eurofish magazine 4 2010

nn

n T

he F

ish

Pub

lishi

ng H

ouse

Eur

ofis

h M

agaz

ine

July

4

/ 201

0

FISH INFO network

EUROFISHMAGA Z I N E

Poland: Greater regionalisation in governance aspired

Processing lines: Productive, resource-saving, hygienic

Spain: Consumption of seafood shows marked increase

www.eurofishmagazine.com ISSN 1868-5943 July 4 / 2010 C 44346

Seeking customers in Eastern Europe

Cover Story Tunamar

SALMCO slicers

Perfectly simple...

simply perfect!

SALMCO SM 3027

Carpaccio Slicer

SALMCO SM 3026

Semi Automatic Cold Slicer

SALMCO SM 3029

Fully Automatic Cold Slicer

SALMCO SM 5418

Double Lane Slicer

SALMCO SM 5290

Vertical Slicer

SALMCO SM 5218

Shingle Slicer

SALMCO SM 5118

Single Lane Slicer

S

M

S

M

5

5

0

0

A

L

C

O

r

i

o

t

a

l

S

e

r

H

o

z

n

l

i

c

SALMCO SM 3015

Manual Slicer

SALMCO Technik GmbH · Hamburg · Germany

Tel.: +49 40 713 14 72 · e-mail: [email protected] · web: www.salmco.com

Salmco Technik GmbH · Hamburg · GermanyTel.: +49 40 713 14 72 · E-Mail: [email protected] · Internet: www.salmco.com

The fastest way to advertise in Eurofish Magazine

FISH INFO network



Processing lines: Productive, resource-saving, hygienicSpain: Consumption of seafood shows marked increase

www.eurofi shmagazine.com ISSN 1868-5943

July 4 / 2010 C 44346

Seeking customers in Eastern EuropeCover Story Tunamar

Eckhard PreußMarderstieg 7, D-21717 Fredenbeck, Germany

Phone +49 (0) 41 49 / 80 20, Fax +49 (0) 41 49 / 72 92

E-Mail: [email protected]

Aleksandra Petersen, Eurofish MagazineH.C. Andersens Boulevard 44-46, DK-1553 Copenhagen V, Denmark

Phone +45 333 777 63, Fax +45 333 777 56


Crustaceans

n n n n n n n n n n Supply SourCeS n n n n n n n n n n

packaging

Salmon slicers

Smoked salmon

liquid smoke

Styropor® ( polystyrene ) compressors

Wire ropes

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

SALMON SLICER... worldwideR. MAASS + PARTNER GMBH

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

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

Insulated Containers

Frozen seafood specialties

Hamburger Feinfrost GmbH - Frozen Quality ProductsGr. Elbstrasse 158 - 22767 Hamburg

Tel.: +49 (40) 39 92 92-0, Fax: +49 (40) 39 92 92 39E-Mail: [email protected] - www.hafro.de

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]

FeinfischräuchereiNoll GmbH

D-46514 SchermbeckTel.: 0 28 53/20 57, Fax: 14 65

Web: www.fisch-noll.deE-Mail: [email protected]

tasty-Smoke GmbHHövelsstr. 2748488 EmsbürenTel.: +49 (0) 5 91 / 6 10 44 51Fax: +49 (0) 5 91 / 6 10 45 07www.liquid-smoke.com

Liquid SmokeBBQ-oilHickory-SmokeSmoke PowderLiquid-Smokers

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

Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010 3www.eurofishmagazine.com

Poland – In June Poland became the thirteenth country to join Eurofish, an occasion which is marked by the coverage of Poland in this issue. The feature opens with an in-terview with Mr Kazimierz Plocke, Secretary of State, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, who shares his thoughts on some of the issues that either impact or have the potential to influence the Polish fisheries sector. Through the coverage it is possible to see the important role played by European funding mechanisms in the development and modernisation of the Polish industry. Read more on page 46

PathogenCombat – An EU-funded project, which brought together scientists and industry from sixteen European states and Australia, PathogenCombat has several research teams working on new and traditional ways to inactivate pathogens that render food unsafe for consumption. The researchers efforts attempted to answer two basic questions, firstly, how reliable are the inactivation steps in combination with growth inhibiting factors such as CO2 enriched atmosphere during packaging? And secondly, how do pathogens react to the often only sub-lethal treatments? Read about the impact of mild processing techniques on pathogens and how treatment methods often need to be combined to be effective in this article by Dr Manfred Klinkhardt on page 12

Spain – The Spanish market for seafood is characterised not only by large volumes but also a wide variety of fish and seafood. Domestic fishery production reached a peak of 1.4 million tonnes in 1975 but has declined steadily since. Per capita fish and seafood consumption has been increasing however as Spaniards become more aware of the health benefits of fish and to sustain this demand imports have climbed from 136,000 tonnes in 1976 to 1.6 million tonnes in 2009. The fish is sold through a well developed system of auctions, wholesale markets, traditional central markets, and finally, the re-tail system. The fishing fleet as in other parts of Europe has been sharply reduced from about 20,000 vessels in the 80s to 13,000 vessels today. The freshwater aquaculture sector is made up mainly of rainbow trout, which has seen a decline in production due to a combination of factors, in particular, competition with imported whitefish fillets. Read more on page 20

Fish processing equipment – Fish processing machinery has been evolving steadily over the years. Today there is hardly a task that cannot be performed by a machine, whether it is heading, gutting filleting, pin bone removing, trimming or cutting. Even the removal of delicate internal organs or roe sacs can be safely left to a machine. Equipment manufacturers can combine the machines that perform the various operations into one processing line. This has its advantages, but can also be a drawback for the processor. But there is no denying that machines mean speed and precision, consistent quality, as well as improved hygiene in a processing operation. Read more on page 58

European funding plays an important role in Polish

industry development

In this issue

http://issuu.com/action/page?page=46




4 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010

News 6 International News

Projects 12 PathogenCombat:

Reducing food-borne diseases in Europe Inactivation of pathogens by mild processing techniques

Cover Story 16 Tunamar seeks customers

in Eastern Europe Sashimi-grade tuna for European industry

Traceability 56 Experiences from

implementation of traceability How to get more information about your fish product

Argentina page 64

Australia page 11

Belgium page 6, 7, 62

China page 10

Croatia page 6

Denmark page 7

Indonesia page 62

Italy page 9

Mexico page 62

Morocco page 63

Norway page 10

Poland page 6, 46

Russia page 9

Spain page 16, 20

United Kingdom page 8,10

USA page 8

Vietnam page 64

Worldwide Fish News

Contents Eurofish around the world Contents

Spain 20 The market for seafood in Spain

Consumption of fish and seafood shows marked increase

26 Interview with Rosa Quintana, Minister for the Marine, Government of Galicia Developing a Galician brand for fish and seafood

28 Interview with Juan Manuel Vieites, General Secretary, ANFACO EU Agreement with Pacific States ignores domestic tuna industry concerns

30 Jealsa Rianxeira, S.A. Investing in automation to stay competitive

32 Iberconsa Frozen fish exports to 55 countries

34 Pescanova Group Aquaculture production on two continents

36 Paquito SL Frozen mussels and breaded squid for the European retail sector

38 Peter Taboada Germicidal water to extend the shelf life of fish and seafood

40 Stolt Sea Farm SA A big fish in a small pond

42 Grupo Tres Mares Rainbow trout products for EU and Russian markets

44 Pescados Marcelino Prices for farmed mussels gradually recover







































Processing 58 Processing lines for seafood:

productive, resource-saving, hygienic From fish to fillet, from portion to end product

Fish Infonetwork News 62 Projects

63 Events

Service 65 Diary Dates

66 Imprint

66 List of Advertisers

Contents Eurofish around the world Contents

Poland 46 Interview with Mr Kazimierz Plocke,

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Poland supports moves for greater regionalisation in governance

48 Bone cutters for carp processing Carp bones – threat for consumers and production volumes

50 Trends and possibilities within Baltic sprat processing Development of new sprat products could increase consumption

52 Losos Investments in quality give dividends in strong brand recognition

53 Expansion of the fishing harbour and boat repair facilities in the Port of Jastarnia

54 Sprat fishing in Poland Modernisation results in marked increase in quality aboard fishing vessel

55 North Atlantic Producers Organization Collection of North Atlantic fishing data an important part of NAPO’s actvities

55 Niemodlin fish farm Modernised with the help of EU funds














6 Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010 www.eurofishmagazine.com

[ intErnational nEws ]

Poland becomes the 13th member of EUROFISHPoland became the 13th member of EUROFISH International Organisation when it deposited the Instrument of Ratification at FAO Headquarters in Rome on 21 June 2010. The country signed the Agreement for the Estab-lishment of the International Organisation for the Development of Fisheries in Eastern and Central Europe in January 2009. Poland joins the other Baltic Sea region states, adding weight to the pres-ence of the Baltic region in EUROFISH. “We warmly welcome Poland as a member of our organisation,” says Carmen Rodriguez Muñoz, Spain,

Chairperson of the Governing Council of EUROFISH. The organization has emerged as a key player in the post harvest fisheries and aquaculture sec-tor since it was established in 2003 as a successor to the FAO-executed EASTFISH Project. Our role is to promote the fish processing and aquacul-ture industries in our member countries and to facilitate the development of trade opportunities both among our members, and between them and the rest of Europe, says Ms Muñoz. We work with our partners creating ways to get better value for traditional fisheries and aquaculture products, and disseminating information about new ones. Aina Afanasjeva, director of Eurofish says, “Poland has a highly dynamic processing sector and a significant aquaculture industry and we look forward to developing and ex-ecuting projects for the mutual benefit of Poland and our other members.” A special coverage of the Polish fisheries sector in the August 2010 issue of the Eurofish Magazine will mark Poland’s membership of EUROFISH. Eurofish now has 13 member countries. These are Albania, Bulgaria, Croa-tia, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, and Turkey.

Poland signing the EUROFISH Agreement at the FAO headquarters in Rome in January 2009. After ratification by the Polish parliament Poland deposited the Instrument of Ratification at FAO Headquarters in Rome in June 2010 formally becoming a member of EUROFISH. From left, Lidia Kacalska-Bienkowska, Fisheries Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Poland; Wojciech Ostrowski, Permanent Representative of Poland to FAO; Kazimierz Florian Plocke, Secretary of State for Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland; Victor Hjort, Eurofish.

