therefore opted for measures that lowered production costs and modernized the business,

leading to growth, but on a small scale.

The strategic plan to guide all stakeholders

in the industry

Th e Polish Trout Breeders’ Asso-ciation (PTBA) is attempting to initiate a strategic plan for the development of intensive aqua-culture in Poland. Th is is to be a road map for the industry and it would be benefi cial for all if it is used by representatives of the administration in the country and the EU. Th ere are positive signs of a preliminary agreement with representatives of the pro-cessing sector who support the development of aquaculture as a potential source of fi sh for pro-cessing. Th is is a very important signal for aquaculture producers

as it would secure the sale of their increased production vol-ume. Th e processing sector will be able to secure a stable supply of fi sh from the internal market instead of being dependent on imports. It will also let proces-sors maintain employment and potential, developed greatly thanks to the EFF. Potentially, the development of the aquaculture sector in Poland could rival that seen in the processing sector, the greatest success story of the fi sh-eries sector in Poland.

Ziemowit PirtanPolish Trout Breeders AssociationStr. Wolnosci 30/105, 84-300 Lebork, PolandTel.: +48 59 862 27 [email protected] www.sprl.pl

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The Mr. Carp stand at the Polfi sh fair in 2009.

POLAND

Mr Carp fi ghts imported fi shThe Inland Fisheries Institute in Olsztyn and the Fish Promotion Society in conducted a promotion campaign for carp, the most traditional Polish aquaculture product. Carp breeders were facing growing competition from fi sh and seafood in particular from outside the EU and the campaign sought to reassert carp’s position on the market. The campaign was supported with funds from the EU.

Promotional campaign draws nationwide attention

Five promotional campaigns were conducted in the years 2005-2009 at a cost

of PLN7m (EUR1.8m) that was co-fi nanced by the EU. Th e eff orts of the Institute and the breeders, producing about 20 thousand tones of carp annually, were focused on four major elements: Th e development of a common "Mister Carp" logo for all the pro-ducers; issuing certifi cates; devel-opment of the pankarp.pl web-site; and production of labelled clothing to facilitate the iden-tifi cation of producers and the product. It was important that as many fi sh farms as possible from all over the country participated in the campaign, displaying the certifi cates, banners, and other

material with the "Mister Carp" logo. Other merchandise includ-ing fl yers, posters, calendars, and pens were also introduced.

Website a major support for promotion

Sales people wore orange branded clothing with the logo including hats, t-shirts and aprons, and, after a few years, consumers in many parts of the country associated this uniform with carp sales. Th e pankarp.pl website signifi cantly supported the promotion. It contains infor-mation for journalists related to the history of carp breeding, modern production methods, many interesting facts regarding

ecology, and recipes. Information regarding the promotional cam-paign was constantly updated on the website. To make it more interesting, it also included photo competitions and reports from farmers’ events.

Merchandise was also related to the season. In December, for example, Christmas decorations, cards and calendars were pro-duced with the logo. Stained glass pictures were awarded to people who had contributed most to the campaigns. Information regard-ing the campaign was also repeat-edly published in specialized magazines ("Przeglad Rybacki," "Magazyn Przemysłu Rybnego") and cooking magazines. National contests were organized, in which gifts were handed out and spon-

sored articles contributed to the popularisation of carp and carp farming.

Exhibitions, trade fairs, and other fi eld events

Th e Fish Promotion Society farm-ers supported by the Institute and the local authorities, organized several events promoting carp consumption, including special cooking contests called "Polish Cuisine Festivals." Th ese were held in 10 diff erent location in the country. Th e fi eld events often attracted up to ten thousand locals and tourists. Usually pres-entations of fi shing techniques and carp tasting were accompa-nied by folk culture shows and other attractions, giving a touch of local colour to the event. Th ese

Prof. B. Zdanowski, Director of the Inland Fisheries Institute in Olsztyn.


POLAND


meetings of consumers with fi sh farms strengthened the position of the producers on the local and regional markets. Representa-tives of the Society participated in national fairs (including Polfi sh and Polagra), as well as in inter-national industry events (Brus-sels and Bremen). At Polfi sh in 2009 a smoked carp fi llet won the “Mercurius Gedanensis” medal.

Promotional actions among children

Several national competi-tions were organized for pri-mary school children. Th e main themes were the carp, its natural habitat, the history of carp breed-ing in Poland, and the magic of carp’s Christmas Eve scales. At the same time, three richly illus-trated children’s books with the same themes were published. So far, children from a few hun-dred kindergartens, schools, day centres and community centres across the country have par-ticipated in the competitions. A fourth book, with the title "Mister Carp versus Black Bird" is under

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schools abroad, so the books also reached the Czech Republic, England, USA and Lithuania.

Commercials aired at primetime

As part of the promotion TV com-mercials were produced. Th e fi rst one highlights the tradition of serving ecologically farmed carp on Christmas Eve. Th e spot showed how deeply the tradi-tion of eating carp at Christmas Eve runs in the Polish culture. It was presented in a warm, fam-ily light which aimed to encour-age the viewers to cultivate this tradition. Th e advertisement was aired on all public and commer-cial TV channels for a period of 3-4 weeks around Christmas. Th e

spot targeted everyone, but the air times were selected for women aged 25-60 running their own household. Th e other commer-cial showing the cultural bond between generations as illus-trated by the age-old tradition of breeding carp in ponds, was also aired on diff erent channels.

Th e joint promotional activities of the Institute and the Fish Promo-tion Society enjoys the support of fi shing circles, as well as the trade and the media. Th anks to the carp promotion campaign, the Fish Promotion Society was a fi nalist in a national innovation competi-tion organized by the Ministries of Science and Higher Educa-tion; Economy; and Regional Development.

way. Each year the children make more than ten thousand works of art. Mister Carp books include special inserts with miniature reproductions of the winning art-work from the diff erent contests.

Mister Carp publications were also presented at the largest Pol-ish book fair in Krakow. Each year the publications reached hundreds of children partici-pating in the contests, and they were also promoted at meetings with children, during which, apart from reading fairytales, there was always time for a talk about the biology of fi sh and water organisms, the tradition of carp breeding and its meth-ods. Th e campaign organisers were also contacted by Polish

The Mr Carp logo

Map of Poland showing the location of farms supporting the promotional campaign Mr. Carp.

The Polish Cuisine Festival in Augustów.

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Mare Foods imports frozen seafood from around the world for distribution in

Poland. Th e company also has clients in neighbouring countries including Denmark, Germany, and Lithuania, but its primary customers are Polish wholesalers and processors such as smoke-houses. Marcin Kiezik, the owner and managing director of the com-pany, comes from a family that has several decades of experience in the fi sheries sector.

Well connected location in Szczecin

From three employees at the start the company has grown steadily over the years and today employs 10 people. Its location in Police alt-hough close to Szczecin, the capi-tal of the Polish seafood business, was starting to become inconve-nient, as the company was hiring space in coldstores in Szczecin. Finally the decision was taken to build its own coldstore and, with the help of fi nancing from the European Fisheries Fund, the company invested in 20,000 sq. m of space in the Goleniow Indus-trial Park, where many Polish and foreign companies have estab-lished their premises. Th e park is situated couple of kilometers from Szczecin on the highway linking the two main Polish ports Szczecin and Swinoujscie at the German border. It is 15 km from the centre of Szczecin, 100 km from Berlin,

and less then 10 km from Szczecin international airport and is thus well connected with road, air, rail, and shipping links.

Th e new coldstore has a capac-ity of 1,800 tonnes. It is owned by a company Frigomar in which Mare Foods has a 50 stake, while the remainder is owned by other inves-tors. Under this arrangement Mare Foods will be Frigomar’s most important customer. Volumes in the trading company currently amount to some 2,000 tonnes a year. As this is not enough to keep the coldstore operating at maximum capacity Mr Kiezik will also be looking to market the space in the coldstore to other potential users. For the fi rst fi ve years the coldstore may however only store fi sh and seafood products says Mr Kiezik, as this was among the terms of the funding from the

EFF. If this side of the business grows as expected Frigomar will expand the coldstore, which should not pose any problems as far as the space is concerned.

Seafood from around the world

Mare Foods started with eel, but higher prices and lower availabil-ity have pushed the company into expanding into a wider range of products that are sourced from diff erent parts of the world. Pol-ish processors are well known for their products prepared from Norwegian farmed salmon, but salmon is only a small part of what we import, says Mr Kiezik. One of the reasons for this is that many salmon processors are so big as to be able to negotiate directly with the suppliers in Norway, so Mare

Niche importer of exotic seafood productsMare Foods, an importer of frozen fi sh and seafood, has existed for a decade this year. The company is celebrating its tenth anniversary by moving to a logistically more favourable site, where an 1,800 tonne coldstore is approaching completion.

Mare Foods’ new coldstore is set to open in weeks

Foods has a niche supplying the smaller smokehouses with salmon. In addition our range of products includes traditional fi sh species from the North Atlantic including Greenland halibut, redfi sh, saithe, haddock, cod, mackerel and her-ring, but also species from the Pacifi c such as oilfi sh, tuna, marlin and farmed tilapia, he specifi es. From South America we also buy kingclip, grenadier, hake, hoki, bro-tola, while from the North Ameri-can Great Lakes we buy freshwa-ter fi sh and from New Zealand we source jack mackerel, continues Mr Kiezik, so we can truly say we source from all over the world.Volumes however are not huge. Greenland halibut and silver warehou (savorin), which is a popular fi sh for smoking in Cen-tral and Eastern Europe, are two of the company’s biggest products and their volumes amount to a couple of hundred tonnes each on an annual basis. Mr Kiezik is confi dent that fi sh consump-tion in Poland will grow steadily as it is still some distance below the EU average, but he notes too that the market is conservative, reluctant to try new products and very focused on price. With this in mind he is looking to increase the volumes of some of the traditional fi sh species on the Polish market such as mackerel and herring.

Mare Foods Ltd Company Fact FileTanowska 2d PL 72-010 Police Poland

Tel.: +48 913 121 300 Fax: +48 91 3176 855 [email protected]

Managing director: Mr. Marcin Kiezik

Activities: Trading in frozen seafoodMarkets: Poland, Germany,

Denmark, Lithuania

Products: North Atlantic fi sh including Greenland halibut, redfi sh, saithe, haddock, cod, mackerel and herring; Pacifi c fi sh such as oilfi sh, tuna, marlin, and farmed tilapia; silver warehou (savorin), freshwater fi sh from North American Great Lakes

Facilities: Modern coldstore of 1,800 tonnes capacity (opened 2011); refrigerated trucks

Mare Foods imports frozen seafood from around the world for distribution in Poland to processors and wholesalers.

CROATIA


Adding value to fresh fi sh is the only way forward

EUROFISH: Croatia has been a candidate country for EU Membership since June 2004. Th e Hungarian presidency has announced its goal to fi nish all negotiations in the fi rst half of 2011, if all criteria and benchmarks are fulfi lled. Is the conclusion of accession negotiations on track with regard to fi sheries issues?

TONCI BOŽANIC: Although the overall negotiations were open in June 2004, Chapter 13 – Fisheries was only open in February 2010. As it is always the case in highly sensitive sectors, the overall

process had to be well coordi-nated, and had to involve a wide group of stakeholders with whom the issues on the table were dis-cussed and the positions pre-pared. At this point in time, the chapter has not yet been provi-sionally closed, but we are expect-ing the process to be fi nalized by June this year at the latest. Our accession negotiation process had certain specifi c elements compared to previous enlarge-ments. For instance, the bench-marks for opening and closing the chapters were introduced for the fi rst time in the case of Croatia. In

addition to the already challeng-ing task of harmonizing Croatia’s legal framework with the acquis and making all the technical preparations necessary, the ben-charks presented an additional challenge. A lot of our eff orts have gone in that direction, and the Government has really under-taken a huge job in meeting all the requirements.

EUROFISH: Th e reform of the CFP might lead to a very diff erent policy from the current one. Does Croatia have any priorities with regard to the direction this reform

Tonci Božanic, State Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Croatia

Interview with Tonci Božanic, State Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Rural Development

Tonci Božanic, State Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development spoke recently with Eurofi sh at length about several issues concerning the Croatian fi sheries sector.

Croatia to close fi sheries chapter in accession negotiations

will take and does it have any way to infl uence the process?

TONCI BOŽANIC: It is rather dif-fi cult to make comments on the future of the CFP from the point of view of Croatia, given that we are still not a member of the EU. Th is puts us in the rather demanding position of running after a steam-ing train. Although we are well advanced in the harmonization of our legal system with the acquis, the acquis keeps changing and growing. For a small country like Croatia, this means a lot of adap-tations “on the run”. We are eagerly

Croatia has fulfi lled all the measures needed to close the European Union negotiations chapter 13 on fi sheries, but some of the concessions may be unac-ceptable to the country's fi sher-men, writes the Croatian Times quoting the daily Jutarnji List. Th e European Union anticipates that EU member states will be excepted from the protected fi shery zone (ZERP) until a joint solution “in the spirit of the EU” is found. Th e 56,000 sq km ZERP was established in 2008 and was hotly protested by the two most aff ected states, Slovenia and Italy. Croatian fi shermen may also not be happy with Croatia's respon-sibility to open its territory to

other member states for fi shing. According to professor Alen Soldo from Split University, there is signifi cant interest in extending the ban and he believes Zagreb should insist on it. Daniel Kolec, the President of the Umag asso-ciation of fi shermen Mare Cro-aticum, says his colleagues will be unhappy if they cannot keep fi sh-ers from other EU member states out of the zone. He is also afraid that Slovenia may be allowed to fi sh all along the western coast of Istria. Although this would mean Croatian fi shermen could also fi sh in Slovenian waters, Kolec believes this is not a fair deal as there are not as many fi sh there. “If this information proves true,

we are likely to have another pro-test. We have had enough with blackmail,” says Kolec. In other news Jadranka Kosor, the Croa-tian Prime Minister held talks with Donald Tusk, her Polish counter-part, who declared afterwards that European nations were unani-mous in their belief that Croatia belonged to the EU. Poland takes over the EU presidency from Hun-gary in July and if everything goes

well with Croatian negotiations the accession agreement could be signed in the second half of the year. Ms Kosor said that Croatia would soon submit the fi nal report on chapter 23 on judiciary soon adding that she was convinced that Croatia would fi nish the negotiations in June. Th e month has a special signifi cance as it also celebrates the 20th anniversary of the country’s independence.