Brussels: Commission seeks public comment on action plan to reduce seabird catchesThe European Commission is launching a public consultation to contribute to the proposed European Union action plan to limit the interaction between seabirds and fishing gear. This interaction often results in the death of the birds and at the same time reduces the profitability of the fishing operation. The action plan is based upon the outcome of an assessment carried out by ICES, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, that identified the main areas and the main fisheries that suf-fer from the problem. These in-clude fisheries in the Mediterra-nean, North and Baltic seas and off the southwest of Ireland, that use longlines and gill nets. The

Commission also represents the EU on the FAO’s Commission on Fisheries in all matters relating to the international plan of action to reduce the incidence of catches of seabirds on longlines, and has used this experience as well in the formulation of the proposed action plan. By opening the pro-posal to contributions from the public, the Commission hopes to gather the views of all the stake-holders involved. A study on the social, economic, and environ-mental impacts of the measures to reduce catches of seabirds in fishing gear will also be commis-sioned. The action plan will draw on both the study and the public consultation and is scheduled for adoption next year.

Croatia: Offshore mariculture to play a vital role in ensuring future seafood supplies

Global per capita consumption of fish has been increasing steadily from an average of 11.5kg during the 1970’s, 12.5kg in the 1980’s to 14.4kg in the 1990’s. Consumption in the 21st century has continued to grow and preliminary figures from the FAO for 2007 and 2008 show a new increase to 17.1kg per capita. At the same time capture

fisheries production has been about 90 million tonnes for each of the last fifteen years and chances of this increasing are remote. The source of growth in fish produc-tion is the freshwater and marine aquaculture industry which has been growing at 10% a year for the past 20 years. In 2008 aquaculture production was 53m tonnes, a vol-

The third offshore mariculture conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia was organized by Mercator Media and attracted more than 100 participants from 28 countries.



Brussels: To eat cheap – move to MacedoniaThe EU may legally be a single market but food prices range widely across its 27 member states, according to data from Brussels, reports Keith Nuthall on just-food.com. The most re-cent survey of 500 comparable products by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical agency, shows in 2009 the price of a comparable basket of food and non-alcoholic bever-ages was more than twice as high in the most expensive EU country than the cheapest. Denmark was nearly 40% above the average. Ireland, Finland, Luxembourg, Austria, Belgium, Germany and France were between 10% and 30% above the average.

At the other end of the spectrum were the Baltic states - Latvia,

Estonia, and Lithuania - and the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, with price levels be-tween 10% and 30% below the average. Meanwhile, Bulgaria, Romania and Poland saw prices between 30% and 40% below the average. Prices closer to the mean were found in Italy, Cy-prus, Sweden and Greece (up to 10% above average), and the UK, the Netherlands, Spain, Slovenia, Malta and Portugal - up to 10% below.

Eurostat also looked outside the EU, and found Norway even more expensive – with its food basket costing 54% more than the EU av-erage. And to eat cheap – move to Macedonia where food prices are 52% below the EU average.

products have stayed broadly sta-ble over the period, with a slight in-crease for smoked trout and a slight decline for seabass and seabream. Imports of frozen pangasius fillets into the EU grew explosively from less than 50,000 tonnes in 2005 to

just over 200,000 tonnes in 2008. The growth in imports of the fish slowed considerably in 2009, but still recorded an increase. Between 2006 and 2008 the price per kilo dropped sharply from EUR2.3 to just over EUR1.8.

ume that is expected to increase to almost 120m tonnes by 2020.

However, while the production of fish and seafood from aquacul-ture is expected to increase in the future, the industry is also facing a number of constraints that ham-per growth. At the recently con-cluded offshore mariculture con-ference in Croatia delegates heard that one of the main problems is the lack of space for the industry to develop due to competition with other sectors including tour-

ism, energy, as well as the prolif-eration of marine protected areas. One possible solution has been to move the industry offshore as has now become mandatory in Turkey. While this increases costs, delegates also heard of the ad-vantages including faster growing times, improved product quality, less environmental impacts and reduced risk of disease outbreaks. Other speakers at the conference discussed how marine aquacul-ture could coexist and even mutu-ally benefit from other industries.

Denmark: Import volumes of fish into the EU increased by 20% in 2009The EU is the world’s largest im-porter of fish and seafood by a huge margin. According to the FAO, in 2009 while Japan and the US each imported USD13bn dol-lars worth of fishery products, the figure for the EU was US39.5bn. Imports into the EU increased from 9bn tonnes in 2008 to 11bn tonnes in 2009. The Organisation for Dan-ish Aquaculture has analysed the trends in imports of fish from Tur-key, and pangasius from Viet Nam into the EU-27 over the period 2005

to 2009, based on data from Euro-stat. Looking at European imports of fresh and frozen sea bass and sea bream from Turkey the data shows that imports peaked at about 16,000 tonnes in 2007 but then fell back to just over 14,000 tonnes in 2008 and 2009. Smoked trout im-ports have stayed stable at about 2000 tonnes from 2007 to 2009, while imports of frozen trout larger than 1 kg hovered around 2,000 tonnes up to 2008 but then jumped to about 5,000 t. Prices of all three

http://issuu.com/action/openurl?url=www.salas-zivis.com



BILBAOPALACIO DE EUSKALDUNA17th-18th November 2010, SPAIN.

Registration & booking:www.plancalidadproductospesqueros.es

More information:Sandra Rellán [email protected] (Phone: +34 986 469303)Gonzalo Ojea [email protected] (Phone: +34 986 469301)

RD&I IN THE FISH SECTOR

II INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON “QUALITY OF FISH AND SEAFOOD PRODUCTS”

from the UK, says the company. The device will be eligible for European Fisheries Fund grant

support for fishermen purchas-ing and installing the device on their vessels.

US: Pescanova USA CEO joins Global Aquaculture Alliance BoardThe Global Aquaculture Alli-ance, a trade association for the promotion of environmentally and socially responsible aqua-culture, has developed a range of international standards for the aquaculture industry. Called Best Aquaculture Practices the stand-ards apply to quality, traceability, environmental sustainability, as well as animal and human wel-fare. Standards have been de-veloped for shrimp, tilapia, and channel catfish farms and shrimp hatcheries. The Alliance is gov-erned by a board of directors

whose members serve two year terms. The most recent addition to the board is Domingo Moreira, the chief executive officer of Pes-canova USA. Pescanova Group is a multi-faceted, vertically inte-grated company based in Spain that has international interests in fishing, aquaculture and frozen foods. Pescanova’s corporate em-phasis on sustainability makes Pescanova USA a good fit as a new Governing Member said the GAA in a press release. A gradu-ate of Harvard Business School, Moreira has spent 14 years in the

UK: Vessel stability monitor can reduce the risk of mishaps at seaThe results of a study carried out by the Marine Accident Investi-gation Branch analyzing fishing accidents in the UK between 1992 and 2006 revealed that around 60 per cent of vessel losses at sea are due to foundering or capsizing, and stated that the fatal accident rate for UK fishermen from 1996 to 2005 was 115 times higher than that for the general workforce in the country as a whole.

The results were published at the end of 2008. The study also showed that while the acci-dent rate in other industries has been declining in recent years, there has been no correspond-ing reduction in the UK fishing industry.

Foundering and capsizing are associated with a loss of ves-sel stability, a parameter that can change due to overloading, poorly designed modifications to the vessel, water ingress, the development of ice on the super-structure, or for other reasons. A Scotland company, Hook Ma-rine, has developed a device that monitors the stability of the ves-sel while at sea issuing a warning when a potentially dangerous situation develops. The device, the SeaWise Vessel Stability Monitor, was developed with as-sistance from Seafish, a public body for the UK seafood sector, and has generated interest in markets in the Netherlands, Ire-land, Canada, and the US apart

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



You are working hard for your quality products.

www.multivac.com

A wide range of packagingmachinery and automationsystems makes Multivac oneof the leading manufacturersof packaging solutions forfoodstuffs.

This range covers all sizesand quantities of fish andseafood products:

• whole fish and fillets• chunked and sliced• fresh and frozen• smoked and in brine.

Protect them with Multivac‘s customized packagingsolutions for fish and seafood products.

Our packaging solutions aredesigned to produce whatyour products deserve:BETTER PACKAGING.

Russia: Second Interfish Exhibition to include aquaculture conference

The second edition of the Interfish Exhibition will be held in Moscow on 26-29 October 2010. The event will feature a com-prehensive programme of conferences, panel discussions with senior officers from the Federal Agency for Fisheries, a business forum, and seminars, alongside a conventional exhibition for the fisheries, aquaculture, and fish processing industries. This year the business forum envisages an open dialogue between repre-sentatives from industry, business and research, as well as the administration. Among the most urgent issues on the agenda are: State support to the shipbuilding industry, innovative projects, specialized credit, leasing and insurance program, infrastructure, logistics, as well as international standards. With the expected participation of international delegates from both industry and governments the event will encourage the building of relation-ships, and attract domestic and foreign investment flows. The event is being co-organised by the Federal Agency for Fisheries of the Russian Federation and Staraya Krepost, an event organ-

iser. The involvement of the Federal Agency will ensure a unique insight into the Russian fisheries and aquaculture industries as they exist today and how they are likely to evolve in the future. Further information is available at www.interfish-expo.ru.

Andrey Krayniy, the Head of the Federal Fishery Agency of Russia opening the Interfish Exhibition in 2009.

Italy: Fishers hand over driftnetsFishermen in the Italian port of Bagnara Calabra, in the region of Calabria, on the western tip of south-ern Italy have handed over to the authorities 250 km of driftnets used for the capture of swordfish, reports the marine conservation organization Oceana. While hailing the move Oceana points out drift nets were banned in the EU eight years ago and that other types of illegal drift nets are still being used causing the un-necessary death of numbers of cetaceans and turtles. Driftnets are a passive gear that can be up to 20 km long and up to 35 m high, and are popular for their ease of use. In Italy two types of driftnets are used, one for the capture of swordfish and the other for albacore and frigate tuna, and despite being handed over in Bagnara Calabra, they are still widely deployed by boats from other ports in Calabria and on Sicily.

seafood sector. He joined the Pescanova Group with its acquisition of Ladex LLC in 2007. Moreira was the chairman of Ladex, a leading aquaculture company in Central America active in seafood trading in the United States and Europe.

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



Asia Pacific and Hong Kong’s Premier Seafood Trade Event

Asian Seafood Exposition

7–9 September, 2010Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre

Wanchai, Hong Kong www.AsianSeafoodExpo.com

Co-located with:

Connecting retail, foodservice, and distribution buyers with suppliers of live, fresh, frozen and packaged seafood products, equipment and services from around the world.

Register to Attend or for Exhibiting Information visit www.AsianSeafoodExpo.com

Supported by: Member:Produced by:

Norway: Strong export performance in salmon and whitefish in year to MayNorwegian exports of seafood have set a new re-cord in the period January to May 2010 when they increased by 16% to NOK19.9bn (EUR2.5bn), re-ports the Norwegian Seafood Export Council. It is the strong performance by Norwegian salmon and groundfish that has contributed to the in-crease in exports. Salmon exports at the end of May for the year to date went up by almost 30% to NOK11.1bn compared to the same period last year. In May alone export values increased by 26% with the average price per kilo of whole fresh salmon increasing by almost NOK5 to NOK39.91. France and Poland are the main importers of Norwegian salmon. Clipfish (salted and dried whitefish) ex-ports are up 14% to NOK1.3bn for the year to May compared to the same period last year. This is the total figure for clipfish made with cod, tusk, ling

and saithe. While exports of cod, tusk, and ling clipfish increased handsomely saithe clipfish re-corded a slight decline. Salted fish exports also in-creased in the January to May period particularly to Portugal where they went up by almost 300% to NOK337m. However, markets in the Nether-lands, Italy and France all showed less appetite for salted fish than the previous year. The strong per-formance by salmon and whitefish exports more than made up for a decline in the exports of the small pelagics, herring and mackerel. Herring ex-ports fell by 11% in value to NOK1.7bn while mack-erel exports dropped by NOK129m to NOK472m a decline of 21%. Exports of herring to Russia at NOK512m make it the biggest importer of Norwe-gian herring, while Russia and Turkey are the big-gest importers of mackerel.

Hong Kong: Diversified expands into Asia with seafood showDiversified Business Communications organisers of the European Seafood Exposition in Brussels and the Boston Seafood Show in the US has now set its sights on Asia where it is launching the Asian Sea-food Exposition in Hong Kong on 7-9 September 2010. “The high levels of the Asian market’s interna-tional seafood consumption and the ease of trade in and out of Hong Kong provide a clear opportu-nity to introduce an event with a focus on seafood products,” said Mary Larkin, who oversees Diversi-

fied’s global seafood events, SeafoodSource.com, and SeaFood Business as Group Vice President. The event will offer an array of products and services to buyers from the Asian retail and food service sector. The new event will be launched together with Res-taurant and Bar Hong Kong, a show for the hospi-tality sector. Fish and seafood are popular in Hong Kong. The average person consumes almost 26 kg per year according to the 2005-2007 food consump-tion survey of Hong Kong, a rate that, according to

UK: New President for the Scottish Fishermen’s FederationAlan Coghill, the Secretary of the Ork-ney Fisheries Association (OFA), has been elected as the new President of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation by members of the SFF’s Executive Committee at a meeting in Lerwick, Shetland on 24 June. He has been Secretary of the OFA for the last 15 years and has played a key role in rep-resenting the interests of fishermen in Orkney and the rest of Scotland. Upon his election Mr Coghill said there were many challenges ahead, including threats from Iceland and the Faroes to increase their mackerel quotas, and the continuing difficulties for the whitefish and prawn sectors in terms of effort control and other restrictions. These are all issues that must be re-solved to ensure that fishing has a sustainable and profitable future. Mr Coghill replaces Ian Gatt, who decided to step down from the post following his recent appointment as Chief Executive of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association.

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



Australia: International conference focuses on benefits of seafood for mental healthHow to avoid an epidemic of men-tal illness and other brain disor-ders that experts warn will be the world’s largest single health prob-lem within a decade is a focus of an international conference in Australia later this year. At a recent conference in London researchers described as the world’s foremost authorities in neuroscience and nutrition warned of “unthink-able health, social and fiscal conse-quences” unless there is increased consumption of DHA, an Omega-3 oil found most abundantly in sea-food. Many of these researchers will gather again at the Interna-tional Seafood & Health Confer-ence (ISHC) in Melbourne in No-vember. ISHC Chairman Mr Roy Palmer said the conference would pursue answers to many of the is-sues raised at the London event. One of the major issues discussed would be mental ill health and oth-er brain disorders, which experts forecast will be the top two diseas-es in the world by 2020. To combat this they have called for a restora-tion of traditional fish and seafood consumption. Professor Michael Crawford, Director of the Institute of Brain Chemistry & Human Nu-trition at London Metropolitan University, and patron of the Mel-bourne conference, is arguing for what he calls “action at the most fundamental level to circumvent the mental health epidemic facing

our society,” said Mr Palmer. To discuss possible solutions to this looming problem state and federal health and fisheries ministers, and their senior bureaucrats, from Aus-

tralia and elsewhere have been in-vited to the conference. Mr Palmer added, “at present, the major issue for western nations like Australia is simply lack of recognition by most people about the need to improve their diet with more DHA but, in future, issues of sustainability, sup-ply and food security will come into play. The Melbourne confer-ence comes at a critical time and potentially will have a very signifi-cant role in shaping major deci-sions surrounding nutrition and mental health worldwide over the next decade.”

The Melbourne conference has attracted a top level sponsor in Simplot Australia, the producer of well known brands such as Bird’s

Eye, John West, and Seakist. Mr Callum Elder, Simplot Executive General Manager Quality and Innovation said seafood is one of nature’s most diverse, tasty and healthy foods, with an ever increasing body of scientific evi-dence clearly demonstrating the health benefits associated with regular consumption. As a mem-ber of the Australian Seafood Co-operative Research Centre, the company is funding leading edge clinical research with Australian universities and research centres on the health benefits of seafood with children, and the elderly.

More information about the con-ference is available at www.sea-foodhealthconference.com

the WWF, has led to a steep decline in local fish stocks. Between 85 and 90% of the seafood consumed in Hong Kong is imported from more than 100 countries. With its new event Diversified will be try-ing to capitalise on this trade in seafood. Exhibitors will be display-ing a range of fresh, packaged, and processed seafood, ready-made

products and industry-related ser-vices. The event has already been endorsed by several regional trade associations including from Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Korea and Taiwan. And to add to the attraction entry is free for qualified buyers. For more in-formation about the event please visit www.asianseafoodexpo.com.

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


Our eating habits have un-dergone fundamental changes during the last

decades. Today, foods have to be fresh and healthy, nutritious and vitamin-rich; they should taste authentic, offer a high conveni-ence level but still be as natural as possible. Although traditional processing methods during which

the products were often subjected to high temperatures only par-tially fulfil these requirements, on the positive side, they are mi-crobiologically safe. The situation is the other way round with some modern processing technologies: although they preserve a lot of the desired product features it is questionable whether they suc-

ceed in inactivating pathogens sufficiently and thus whether they offer consumers the necessary safety.

One of the research blocks inves-tigated in the context of the Euro-pean research project Pathogen-Combat which brought together scientists from 24 universities and

institutes, 3 industrial partners and 17 small and middle-sized companies from 16 European states and Australia was devoted to these issues. Under the lead-ership of Professor Frank Dev-lieghere from the University of Ghent (Belgium) several research teams worked on identifying ap-propriate inactivation techniques and inhibiting factors to control the microbial safety of food prod-ucts through combination of new and currently available process-ing methods. The research cen-tered around two basic questions: firstly, how reliable are the inacti-vation steps in combination with growth inhibiting factors such as CO2 enriched atmosphere during packaging? And secondly, how do pathogens react to the often only sub-lethal treatments? Do they perhaps develop survival strategies and resistances under

An experiment showed that combining treatments such as intense light pulses, chlorine dioxide, lactic acid and mild heat with modified atmosphere packaging inhibited the growth of L. monocytogenes to different degrees.

PathogenCombat: Reducing food-borne diseases in Europe

Inactivation of pathogens by mild processing techniquesToday, consumers look for foods that are not only nutritious and healthy but also convenient and safe. The food industry tries to meet these dietary trends with new, mild processing methods. Instead of sterilization and pasteurization a lot of products today undergo mild heat treatments, high pressure, pulsed electric fields or intense light pulses or they are treated with organic acids and chlorine dioxide. But are the foods that are produced in this way microbiologically safe? This question was examined in the context of the European research project PathogenCombat.

Projects


these stressful conditions and could these constitute a risk that is difficult to calculate? And how can such risks be recognised re-liably? As model organisms for their experiments the researchers chose several of the most frequent pathogens that are often the cause of problems in the food industry, among them Escherichia coli, Campylobacter jejuni and Listeria monocytogenes.

Mild treatments can induce only sub-lethal

injury to pathogens

Over the years, different studies have demonstrated the success and failures of mild processing technologies in the inactivation of initial microbial load in food. For many of these technologies it was possible to demonstrate their

potential to produce high-quality foods that are microbiologically safe within the extended shelf-life. However, reports of ambigu-ous findings have led to confusion with regard to data interpretation. In food safety, or more broadly in food processing terms, all “novel” inactivation technologies (inter-vention) have to be described in their equivalents to heat sterili-zation and pasteurization. From the food producer’s point of view, the ideal processing technology would be the one that meets the following requirements:

- Improvement of the shelf life and safety by inactivating en-zymes, spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms

- No changes in organoleptic and nutritional attributes

- No residues left on food

- Convenient to apply- Cheap- No objections from consumers

and legislators

Applications of molecular tech-niques and studies at intracellular level have recently brought new insights, providing evidence of variation in microbial response to sub-lethal treatments. The threat of modified properties of surviving pathogens necessitates evaluation of the microorganisms under such circumstances, and demands that special attention be paid to the effect of variability at single cell level for pathogens with low infective dose.

Almost all treatments that do not cause complete inactivation of mi-croorganisms induce sub-lethal injury to the bacterial cells that are

present. Depending on the type of injury, type of organism and the surrounding environment these injured bacterial cultures have the potential to resuscitate and resume growth under favourable conditions. In addition to the in-activation technologies applied to foods, both microbial growth and survival can be influenced by dif-ferent intrinsic factors of the food. This further means that intrinsic factors (water activity, pH, nutri-ents), alone or combined with the extrinsic factors (modified atmos-phere, temperature, humidity), can enhance or inhibit recovery and growth of microbial cells.

The safety and stability of food can thus be improved using an appro-priate combination of several fac-tors that will prevent the survival and proliferation of sub-lethally

[ projEcts ]

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


injured cells. These multiple in-trinsic factors are part of a dy-namic system that changes from the moment of application to the moment of consumption. During this process, each factor plays a role of a different magnitude and this magnitude changes over time.