Croatian fi shers may not be happy to open Croatian waters to fi shermen from other member states.


CROATIA

awaiting the presentation of the new CFP rules, as we will need to make further and prompt adjust-ments to take on board changes that the future package might contain. Th e forthcoming reform is a rather all-encompasing, con-taining all the elements – from market organization, to structural measures, to basic rules. Such a wide reform will necessarily mean changes, some of which might not be easy to implement. Unfortu-nately, as a candidate country, Cro-atia is not in a position to infl uence the developments of the future CFP, which puts us in a rather tight spot, given the envisaged time for the closure of negotiations and the accession. But, I also believe that the priorities of Croatian fi sheries policy are in line with the overall CFP directions. Some shortcom-ings of the past policy frameworks are diffi cult to erase and amend, particularly today when the global economic situation burdens eve-rybody. But, for countries like Croatia it would be important that some of the mechanisms avail-able under the present framework remain in force in the next com-ing period, in order to secure the livelihoods of fi shermen and their communities.

EUROFISH: Th e 2010 progress report on Croatia’s alignment with the acquis mentions a national fi sheries strategy that is being fi nalised. What are the key ele-ments of this strategy?

TONCI BOŽANIC: I would not call it a national fi sheries strategy, it is rather the national strategic plan as required under the pre-sent EFF framework. Croatia has already adopted a national strat-egy in 2002, and that one is still in force. Th e national strategic plan required under the present EFF framework considered the most important activities we see as cor-nerstones necessary for securing

the viability of the sector. Th ese include measures targeting fl eet, processing and marketing, aqua-culture and measures of common interest. Th e measures directed towards fl eet primarily relate to fl eet reduction, compensations for the loss of fi shing possibilities and compensations for closure of fi sh-eries. Within this priority axis, our plan was to co-fi nance the increase of safety at sea and improvement of working conditions. Since the supplies from the capture fi sher-ies are decreasing worldwide, it is our fi rm belief that aquaculture might be the future source of high-quality protein from the sea. How-ever, the times when it was enough to just off er fresh fi sh are long gone, and the off er needs to move towards higher value products. Th is means linking processing and marketing to aquaculture produc-tion, and to local production in order to secure the best possible livelihood for local suppliers. As no high-level production is pos-sible without securing, fi rst and foremost, the landing sites and ports, measures directed towards this segment have been detected as an important segment as well. Croatia has a somewhat specifi c situation. Although it has a long tradition in fi sheries, we still lack proper coastal infrastructure for the fi sheries. Coupled with the fact that the fi shermen are still not well organized, most of our measures were directed towards securing better livelihoods of the fi shermen, while at the same time securing the sustainability of the sector. Th e strategic plan is one of the requirements for the EFF co-fi nancing, but since we still may not benefi t from that instrument, the measures are currently being funded at the national level to the extent possible. Given the status of Croatia, where we are obliged to implement the same mechanisms as applicable in the EU-member states and yet not have the same

possibilities as the EU-member states, it sometimes can be rather diffi cult to explain to the sector and the operators how their col-leagues can obtain certain kinds of support and they may not.

EUROFISH: How does the govern-ment encourage the sustainability of stocks and catches. Have any Croatian fi sheries been Marine Stewardship Council-certifi ed or entered other types of certifi ca-tion schemes? Is this considered important by the industry?

TONCI BOŽANIC: Th e main measures securing the sustainabil-ity of stocks and catches in Croatia are based on a complex set of tech-nical rules, from limits to capacity to temporal and spatial closures. For example, a large percentage of internal waters in Croatia are per-manently or temporarily closed for bottom trawlers, and there is a temporal closure for purse seine fi shery. In addition to technical management measures, Croatia annually monitors of the status of resources both in demersal and in pelagic fi sheries. We introduced logbooks in 2001, and in 2009 we introduced further reporting obli-gations, such as landing declara-tions and sales notes. Coupled with monitoring, surveillance and control measures, this framework allows for close monitoring of the sustainability of the fi sheris. Being a multi-species and multi-gear fi shery, as all of the Mediterra-nean fi sheries are, the manage-ment measures diff er from those in fi sheries targeting a single spe-cies or a similar group of species. Just like other Mediterranean fi sheries, none of the Croatian fi sheries have ben certifi ed by the MSC. Certifi cation schemes are an important mechanism for secur-ing the viability, but they require adequate fundings and awareness, both from the operators and the market. One has to put into the

equation the value of the fi shery, the quantity caught, and the social and economical implications of the certifi cation. In addition to being a management mechanism, whereby the scheme guarantees that a certain fi shery is operated in a sustainable manner, it is also a market mechanism whereby it relies on the assumption that the consumers shall, given the option, prefer products from a well-man-aged and sustainable fi shery. Cro-atian catches reach some 50,000 to 55,000 tons annually, and most of the quantities – over 80 – come from the small pelagic fi shery. Recent scientifi c data indicate that the status of the stocks supports the fi shery and is sustainable. I believe that certifi cation schemes will become more and more wide-spread in the future, but in order for them to gain a strong foothold awarenes-raising activities need to be put in place.

EUROFISH: How has the Croa-tian fi sheries sector been aff ected by the fi nancial and economic crises and what steps has the gov-ernment taken to mitigate their impact on the industry?

TONCI BOŽANIC: Th e present global economic crisis has aff ected all activities, including fi sheries. Th e most prominent consequence was of course the price of fuel, which is diffi cult or impossible to mitigate. In bottom trawling, for example, fuel costs may account for as much as 80 of the overall costs. Strangely enough, the prices of fresh fi sh on the market have not increased at the rate the costs have been increasing, which is probably due to the fact that the purchas-ing power of the buyers has either stagnated or decreased as well. Although the price at which you sell your fi sh may not be enough to cover your costs, you need to sell it or lose any gain you might have. In order to somehow try and aid the


CROATIA

sector, the Government has put in place a set of measures directed primarily at the fi shermen, trying to alleviate the burden. One of the important measures we set up was directed towards co-operatives. In Croatia there are no producer organizations as they are recog-nized under the CFP, but we are fully aware of their importance and potential. Traditionally, the sector has been organized in fi shermen cooperatives, and we are currently trying to enable them to become the POs once Croatia becomes the member state. Th e role of the co-operatives, or future POs, as we see it is to secure the pooling of the off er and thus achieve a bet-ter position on the market. Fur-thermore, the cooperatives have received co-fi nancing for storage capacities and logistic support. All these measures were targeted towards reducing the costs of the fi shermen. Whether or not this was enough, it is diffi cult to say.

EUROFISH: Croatian seabass and seabream farming is modest com-pared to Turkey and Greece. Where does Croatia see its strengths com-pared with these countries? Is the manufacture of value-added prod-ucts from seabass and seabream gaining ground?

TONCI BOŽANIC: Croatia has been one of the pioneers in the marine aquaculture sector, but has regrettably now come to the position of lagging behind, for a number of diff erent reasons. Nev-ertheless, Croatia still has a lot of development potential in bass and bream farming, both in terms of spatial availability of suitable sites as well as in terms of prod-uct diversifi cation. Off ering just fresh fi sh may not get you the best place on the market any more, but off ering high-value products or certifi ed products or well-labelled products might. Our main com-parative advantage to the pro-duction in other Mediterranean

countries is our relative close-ness to the European market, and our development of products from farmed fi sh. Some compa-nies have already started explor-ing these possibilities, and more diff erent products have started appearing on the market. Start-ing from the very basic off ering of ready-to-bake fi sh, in packages with small recipes and an already completely cleaned product, is a step in the right direction. Further development involves preparation of smoked or marinated products. Th e next step is to further increase and diversify this production, and of course to market it well.

EUROFISH: What is the status of the tuna fattening industry in Cro-atia as the quota for tuna has been showing a falling trend?

TONCI BOŽANIC: Tuna farms in Croatia are operated as farm-ing sites, not fattening sites. Farming in our case means that smaller fi sh are caged, and then farmed for a period of minimum 18 months, to sometimes almost 3 years. Th is is a diff erent practice from the one in other Mediter-ranean regions, where fi sh are caught large and then simply fat-tened for up to 6 months. In addition to the farming prac-tices, Croatia is specifi c in terms of catching practices as well. As opposed to the situation in other Mediterranean states, Croatia catches smaller tuna which do not school as the one in the open waters of the Mediterranean. Th is practice, particularly given the catching season which lasts only for a month and given the very much reduced quota, makes the whole sector rather sensitive. For Croatia it is of paramount importance that the ICCAT rec-ommendations are fully imple-mented, and we have put a lot of eff orts into this process. Th e management measures seem to be yielding results, but with the

increased number of sightings of tuna some new problems are appearing which will need care-ful attention and consideration. Recently, Croatian purse sein-ers targeting small pelagic fi sh have been reported diffi culties in catches of sardines and ancho-vies, which are attributed to large pelagic species, and in particu-lar the tuna. When catching the small pelagic species, the fi sh needs to be encircled in the purse seine when they are aggregated. But shoals of small pelagic spe-cies attract the tuna, which is a predator. When tuna appears, the groups of small pelagic species disaggregate, and fi shermen are also reporting increased num-ber of incidents with damages on the nets. Given the quota and the requirements of the fi shery, it is actually forbidden to catch the tuna while fi shing for small pelagics, and the fi shermen are left without the targeted catch of sardines and anchovies as well. As for the farms, the reduction of the catch quotas has resulted in a smaller quantity entering the cages, which lead to a slow decline of the industry. From 6 operational farms in 2008, we are down to only 3 in 2011. Tuna farming represents one of the most important elements of fi sheries in Croatia, since it par-ticipates signifi cantly in the value of exports and it is linked with catches of small pelagic species which are used for fi sh feed. Th is is by all means a highly sensi-tive issue, whereby the necessity to secure the conservation of the species and the necessity to secure the viability of the whole industry have to be balanced.

EUROFISH: Croatia is at the fore-front in the use of coastal zone managment? What has this meant for the coastal fi shing, fi sh farming industry, and tourism and does the concept now cover the entire country?

TONCI BOŽANIC: Th e most important steps forward in this regard have been taken in terms of planning and zoning of marine aquaculture. Zadar county, for example, has adopted the Inte-grated Coastal Zone Manage-ment (ICZM) plan targeting this particular activity, whereby all relevant environmental, spatial planning and marine aquaculture requirements have been taken into account. Unfortunately, not all the counties have followed suite. At the overall level, Croatia has adopted and started devel-oping rules for the implementa-tion of the ICZM. Th e process is still developing in terms of fi sh-ing industry as a whole, but with the Integrated Maritime Policy Framework at the level of the EU I believe this issue will gain impor-tance. Croatia faces similar prob-lems as other coastal countries as regards the integrated planning. It is often that planning activities are undertaken on a sector basis, with diff erent sectors not com-municating and not taking into account the needs of one another. In Croatia, the main competition in usage of coastal and maritime areas is between the tourism and fi shery as a whole, including cap-ture fi sheries and marine aquacul-ture. Tourism is, as in many Medi-terranean states, a more lucrative and a more important activity. But, it is fi sheries that provides the job opportunities on islands and on the coast year-around, which is an element that should not be neglected. Our goal is to make sure that the fi sheries receive adequate attention in the planning process, guaranteeing that they are not overlooked as an ”old” activity that does not yield high revenues. With this in mind, further planning and development need to take into account the necessity to plan and develop fi shing ports, landing sites, aquaculture sites and areas reserved for certain traditional fi shing activities.


CROATIA

Conex Trade specialises in the production of small pelagics that are caught

by its vessels exclusively in the Adriatic. Fish from the Adriatic is special and we are proud of the fact that all our fi sh comes from these waters, says Boris Radic, the production manager. Th e targeted species are sardines and anchovies which are used as the raw material in a variety of products.

Large anchovies for delicatessen product

Th e sardines are individually frozen in 10 and 20 kg boxes,

head on or head off , while the anchovies are salted in barrels. Th ese barrels are typically 100 litres each containing 120 kg of fi sh, but the barrel size can be adjusted to the customer’s requirement or the customer can even supply his own barrels. Th e company also has a line of fi ve kilo cans which are used to pack-age large-sized salted ancho-vies. Th is product is considered a delicatessen item, but is more diffi cult to make and takes a longer time to mature. Th ere is also a line of marinated fi llets of anchovy, where the fi llets are placed in vinegar together with salt and water and left to mature.

At the end of this year or the begin-ning of 2012 Conex Trade will open a canning facility with a capacity of 20m cans a year of sardines. Th e sardines will be combined with diff erent sauces, vegetables, or oils, or will be prepared in accord-ance with a recipe supplied by the customer. Th e current process-ing capacity of the factory is some 1,500 tonnes of sardines and 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes of anchovies. All this fi sh is caught by the compa-ny’s own vessels. Th ere are two 42 m vessels that were recently pur-chased and are equipped with all the necessary equipment to fi nd, catch, and store the fi sh. In addi-tion to the two new vessels chris-

tened the Neptun I and II, Conex Trade works with three other boats each about 30 m in size. Th e captains of these vessels have agreements with the company and supply it with their catch.

Fish processed on arrival

All the fi sh that comes into the factory is processed immedi-ately. Th e fi sh is landed at the harbour and two hours later it is being processed, giving a very high quality product, due to the freshness of the raw material. If there is too much fi sh to han-dle, the excess is frozen, but

Croatian catches of pelagic fi sh have been rising signifi cantly over the fi ve years to 2009. Catches of pilchards almost doubled from 16,500 tonnes to 29,000 tonnes. That year pelagic fi sh amounted to 80% of all catches. The fi sh is typically processed into salted, frozen and marinated products, which are exported to western markets.