Modified atmosphere packaging offers

additional protection

One experiment showed that the growth of L. monocytogenes cells that were treated and injured using intense light pulses, chlorine diox-ide lactic acid and mild heat was inhibited in different degrees by the carbon dioxide (CO2) in modi-fied atmospheres. In comparison with non-treated cells the bacte-ricidal effects of chlorine dioxide were strongest, followed by lactic acid, intense light pulses and heat. Another experiment in which L. monocytogenes cells were partly inactivated with lactic acid, liquid chlorine dioxide and intense light pulses and subsequently stored under increased NaCl concentra-tion and reduced pH values led to similar results. The greatest effect

on growth retardation was ob-served at every pH for the cultures treated with chlorine dioxide, fol-lowed by lactic acid and intense light pulses. The data obtained reveal that the effect of decontami-nation treatment is not terminated with the end of the treatment pro-cedure. A fraction of sub-lethally injured pathogens undergoes an additional inhibitory effect during the storage period under subopti-mal conditions throughout which secondary stress extends the time needed for their recovery and mul-tiplication. Certain stress condi-tions can even have a supplemen-tary bactericidal effect.

Temperature plays an equally important role. Pathogens like E. coli, for example, are no long-er able to multiply and grow at temperatures of below 7°C. Risks arise, however, when this temperature is exceeded during trade. In their experiments the PathogenCombat researchers were able to demonstrate that exceeding this temperature by even just a few degrees was suf-ficient to allow pathogens which survived sub-lethal decontami-

nation treatments to grow again. Already small differences in temperature had an important influence on the bacterial ability to grow. The results obtained in-dicate that repair of sub-lethally injured L. monocytogenes and E. coli can be significantly delayed with the appropriate combination of the preservation conditions (temperature, pH and appropri-ate gas mixture in the packaging) and sub-lethal decontamination treatment inducing a significant

percentage of sub-lethal injury. The commercialization of food products manufactured using al-ternative non-thermal technolo-gies requires an understanding of the effect of partial inactiva-tion and injury on the behavior of pathogens under food relevant conditions. The resulting micro-bial injury is characterized by the capability of a microorganism to return to full viability during a re-suscitation process expressing its full potential of virulence.

[ projEcts ]

Booths and sponsorship opportunities now availableContact: JohnRichardsatConferencePlusPhone: +61(0)393302813Mobile: +61(0)407391347Email: [email protected]

30,000 people plus are expected to visit EntrytotheExhibitionisby“GoldCoin”donationwithallproceedsgoingtoAquacul-turewithoutFrontiers

“The Wonders and Opportunities of our Oceans” ExhibitionSeafood:BenefitingHealthandWellbeing

Featuring• The250plusseatCelebrityKitchenwith arangeofchefsheadedbyCelebrityChef PeteEvansof“MyKitchenRules”• CareerExpo• Excellentopportunitytopresenttothe Publicaboutallaspectsofourinteraction withtheOcean• CompetitionsincludingtheAustralasian OysterShuckingCompetition,theWorld ChampionshipofMudcrabLegtying• GalaDinnerwith1,000peoplebeing entertainedwithgreatSeafoodandShow www.seafoodhealthconference.com/exhibition

6 - 9 November 2010

Melbourne Convention and Exhibition

Centre, Melbourne – Australia

International Seafood & Health ConferenceSuper Early Bird now available on Registrations - see website for updates to the Program and Speakerswww.seafoodhealthconference.com

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION

MELBOURNE CONVENTION EXHIBITION CENTRE

AUSTRALIA 6-10 NOVEMBER 2010

WiththetechnicalparticipationofFAO

Professor Michael Crawford says “This event will be to world health what Kyoto was to global warming”“This event will be to world health what Kyoto was to global warming”“This event will be to world health what Kyoto was to global warming”“This event will be to world health what Kyoto was to global warming”“This event will be to world health what Kyoto was to global warming”Professor Michael Crawford says Professor Michael Crawford says

The ability of C. jejuni cells to survive can be efficiently controlled by the appropriate combination of mild decontamination treatments and storage under O2 containing atmosphere, at low pH and low temperature.

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

www.eurofishmagazine.com

Pathogens can become resistant to mild treatments

A further study examined the abil-ity of C. jejuni to survive when decontamination treatment with lactic acid or chlorine dioxide was coupled with subsequent stor-age under suboptimal conditions of pH, modified atmosphere and temperature. Despite the well-known antimicrobial effect of CO2, this atmosphere seems to be less effective for the control of C. jejuni. Their survival was im-paired by the presence of O2 in the surrounding atmosphere but dependent on the initial decon-tamination treatment. Lactic acid treated cultures survived longer than chlorine dioxide treated cul-tures especially when incubating in O2 containing atmosphere (80% O2/ 20% N2 and air). The results indicate that the initial decontam-ination step had an important in-fluence on the survival of C. jejuni. In conclusion the study showed that the ability of C. jejuni cells to survive can be efficiently con-trolled by the appropriate combi-nation of mild decontamination treatments and storage under O2 containing atmosphere, at low pH and low temperature.

However, mild decontamination treatments only inactivate a pro-portion of the microbial popula-tion so that their application still entails an element of risk. Patho-gens with different degrees of injury possibly display different growth, and their virulence profile and their ability to survive can be modified. It is particularly difficult to assess the risk that pathogens might develop resistances through repeated treatment which might then be hard to combat. In order to examine this possibility the Patho-genCombat researchers subjected the three pathogens L. monocy-togenes, E. coli and C. jejuni sev-

eral times in succession to sub-lethal treatment with lactic acid, chlorine dioxide and intense light pulses and measured the inactiva-tion rate after each treatment. The results of this study indicate that repetitive inactivation by intense light pulses resulted in decreased inactivation efficacy for both L. monocytogenes and E. coli. C. je-juni cultures contained no cultur-able cells after 3 repeated cycles.

No “one for all rule” for mild processing in the food industry

What seems most important is the fact that treatment with intense light pulses and lactic acid can be surpassed by natural bacte-rial adaptation strategies allow-ing for a formation of a resistant population. Since many bacteria possess high genome mutabil-ity and therefore might flexibly adapt to disadvantageous condi-tions it seems reasonable to fear that resistances could develop in response to frequently repeated partial inactivation.

With these findings, Pathogen-Combat doubtlessly makes a very important contribution to the improvement of food prod-uct quality and microbiological safety in the food industry. The initial results after mild inacti-vation treatments with chlorine dioxide, lactic acid and intense light pulses indicated that there is variability in the level of reduction obtained for different food-borne pathogens. The results also indi-cated great intrastrain variation for all tested pathogens and tested mild processing treatments. Ad-ditionally, individual food prod-uct characteristics have a great impact on the level of reduction. Due to all these factors it is diffi-cult to make a “one for all rule” for the application of mild processing in the food industry.

13th - 18th of august 2010online bankruptcy auction by the order

of the receiver and secured creditor:

fish processing machines rog visspecialiteiten b.v. (nl)machines A.o.: fryer lines • sorting machines • metal detectors • (vacuum) packaging lines • band belt freeze tunnels (Freon) • spiral freezer (Nitrogen) • form/slicer machines • enrobing machine • container lifts • filling machines • mobile conveyors with weighing units • labeling machines • carton taping machines • etc. brands A.o.: ‘Scanvaegt-Koppens-Digi-OptiFlor’. various A.o.: internal transport • technical service inventory • racks • stock of ready made meals • packaging materials • etc.

viewing day: Friday 13th of August from 10.00 till 16.00 hrs.address: Kamperstraat 13017, 7418 ca Deventer

(The Netherlands).

Catalogue and further information on request or on our website:

www.bva-auctions.com

http://issuu.com/action/openurl?url=www.bva-auctions.com


Atunes del Maresme SL is the marketing and sales company while AVTS

(Added Value Tuna Services) is the processing operation behind it. Both firms are part of the sea-food division of ATCO, the August Töpfer group, a German company based in Hamburg with interests in both food and non-food items.

Looking to target fish restaurants

in Moscow, Kiev

The parent company has experi-ence supplying whitefish to East-ern Europe and Jurgen Smet, the managing director of Atunes del Maresme, is looking to expand the offer to include sashimi-grade tuna from Japan to supply, for ex-ample, the high end fish restau-rants and sushi bars in Moscow. Why buy your fish from Japan

when you can get the same thing from Spain, he asks, and we can provide the same service, flying the fish to Moscow or Kiev on

a daily basis. Supporting these sales would be an international sales team with fluency in seven languages including Russian and

logistical back up with all export-related documentation.

The trading company was set up first, but establishing a pro-cessing operation was a logical consequence of developments in the market, says Mr Smet. We used to supply the industry with the raw material in the form of whole gutted fish, but we soon realised that there were quite of-ten periods where we could not get the prices we wanted. While the price level was satisfactory for eight months of the year, for per-haps four months it was too low, and in those four months the vol-umes traded might be the same as what was traded the other eight months. But because the com-pany had no place to store the fish options were limited and it was, more often than not, forced to accept the offered price. This situation prompted the company to set up a processing factory with its own cold storage that could go to -60 degrees centigrade. The de-velopment allowed the company to keep the fish in the cold store if the prices were not right and to bring it on to the market in small-er lots when prices improved.

The company is based in Cadiz in the south of Spain where it has a 1,000 tonne coldstore maintained at -60 degrees Celsius. The fish from West Africa take only 10 days to arrive in Cadiz.

Tunamar seeks customers in Eastern Europe

Sashimi-grade tuna for European industryAtunes del Maresme SL, based in the port of Cadiz, Spain trades in sashimi-grade tuna sourced from the Atlantic. The company deals in several species of tuna, as well as swordfish, oilfish, mahi mahi, and marlin. A sister company AVTS processes the fish which is imported from West Africa for distribution to several countries in Europe including Spain as both frozen and defrosted product.

TunamarMuelle de Ribera sn Recinto Zona Franca S 11011 Cadiz Spain Tel.: +34 95 62 00 971 Fax: +34 95 62 00 972 [email protected] www.tunamar.eu

Managing director: Mr. Jurgen Smet

Activities: Supply of sashimi-grade frozen yellowfin, big eye tuna, swordfish, and some oilfish, mahi mahi, and mako shark from the Atlantic; skipjack from the Pacific,

Product form: Frozen or thawed loins, steaks, fillets, skewers

Volumes: Yellowfin tuna 1,500 mt, big eye tuna 800 mt, albacore tuna 300 mt, swordfish 250 mt, (the main swordfish volumes of about 3,000 mt are sold as raw material from the Hamburg office) Turnover Spain: EUR13 million Turnover Hamburg (only seafood department): EUR29 million Total seafood: EUR42 million

Markets: Spain, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Austria

Employees: 40

Tunamar Company Fact File

cover story


cover story

Taiwanese partner with longline sashimi

fishing vessels

The seafood division of the Ger-man parent company has existed since 1964, under the careful su-

pervision and management of Mr. Dieter Arfs. The Hamburg office handles all white fish, but also the trading operations of raw material such as swordfish, moro sharks, marlin, oilfish etc. The Cadiz operation, which started

in 2003, mainly focuses on pro-cessed sashimi tuna products. The company does not own its own vessels, part of a conscious decision made some years ago to stay out of the fishing business, but has a Taiwanese partner that

owns a fleet of sashimi grade longliners. The partner owns a 35% stake in the processing busi-ness. The boats fish in the north and the south Atlantic using longlines targeting yellow fin, big eye, and swordfish but catching

Defrosted sashimi-grade tuna can be safely used for sashimi and sushi as there is no risk of anisakis.

Tunamar is looking to export sashimi-grade tuna to the high end fish restaurants and sushi bars in Moscow.

http://issuu.com/action/openurl?url=www.maass-slicers.de


cover story

also some marlin, shark, and oil-fish. The fish are gutted and gilled and are blast frozen on board at -60 degrees C. The frozen fish is discharged in West Africa where it is packed to EU specifications and put into a container also at -60 degrees C and sent to Alge-ciras in Spain and from there by truck to the processing factory in Cadiz. The whole trip normally takes about 10 days to Cadiz in-cluding all the customs clearance formalities.

In the factory the fish is kept fro-zen, and special Japanese ma-chinery is used to skin it, and re-move the bones and bloodline. The frozen fish is processed di-rectly into loins, fillets, or steaks, which are packed in 25 kg car-

tons and sent by truck to markets in the UK, France, Germany, Ita-ly and Austria. Most of our prod-uct, about 65%, is exported fro-zen to the industry who defrost it when needed, but the balance we defrost ourselves and sell it to our customers, says Mr Smet. These are mainly wholesalers or processors who have contracts with the supermarkets. They thaw our fish and supply it when the supermarkets cannot source fresh fish. Being based in Cadiz the company has a special rela-tionship with its national market in Spain which is responsible for 20% of the turnover. We supply supermarkets all over Spain with defrosted loins and fillets. The company has its own brand, Tu-namar, under which most of the

frozen product is sold, but it also produces under private label.

Economic crisis clobbers tuna exports

The Spanish market has proved to be more resilient for the com-pany in terms of sales than the export market over the last year as the financial and economic crisis has unfolded. “Turnover from Spain increased slightly” says Jurgen Smet, “but profits fell as customers asked for cheaper products, for example with the skin on, or bloodline in.” In con-trast exports to all the main mar-kets, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, fell by 20-25% as consumers reined in their spending on high value items. We are not selling a

cheap commodity, says Mr Smet, but a high end product. The ad-vantage with the price level he feels is that the product can be processed in Spain and trucked quickly to anywhere in Europe rather than having to be sent to Asia to be processed with all the costs that involves. The main competition the company faces is from fresh tuna that is flown in from Yemen, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. There are also unscru-pulous operators who use addi-tives or other techniques to treat cheap frozen products that are then dumped on the market.

The company also occasion-ally sends shipments to Japan directly from West Africa when the tuna caught has too high a

Fresh and frozen H&G baltic herring in different sizes

Fresh and frozen fillets of baltic herring – in blocks, IQF, in vacuum bags, rollmops

on plates or in trays vacuum-packed

Frozen baltic herring and sprats in blocks of 10kg each

IRBE Fishing Company Ostas str.3, Roja, Roja reg. · LV3264 Latvia

tel./fax +371 63269820 · mob.: +371 29124925 · [email protected] · www.irbefish.lv

The temperature in Tunamar trucks for frozen products goes down to -60 degrees Celsius so that the integrity of the cold chain is not compromised. The trucks deliver sashimi-grade tuna to several destinations in Europe.

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

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


fat content. The meat of very fatty tuna tends to change colour very quickly after it has been defrost-ed, which makes it less appeal-ing to customers who expect the colour to be red. In addition, Eu-ropean consumers tend to prefer a leaner meat, in contrast to the Japanese. The connection to Ja-pan is going to get stronger soon as Mr Smet has signed an agree-ment with a Japanese fishing company for Marine Stewardship Council certified skipjack tuna. The stock is fished in the Pacific with poles and lines and will be landed in Japan and sent to Spain by container at -60 degrees C. In Spain the fish will be developed into a full range of products – loins, steaks, medallions, skew-ers etc. We wanted this because particularly in northern Europe sustainability is becoming an in-creasingly important issue and supermarkets are asking their suppliers to comply.

Flexibility, small volumes,

processed in Spain

For the future Atunes del Maresme wants to continue doing what it does best: sup-plying Europe with frozen and defrosted fish from the Atlantic. The company has its own fleet of –60 degrees C trucks that de-liver frozen goods to the custom-ers without any interruption of the cold chain, and for smaller quantities it uses dry ice. The defrosted products are supplied in modified atmosphere all over Europe by reefer truck or by airfreight. The importance of defrosted product cannot be un-derestimated as it is only thawed fish that may be used for sushi or other raw fish preparations as per the law. The EU regulation 83/2004 on raw fish consump-tion says that the fish should be frozen to avoid anisakis. Even

in Japan, 70% of all raw tuna consumed is defrosted sashimi grade.

My advantages, emphasises Mr Smet, are that I process in Spain, so the product is Spanish, and I do it according to the require-ments of my customer. I am also flexible when it comes to vol-umes, my customers can buy a pallet and then come back later for the next one. They do not have to buy a container of fish.

Finding the raw material has not been a problem for the company despite alarms about fish stocks. It is true that we have been catch-ing less and less yellowfin, but on the other hand our swordfish catches have been increasing. However, it cannot be denied that the average size of the fish has been declining. While 8 years ago a yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) was 55 kg on average and a swordfish was 60 kg, today the average weight of the yellow-fin is 47 kg and of the swordfish is 53 kg.

MSC-certified Alaskan salmon a

possible new product

Mr Smet is considering whether to add another MSC-certified product to his portfolio of prod-ucts sold in Spain. This one is wild salmon from Alaska. This could then to some extent re-place the Norwegian salmon, which has become very expen-sive. He feels, apart from the fat content, the two fish are similar in colour and their skins look alike and since the wild salmon is MSC-certified and a cheaper fish it should find acceptance among his customers. Both Atunes and ATVS have received the MSC chain of custody certification and can store, process and distribute MSC-certified fish.

Our focus is to supply quality alaska pollock fi lletsIqf, Bqf, Interleaved, Fingerfood, Skinless, Skin on

We are your reliable partner in China

Binyin Food International Ltd.Room 2605, B-building, No. 31 Yimin Street, Zhongshan District, Dalian, China

Tel: +86-411-86840791Fax: +86-411-86844630Mobile: +86-138 408 91901E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]: www.binyinfood.cn

SeaStar Fisheries Information Service 21700 Atlantic Blvd. Dulles, VA 20166 USA Tel +1.703.480.7500 Fax +1.703.480.4651 Email: [email protected]

www.geoeye.com/seastar

Find Fish Faster

World’s Leading Source for Information and Tools To Help You Make Fishing Decisions

The SeaStar Service with OrbMap v7 Software includes:

u MasterCastTM - Interactive tool to identify your preferred fishing grounds

u Ocean color and plankton boundary analysis

u SSH Altimetry and sea surface currents

u Sea surface and sub-surface temperatures

u Full weather information with forecasts

u The capability via e-mail to track and control OrbBuoys

u 3D oceanographic maps

u C-MAP navigational charts

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

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


Seventy percent of the fresh fish landed by the Spanish fishing fleet is sold through

auctions, while the rest is sold from the vessel or through other authorised channels. There are altogether 183 auctions in Spain although some of them have very few transactions. Most of the auc-tions also have handling, sorting, packaging, and storage activities.

The fish auction at Vigo, one of the world’s

biggest fishing ports

Marian Vidal Abellás, is respon-sible for external relations and

communications at the Port of Vigo, Europe’s biggest fish-ing port. Here, the auction is divided into two huge refriger-ated halls, one of 6,000 sq. m for the catches from the high seas and the other of 3,000 sq. m for inshore and some high seas fishing. Just under 89,000 t of fish was auctioned at Vigo in 2009, a small increase (+0.11%) over the previous year, she says. Altogether a total of almost 700,000 t of fish was handled in 2009, making Vigo the world’s biggest port in terms of fish for human consumption. The port police who assign places along

the quay to the incoming boats are also in charge of the auc-tions, while the port authorities are responsible for the hygiene standards in the auction halls. The boats start coming in from around midnight, says Ms Vidal, and the auctions start at about five in the morning. The boats, local vessels, seiners, long lin-ers, and freezer trawlers, are mainly Spanish though Portu-guese and other country’s ves-sels also come to Vigo. A number of vessels from the smaller ports in the area also land their fish in Vigo as there are more buyers and the prices are better.

At the auction plastic containers filled with iced fish are examined by potential buyers. Small slips of paper identify the species, the country of origin, FAO zone, ori-gin of the fish (farmed or wild), the type of presentation, and the seller. The fish comes from all over the world and the variety is immense though some spe-cies dominate. Last year almost 100 species of finfish alone were sold at Vigo out of which blue sharks, megrim, monkfish, and hake were the largest volume individual species. The auction-eer goes from lot to lot using a megaphone to call buyers to at-tend the auction. The port earns a 3% commission on the auction which goes towards maintaining the facilities, and paying for utili-ties like water and electricity, says Marian Vidal Abellás. It is not just fresh and frozen wild seafood that is sold but also farmed and even salted cod. The port also has ex-tensive cold storage facilities with a total capacity of 650,000 cubic m and companies can rent space in the port if they want to estab-lish a processing or packaging operation.

Elaborate system of wholesale markets

Wholesale markets are the next level of distribution and they comprise central wholesale mar-kets (the Mercasa network) lo-cated in major urban centres for example Mercamadrid or Mer-cabilbao; traditional central mar-kets, located in medium or small cities; and the parallel channels, trading seafood products on a wholesale level that bypass the

The market for seafood in Spain

Consumption of fish and seafood shows marked increaseThe Spanish market for fish products is important not only for its volume but also for its huge diversity. The total market of about 3.15m tonnes can be divided into fresh products (900,000 t), frozen products (1,150,000 t), preserves (650,000 t), aquaculture (350,000 t) and other (100,000 t). Fish and seafood is distributed through a network of auctions, wholesale markets and retail markets.