Customised production of Adriatic sardines and anchovies

Conex Trade specialises in marinated and frozen small pelagics

Conex Trade specialises in the production of small pelagics that are caught by its vessels exclusively in the Adriatic.


CROATIA


because it is so fresh when it is frozen there is little diff erence between the fresh and the frozen raw material, says Boris Radic. Most of the processing is done manually. To make the salted anchovies for example the fi sh is headed and then placed in lay-ers which alternate with layers of salt. Apart from the fi sh and the salt nothing else is added to the product. Th e barrels are placed in a room where the fi sh can mature, a process that is very

dependent on the temperature. In summer when it can be 17-19 degrees C, the maturation process will take 2-3 months, while in winter it can take con-siderably longer. With a full shift of 60 people the company can process over 20 tonnes of raw material in a day. Th e company’s production is destined primarily for the Spanish market, although some also goes to Italy. Th e cans too when production starts are intended for export.

Conex Trade d.o.o. Company Fact FileDon Frane Bulica bb HR 21210 Solin Croatia

Tel.: +385 21 217890 Fax: +385 21 217887 [email protected] www.conex-trade.com

Owner: Mladen MilakovicActivities: Production of salted,

marinated, frozen pelagic fi sh

Species: Anchovies, sardines from the Adriatic Sea

Products: Salted or frozen anchovy, sardines; marinated anchovy; canned anchovies and sardines in different sauces (from 2012)

Volumes: 1,500 tonnes of sardine, 3,000-4,000 tonnes of anchovy

Markets: Spain, Italy

The fi sh is landed at the harbour and two hours later it is processed giving a very high quality product.

The company’s production of salted anchovies is destined primarily for the Spanish market, although some also goes to Italy.

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


CROATIA

Viribus d.o.o. is one of the companies in Croatia farming trout, primarily

rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), but also small volumes of sea trout (Salmo trutta). Th e owner Emin Teskeredžic is a veterinarian with many years of experience in the production of farmed fi sh. Today the production amounts to about 120 tonnes per year of rain-bow trout and some ten tonnes of sea trout. Th e farm has two sites, one is the hatchery located near Zagreb in the northern part of Croatia, while the other is the on-growing facility in Knin in central Croatia, where the company has access to the water from a spring. Rainbow trout eggs are imported from Troutlodge in America and are certifi ed disease free.

Veterinarian background helps keep

disease at bay

As a veterinarian Emin Teskeredžic is very familiar with diseases and the damage they can cause if the stock is infected. Consignments of eggs from Troutlodge are imported twice a month and brought to the hatchery to incubate. Over a period of three months as the eggs hatch and the fry grow to a size of 1 or 1.5 g they are monitored care-fully to ensure that there is no sign of infection. Although Troutlodge guarantees disease-free eggs we

take every precaution to ensure that the eggs are healthy, says Emin Teskeredžic. Both the hatch-ery and the farm have stringent requirements regarding hygiene and sanitation to reduce the risk of infection, and so far there have been no incidents.

With 42 tanks having dimensions 7 x 1 x 1 m the hatchery is capa-ble of stocking 10m fry, although the current requirement is only for 500,000 rainbow trout fry. Th e hatchery is also used for the

production of sea trout fry, the eggs for which are not imported, but obtained locally. After three months the fry are transported from the hatchery to the grow-out tanks in Knin where there are 20 basins of dimensions 10 x 2 x 1 m and 15 of 6.5 x 33 m. Th e facil-ity draws water from a spring on the river Krka that yields 100 cubic meters a second and has a year-round temperature of 9.5 degrees C plus or minus 0.5 degrees C. Th is is the perfect temperature for the fi sh says Mr Teskeredžic and

the water is very clean. A system of cascades ensure that the water is well oxygenated when it comes into the tanks and no additional aerators are required. Th e fi sh are grown slowly until they reach a size of 250-400 g when they are harvested.

Round the year production

Production at Viribus is planned to try and avoid peaks and troughs, periods when there are

Freshwater fi sh production in Croatia consists primarily of carps and trout, with small amounts of other fi sh such as amur (Ctenopharyngodon idella) and catfi sh (Siluris glanis ). Production includes both the wild catch in freshwater bodies by commercial fi shers, as well as farmed fi sh.

Lean portion-sized trout for the EU market

Viribus d.o.o. looks forward to EU accession

Viribus d.o.o. is one of the companies in Croatia farming trout, primarily rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), but also small volumes of sea trout (Salmo trutta).

CROATIA


large quantities of fi sh that are ready for the market and peri-ods when there is no fi sh. I order eggs from Troutlodge three or four times a year and manage the production so I can harvest a con-tinuous fl ow of 10-12 tonnes of fi sh a month, says Emin Teskeredžic. While most of the fi sh is portion-sized the farm also produces some larger fi sh of 600 – 1,000 g. Apart from their larger size these fi sh also have red fl esh, due to the canthaxanthin that is added to the feed. Th e fi sh is sold on the domestic market (about 30) and is exported to a trout producer in Slovenia, who cannot meet the demand with his own production. Th e farm has its own outlet where some of the fi sh is sold while the rest is distributed to the cities in the region. Th is fi sh is generally too expensive for the local market explains Mr Teskeredžic, which is supplied by fi sh from Bosnia at more competitive prices. Labour costs in Bosnia and other costs

of production are also lower. Croatians are generally comfort-able with whole fi sh and so only 10 of the production sold on the domestic market is gutted. Viribus also supplies local angling ponds and put-and-take lakes with live fi sh for sports fi shers.

Emin Teskeredžic has had enquir-ies from Austria about supplying fi sh there, but it calls for an invest-ment in a big truck with 12 fi sh transport tanks with a capacity of 5 tonnes of fi sh. He is reluctant to hire such a vehicle because if it has been transporting fi sh around Europe there is some risk that the tanks have not been cleaned thoroughly and could transmit diseases. His own truck has a capacity of 800 kg and is used to supply the Slovenian buyer twice a week. Th ese days the truck has a wait of up to 3 hours at the bor-der where it has to go through customs formalities before it can enter the EU. When Croatia joins

Viribus d.o.o. Company Fact FileViribus d.o.o.Radiceva 70 HR 10000 Zagreb Croatia

Tel.: +385 1 4680943 [email protected]

Owner: Mr Emin TeskeredžicActivity: Trout farming

Products: 120 tonnes trout, 10 tonnes sea trout

Product forms: Whole, guttedMarkets: Slovenia, CroatiaFacilities: Hatchery near Zagreb,

grow-out facility in Knin

The fi sh has a fat content of only 1-2% which makes it closer to the wild variety. This is a selling point when marketing to western customers.

the EU this would certainly ease the problems at the border, but Mr Teskeredžic is also worried that the free fl ow of goods and people may also increase the risk of his stock contracting an infec-tious disease. On the other hand he anticipates that the kind of fi sh produced by Viribus will be in demand in Europe because of its lean meat. My fi sh has a fat con-tent of only 1-2, he says, which makes it closer to the wild vari-ety. He uses an extruded Dutch

feed which he gets through a local supplier as there are no extrusion plants in Croatia.

Fighting to reduce water charges

Viribus has a processing facility where small quantities of the fi sh can be fi lleted and hot smoked. In Croatia the demand for these products is low as the fi sh is cheaper if sold whole rather than gutted and fi lleted and besides there is no tradition for eating smoked fi sh so there are no immediate plans to expand the processing operation. Mr Teskeredžic is more interested in getting the authorities to reduce the amount he pays for the use of the water from the spring. As he sees it the water is just borrowed from the river and returned again after being cleaned, so he does not see the reason to pay such high charges. Before re-enter-ing the river the water is passed through three sedimentation tanks to remove all the impuri-ties. Viribus cannot aff ord to send dirty water back into the river as 5 km downstream is a national park which would be aff ected by the pollution. We had some success in reducing the veterinary inspection fees which used to be higher than they were in the EU, so I am optimistic that we can do the same here, feels Mr Teskeredžic.


CROATIA

Riba Mljet essentially means fi sh from Mljet, an island in the Adriatic off

the coast of southern Croatia. Th e company is owned by a group of shareholders, one of whom is Paul Clements Sparreboom, a Dutch management consultant, who came on board in 2003. At the time production amounted to

13 tonnes of fi sh. A year or so later the company decided to become an organic producer of fi sh, a pro-cess that took almost two years to complete, and made it the only producer, certainly in Croatia, that farmed fi sh to an organic standard. Th e organic certifi ca-tion has been carried out by the German certifi er Naturland and

is verifi ed by the IMO, the Swiss Institute of Marketecology.

Domestic sales depend too much on tourism

Today, seven years later, produc-tion stands at about 120 tonnes of fi sh and the company is hop-ing to achieve 200 tonnes in the

course of the next year. More than that is currently not possible as our concession permits only 200 tonnes says Mr Sparreboom. Th e product mix is seabass and seabream which together accounts for 75 of the pro-duction while the remainder is meagre (Argyrosomus regius). Th e actual volumes of seabass

The Mediterranean is an area with a large production of seabass and seabream. Apart from the giant producers Turkey and Greece, these species are also farmed in Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Malta, Portugal, and Croatia, where one producer is carving a niche for itself in the market for organic fi sh.

Exports to target German-speaking markets

Riba Mljet is Croatia’s only organic producer of seabass and seabream

Riba Mljet is Croatia’s sole producer of organic seabass and seabream.


CROATIA


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and seabream vary depending on which species is in demand, sometimes it is seabream at oth-ers it is seabass. Th e meagre is a newcomer that the company produced and then supplied to some of its customers as tri-als. Almost all of them came back and said they wanted to buy more of the fi sh, says Mr Sparreboom, as it was popu-lar. Until now the Riba Mljet has been supplying the domes-tic Croatian market, mainly

restaurants and hotels, as well as some supermarket chains. Th e problem with this is that these places are very dependent on the tourist industry. In the sum-mer months of June, July, and August demand is very high, but once the tourist season is over it slumps.

However, right from the outset we were aware that supplying to the domestic market alone was not a sustainable strategy

Production today stands at about 120 tonnes of fi sh and the company is hoping to achieve 200 tonnes in the course of the next year.

Riba Mljet has been supplying the domestic Croatian market, mainly restaurants and hotels, as well as some supermarket chains, but now is moving into exports.

Riba Mljet d.o.o. Company Fact FileSvetog Kriza 3 HR 20000 Dubrovnik Croatia

Tel: +385 20 313638Fax: +385 20 [email protected]

Co-owner: Mr Paul Clements Sparreboom

Product: Organic farmed seabass, seabream, meagre

Volumes: 120 tonnes per year rising to 200 tonnes in 2012

Product forms: Whole, gutted, fi llets, smoked, frozen, vacuum packaged

Markets: Croatia, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria

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CROATIA

for the company, says Mr Spar-reboom. Th e company owners have always only considered this a stepping stone that would give us the time to establish produc-tion and set up the necessary infrastructure to be able to tar-get export markets, which was the real objective. Th e German-speaking markets in Germany,

Switzerland, and Austria are the biggest consumers of organic products in Europe and that is where Riba Mljet wants to be present. Mr Sparreboom, who also speaks fl uent German, has been attending the biggest organic trade fair in Europe, Bio-Fach in Nuremberg, to fi nd cus-tomers for his fi sh. He has had

discussions with Die Regionalen, an organic wholesaler, as well as other traders in organic food. Th e issue has been that unlike in Cro-atia, where customers are used to whole fi sh, the export markets under consideration are only interested in scaled and fi lleted fi sh. Riba Mljet therefore needed to develop a line of products that

The German-speaking markets in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria are the biggest consumers of organic products in Europe and that is where Riba Mljet wants to be present with its products.

would appeal to this market. With a production of 120 tonnes rising to 200 tonnes Riba Mljet’s output is still too small to be able to justify investing in process-ing machinery. Filleting, freez-ing, and smoking machinery is not cheap and then there is the question of space.

Processing activities outsourced

Mr Sparreboom’s response has been to outsource the process-ing activities. Over the last couple of months he has discussed with potential partners and now has a solution in place. Finding a partner was not entirely straight-forward as the processor had to meet all the quality and hygiene requirements as well as subject itself to inspections by Naturland. Now however the company is in a position to supply gutted and scaled fi sh in vaccum packaging, gutted and scaled frozen, frozen fi llets, and smoked fi sh. Th e qua-lity of the fi sh is excellent, claims Mr Sparreboom. Th e organic requirements strictly regulate the density and lower density makes for a better product. Th e size requirement varies from market to market and customer to custo-mer. Some chefs want a minimum fi sh size of 700 g, others 250-300 g. In Germany the company has been discussing the supply of both 80 g and 150 g fi llets, so Riba Mljet is ready to supply what the market wants.

Mr Sparreboom is keenly hoping that Croatia will soon join the EU as he feels that it may reduce some of the bureacracy he has to tangle with now and then. Currently the fi rm is negotiating the relocation of its farming site and it is proving an uphill battle. However, he is optimistic that everything will fall in place in the not-too-distant future.


USA

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill and its consequences

Billions of dollars damages to the fi shery

T he Deepwater Horizon oil spill can in many ways not be compared to the

hurricanes that repeatedly hit this region. Tornados are natural catastrophes which can hardly be avoided, whereas the disas-ter which struck when the rig that was drilling an exploratory well exploded was the result of human action. A hurricane may be destructive but it moves quickly over an area. What hap-pened around Deepwater Hori-zon proved to be a tormentingly long, seemingly never-ending sequence of delays, mishaps and failures. It revealed embarrass-ing breaches of duty, negligence and human error and was to lead to severe consequences. And whereas the physical damages after a hurricane can be repaired relatively quickly it could take years before the economic and ecological consequences (some of which are presumably as yet unknown) of the oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico – the worst of its kind in history – have been corrected and fi nally overcome.