The final level of distribution is the retail markets which sell directly to consumers. Here, a fresh produce market with several fishmongers.

sPain


spain

central wholesale markets. Spain is highly decentralized. Some of the fisheries competences have therefore been transferred to the Autonomous Communities, and they play a decisive role in the def-inition and implementation of the fisheries policy in close coordina-tion with the Federal Administra-tion. Each of these Autonomous Communities has a competent body for fisheries affairs and has the ability to monitor the market development of fishery and aqua-culture products.

The final level of distribution is the retail markets which sell di-rectly to consumers. The most important are the fishmongers, self-service stores, hypermarkets, cooperative shops, supermarkets, as well as fresh produce markets. The specialist retailers (fishmon-gers) have an important role to play as they sell a lot of fish to the final consumer. According to Jose Luis Freire Freire, the president of Conxemar, the specialist retailer faces a lot of competition in his business as there are no barriers to entry. Most of the shops are rented so there is no major capi-tal investment. In addition, the work is gruelling as she or he has to buy the fish either directly from the auction or from the wholesale market very early in the morning and bring it back to the shop to sell. However, the specialist re-tailers usually buy with a weeks credit, but sell for cash, and some make a tidy profit, despite the competition.

Trade flows can be grouped into different channels depending on the number of actors making up the supply chain. These include the direct channel, where the transaction between producer and consumer is done directly; the short channel involving one or two middlemen between the producer and the consumer;

and finally the long channel in-volving more than two middle-men (wholesale at the origin, wholesale at the destination, and

retailer). In Spain of the compa-nies engaged in production and marketing of fresh fish products, the leading company in terms

of turnover reached over 50,000 tonnes, the second exceeded 31,000 tonnes and the third group reached almost 21,000 tonnes.

Significant reduction in fishing fleet

The Spanish fishing fleet has sig-nificantly reduced since the mid 80’s when it comprised 19,700 vessels. Today the fleet is made up of around 13,000 vessels, out of which 11,270 fishing boats are al-lowed to fish in the Spanish fish-ing grounds (738 seiners, 1,224 trawlers, 93 gill-netters, 386 long liners, and 10,030 belonging to the artisanal segment). Among the 530 vessels working outside the Spanish fishing grounds, there are 36 seiners, 285 trawlers, 72 gill-netters, and 136 long lin-ers. Vessels from Galicia account for 48.3% of all Spanish fishing vessels, followed by Andalusia (15.2%), Catalonia (9.4%), and the Canary Islands (8.5%). In 2008 the fleet’s catches in Spain, (sold fresh) slightly exceeded 474,600 tonnes with a total value of EUR1,070m. These figures reflect a reduction in volume of 2.9% and in value of 2.6% compared with 2007.

Finfish are the main item in the fishing fleet catches at 432,820 tonnes and with a value of EUR788m. In terms of volume molluscs rank second (33,100 tonnes), followed by crustaceans (8,880 tonnes). However, in terms of value crustaceans had a market value of over EUR147m, while molluscs amounted to less than EUR136m. Regarding fish, the main group in terms of value is made up of tuna, alba-core and needlefishes (EUR165m and 41,520 tonnes), followed by coastal fish (EUR153m and 34,540 tonnes), cod and hake (EUR124m and just under 68,600 tonnes in volume), herring, sardines

Jose Luis Freire Freire, the president of Conxemar, an association representing the freezing industry.

Dr José Inglesias Estévez is responsible for marine aquaculture at the Vigo centre of the Spanish Institute for Oceanography. He is also coordinating a national project on rearing octopus in captivity.

Source: Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs (MARM)

1999

■ Supply ■ Production ■ Import ■ Export

1995 20042003 2005 2007 20082006

Seafood supply in Spain 1995-2008

0 t

500,000 t

1,000,000 t

1,500,000 t

2,000,000 t

2,500,000 t

Source: MERCASA, La alimentación en España 2009

■ Fresh fish ■ Frozen fish ■ Fresh seafood ■ Frozen seafood ■ Canned fish and seafood

Total consumption

Social Horeca

Horeca Commercial

Households

Fish product consumption (in %) by sector and presentation, 2008

0 %

20 %

40 %

60 %

80 %

100 %


spain

and anchovies (EUR79m and 73,850 tonnes), other demer-sal fish (EUR53m and 55,260 tonnes), flounder, halibut and sole (EUR40m and 9,240 tonnes), sharks and rays (EUR39m and 25,390 tonnes) and other pelagic fish (EUR32m and 87,100 tonnes). Other items are less important or are considered as unidentified marine fish. Prawns and shrimps are the crus-taceans with almost EUR92m in terms of value and 4,150 tonnes in terms of volume, followed by clawed lobster and lobster (EUR27m and 1,150 tonnes) and finally crabs and spider crabs (EUR8m and 1,760 tonnes). Of the molluscs, the main spe-cies are squid, cuttlefish and octopus, with values of around EUR88m and volumes close to 22,400 tonnes. Clams and cock-les rank second (EUR43m and 9,560 tonnes), abalone, periwin-kles (EUR2.5m and 350 tonnes)

and scallops (EUR1.5m and 630 tonnes).

Aquaculture production declines

compared to last year

Aquaculture products production reached about 253,000 tonnes in 2008, valued around EUR492m, which reflects a reduction about

7% in volume, and 11% in value compared to 2007.In volume, shellfish amount to 76% of all aquaculture production, followed by fish, with 23.5%. The negligible remainder is shared between oth-er shellfish and aquatic plants. Marine aquaculture production in 2008 reached 230,000 tonnes, of which approximately 185,000 tonnes were molluscs, 44,000

tonnes were fish, 25 tonnes were marine plants and just about 100 kilos were crustaceans. With a production of over 209,000 tonnes Mediterranean mussels were by far the main species, ac-counting for more than 80% of all marine aquaculture production. Far behind follow finfish such as sea bream (17,920 tonnes), sea-bass (7,430 tonnes), turbot (6,840

Aquaculture production in Spain (tonnes) 2005-20082005 2006 2007 2008

Group of species

Value (´000 €)

QuantityValue

(´000 €)Quantity

Value (´000 €)

QuantityValue

(´000 €)Quantity

Marine Sea Fish 211,365 27,416 232,903 31,695 247,868 36,802 264,501 43,267Crustaceans 0.08 0.01 0.6 0.1 11.54 0.8Mollusc 103,069 163,058 141,237 233,498 131,739 214,699 100,760 182,579Seaweeds 225 0.5 540 1.2 694 25 685 13Total 314,659 190,474 374,681 265,195 380,303 251,527 365,959 225,861

Brackish Fish 20,392 3,315 23,685 3,274 25,921 4,021 12,496 1,428Crustaceans 1,803 153 2,521 209 1,294 121 1,244 111Mollusc 10,731 1,473 8,355 979 14,686 3,074 14,165 2,605Total 32,927 4,943 34,562 4,463 41,902 7,217 27,905 4,145

Total Fish 231,757 30,732 256,589 34,970 273,790 40,823 276,998 44,696Crustaceans 1,803 153 2,521 209 1,295 121 1,255 112Mollusc 113,801 164,532 149,592 234,478 146,426 217,774 114,925 185,184Seaweeds 225 0.5 540 1 694 25 685 13Total 347,587 195,418 409,243 269,659 422,206 258,745 393,865 230,007

Inland Fish 71,864 26,604 76,479 25,617 74,297 26,246 68,794 23,146Crustaceans 6 0.3 57 5.4 0.3 5.4 0.3Total 71,870 26,604 76,536 25,617 74,302 26,246 68,799 23,146

TOTAL Fish 303,622 57,336 333,069 60,587 348,087 67,070 345,792 67,842Crustaceans 1,809 154 2,578 209 1,300 122 1,261 113Mollusc 113,801 164,532 149,592 234,478 146,426 217,774 114,925 185,184Seaweeds 225 0.5 540 1.2 694 25 685 13Total 419,458 222,023 485,780 295,276 496,508 284,992 462,665 253,153


Main companies in the seafood canned industryCompany name Sales EUR millionLUIS CALVO SANZ, S,A, 375*FRINSA DEL NOROESTE, S,A, 235CONSERVAS GARAVILLA, S,A, 220*JEALSA RIANXEIRA, S,A, 210*BERNARDO ALFAGEME, S,A, 102*

UBAGO GROUP MARE, S,L, 92*HIJOS DE CARLOS ALBO, S,A, 85*SALICA INDUSTRIA ALIMENTARIA, S,A 73COMPRE Y COMPARE, S,A, 66*CONSERVAS DANI, S,A 60*

Source: Alimarket 2008 *these data include business in other sectors,

Main companies in the seafood frozen industryCompany name Sales EUR millionPESCANOVA 1,294*NESTLÉ ESPAÑA 1,278*UNILEVER FOODS ESPAÑA 592*EUROPASTRY 320*FREIREMAR 270*

GRUPO AMASUA 242INDUSTRIAS CÁRNICAS VILARÓ 200*ULTRACONGELADOS VIRTO 172DIST. MARISCOS RODRÍGUEZ 150JOSÉ SÁNCHEZ PEÑATE 132*

Source: Alimarket 2008 *these data include business in other sectors.


spain

tonnes), bluefin tuna (4,080 tonnes), and molluscs such as oysters (3,210 tonnes) and Japa-nese scallops (1,390 tonnes).

Rainbow trout make up the main inland aquaculture production with around 23,000 tonnes, rep-resenting 97% of the total, while the balance is made up of Euro-pean eel, sea trout, sturgeon and tench. Despite its domination of the freshwater aquaculture sec-tor, the production of rainbow trout has seen a significant drop in production from 35,000 tonnes to about 20,000 tonnes over the last 5 to 6 years. Luz Arregui, the president of Atrugal, a Galician lobby group and producer organ-isation for the freshwater trout industry, says that part of the problem lies with the governance of the sector. “We are trying to lobby for better local governance of the sector and have seen some results, but it is a struggle. Atrugal has developed a quality certifica-tion scheme and now is trying to improve the biosecurity and op-erational procedures on its mem-bers’ farms by giving them train-ing both at the managerial and the technical staff level. We are also trying to implement a more equitable water tax system.