On 20th April 2010 a fountain of oil, gas and drilling mud suddenly shot all the way up and out of the drill column, expanded onto the platform, and then ignited and exploded – the much-feared blow-out. Located above a water depth

of approximately 1,500 m, the rig was, at the time of the explosion, drilling an exploratory well that penetrated 5,500 m into the sea-bed. It was almost complete. Th e highly explosive mixture ignited, the platform caught fi re and sank into the sea just 36 hours later. To make matters worse the blowout preventer which should have, by closing the well, provided pro-tection against this very occur-rence, failed. Despite all eff orts, the technicians and other experts were unable to gain control of the problem and up to 16 July large quantities of crude oil gushed out of the ascending pipe. Just how much can only be roughly esti-mated. Whilst initial estimates named at least 5,000 barrels a day (equal to just under 800,000 litres) this assumption rose higher and higher as time passed. By 15 June, one month before the fl ow of oil could fi nally be sealed, between 5.6 and 9.6 million litres were said to be fl owing into the sea every day. Based on these assumptions between 500,000 and 1 million tonnes of oil would have escaped from the well in the period from 20 April when the platform exploded to 16 July 2010 when the well was fi nally capped.

Already just a few hours after the accident an oil slick was swishing around the oil rig whose spread

could not be stopped despite measures introduced to halt it. Th ese consisted, for example, of burning the oil on the water sur-face or the release of special chem-icals – dispersants – to bind and fi nely distribute the oil. On the contrary, it grew quickly. When

the sticky, smeary oil slick fi rst hit the US coast on 29 April and pen-etrated as far as the Mississippi Delta it already measured over 10,000 square metres. At the end of June researchers discovered a gigantic plume of toxic hydro-carbons in the Gulf of Mexico at

The seafood industry in the southern states of the USA along the Gulf of Mexico had just recovered from the havoc caused by the hurricanes Katrina in the year 2005 and Ike in 2008 when a much more devastating catastrophe befell it. The explosion on the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon led to the pollution of large areas of the Gulf with oil, putting an end to fi shing for months. There are hardly any more visible signs of the damage but no one knows what the long-term effects will be.

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Eurofi sh Magazine 3/ 2011 45

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USA

a depth of 1,000 metres with a length of 35 kilometres. Animals and plants within the complex marine ecosystem along broad coastal stretches of the northern area of the Gulf of Mexico partly suff ered huge damages, not only from the oil but often additionally as a result of the control measures. Th e attempt to burn off the oil fi lm, for example, led to consid-erable air pollution in the region. Numerous people complained of breathing problems, sore eyes and headaches and some of the aff ected were taken to hospital. What impacts certain partly toxic components of the oil combus-tion residues and dispersants on fi sh and seafood organisms, sea birds, marine mammals and other living creatures have or whether they will accumulate in body tissue along the food chain is largely unclear and hardly pre-dictable. Added to this are dam-

ages caused by the mass use of large vehicles for transporting the oil slick and numerous voluntary helpers on the beaches and coasts. Th e American Bird Associ-ation reported that the oil cleanup crews had destroyed numerous nesting places of birds during their eff orts to reduce the impact of the spill.

Tens of thousands of tests to track damages

over time and space

State authorities such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reacted to the looming environmental catastrophe with a host of measures. Th ese ranged from the precautionary collection of 28,000 turtle eggs from along the beaches that were threatened

by oil to detailed records of the ecological damages for a “Natural Resource Damage Assessment”. Based on this document it should later on be possible to ascertain responsibilities and thereby pro-cess possible damage claims. In scrupulous and painstaking work hundreds of specialists and sci-entists collected a great amount of facts which together constitute a picture of occurrences over a wide area and a broad time span. At the beginning of 2011 the US government announced that the participating scientists alone had inspected nearly 6,500 km of the coast on foot and taken 35,000 photographs as proof. Over 40,000 samples of water, soil and tissue were analysed.

One of the main tasks of all those involved, however, was to test the safety of seafood products from the aff ected area in order to be

able to rule out any health risks to consumers. When the full extent of the catastrophe became rec-ognizable the NOAA closed the aff ected marine region for any kind of commercial and private fi shing. Th at was on 2 May. Any-one infringing against the fi shing ban was liable to a fi ne of 140,000 dollars or even withdrawal of their fi shing licence. Th e initial zone of 17,650 km2 was gradually extended to 225,290 km2 by 21 June. Th is is equal to one third of US waters in the Gulf of Mexico or to an area the size of Great Britain. Th e fi sh industry was drawn deeper and deeper into the maelstrom of events. On 24 May 2010 the US government fi nally declared a state of emergency for the fi sheries in Alabama, Missis-sippi and Louisiana.

Based on cautious estimates losses suff ered within the fi shery run to 2.5 billion US dollars. Th ey do not only result from losses within the commercial fi shery (fi shermen from the southern states landed 576,000 t of seafood with a landed value of 659 million USD in 2008) but also, and even more, from fi shing sport. Every year more than 3.2 million hobby anglers go to the region to hunt tuna, marlin and red snapper. In 2008 they participated in 24 mil-lion fi shing trips to the waters of the Gulf. Th ese recreational fi sh-ermen leave a lot of money in the coastal towns because they need accommodation, they charter boats, buy food and make use of tourist attractions.

Th e fi shermen in the states aff ected by the oil (Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida) mainly catch shrimps, crabs and high-value fi sh species like grouper, red snapper, king mackerel, cobia, amberjack and yellowtail, with oyster produc-tion also being of considerable

On 20 April 2010 a fountain of oil, gas and drilling mud suddenly shot all the way up and out of the drill column, expanded onto the platform, and then ignited and exploded – the much-feared blowout.

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www.eurofi shmagazine.com Eurofi sh Magazine 3/ 2011 47

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signifi cance in some regions. Two thirds of US oysters are farmed in the southern states. In the year prior to the oil spill fi shermen in these fi ve states together caught nearly 90,000 t shrimps, about 34,000 t of them in the marine regions aff ected by the oil. Th at is hardly more than 5 of annual consumption in the USA. Th is comparatively small gap can eas-ily be fi lled by additional imports from Asia and Latin America but it nevertheless constitutes a threat to the fi shermen’s livelihood, particularly since the product’s image, too, has been seriously

harmed by possible contamina-tion with crude oil or dispersants and this damage goes far beyond the actual catastrophe. Th e emer-gency assistance and promised payments of compensation to the fi shermen can do little to change this situation.

The ecosystem seems to be recovering faster than

expected

Even if the region in the meantime seems to have recovered from the oil spill no one knows what long-term damages the complex

ecosystem will suff er from it. On the one hand, from the oil itself but on the other hand perhaps also from the dispersants which were sprayed onto the oil slick. A mixture called Corexit was to “dis-solve” the oil in the water, remove it from the surface, and disperse it in the deep sea. Critics are of the opinion that certain compo-nents in Corexit might be more toxic than the oil itself. Appar-ently the substance is to blame for the decrease in herring off Alaska three years after the sinking of the oil tanker Exxon Valdez. Corexit had destroyed a proportion of the young herring but this was only recognized years later when there were seen to be less herring in the fi shermen’s nets.

It is also unclear what conse-quences the methane gas that was released from the oil well with the oil might have for organisms liv-ing in the sea. In June 2010 meth-ane concentration in the aff ected marine region was said to be 100,000 times higher than normal and the total volume of the gas was estimated at 200,000 t. Th is leads to a reduction in oxygen content in the water which can cause par-ticular damage to sessile organ-isms (such as mussels) or plank-ton if the condition continues over a longer period. In autumn 2010, marine researchers from the University of California sounded the all clear signal, however: their samples had shown that methane content was back in its normal range. Th is was contradicted by researchers from the University of Georgia, however, who had still registered much higher methane levels during the same period. Th ese and other inconsistencies in the fi ndings and analyses make it diffi cult to make any general state-ments on the consequences of the oil spill. Th e local picture that is gained can be compared to a huge puzzle in which some of the pieces

are missing and the available facts don’t really match one another.

Statements on how much oil remained in the sea once the well was closed are no less contradic-tory. Whilst the NOAA assumes that about three quarters if the oil had been sucked out of the sea, burned or biologically degraded, researchers from the University of Georgia claim exactly the oppo-site: that 80 of the oil released from the well are still drifting in the sea. Th e dispersants had only succeeded in removing it from the surface, thereby taking it out of the observer’s sight. It was therefore all the more surprising that Terry C. Hazen from the Lawrence Berke-ley National Laboratory stated just a few weeks after the well had been capped that oil residues were no longer to be found under water either. Although his laboratory’s technical equipment allowed the identifi cation of even the tiniest quantities of oil, it had not been possible to detect oil residues in samples that had been taken from the waters around Deep-water Horizon. He explains this phenomenon with a population explosion of microorganisms that are specialised in the consump-tion of oil particles. Whilst such eff ects are hard to prove in the case of compact oil slicks the solution of the oil into minute droplets off ered the bacteria considerably better possibilities for attack. His work-ing group had discovered bacte-ria which develop their optimum eff ect at low temperatures and at great water depths.

It is unnecessary to emphasize that people contradict this verdict, too. At a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science other scientists reported that extensive oil plumes were still to be found in deep water. Th e ecosystems near the seafl oor had suff ered immense damages, and

It could take years before the economic and ecological consequences of the oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico – the worst of its kind in history – have been corrected and fi nally overcome.

U.S

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numerous dead starfi shes, worms and corals had been found.

Lasting damage to the image of seafood

products from the region

Beyond regional fi shing bans, what impact does the oil spill have on the fi sh industry in the Gulf of Mexico? Contact with oil can ren-der fi sh and seafood unfi t for con-sumption. It gives them a petro-leum-like fl avour which makes them unsuitable for food. In the case of longer contact, however, marine organisms can also accu-mulate dangerous, partly even cancer-producing components, for example polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Th ese pose acute health risks for consumers at the latest when permissible limits have been exceeded. In order to be able to fully rule out such risks the NOAA and other authorities took samples constantly during and after the oil spill for sensory and chemical analysis. Since the closure of the oil leak more than 300,000 individual samples of oysters, shrimps, crabs and fi shes were tested, among them grouper, tuna, swordfi sh, snapper, red drum, and grunts. Apparently not one single sample contained con-taminations that would constitute

a risk to consumers. Particularly thorough testing was carried out prior to the reopening of the aff ected areas for the fi shery. At the end of September 2010 83,000 km2 (13 of state waters) were still closed but today practically the whole of the northern Gulf region is already open again for fi shing.

Viewed superfi cially it almost seems as if the oil disaster has been overcome. But this impres-sion is deceptive since it is still unclear whether and what long-term damages the oil and the control measures might have had in the sea. Th e shrimp fi sh-ery in particular fears economic losses in this region. It lands products worth 350 million US dollars (landed value) every year. Th e most important species, i.e. brown shrimp (Penaeus aztecus), white shrimp (Penaeus set-iferus) and pink shrimp (Penaeus duorarum), mainly live in coastal regions but the postlarvae migrate over the course of the year to the deep sea where they could have been directly hit by the oil. Th e possible consequences of this will only become visible this year and in the years to come. Th e situa-tion is similar where crabs are concerned. To what extent young and mature blue crabs, Gulf stone

crabs and stone crabs were dam-aged can not yet be fully assessed.

Predictions with regard to fi shes are even less certain. Some particularly mobile species presumably evaded the oil. Territorial species like the commercially signifi cant red snap-per or coral fi shes might on the other hand have suff ered damages. In this context it must also be con-sidered at what depths the diff erent species prefer to live. As long as the oil slick was still fl oating on the sur-face demersal species were prob-ably less hard hit. With the use of dispersants, however, the oil spread temporarily over the whole water column before becoming concen-trated in the deep waters. Although suspension of the oil off ers advan-tages for oil-consuming microor-ganisms it still entails additional risks. Th e tinier the oil droplets are the better they can attach them-selves to fi sh larvae, corals, aquatic plants and other structures. Th is thin coating of oil on the substrates can cause severe damages and even death. It will not be possible for a few years to see whether recruit-ment fi gures in the important fi sh species is going to be lower.

In the case of bluefi n tuna researchers from the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast

were able to sound a partial ‘all clear’ when the feared total loss of the 2010 year class did not become reality. Although several spawning grounds in the Gulf were directly hit by the oil spill the scientists found considerable quantities of larvae in their sur-veys. Th ey were not, however, able to quantify how high the losses for this fi sh species were.

Th ere are probably at present no waters nor products worldwide that are subject to more frequent or more thorough controls than the Northern Gulf of Mexico and the seafood from this region. In spite of all controls and analyses, however, no one has been able to completely dispel consumer mis-trust and fears. For large parts of the public the region is still felt to be “contaminated” and it is likely to take a while for seafood from the south of the USA to regain the good image it enjoyed before the oil disaster. Advertising and spe-cifi c marketing campaigns can help, but they cost a lot of money. Within its spill response fund the oil company BP has thus provided not only 18 million $ for tests to assess seafood safety and 13 m $ for studies on the ecological conse-quences of the oil disaster but also 30 m $ for marketing measures. mk

Gulf seafood is safe, says FDA

A year after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, an offi cial from the the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the United States govern-ment body charged with assur-ing the safety of the nation’s food supply, has said that steps taken to ensure the safety of seafood have worked, according to Food-Production Daily website. Don Kraemer from the FDA’s Centre for Food Safety and Applied Nutri-tion (CFSAN) stated that samples of seafood taken regularly during and after the spill had consist-

ently showed levels that were 100 to 1,000 times less than the levels that were a cause for concern, “…We’re quite confi dent that the sea-food harvested in the Gulf that’s in commercial channels is safe.” Mr Kraemer added that levels of contaminants in seafood from the Gulf of Mexico are so low that a person would have to eat about 60 pounds (22 kg) of shrimp a day for 5 years to approach a level that was of concern. Th e FDA, working together with the National Oce-anic and Atmospheric Adminis-

tration has taken and tested more than 10,000 samples and these tests are set to continue through the summer reassure consumers that seafood from the area is safe. More than 99 of the samples had no detectable residues. Following the spill, about 20 of the fi shing grounds in the area were closed, but most of them have re-opened since then. However, reopening was conditional on all the samples from the area passing all the tests, says the FDA. Many consum-ers are still nervous about eating

fi sh from the Gulf and there have been suggestions that the scope of the testing should be widened to include other contaminants.