The way it works currently is pa-tently unfair with some farmers getting very low bills and others getting ridiculously high ones,” she says. Several factors con-tributed to the drop in overall production. Farmers had envi-ronmental problems, with water cuts upstream, the building of hydroelectric dams, as well as tax and market problems, the latter caused by the import of pangasius which seems to have had an impact on trout sales. Atrugal is fighting back with pro-motion campaigns designed to make trout fashionable again to win over the crucial 30-40 year

segment. Last year the group worked with restaurants to pro-mote trout and met with con-siderable success. This year they may launch another campaign at Conxemar.

One species of great interest to Spanish consumers and that has so far eluded being reared in cap-tivity is octopus. Dr José Inglesias Estévez who is responsible for marine aquaculture at the Vigo centre of the Spanish Institute for Oceanography says that the prob-lem is getting the larvae to grow to the juvenile stage. On-growing of octopus works well and has been practiced by members of the fish-ermen’s association that catches octopus in the estuary. They catch octopus at about 500 g and place them in cages that contain sec-tions of plastic tubing in which the octopus live. The octopus are fed on crab and trash fish for a period of four months by which time they reach 4 kg, when they can be har-vested. This way a group of about 10 fishermen can grow 3,000 oc-topus in four months and per-haps 9,000 in a year. But to grow 200,000 octopus you need to rear them in captivity and that is prov-ing to be very difficult as the larvae do not survive until the juvenile stage. A lot of research has been

done into the parameters for the sea cages, density, growth, growth of different sexes, kind of food – crab, fish etc. And there is a lot of interest from the Galician govern-ment as well as the federal govern-ment. We have also made prog-ress, says Dr Inglesias. Now we can get the larvae to live for up to six weeks, before they perish, but we need to get up to two months to make a breakthrough. The insti-tute also works with other species such as sole and grouper and it was responsible for the commer-cialisation of turbot, a process that took eight years. It also hosts an important centre for research into red tide, an algal bloom that can have a severe impact on the mus-sel industry. Another important role of the institute is to supply the European Commission with data on local fish stocks.

Demand met from imports

The Spanish production of fish-eries and aquaculture products is not enough to meet domestic demand, so imports are a key factor in sustaining the industry. Import figures for fish products are higher than exports, so the foreign trade balance is clearly negative for Spain. According to MARM (Ministry of the Environ-

ment and Rural and Marine Af-fairs) data, during 2009, total im-ports exceeded 1,578,000 tonnes, worth about EUR4,264m. Exports figures were lower amounting to almost 1,046,000 tonnes, worth about EUR2,239million. Those fig-ures reflect a trade deficit of near-ly EUR2m and a coverage rate of around 45%.

The main third country suppliers are Morocco, Argentina, Ecuador and China, while from the EU are France, UK and Portugal. Japan, Seychelles, China and Ecuador are the main extra-EU recipi-ents of Spanish seafood products while within the EU France, Italy and Portugal are the main desti-nations for Spanish exports. Mol-luscs and frozen fish rank tradi-tionally first and second among imports to Spain while frozen fish, followed by molluscs and canned fish are the main exports.

Consumption rises with growing awareness

of health benefits

Over the last years fish consump-tion has increased in Spain play-ing a significant role in the total expenditure on food and bever-ages. Health concerns, food secu-rity, the gradual joining of women into work and the growing impor-tance of food expenditure outside home have been some of the so-cial issues that have encouraged the increasing demand for fish and seafood. The development has been remarkable during the period 1995-2008 as consumption has increased from about 30 kilos to close to 37 kilos per capita/year. Fresh products are still the main item in household’s consumption as it almost represents 45% of total fisheries and aquaculture prod-ucts consumption. However for the HORECA sector frozen prod-ucts rank first followed by fresh products.

All the fish at the Vigo auction is sold within a few hours. Altogether in 2009 about 89,000 tonnes of fish went throught the auction.


spain

Canning industry heavily dependent on tuna

The Spanish canning industry is made up of 147 companies (66 in Galicia) providing almost 16,000 jobs (almost 12,000 in Galicia). The main canned species are tunas, sardine (Sardina pilchar-dus), Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus), mussels and albacore (Thunnus alalunga).

Of the main companies in the seafood canning sector, the leading group, Calvo, recorded sales in 2007 of about 161,000 tonnes, worth EUR420m, while the second reached 135,000 tonnes and EUR302m. The next two canneries have similar pro-duction figures, around 125,000 tonnes, but the turnovers are very different at EUR240m and EUR350m. Figures for the fifth processor are 90,000 tonnes and EUR85m.

The canning industry has to con-stantly innovate to ensure its own future. As the prices of steel have risen the sector is moving to oth-er kinds of packaging including plastic pouches, easy-peel plastic containers, tetra packs, and even glass jars. Tuna is the main raw material used by the canning in-dustry and interest is growing in getting fish from stocks that have been certified as sustainable. Cans are based both on cooked loins and on raw tuna and Spanish canneries increasingly get frozen pre-cooked loins from suppliers in Latin America or other coun-tries. Canneries are also switching to greater automation in order to reduce their labour costs as this is the only way they will be able to maintain production faciltities in Spain and still compete with

Trays of fish being auctioned at the port in Vigo, one of Europe’s biggest fishing ports.

Exports of Seafood products by presentationin tonnes

Products 2005 2006 2007 2008Live fish 8,333 7,566 7,317 7,143Fresh fish 96,018 107,995 102,529 94,267Frozen fish 438,384 394,633 417,729 446,374Fish fillets 59,926 55,135 49,848 44,793Dry fish 15,919 18,224 15,631 12,659Crustaceans 20,454 25,072 35,138 26,325Molluscs 140,420 161,212 165,908 160,815Canned fish 94,239 102,861 108,852 107,633Canned crsutaceans and mollusc 22,856 25,648 26,988 26,326Fish oil 4,032 5,506 4,188 4,712Fish meal 14,190 17,238 23,574 19,040TOTAL 914,772 921,090 957,702 950,086


Imports of Seafood products by presentationin tonnes

Products 2005 2006 2007 2008Live fish 2,431 2,993 2,894 2,694Fresh fish 252,491 247,183 248,828 228,446Frozen fish 335,220 323,781 353,538 295,170Fish fillets 144,767 174,691 190,007 194,716Dry fish 57,070 55,001 57,588 49,487Crustaceans 190,555 216,313 218,036 203,889Molluscs 399,191 433,814 396,631 377,748Canned fish 104,580 128,446 125,505 125,156Canned crsutaceans and mollusc 15,664 17,340 20,897 22,208Fish oil 28,562 21,942 24,442 23,276Fish meal 80,733 64,803 76,157 82,970TOTAL 1,611,263 1,686,307 1,714,522 1,605,759



spain

countries where labour is much cheaper. The sector is also fight-ing the agreements made with two Asia Pacific countries as it fears that this will just enable a backdoor entry by products from competitor nations in Asia.

The frozen seafood market in Spain is made up of a few large groups, which consist of some of the major companies in the fish-eries sector in Spain, together with subsidiaries of major mul-tinational companies. The main operator in the sector has a pro-duction volume of about 150,000 tonnes, while the second reaches 60,000 tonnes, the third exceeds 42,000 tonnes and the fourth is about 40,000 tonnes. All these companies act as owners, proces-sors, distributors, wholesalers, importers and exporters

In the frozen fish, distribution brands account for 54% in volume and 41.6% in value, while the first non-distribution mark accounts for 43% in volume and 54% in val-ue respectively. This market share means that the second operator with its own brand represents only 1% in volume and 1.2% in value, while the third represents 0.9% and 1.4% respectively. Refer-

ring to frozen breaded seafood products, the distribution brands accounts for 54% of all sales in volume and 43.6% in value while non-distribution marks accounts for 38% and 47% in volume and value respectively.

Sebastian Rodriguez

Grouper is another species that is being studied at the Spanish Institute for Oceanography, with a view to cultivating it.

Spanish Imports of seafood products2009 Imports Exports

Volume (tonnes) Value (‘000 €) Volume (tonnes) Value (‘000 €)Total Third countries 1,132,315 2,933,621 376,374 501,602Total UE 27 446,075 1,330,920 669,534 1,737,999Total Balance 1,578,390 4,264,542 1,045,908 2,239,601


Seafood canned industry main speciesSpecies Volume (tonnes) Value (EUR ´000)

2008 2009 Variation (%) 2008 2009 Variation (%)Sardine 27,973 29,400 5.1 90,969 92,334 1.5Albacore 12,350 13,733 11.2 98,195 108,800 10.8Tunas 213,421 220,037 3.1 566,667 571,200 0.8Tuna and vegetables 3,627 3,277 -9.6 20,178 18,140 -10.1Mackerel 15,434 15,573 0.9 62,859 63,048 0.3Mussels 13,791 14,481 5 96,557 96,647 3.2Octopus 2,294 2,057 -10.3 15,329 13,566 -11.5Squids 6,143 5,516 -10.2 22,687 22,052 -2.8Cockles 5,388 6,061 12.5 88,265 90,913 3Clams 2,576 2,609 1.3 25,530 24,713 -3.2Razors 1,217 1,063 -12.6 18,791 15,897 -15.4Others 30,460 27,627 -9.3 101,571 90,804 -10.6Anchovies 12,720 12,745 0.2 92,241 89,843 -2.6Total 347,390 354,179 1.9 1,299,839 1,300,957 0.09

Source: Anfaco

Spanish fish and seafood canned products production

2008 2009 Variation (%)Volume (tonnes) 347,390 354,179 1.95Value (EUR ´000) 1,299,839 1,300,757 0.09Average price (EUR) 3.74 3.67 -1.83

Source: Anfaco

At Carrefour in Vigo the range of species has not changed significantly over the years. This outlet sells 200-300 kg of fish and shellfish a day.


spain

Eurofish: The Galician fisheries industry is an important part of the economy in this autonomous community. What are the pros-pects for the industry in the cur-rent economic climate? What are the kinds of challenges it is facing?

Rosa Quintana: The main prob-lem today is the economic crisis which has had a great impact on the fishing and aquaculture in-dustries. The second challenge relates to both marine and fresh-water aquaculture. Over the last four years we have been forced to delay implementing projects due to legal uncertainties regard-ing problems concerning the en-vironment. Marine aquaculture, mainly the mussel farming sector, has also suffered a delay over the last two years, as a consequence of lack of organization within the sector.

Eurofish: The freshwater aquacul-ture sector is dominated by trout farming. Production here has suf-fered a decline of 30-40% over the four to five years. What steps can the government take to remedy this situation?