Tests of more than 10,000 samples of seafood from the Gulf since the oil spill showed that more than 99% had no detectable residues.


[ PROJECT ]

Within PathogenCombat, scientists from several European universities worked together to develop the FSMS self assessment tool.

Viewed superficially foods are today safer than they have ever been before.

The food industry has made tre-mendous progress in the field of product safety. The driving force behind this development is not only stringent legislation but also the growing concern shown by a large number of consumers. The demands placed on industry are rising constantly in reaction to ever-changing markets, products and consumer behaviour. Foods that used to be produced and offered for sale locally are today often traded worldwide and this has lengthened the marketing

chain. Eating out has also become more widespread and people are becoming much more aware of the significance that diet has for health and well-being. Today, the food we eat should not only be nutritious and tasty but also healthy, optically appealing, and always available – and on top of these qualities it should also have a long shelf-life. It is taken for granted that food products are additionally absolutely “safe” for the consumer, i.e. free from con-taminants and pathogens of any kind. This shows just how much pressure there is on the food safety management systems (FSMS) of

companies operating within the food industry. At all costs they have to be absolutely reliable, because “unsafe” products might even lead to a product recall which would not only damage a compa-ny’s image but generally have seri-ous economic consequences, too.

Of course, every company that produces foods has its own food safety management system that fulfils all the legal requirements and standards that are common and expected in their branch of industry. But is this really enough in order to meet the growing com-plexity of in-company processes?

Might there not still exist weak points within a company’s tech-nological operations? Are staff members suitably and sufficiently trained? And are all hygiene re-quirements adhered to strictly? Food safety management systems always have two components. The first consists of the control activi-ties that include all measures that aim at maintaining an acceptable safety level for both products and process conditions. This compo-nent can be seen as the “hard-ware” of an FSMS. The second component consists of the assur-ance activities, or the “software” and includes the setting of system

Tool for self assessment of Food Safety Management SystemsThe food industry goes to great efforts to ensure the microbiological safety of the products it delivers to the consumer. But how reliable are the measures and controls that are supposed to guarantee food safety? In the context of the European research project PathogenCombat, scientists developed a special tool that enables food companies to assess their food safety management systems (FSMS) themselves.

PathogenCombat: Reducing food-borne diseases in Europe


[ PROJECT ]

requirements, evaluation of the performance of individual systems (maintenance of standard values and tolerances), and the necessary adjustments that have to be made. Only when equal attention is paid to both components will an FSMS be sufficiently meaningful and capable of offering the necessary, desired safety level.

To put this in a different way it would be possible to carry out nu-merous measurements and con-trols and yet still achieve nothing for the safety of a product if they were not absolutely exact, if they were obtained using unsuitable methods, if the equipment that was used to take measurements was not precisely calibrated, or if the measurements were taken in the wrong place. And it isn’t just the number of measurements that leads to an increased safety level: the FSMS has to correspond to the production risks involved. A can-ning factory in which every can undergoes thermal treatment at the end of the production process, thus rendering it pathogen-free, is subject to other risks than a com-pany that produces chilled food or fresh ready-to-eat convenience products. That is why there is not just one FSMS for all products and production processes but a whole host of very different man-agement systems that have to be finely tuned to the type of pro-duction concerned and the risks associated with it. What unites all producers, however, is the pres-sure to constantly further develop and perfect their in-company FSMS. And that means that they all have to ask themselves the same question: How good is their own FSMS? Because only a producer who knows the exact location of any possible weak points within his company’s safety management system will be capable of making the necessary specific changes to improve it.

Diagnostic tool for food safety management

systems

In the context of the European research project PathogenCom-bat a team of researchers headed by Pieternel Luning developed a technique for analysing company food safety management systems. The technique is based on micro-biological safety because patho-gens are one of the biggest risks for food products. The method the researchers developed works like a diagnostic tool which helps to locate existing weak points and thus contributes decisively to-wards finding starting points for improvements.

The tool evaluates the technologi-cal and technical design of pro-cess sequences within a company, but also assesses work processes in relation to the know-how and concrete behaviour of the com-pany employees. This is necessary because the performance and effi-ciency of an FSMS depends equally on both of these factors.Even the best technology can entail risks if work processes are poorly designed, if a system is set wrongly or wrongly operated. In-vestment in a modern machine is in itself not enough to reduce microbial risks. The machine has to be operated correctly, system-atically cleaned and disinfected. Every employee has to know what is important, what really matters in his/her workplace. A good FSMS should thus be exactly tailored to the individual process situation concerned. During slaughtering, skinning and gutting in a factory the hygiene requirements are dif-ferent from those later on in the chain when the fish is portioned and prepared for sale.

The diagnostic tool designed by the PathogenCombat researchers distinguishes between three basis

control strategies, each of which – in its own way – contributes to-wards reducing risks:

1. Prevention. This includes all activities that contribute to-wards preventing pathogens from entering, spreading, or growing within the chain. The spectrum of measures involved here ranges from personal hygiene among em-ployees to sufficient cooling of the products and the hy-gienic design of surfaces and machines to lessen the risk of cross contamination.

2. Intervention. This group of measures aims at inactivat-ing, eliminating or reducing to an acceptable level any pathogens that have entered the chain. This can be done through physical methods (e.g. heat, high pressure pro-cessing and intense light pulses), chemical or biologi-cal means (e.g. weak organic acids and protective cul-tures). The efficacy of these measures does not only de-pend on whether they are appropriate for the risks but also from whether they are used correctly, and equip-ment and tools are exactly calibrated and sufficiently maintained.

3. Monitoring. This provides information on the current status of the system and ena-bles correction of individual processes. Does the choice of critical control points (CCP) really correspond to require-ments, and are the process parameters (e.g. pH value, water activity, modified at-mosphere, temperature and humidity) within the neces-sary targets? Products that do not meet requirements can be singled out.

To enable adequate evaluation of the control strategies the research-

ers developed special grids. These enable the allocation of an FSMS to one of three levels based on given indicators. ‘Basic’ (Score 1) is the lowest level (no scientific evi-dence, results not predictable with any certainty, variable), ‘Average’ (Score 2) corresponds to the prac-tical level of knowledge (results are predictable but nevertheless often variable) and ‘Advanced’ (Score 3) which is the highest level. At this level everything is scientifically verified, stable and exact, and the chosen technology fits the individ-ual situation. The diagnostic tool is based on the assumption that a higher level of FSMS also offers more microbiological safety, and that the expected results are more clearly predictable and will have a lower fluctuation range.

Support system offers help

How the diagnostic tool works is best shown by using an exam-ple. One of the four indicators in the grid for evaluating prevention measures is the available cooling facilities. In this case the research-ers assume that cooling in accord-ance with the process concerned prevents or retards the growth of microorganisms. Companies that have unspecific cooling facilities that have not been tested and whose capacity is thus not known are classed at the lowest level (Score 1). Companies that have suf-ficient industrial cooling facilities but have not tested them because they trust the information supplied by the manufacturer are classed at the next level (Score 2). In order to gain the highest score (Score 3) the cooling facilities do not only have to be of adequate size but must also have been tested and adapt-ed to the specific process condi-tions. Companies can use these or similar indicators in the individual grids to evaluate their food safety managements system themselves.

[ PROJECT ]

Th e detailed diagnostic tool works like a check list which can provide suppliers step by step with valu-able information on processes, procedures and employees. Th e employees and the care they take with their work are of immense importance because sensitive pro-cesses often have to be carried out not a hundred times but several thousand times with exactly the same degree of accuracy. Th e di-agnostic tool contributes towards an broad analysis of a company’s FSMS at any given time. It helps us-ers to recognize whether any weak points that are discovered within safety management are sooner of a technical or an organizational nature and what has to be changed to achieve a higher microbiologi-cal safety level. A full diagnosis with the diagnostic instrument will support companies in identifying weak points in their FSMS in view

of their context and actual food safety performance.

Th e fact that the eff ectiveness of in-company food safety manage-ment systems cannot be evaluated solely on the basis of this kind of scoring is also clear to the research-ers who developed the tool. Th e in-company situation is decisive, too, as is the process environment, and above all, the type of foods that the company in question produces, i.e. whether they belong to a low or high risk category.

Because not every user in indus-try will be immediately familiar with the concept and terms of the diagnostic tool the PathogenCom-bat researchers also created an FSMS support system which pro-vides a well-structured overview of common knowledge, scientifi c literature, guidelines, legislative re-

quirements, new tools, techniques, protocols, methods, best practices, etc. It has the same structure as the FSMS diagnostic tool, and consists of three levels of information: Th e explanatory level – each

control activity or contextual fac-tor is fi rstly explained: Th e application level – this refers to the practical tools and guide-lines that can be used by compa-nies (either on their own or with expert support): Th e scientifi c level – this refers to the scientifi c sources (articles, handbooks) which can be used by consultancies and experts to help companies improve their systems.

Th e support system can also be used as a source of information about tools, techniques, methods, and protocols to further analyse and/or strengthen weak points in the company’s current FSMS.

Th is information and knowledge can be used for various purposes, e.g. to analyze in more depth the microbiological performance of the FSMS, to improve existing control and assurance activities, to implement new intervention techniques or methods, or to im-prove procedures. Th e FSMS sup-port system also provides generic information for the beef, lamb, poultry, dairy and pork sectors.

Th e tool for self assessment of Food Safety Management Sys-tems and the FSM Support System are available on the Pa-togenCombat homepage (www.pathogencombat.com). So far a total of almost 150 SME`s and larger food industries mainly from Belgium, Th e Netherland, Spain and Greece have made use of the PathogenCombat self assessment tool. mk

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[ FISHERIES ]

This is the seed from which the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has grown.

An independent charity, the MSC came into being over a decade ago as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Unilever (amongst others) sought a realistic path to rebuild and conserve the planet’s wild fish species.

Balancing precision with adaptability

A great deal of effort has been devoted to how best to achieve this mission through the MSC Sustainable Fishing and Chain of Custody Standards. The world’s fisheries are not neat, easily de-finable and measurable things. Fish stocks grow and shrink and move around with no regard for political boundaries. This means involvement and com-munication across the lines that lie between nations, continents, fishing organisations, producer organisations, different consum-er markets, different wholesal-ers and retailers and finally on to the consumers themselves. This makes the MSC Sustainable Fish-ing Standard necessarily com-plex. For it to be robust enough to provide a set of clear rules and guidelines that can cater for all of the different ecosystems, species, management systems and fishing practices in use around the world, the mechanisms that define it

need to strike a delicate balance between precision and adaptabil-ity. By the nature of the industry, there are many interested parties who must all be involved in a way that is structured and objective enough to yield accurate, meas-urable outcomes.

This is where the independent Certification Bodies (CBs) come in. There are currently nine certification bodies accredited to assess fisheries against the MSC Sustainable Fishing Stand-ard and 21 accredited to assess against the MSC Chain of Custo-dy (CoC) Standard. The process by which a CB becomes accred-ited is exhaustive and is overseen

by the MSC’s appointed accredi-tation body Accreditation Servic-es International (ASI), wherein an aspiring MSC Certification Body must prove that it has the expertise, credentials, systems and procedures in place to cor-rectly implement and interpret the requirements of the Standard itself. The CB is an independent and impartial body which takes the standard which the MSC has created and holds it up against the existing practices of a fishery or chain of custody client to de-termine whether they meet these requirements. The requirements for the two Standards (Sus-tainable Fishing and Chain of Custody) are very different.

Chain of Custody Standard

A Chain of Custody assessment is required by any company that takes ‘ownership’ of MSC certified product and who intend to sell product that will carry the MSC logo. The applicant company is assessed by a rigorous on-site au-dit of their operating procedures, management practices and trace-ability systems to ensure that only fish products that come from an MSC Certified fishery carry the MSC logo and the systems they have in place will ensure there is separation from any non-MSC approved products being han-dled. This is carried out by a qualified auditor, with support from the CB’s administration and certification staff.

Sustainable Fishing Standard

By contrast, a full MSC fishery as-sessment can take anything from 12 months to (in exce ptional circum-stances) several years. The process usually, though not always, begins with a Pre- assessment, which is esse ntially a desktop summary ass essment to determine whether an appli cant already complies with the different criteria within the MSC Standard. This provides the oppo rtunity to bring to the appli-cant fishery’s attention any areas where compliance is potentially

Sustainability – the MSC modelSustainability is a term which has rapidly become an integral part of our everyday vocabulary. Once something of a fringe concept, it is now a fundamental consideration in almost everything we do. Ultimately, this stems from an ever-increasing understanding that the natural resources we consume are far from inexhaustible. Essentially, if we don’t modify our consumption to allow these resources to replenish themselves, then they will simply disappear.

Certification procedure based on transparency and independent oversight

As fish stocks grow and shrink and move around with no regard for political boundaries, a standard that takes all circumstances and stakeholders into account is necessarily complex.


[ FISHERIES ]

lacking before entering full assess-ment. Certification is determined by a detailed and far-reaching full Assessment. The full assess-ment process and the accred-ited CBs which carry out these assessments must all adhere to the MSC’s Fishery Certification and Assessment Methodologies which lead to realisation of the Standard’s principles and criteria. This means that there are certain key processes and deliverables that are common through every CB, though their internal systems and processes often differ.

The CBs stand at the centre of the fishery certification process. They are a filter by which to translate the methodologies and technical procedures of the MSC Standard into real terms, both for the un-derstanding of the clients them-selves and also so that the working practices of the client operation can be expressed in clearly de-fined, measurable terms. Some CBs split these tasks into distinct areas of responsibility. Food Cer-tification International Ltd (FCI) is a good example of this. The administrative and project man-agement side of the assessment process is carried out in-house by a dedicated and experienced team who focus entirely on ensuring the applicant fishery progresses within agreed timelines along the assessment process while meet-ing the required milestones. They act as the lynch pin between the client and the experts who form the assessment team and provide oversight on the correct imple-mentation and interpretation of the MSC methodology. The tech-nical assessment of the applicant fishery is undertaken by carefully selected experts who are con-tracted by FCI to act as the assess-ment team and it is they, under the close supervision of FCI, who travel to the fishery itself, meet with key stakeholders, review all

Certification to the MSC Sustainable Fishing Standard is a highly transparent procedure to ensure the most accurate assessment.

the information that is available to them and carry out the process of scoring the fishery against the MSC criteria before preparing an exhaustive report detailing and justifying their findings.

Stakeholder input contributes to accuracy

Beyond these core competencies at the heart of the assessment, there are other parties who make valuable contributions to the pro-cess. The MSC strive for trans-parency at all times, and actively encourage the involvement of any and all relevant stakeholders for each assessment. A stakeholder can be anyone with an interest in the fishery: the client themselves, governmental departments, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) such as WWF, research bodies, producer organisations or indeed other fishing operations – both partners and competitors.

Through key stages in the assess-ment process, their input is ac-tively sought to provide insight or additional information which may help to formulate as clear and ob-jective a picture as possible of both the fishing operation itself and the context in which it operates.

In this, the MSC Sustainable Fishing Standard incorporates a level of independent oversight which goes beyond the majority of certification standards avail-able in this sector. The expert as-sessment team compile a report detailing their findings and the conclusions derived from these findings – gathered through con-sultation, desk study and direct observation. This report goes through many stages of check-ing and re-checking before being finalised. It is reviewed by the client operation to ensure that what is written is fair and accu-rate, followed by external review

by two or more peers of the as-sessment team, carefully chosen for their expert knowledge of the specific fishery being assessed. After being reviewed again by the assessment team, this is then released for public comment for a period of thirty days and all stakeholder input submitted during this period is required to be included within the body of the report itself. This then be-comes a Final Report and De-termination, which is again pub-lished for public scrutiny, with a 15 working day period set aside for anyone who may disagree with the determination to poten-tially lodge an objection.

Transparency vital for credible results

So transparency is upheld thro-ughout the process with clearly defined roles for all the various parties involved:


[ FISHERIES ]

The number of MSC-labelled products available in stores worldwide has now reached 9,000.

The MSC Standards, taken as a whole, provide a means to trace fish and seafood products all the way back from the supermarket shelf or the fishmonger’s slab to the body of water where they were first caught.

the MSC provide the Stand-ard itself and the method-ologies required to assess against the Standard, revis-ing and adjusting this to en-sure that it is as accurate and well-formed as possible; expert assessors and peer reviewers provide their con-siderable expertise and tech-nical knowledge to apply these methodologies to the fishery seeking certification; stakeholders provide an es-sential body of additional knowledge and input throughout; bringing all of this together and co-ordinating the pro-cess is the accredited Cer-tification Body who has the responsibility of recom-mending and then ratifying the certification of the fish-ery if it successfully reaches the end of the assessment process; the CBs in turn are held ac-countable by the appointed accreditation body, ASI, which carries out annual or

multi-annual audits on CBs to ensure that the standard is correctly and competently implemented at every stage.

Once certification is granted, the CB will carry out a surveillance audit yearly for the duration of the certificate (five years), where-upon a full re-assessment of the fishery must be carried out, be-ginning the entire process again. The MSC Standards, taken as a whole, provide a means to trace fish and fish products all the way back from the supermarket shelf or the fishmonger’s slab to the body of water where they were first caught.

Increase in standard complexity adds to certification costs

The process of achieving certifica-tion is not an easy one, and as the MSC Sustainable Fishing Stan-dard becomes ever more com-plex and more demanding, so the price of bearing the ecolabel rises. Certification standards such as these live and die not just by their provenance but also by their rele-vance to the consumer and return on investment for the producer, so a balance must be struck be-tween provenance, practicality and the cost to the fishermen of achieving certification. The MSC Standards have handled their first few hurdles well, bringing together an extremely diverse set of contributors who together have laid a strong foundation to help safeguard the sustainability of our oceans and commercial fisheries. It will be their ability and willing-ness to adapt and listen to the markets that demand MSC prod-uct, while still maintaining the integrity of the Standard, which will determine whether they can continue to realise their vision. Food Certification International Ltd

www.eurofishmagazine.com Eurofish Magazine 3/ 2011 55

[ FRAUD ]

Pressing claims against dishonest suppliers

When a problem with a consignment arises a prompt and correct

reaction from both buyer and seller can assure that the issue will be successfully solved. The willingness to cooperate and the good will of both parties is the main guarantee that an accept-able solution will be found. How-ever not all claims can be resolved successfully. This is especially the case when a dishonest buyer tries to avoid payment for the cargo received or wants a price deduc-tion. Another situation is when a dishonest exporter intentionally breaches the contract and sup-plies sub quality or underweight product. In both situations the parties should be prepared for long arguments and must be able to provide evidence that proves their position.

Design contracts to reduce risk of unfair

complaints

Unjustified quality and quantity complaints is the easiest method to either reduce the purchasing price or completely avoid pay-ment for the goods. This method works especially well when the product is sold on open credit or if the buyer used a bank guarantee as a payment instrument.

A seafood producer, company ABC Limited, sold several pallets of frozen fish fillets to an overseas importer, DEF Imports Ltd. Some days after the receipt of the cargo the buyer sent the producer a qual-ity report where it was stated that the glazing percentage was several percent higher than agreed and the consignment had an excessive number of broken fillets. Because of that the buyer deducted a cer-tain amount from the invoice. The producer was surprised as the quality was controlled during the production and packing. When he asked for an independent inspection of the fish the buyer told him that the whole lot had already been used in production and could not be inspected. The seller had no other option but to accept the deduction. The third time this happened ABC Limited decided not to dispute the results of the buyer’s inspection. He immediately prohibited the buyer from touching the consignment and asked his freight forwarder to move the fish to another ware-house at the seller’s expense. In a few days the producer managed to find another company which took all pallets from the stock and paid cash. No quality complaints were made and afterwards it the two companies started a fruitful coop-eration between them.

Faults and mistakes can happen in any business. Due to the variety of seafood species, different fishing and handling methods, ways of freezing and packing, product quality problems can arise from time to time with virtually any seafood exporter. Problems with quality or quantity can also sometimes be deliberately created by a fraudulent seller, or a deceitful buyer can send the supplier an unlawful claim.

Fraud in the seafood trade

Partners in a transaction should try to prevent situations arising where the counterpart can raise claims. Preventing conflicts from arising in the first place is usually easier than resolving them.

We see that DEF Imports Ltd. used the well-known trick of sending the claim only after the product was “sold” or “used in production” making it impos-sible for a third party to check its quality. We can say that ABC Limited could have avoided losing money from the very beginning of the story. The com-panies should have made a con-tract where it was stated that in case of any quality or quantity claim the buyer was prohib-ited from using the product by any means and an independent inspection should have been performed. The costs of the inspection should have been paid either by the buyer or the seller depending on the inspec-tion results. The results of the independent survey should be final for both companies.

Independent inspections can prevent

conflicts

A trader XYZ Ltd. purchased a container with frozen fish from an overseas trading company JHG Limited. The firms made a proper contract where the time-frame of a possible quality and quantity complaint was agreed to five days after the arrival of the container to the port of destination. According to the contract the buyer paid in full for the product before it arrived. The container was received by XYZ Ltd and due to the lack of time and facilities was sent directly to their customer and no inspection was performed. But ten days later XYZ Ltd. received a serious qual-ity claim from their buyer where it was stated that the product was


[ FRAUD ]

of very poor quality and it was almost impossible to use it in their production. XYZ Ltd. sent the complaint to JHG Limited but it was immediately rejected as the claim was made much later than was stated in the con-tract signed by the parties. After calculating the costs of the legal procedures against the supplier the importer preferred to write off the debt and compensate his customer for the loss.

We can see that XYZ Ltd. made several mistakes during the deal. First, they should have demanded an inspection report from an independent surveyor before the container left the port of loading. Second, the buyer should have stated a realistic time of the inspection upon arrival, and, most importantly, should have inspected the goods on receipt.

It is obvious that it is easier to avoid problems rather than try-ing to solve them later. Qual-ity and quantity issues can be easily avoided by performing an independent pre-shipment inspection of the product. The inspection is especially impor-tant when the exporter and importer have no previous expe-rience in doing business with each other. Independent sur-veyors can be found in almost any region and the cost of their services can be a small fraction of the possible loss. Buyers are advised to inspect upon arrival even if a pre-shipment inspec-tion has been performed. This will assure that the product was not damaged during transport. The preliminary control can be done by the quality managers of the purchasing company; if any problem is found, an indepen-dent inspection should be made. It is important for both the buyer and seller to stipulate in the

contract the timeframe for sub-mitting and handling a claim and this timeframe should be realis-tic. Usually the parties agree that the claim should be submitted in writing after, say, X days after the arrival of the cargo to the buyer’s warehouse and if the seller does not react to the claim within the next X days the claim is con-sidered to be accepted. If deal-ing with chilled or live seafood products the time for complaints should be minimised to several hours after the cargo receipt.

What should a buyer do when he discovers

problems with the consignment?

First, the buyer should inspect the received cargo as soon as possible and within the time-frames set by the contract. In many countries the incoming cargo is controlled by the local customs’ authorities who will check the quantity of the incom-ing product. When the importer discovers the problem he should immediately inform the sup-plier about it. The claim should be made in writing not just over the phone. Make sure that the seller has received the claim. Call him, send several emails and demand confirmation of the receipt of the information. If the seller does not respond to your correspondence, con-tinue sending the reminders and

necessary papers. Inform the seller about the consequences of his neglect. It is very unlikely that the seller will remain silent if the goods were supplied on open credit, but he could ignore your claim if you have prepaid the product. If the seller does not accept the claim the buyer should invite representatives of the local Chamber of Com-merce or an internationally rec-ognised independent inspector. The seller must be informed and he should be given an option to approve the surveyor and/or send his own representatives to be present during the inspec-tion. If the supplier cannot or is not willing to send his represen-tatives to participate during the inspection the control can be done without their presence. The buyer should remember that he cannot use any part of the prod-uct for production or sell it to other companies until the mat-ter is settled with the supplier.

All agreements should be in writing

Once the results of the inspec-tion are ready the buyer will have a complete picture of the prod-uct’s condition and can claim compensation from the seller. If the importer receives the seller’s acceptance, he should insist on having it in writing. Acceptance over the phone is not enough as it is impossible to prove.

The letter of claim acceptance must include the following information:

Exact date when the compen-sation will be paid and how it will be done: by issuing a credit note and debiting the account, by supplying extra quantity of goods or any other method; Acceptance or rejection of extra costs and charges occurred in connection with the claim, such as: customs duties, transportation costs, warehouse charges, inspection costs etc.

Importers should be aware of particular regulations valid in the country they are dealing with. China can be one example. If the supplier rejects all complaints and is unwilling to compensate the loss the only possibility for the buyer to receive his money back is to apply to the Chinese courts. These rely mostly on documen-tary evidence so the claimant must provide as much proof as possible (reports from the ship-ping line, coldstore, Chamber of Commerce, surveyor, customs, etc.). All documents must be translated into Chinese and it is advisable to notarise them in the local Chinese Embassy.

When the supplier receives a claim he should immediately act on it and complete it within the timeframe in the contract. Usu-ally the results of an indepen-dent inspection can only prove problems with the quality of the product. Problems with the quan-tity are more difficult to handle once the goods have been taken from the customs zone and if no quantity control was performed there.

Our advice is simple. Try to avoid claims rather than trying to solve conflicts after the delivery.

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 conflict settlement assistance.

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

traders, and manufacturers


[ PROCESSING ]

Subjecting live tissue and other cellular structures to isostatic pressure of

between 300 to 600 MPa for just a few minutes denaturalises some of the proteins they contain. This process can still not be explained in all its individual details but it seems that longer mol-ecule chains in the proteins are destroyed leading to the modifi-cation of their outer coatings and membranes. Watching this pro-cess under a microscope reveals that they partly actually “dissolve”. The cell membranes thereby lose some of their original properties, particularly their firmness and stability. This effect which has been known for nearly a hundred years can be put to excellent use in the food processing industry.

One of the possible applications is lengthening the shelf-life of seafood and other foods: the ultra high pressure of about 300 MPa inactivates or kills microorgan-isms such as bacteria, viruses, funguses and yeasts as well as parasites. This effect can be compared with pasteurisation, only that during High Pres-sure Processing (HPP) no high temperatures are necessary. Anal-ogous to thermal pasteurisation, HPP is thus also called cold or pressure pasteurisation. The term “pascalisation” is occasionally used, too. This refers to the pascal, the unit for measuring pressure.

HPP is an ultra modern, envi-ronmentally friendly technology which, compared to conventional pasteurisation, offers some con-vincing benefits. And it is just as safe because it reliably knocks out dangerous germs (e.g. Listeria, Salmonella, E. coli) which length-ens the shelf-life of the products at least twofold and sometimes even threefold. In contrast to heating, pressure treatment maintains a product’s freshness much better. Sensory properties like flavour and texture, but also colouring, nutritional value and vitamins remain largely intact. High pres-sure technology enables the pro-duction of “clean label” products that do without preservatives and other additives. Furthermore, the technique gets good marks for environmental friendliness, too, because the pressure pumps only need water and electricity, i.e. no chemicals are required.

Pressure treatment possible in airless packs

HPP thus enables the produc-tion of products the way today’s consumers want them: fresh and natural, additive-free, germ-free, safe, produced in an environmentally friendly way, with a high convenience grade and a long shelf-life. The food industry’s first attempts to make practical use of HPP technology go back about two decades.

This technology has since asserted itself and is being used increasingly during food pro-duction processes: for example, for meat and ready-to-eat prod-ucts, fruit and vegetables. HPP is a particularly good alternative here because, by avoiding heat, ingredients that are sensitive to higher temperatures such as vita-mins and antioxidants remain

more intact. The high pressure’s sterilising effect has a preserv-ing effect and so the products do not need to be salted as much which is of benefit with regard to a healthy diet. HPP is also ideally suited to sliced or diced products that are packed in flexible airless bags (e.g. vacuum packs). The pressure takes effect through the elastic cover and kills any germs it

High pressure processing – Technology with great potential

Longer shelf-life and higher yieldWe have known for a century that extremely high pressure has a sterilising effect. But only today is technology so advanced that this effect can be put into practice. High pressure processing (HPP) not only extends the shelf-life of foods but also enables the meat of raw shellfish and crustaceans to be removed from the shell completely and still intact. The result: higher yield.

The basket containing the products enters the chamber of this horizontally arranged high pressure machine from above.


[ PROCESSING ]

contains. The volume of “pressure pasteurised” products is grow-ing continuously: They include high-quality fruit juices and milk products, as well as certain phar-maceutical and cosmetic prod-ucts. Although the market for HPP products is estimated at only 2 billion US dollars it is growing worldwide at an above-average speed.

High pressure processing offers particular advantages in the sea-food sector where in the case of shellfish and crustaceans it offers not only its well-known sterilis-ing effect but also destroys the proteins that are responsible for attaching the meat to the shell. This means that the meat is released completely so that it can be removed fully intact. Mussel and crab meat thus suffers no mechanical damages giving it a more attractive appearance. Yield rises, too, because no meat at all is left in the shell. In the case of scallops and oysters there are not even remains of the muscle that is responsible for closing the shell, and in the case of lob-ster and spiny lobster the meat can even be removed easily from delicate parts such as the legs or

the antennae. The meat from the tail and claws almost falls away from the shell on its own. HPP thus enables nearly 100 yield. This was previously impossible to achieve with raw products, even after meticulous handwork. With the help of HPP it is said that nearly 25 more meat can be gained from lobster claws. Pres-sure apparently also improves the ability of muscle proteins to bind water which prevents drying of the meat during storage and cooking. And it is of course also of advantage that crab or mus-sel meat is sterilised during HPP which lengthens shelf-life.

HPP enables the development of

high-convenience products

So HPP products have a natural, perfect appearance, as well as a longer shelf-life and this gives them premium character. Apart from that, this technology enables the development of new kinds of products with a high level of con-venience. One such is “easy open” oysters which are produced by putting an elastic band around the oyster prior to high pressure

processing to keep the shells together. After HPP, the meat is no longer attached to the shell but it remains “ready to eat” in its natural “packaging”. To enjoy it, the consumer only has to remove the elastic band, after which the upper shell can then be lifted without the use of a knife, and the meat slides out. This is a very con-sumer-friendly product because the easy opening mechanism prevents the risk of accidents that can occur when newcomers to oyster opening try their hand with a knife. Yield is high and after pressure pasteurisation the oysters keep for up to two weeks.The Canadian company Gour-met Chef Packers has developed a whole range of convenience products based on lobster meat with the intention of shifting lob-ster out of its “noble” niche. The high pressure technique enables the removal and use of meat from complicated body parts such as the legs and this is noticeable in the price asked for such products. The spectrum of these products includes seasoned lobster meat and lobster skewers as well as lob-ster carpaccio (pure lobster meat in the shape of a sausage that can be sliced), and formed sticks of

pure lobster meat. This product is ideal for the gastronomy sector in that it is relatively low-priced and very versatile in its use.

High pressure processing is an amazingly uncomplicated process. At the heart of the tech-nology are special high pressure machines that are in the mean-time available from nearly all manufacturers as either vertical or horizontal constructions. With these machines extremely high pressures of between 300 and 600 MPa can be reached, as are nec-essary to achieve the described effects. In comparison: 600 MPa correspond to a sea depth of 60 km, more than five times the pres-sure at the deepest point in the ocean, the Mariana Trench which is about 11 km deep. The products are put into the pressure cham-ber and, after this has been filled with water and tightly sealed, are subjected to pressure for a certain time. Two to three minutes are usually sufficient. The water in the chamber ensures even distribu-tion of the pressure which can then take effect on the product from all sides. This also explains why the products are not squashed despite the immense pressure and can at

The high pressure technique enables the removal and use of meat from complicated body parts.

Sensory properties like flavour and texture, but also colouring, nutritional value and vitamins remain largely intact after the product is subject to HPP.

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[ PROCESSING ]

the end of the treatment be taken out of the chamber without any deformation.

High costs currently impede wide usage

In spite of all the merits of High Pressure Processing there are sev-eral drawbacks that should not be overlooked. Th e relatively low product throughput is certainly one of the reasons why this tech-nology is not suited to broad use within the food industry. Manu-facturers like the Spanish NC Hyperbaric or the US-American Avure off er high pressure systems with capacities ranging from just a few litres (mainly for use in the research and development sec-tors) to several hundred litres, but even the biggest pressure cham-bers are by no means suffi cient to cover the requirements of large processing companies. Apart from that, pressure treatment is only possible in batches which is not particularly good for con-tinuous mass production. At the moment the technology is mainly used by small and medium-sized companies that produce

high-value products in not very large numbers.

Furthermore, scientifi c tests point to the fact that some foods are more strongly modifi ed by HPP than was presumed so far. As stated above, high pressure is known to infl uence proteins and the functionality of cell mem-branes which also play important roles in cell metabolism. Experi-ments with fi sh that is rich in fat have revealed that the activity of lipases, enzymes which break down fat, is not slowed down by high pressure but, on the con-trary, is accelerated. In the fi rst three to six days after treatment, fat oxidation rises rapidly. Th is can be seen, for example, in a reduced Omega 3 fatty acid con-tent. Th is would, of course, not be very desirable because the health value of fi sh and seafood is a key sales argument. Further, the researchers criticised that some fi llets looked “cooked” in places, despite the fact that the tempera-ture used in the experiments did not rise above 35°C. Th ey admit, however, that so far little is known about the processes that take

place during pressure treatment and that, by changing the basic conditions, it was very likely that the results could be optimised.

Th e main obstacle to the use of HPP, however, is the high costs of this technology. Th e investment costs alone for a small plant with a throughput of 150 kg per hour are about half a million dollars. Th e price of a plant with a through-put of 1,500 kg per hour already exceeds the one million dollar mark. Added to this are the run-ning costs for processing which, depending on product through-put, are said to be between 4 and 12 cents per kg (the bigger and the more effi cient the system, the

lower the cost). So although high pressure processing has a lot of advantages, in the face of such high costs a lot of small poten-tial users will probably decide against it. One solution to this dilemma might be to set up spe-cialised companies that off er high pressure processing as a service. Th e pay-per-use principle would make the technology more attrac-tive for a lot of customers, particu-larly since HPP products are very suitable for exporting to demand-ing markets with ambitious requirements... and HPP tech-nology is recognised by the FDA, the USDA and other international food safety authorities. mk

The product range of Gourmet Chef Packers from Canada includes several convenience products that are produced using High Pressure Processing.

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Degassing, aeration and stripping

Before the water runs back to the fi sh tanks the accumulated gases must be removed. Th is degassing process is carried out by aera-tion of the water, and the method is often referred to as stripping. Th e water contains carbon diox-ide from the fi sh respiration and from the bacteria in the biofi lter in the highest concentrations, but free nitrogen (N2) is also present. Accumulation of carbon dioxide and nitrogen gas levels will have detrimental eff ects on fi sh welfare and growth. Under anaerobic con-ditions hydrogen sulphide can be produced, especially in saltwater systems. Th is gas is extremely toxic to fi sh, even in low concentra-tions, and fi sh will be killed if the hydrogen sulphide is generated in the system.

Aeration can be accomplished by pumping air into the water whereby the turbulent contact between the air bubbles and the water drives out the gases. Th is underwater aeration makes it possible to move the water at the same time, for example if an aeration well system is used.

Th e aeration well system is how-ever not as effi cient for removing gases as the trickling fi lter system. In the trickling system gases are stripped off by physical contact between the water and plastic media stacked in a column. Water is led to the top of the fi lter over a distribution plate with holes, and fl ushed down through the plastic media to maximise turbulence and contact, the so called stripping process. Th e trickling fi lter is often referred to as a CO2 –stripper.

OxygenationTh e aeration process of the water will add some oxygen to the water through simple exchange between the gases in the water and the gases in the air depending on the saturation of the oxygen in the water. Th e equilibrium of oxy-gen in water is 100 saturation. When the water has been through the fi sh tanks, the oxygen con-tent has been lowered, typically down to 70, and the content is reduced further in the biofi lter. Aeration of this water will typi-cally bring the saturation up to around 90, in some systems 100 can be reached. Oxygen saturation higher than 100 in the

inlet water is however often pre-ferred in order to have suffi cient oxygen available for a high and stable fi sh growth. Higher satu-ration levels call for an oxygena-tion system using pure oxygen. Pure oxygen is often delivered in tanks in the form of liquid oxy-gen, but can also be produced on the farm in an oxygen generator. Th ere are several ways of mak-ing super-saturated water with oxygen contents reaching 200-300 . Typically oxygen cones or deep shafts are used. Th e princi-ple is the same. Water and pure oxygen are mixed under pressure whereby the oxygen is forced into the water. In the oxygen cone the pressure is accomplished with a pump creating a pressure of typi-cally around 1.4 bar in the cone. Pumping water under pressure into the oxygen cone consumes a lot of electricity. In the deep shaft the pressure is reached by digging a pipe loop down to for example 6 metres depth, and injecting the oxygen at the bottom of the loop. Th e pressure from the water col-umn above, in this case 0.6 bar, will force the oxygen into the water. Th e advantage of the deep shaft is that pumping costs are low, but the installation is trou-blesome and more expensive.

Ultraviolet lightUV disinfection works by applying light in wavelengths that destroy DNA in biological organisms. In aquaculture pathogenic bac-teria and one-celled organisms are targeted. Th e treatment has been used for medical purposes for decades and does not impact the fi sh as UV treatment of the water is applied out of the fi sh production area. It is important to understand that bacteria grow

so rapidly in organic matter that controlling bacterial numbers in traditional fi sh farms has limited eff ect. Th e best control is achieved when eff ective mechanical fi ltra-tion is combined with a thorough biofi ltration to eff ectively remove organic matter from the process water, thus making the UV radia-tion work effi ciently.

“Th e UV dose can be expressed in several diff erent units. One of the most widely used is micro Wattseconds per cm2 (μWs/cm2).

Chapter Two: The recirculation system step by step (continued)

Figure 2.12 Aeration well system.

Figure 2.13 Photo and drawing of trickling fi lter wrapped in a blue plastic liner to eliminate splashing on the fl oor (Billund Akvakulturservice, Denmark). The aeration/stripping process is also called CO2-stripping. The media in the trickling fi lter typically consists of the same type of media as used in fi xed bed biofi lters – see Figure 2.10.


[ AQUACULTURE ]

Guide to Recirculation Aquaculture

The efficiency depends on the size and species of the target organ-isms and the turbidity of the water. In order to control bacteria and viruses the water needs to be treated with roughly 2,000 to 10,000 μWs/cm2 to kill 90 of the organ-isms, fungi will need 10,000 to 100,000 and small parasites 50,000 to 200,000 μWs/cm2.” UV lighting used in aquaculture must work under water to give maximum effi-ciency, lamps fitted outside the water will have little or no effect because of water surface reflection.

OzoneToday, ozone (O3) is seldom used in fish production itself as the effect of over-dosing can cause severe injury to the fish. In fish farms placed inside buildings ozone can also be harmful to the people working in the area as they may inhale too much ozone. However ozone treatment is an efficient way of destroying

unwanted organisms by the heavy oxidation of organic matter and biological organisms. Ozone treat-ment can be preferred when the intake water to a recirculation system needs to be disinfected. In many cases, however, UV treat-ment is a good and safe alternative.

pH regulationThe nitrifying process in the biofil-ter produces acid and the pH level will fall. In order to keep a stable pH a base must be added to the water. In some systems a lime mixing sta-tion is installed dripping limewater into the system and thereby sta-bilizing pH. An automatic dosage system regulated by a pH-meter with a feedback impulse to a dosage pump is another option. With this system it is preferable to use sodium hydroxide (NaOH) as it is easy to handle making the system easier to maintain. Anyone handling acids or bases must be careful as it can severely burn eyes and skin. Safety precautions must be taken, and glasses and gloves must be worn while handling the chemicals.

Heat exchangeMaintaining an optimal water temperature in the culture system is most important as the growth rate of the fish is directly related to the water temperature. Using the intake water is a fairly simple way of regulating the temperature from day to day. In a closed recircula-tion system inside an insulated building the heat will slowly build up in the water, because energy in the form of heat is released from the fish metabolism and the bac-terial activity in the biofilter. Heat from friction in the pumps and the use of other installations will also accumulate. High temperatures in the system are therefore often a problem in an intensive recir-culation system. By adjusting the amount of cool fresh intake water into the system, the temperature can be regulated in a simple way.

In the wintertime in cold climates simple heating using an oil boiler connected to a heat exchanger to heat up the recirculated water is most often sufficient. The use of energy for this kind of heating depends mostly on the amount of cool intake water used and its temperature, although some heat also escapes from the building. In some cases, a heat recovery sys-tem, consisting of a titanium plate exchanger, can also be installed. The process water in the recircu-lation system is used to heat up (or cool down) the intake water by passing the water through the plate exchanger. The system is regulated by the use of a water temperature sensor connected to a temperature control unit that regulates the function of the tita-nium plate exchanger.

PumpsDifferent types of pumps are used for circulating the process water in the system. Pumping requires electricity, and low lifting heights and efficient and correctly installed pumps are important to keep running costs at a minimum.

The lifting of water should pref-erably occur only once for every recirculation cycle, whereby the water runs by gravity all the way through the system back to the pump sump. Pumps are most

often positioned in front of the biofilter system and the degas-ser as the water preparation process starts here. In any case, pumps should be placed after the mechanical filtration to avoid breaking the solids coming from the fish tanks.

Calculation of the total lifting height for pumping is the sum of the actual lifting height and the pressure losses in pipe runs, pipe bends and other fittings. This is also called the dynamic head. If water is pumped through a sub-merged biofilter before falling down through the degasser, a counter pressure from the biofilter will also have to be accounted for. Details on fluid mechanics and pumps are beyond the scope of this guide.

The total lifting height in most sys-tems today is less than 2 metres, which makes the use of low pressure pumps most efficient. However, the process of dissolv-ing pure oxygen into the pro-cess water requires centrifugal pumps as these pumps are able to create the required high pres-sure in the cone.

In some systems, the water is driven by blowing air into aeration wells. In these systems the degas-sing and the movement of water

Waterflow

In Out

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Figure 2.14 Oxygen cone and deep shaft.

Figure 2.15 UV treatment system.

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[ AQUACULTURE ]

New SeriesGuide to Recirculation Aquaculture

The 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 will be serialised over the next issues of the Eurofish Magazine. It is also available as a hard copy from the shop on the EUROFISH webite, www.eurofish.dk, for EUR35.

Table of ContentsChapter 1: Introduction to recirculation

aquaculture (EM6 2010)Chapter 2: The recirculation system step by step Components in a recirculation system -Fish tanks -Mechanical filtration (EM1 2011) -Biological treatment (EM1 2011) -Degassing, aeration, and stripping -Oxygenation -Utraviolet light -Ozone -PH regulation -Heat exchange -Pumps -Monitoring, control and alarms -Emergency system -Intake waterChapter 3: Fish species in recirculationChapter 4: Project planning and implementationChapter 5: Running a recirculation system.Chapter 6: Waste water treatmentChapter 7: Disease

Chapter 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.

are accomplished in one process, which makes low lifting heights possible. The efficiency of degas-sing and moving of water is how-ever not necessarily better than that of pumping water up over the degasser, because the efficiency of aeration wells in terms of using energy and the degassing efficiency is lower than using lifting pumps and stripping or trickling the water.

Monitoring, control and alarms

Intensive fish farming requires close monitoring and control of the production in order to main-tain optimal conditions for the fish at all times. Technical failures can easily result in substantial losses, and alarms are vital instal-lations for securing the operation.

In many modern farms, a central control system can monitor and control oxygen levels, tempera-ture, pH, water levels and motor functions. If any of the parameters moves out of the preset hysteresis values, a start/stop process will try to solve the problem. If the prob-lem is not solved automatically, an alarm will start. Automatic feeding can also be an integrated part of the central control system. This allows the timing of the feed-ing to be coordinated precisely with a higher dosage of oxygen as the oxygen consumption rises during feeding. In less sophisti-cated systems, the monitoring and control is not fully automatic, and personnel will have to make several manual adjustments.

Whatever the case, no system will work without the surveillance of the personnel working on the farm. The control system must therefore be fitted with an alarm system, which will call the per-sonnel if any major failures are about to occur. A reaction time of less than 20 minutes is recom-mended, even in situations where

automatic back-up systems are installed.

Emergency systemThe use of pure oxygen as a back-up is the number one safety precaution. The installation is simple, and consists of a hold-ing tank for pure oxygen and a distribution system with diffus-ers fitted in all tanks. If the elec-tricity supply fails a magnetic valve pulls back and pressurized

oxygen flows to each tank keep-ing the fish alive. To back up the electrical supply, a generator is necessary. In many cases the toxic ammonia will build up in the system when the water is not circulating. This problem will be the next to overcome after the oxygen availability has been solved by the oxygen back-up system. It is therefore important to get the water flow up and run-ning within an hour or so.

Intake waterWater used for recirculation should preferably be from a disease-free source or sterilised before going into the system. In most cases it is better to use water from a borehole, a well, or something similar than to use water coming directly from a river, lake or the sea. If a treatment system for intake water needs to be installed, it will typically consist of a sandfilter for microfiltration and a UV or ozone system for disinfection.


[ AQUACULTURE ]

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64 Eurofish Magazine 3/ 2011 www.eurofishmagazine.com

NEW SERIES: GUEST PAGES

Alistair Lane, European Aquaculture Society

The European Aquaculture Society is a network of individuals and companies that promotes the development of sustainable aquaculture through multidisciplinary research and the dissemination of information. Eurofish spoke with Alistair Lane, Executive Director, to learn his views on the future direction of European aquaculture.

CFP reform looks promising for European fish farmers

Eurofish: Aquaculture is still a tainted activity in the eyes of many NGOs, who feel that farm-ing fish and seafood pollutes the environment, destroys natural habitats, and the products them-selves are laced with antibiotics and other drugs. What can the industry do to improve its repu-tation and be more proactive in the future?

Alistair Lane: The image of aquaculture has two facets: the first is the perception of the qual-ity of aquaculture products. We know from perception studies in several European countries that this image is generally very good for products produced in Europe. For the majority of products that are imported into the European market, certification and retailer charter programmes are looking to solve product quality issues such as residues at source. The second facet is the image of the activity and here, the empha-sis is on good governance, best practice and (potentially) certi-fication. Positive messages need to get to consumers from trusted

sources (family, doctors, con-sumer organisations...) and this is where we need to be more pro-active in our communication.

EF: There is a debate about the sustainability of farmed fish as it depends on harvesting wild stocks to be converted into fish meal and fish oil. How can the farming industry respond to this?AL: The industry has already responded to this by replace-ment of fish meal and to an extent fish oil in aquaculture feeds and by certification of the fisheries that provide the source of our marine meals and oils. There is significant research effort based on increasing our understanding of the biological basis of nutrition in many cul-tured species. However, I per-sonally believe that replacement by terrestrial plant protein is not the only way forward and that we should continue efforts to look at aquatic sources of plant protein and oils as our targets for feed ingredients. The argument that wild fish stocks currently used

for meal/oil could be used as direct food sources for humans is easy to reinforce for terres-trial plants, if these become the main aquaculture feed ingredi-ents. And for consumers, there is nothing more natural than using

marine plants and other sources for feed for cultured (marine) species.

EF: Aquaculture is seen as the only way to ensure that global fish consumption does not flag.

Alistair Lane, Executive Director of the European Aquaculture Society.


NEW SERIES: GUEST PAGES

However growth in aquacul-ture in Europe is lagging behind other parts of the world. What is the reason for this and do you see any future improvement in the situation.

AL: The reasons are clear and have been very well communi-cated to the European institu-tions. The implementation of the 2009 strategy for the sustainable development of aquaculture is the key. It will look to address issues such as licensing, provi-sion of suitable rearing sites and reducing the legislative burden. However, the emphasis is on Member States to provide the political will; the availability of sites and the enabling legislative environment that will be neces-sary to stimulate investment and hence growth. The current CFP reform and associated initiatives (funding, observatory...) looks very promising to stimulate and facilitate expansion in the Euro-pean sector.

EF: Carps, among other fish, are popular in Central and Eastern Europe particularly at certain times of the year such as Christ-mas and Easter, but volumes are by and large not increas-ing? What is the reason for this and what can producers do to increase demand for carp?

AL: It will be difficult to increase the demand for carp, despite advances in processing. But the sustainable development of pond aquaculture in Europe will come from the revenue gener-ated from their provision of eco-system services. The pond pro-duction system does not need to be fed or intensive. Its value in water management, in biodi-versity and in educational and recreational activities should provide a diversity of revenue

streams for companies operating these systems and there should also be recognition and reward from government for their important contribution to con-servation, flood protection and these other ecosystem services.

EF: Closed recirculation systems are better for the environment than flow through systems, and reduce the risk of disease, but they are expensive and require a degree of technical expertise to operate. Do you see them becoming more widespread in Europe in the future and what species are likely candidates for this technology?

AL: RAS systems are of course already in use for much of Euro-pean trout production, where reduced use of water is the key. For the very high density recir-culation systems, we also have examples of industrial level upscaling. But I see a certain paradox here. At present, RAS systems may be less competi-tive than other systems for the production of ‘same species’ – otherwise the sector would have already switched to that system. And for the culture of ‘exotic species – catfish, tila-pia, barramundi... – it would appear that they are less com-petitive compared to high vol-ume imports at present, where the food miles advantage needs to be balanced by, for example, energy utilisation and cost. So it is not clear to me what the spe-cies mix in RAS systems would be, with the notable exception of turbot and sole in marine recirculation systems.

EF: Organic aquaculture of fish and seafood though still very limited has grown to about 80,000 tonnes (against 60m tonnes of conventionally farmed

products) per year. Do you see a significant shift from conven-tional over to organic production in the near future?

AL: While certain producers in certain countries are produc-ing to organic standards to reply to specific market niches and incre ase competitiveness, I per-sonally don’t see this becom-ing ‘mainstream’. In almost all food sectors, the gap between organic and responsibly pro-duced ‘conventional’ produce is narrowing and so, seemingly, is the premium that consumers are prepared to pay. I do not see that farmed aquatic products would be so different.

EF: The certification of aquacul-ture products has become some-thing of a minefield with several labels that represent slightly dif-ferent, and often overlapping, criteria. This does the industry no favours as it confuses the con-sumer. Do you see a way out of this tangle?

AL: The tangle could be straight-ened out by clear EU ecolabels and organic standards and will most certainly be driven by the retail sector, that will decide its prefer red own-brand or other B2C label.

EF: Finfish farming in the Medi-terranean is dominated by seabass, seabream, and trout. Which other species do you see coming up in the region?

AL: Ah, the eternal question! While the expansion of sea bass and sea bream in the Mediterra-nean has been an excellent suc-cess story, we still do not have the species mix that allows value addition through faster growing species and higher filleting yield. Some believe that meagre could

be the candidate, others in other species. We are still experiment-ing here...

EF: Which new farmed freshwa-ter and marine species do you see becoming popular in Europe and why? Are you familiar with species of fish that have suffered on the market because their names failed to resonate with consumers?

AL: Although we have few, high volume “staples”, the diversity of the offer in fish and shellfish products is a major strength of the seafood sector in general. Our species mix will need to answer to consumer demand and find a competitive position in various market forms (chilled, frozen...) and segments (traditional point of sale, multiple retail, hotel res-taurant and catering...). I hope very much that we will achieve a better trade balance between exports and imports in the near future. Concerning actual spe-cies, I would like to see a focus on highest quality products that are possibly already known to consumers and where their pro-duction in aquaculture systems shows a clear advantage to soci-ety faced with declining catches. So turbot, sole, charr, pike-perch are all good finfish candidates. But also we have other candi-dates such as urchin, octopus, cuttlefish and especially sea-weeds that can contribute to this diversity in our European sea-food heritage. As far as names are concerned, then we have to avoid national market common names that give rise to confusion in the best case, and to fraud in the worst. Finally, we should not forget the valuable contribu-tion that aquaculture activities can provide in enhancement of fisheries for food or recreational purposes.

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Ambitious plans to expand trout production

in Turkey



Antalya Balik

Eurofi sh Magazine eurofi sh.dk

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Liquid smokeBBQ-OilHickory-SmokeSmoke PowderLiquid-Smokers

Promens is the world’s leading manufacturerof rotational molded insulated plastic

containers and pallets.Promens is the manufacturer of Sæplast,one of the best-proven brands in the worldof food approved multi-purpose containers.

Our Reputationand Experience

are Your Guarantee

For more information see our website:www.promens.com/saeplast

June 3 / 2011

Eurofish M

agazine





in Turkey

www.eurofi shmagazine.com ISSN 1868-5943

June 3 / 2011 C 44346

EU

RO

FISH



011

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 PublicationOfficial airline/air cargo handler

& hotel chain



Antalya Balik

01_Cover 4p.indd 1

24/05/11 5:41 PM

01_Cover 4p.indd 2 26/05/11 12:42 PM

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

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 � � � � � � � � � �

Styropor® ( polystyrene )compressors

Salmon slicers

SALMCO Technik GmbHReinskamp 1D-22117 HamburgTel.: +49-40-713 14 72Fax : +49-40-712 98 70Internet: www.salmco.deE-Mail: [email protected]

Ristic AGAm Espen 15, D-90559 OberferriedenTel.: 0 91 83 / 40 90, Fax: 0 91 83 / 4 09 49Web: www.ristic.com, E-Mail: [email protected]

Insulated Containers

Wire ropes

Drahtseilwerk GmbHP.O. Box 100325D-27503 BremerhavenPh.: 0471/93189-0, Fax: -39Trawl-Wires, Atlas Ropes

SALMON SLICER... worldwideR. MAASS + PARTNER GMBH

Röntgenstrasse 12D-21493 SchwarzenbekTel.: +49 41 51 / 866 955Fax: +49 41 51 / 867 188www.maass-slicers.de

Transport

D-27472 CUXHAVENGrodener Chaussee 61Telefon 0 47 21 / 208-0

Telefax 0 47 21 /208-100

FRANKFURT / MAIN-AIRPORTGebäude 456 A, Raum Nr. 3435

Telefon 0 69 / 69 76 76-30Telefax 0 69 / 69 76 76-50

Packaging

Frozen seafood specialties

Liquid smoke

tasty-Smoke GmbHHövelsstr. 2748488 EmsbürenTel.: +49 (0) 591 610 4451Fax: +49 (0) 591 610 4507www.liquid-smoke.com

Liquid smokeBBQ-OilHickory-SmokeSmoke PowderLiquid-Smokers

Promens is the world’s leading manufacturerof rotational molded insulated plastic

containers and pallets.Promens is the manufacturer of Sæplast,one of the best-proven brands in the worldof food approved multi-purpose containers.

Our Reputationand Experience

are Your Guarantee

For more information see our website:www.promens.com/saeplast

June 3 / 2011

Eurofish M

agazine





in Turkey

www.eurofi shmagazine.com ISSN 1868-5943

June 3 / 2011 C 44346

EU

RO

FISH



011

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 PublicationOfficial airline/air cargo handler

& hotel chain



Antalya Balik

01_Cover 4p.indd 1

24/05/11 5:41 PM

01_Cover 4p.indd 2 26/05/11 12:42 PM

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

eurofish magazine 3 2011

Documents

icelandic fisheriesawards

icelandic fishing industry

eurofish magazineis

friends old

fish relatedexports

fish info networkpoland

complete supply chain

mercator media eventthe