Quintana: This is partly due to the lack of demand for these products. We also have prob-lems competing with producers overseas. We need to have a level playing field where the conditions are the same for what we produce and what we import. It is a fact that labour is cheaper in other countries, but it is also a case of

identifying our products so that the consumer knows what is pro-duced in Galicia and what comes from outside. Galica has a long manufacturing tradition, but we need to get better at exploiting it. We need to improve our brand-ing, increase our competitive-ness, and export more. However it is difficult to compete with places

where labour is cheaper, and in addition we have many more re-quirements to fulfil in terms of health, safety, and traceability.

Eurofish: The aquaculture indus-try feels that producers abroad are not subject to the same laws as producers here and that im-ports undermine production here. What is the administration doing to counter this?

Quintana: When farmed prod-ucts come from outside their quality may not be as high as locally produced seafood, but they are cheaper making it more difficult to promote Galician products. In addition there is a perception among the public that aquaculture is harmful to the environment, although to-day with modern technology it is possible to farm fish with mini-mal impact on the environment. Europe is a major consumer of fish, and if we want to maintain this level of consumption we have to develop our aquaculture sector. In addition, the sector of-fers the potential of jobs in rural areas where unemployment is

Rosa Quintana, Minister for the Marine, Government of Galicia.

Interview with Rosa Quintana, Minister for the Marine, Government of Galicia

Developing a Galician brand for fish and seafoodThe Galician fishing fleet comprising about 4,900 vessels amounts to 43% of the Spanish fleet. The vast majority of the fleet fishes in the coastal sea while about 130 fish in EU waters and a further 135 are active either in intenational waters or in third country waters. The fleet landed almost 200,000 tonnes of fish and seafood with a value of EUR422m. The autonomous community also supports a large processing industry made up mainly of canning and freezing companies. Production of cans in Galicia represents about 80% of the total Spanish production and has a value of EUR1bn. The canning sector provides employment to about 12,000 people. The freezing industry has a turnover of EUR2.9bn and employs 8,000 workers. The aquaculture sector is dominated by the production of mussels which amounted to 220,000 tonnes last year. Production of finfish is mainly turbot and rainbow trout. The administrative responsibility for the fisheries and aquaculture sector falls on Rosa Quintana, Minister for the Marine in the Galician Government. She spoke with Eurofish about the sector in Galicia, a significant contributor to the local economy both financially as well as in terms of employment.


spain

high and other job opportunities infrequent.

We are working on organizing the sector, as only a sector that pulls together as team can compete. We are also developing rules and regulations to implement tracea-bility, and are studying the coast-line to see where we can safely es-tablish farming sites. We are also examining the estuaries to ensure that aquaculture is compatible with coastal fishing. By making aquaculture more environmen-tally compatible we hope to re-duce the perception among con-sumers that it is a threat to nature.

Eurofish: The CFP is currently undergoing a process of reform. As host to the biggest Spanish fleet what suggestions has Galicia put forward on the shape of the re-formed CFP?

Quintana: We have put forward our proposals after consulting with the stakeholders through an advisory body in the Galician government that represents all sectors. And we have produced a document detailing what we want to make of the policy. We believe that the quota system has

not worked in general and that it is best for the countries to decide quotas. We understand that if a person can move his merchan-dise from place to place then it should be the same for the fish-ing industry; the maximum quo-tas are established by the EU, but there should be an option for two businesses to trade quotas. I be-lieve that the coastal fishing fleet should have a special quota, while the aquaculture sector should be governed by laws that are com-mon to all countries, so that the legal position was the same across the EU. This would increase the acceptance of aquaculture prod-ucts amongst consumers and lead to a rise in production.Catches from fisheries are stagnating so the only way to maintain the con-sumption of fish is through aqua-culture.

Eurofish: An increasing number of European fisheries are seeking a certificate of sustainability so as not to be locked out of certain mar-kets. Do you see this as important for the Galician fleet?

Quintana: We are aware of the significance of certification and currently our artisanal fisheries

are in the process of being certi-fied to the Marine Stewardship Council standards. With the other fisheries we are working on trace-ability and on gear selectivity to reduce bycatch, so that ultimately they can also be certified.

Eurofish: A significant percentage of the Spanish production of fish and seafood is done here in Gali-cia. Are efforts being made by the administration to create a Gali-cian brand?

Quintana: This is a challenge we are facing and we are working on it. We want not only to promote the quality, but all the positive as-pects that go with a product made in Galicia. Less than a month ago we organized a seminar about marketing which was attended by producers, farmers, processors, traders, and distributors, to find out where the weakest point was from the moment the product is made to the point where it is sold. One of the main discussion points was about how similar products can be differentiated in the mar-ket. The results from the meeting will be placed on a website where all the participants can analyse what was discussed.

Eurofish: What are your admin-istration’s priorities over the next 3-4 years?

Quintana: There are three fun-damental things we are work-ing on at the moment. One is the preservation of the marine environment. The second is the social area, where we want to enable people working within the fisheries and aquaculture sectors to have a better standard of living. And finally there is an economic aspect, where we want to make it attractive enough for people to continue to work in these areas.

Within this overall framework, we are working on new laws for the fisheries sector that regulate the use of fishing gear. This will have a positive impact on the marine en-vironment, but also increase the earnings of those working in the sector and make it attractive for others to enter the market. In the processing sector we are working to increase the technical innova-tion and improve the sales and marketing by encouraging all the different elements in the value ad-dition chain – producers, proces-sors, distributors, and traders.

Erwin GOOSS GmbH & Co. KGAxel Stahlbuck Managing Director Cuxhavener Straße 36-40 · 21762 OtterndorfPhone + 49 (0) 47 51 /916-0

Best Harvest GmbHAxel Dinter Managing DirectorCuxhavener Straße 36 · 21762 OtterndorfPhone + 49 (0) 47 51 /916-200

[email protected] · www.gooss.de

GOOSS• 600metersofquayage• 155.000m³ofcoldstorage• 600m³ofshockfreezingspace• Import/exportclearance

full service in frozen logistics

Co-Packing:• cartons:endloadandtopload• PEpillowbags• PE-vacuumpacks/PP-trays• freezing(IQF-beltfreezer)

[email protected] · www.best-harvest.de

AZ-030_184x60_4c engl.indd 1 23.03.10 13:03

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


spain

Eurofish: What are the future pri-orities for the Spanish canning in-dustry, how is it going to compete with cheaper producers in other countries?

Juan Manuel Vieites: In the twen-ty-first century the main priority of the Spanish processing indus-try for canned fish and seafood is to overcome the future challenges and, therefore, it will seek differ-ent opportunities to continue to be a modern and innovative sec-tor that takes into account the new situation in the world economy. It should be noted that the Span-ish industry, which is one of the main world player in this sector, together with the rest of the EU industry, are demanding a legal framework more stable and less changing, which would enable the sector to plan and guarantee its investments and future activ-ity. Furthermore, it should be in coordination with all EU policies, notably with the social dimension related to the regions highly de-pendent on fisheries.

On the other hand, regarding our competitors from third countries, mainly from Southeast Asia, the same rules of competence for all the operators in the sector, both

from the EU and from third coun-tries, have to be established and demanded, to address situations of disequilibrium of the com-petence and prevent EU market access for those products that do not come from sustainable fishing, and during the manufac-ture of which the internationally recognized rules about human rights, social, labour, economical and environmental laws, as well EU hygiene and sanitary require-ments are not obeyed. Further-more, all players can compete under equal conditions.

Also, regarding the Interim Eco-nomic Partnership Agreement be-tween the EU and the Pacific States, we would like to stress the negative impact that the derogation of the rules of origin for products under the tariff headings 1604 and 1605 has on the Community tuna sec-tor, as well as for GSP+ and other ACP States, where the EU industry has invested. The Agreement will apply to Papua New Guinea and Fiji, the only two countries that subscribed to it. Furthermore, this concesion is an unfair advantage over the generalised system of

preferences (GSP) and other Eco-nomic Partnership Agreements. Thus, this sets a risky precedent that could legitimize other coun-tries claiming that the same pref-erential conditions be applied to them in the future. Despite the fact that the grounds for granting dero-gation from the rules of origin are related to the development of the fishing sector in the Pacific States and poverty alleviation, it is obvi-ous that the derogation will foster, instead, the development of the fishing sector in third countries. This is due to the fact that fish from any flag state may be landed in the said countries, with no favorable treatment being given to products coming from Pacific States or un-der Fishing Agreements with the European Union.

Eurofish: 60% of the Spanish can-ning industry is dependent on tuna as the raw material. Are steps be-ing taken to diversify production away from tuna, as tuna becomes more difficult to source? Are tuna canners getting more interested in labels that certify that the fish is caught sustainably?

Vieites: The Spanish canning industry offers the consumers a wide range of evolving products, as proved by the great number of references, more than 100, that our companies have. Spain is the country in the world that has the greatest variety of products and preparations of processed fishery and aquaculture prod-ucts, thanks to the Research, Development and Innovation, which is promoted by ANFACO and its Technological Center, CECOPESCA. In recent years, our industry worked continu-ously to add value to fisheries and aquaculture products by processing. To achieve this, our industry has invested heavily in renewal and modernisation of its facilities and promotion of

Interview with Juan Manuel Vieites, General Secretary, ANFACO

EU Agreement with Pacific States ignores domestic tuna industry concernsANFACO, the Spanish Association of Seafood Products Processors, consists of more than 220 companies involved in the processing of fishery and aquaculture products. Juan Manuel Vieites, General Secretary, ANFACO is critical of the EU agreement with the Pacific States as he shares his thoughts on the future of the Spanish canning sector.

Juan Manuel Vieites, General Secretary, ANFACO, the Spanish Association of Seafood Products Processors. The Spanish canning industry will continue to work to offer a range of high quality, tasty, and innovatively packaged products that benefit consumers’ health.


spain

food safety, quality, traceability, research, innovation and tech-nological development, among others. Also, the industry has shown its great capacity to adapt itself to these social changes, developing innovative products that incorporate added value to raw materials that are already excellent on their own.

That said, there is no doubt that ensuring the supply of raw materi-als such as tuna by being careful in the resources management is an increasingly important factor. Eco-certification is a step to ensure the sustainability of the resource. Thus, when the consumer buys a fisheries products, he knows that the sustainability is guaranteed based on the FAO criteria. In this regard, we consider that there are more steps to be taken towards the certification of tuna fishing using seine nets. Furthermore, the fee to pay for the use of these eco-certifications should be more reasonable than the one currently being raised, given the considered fisheries.

Eurofish: The metal for producing the cans is becoming more expen-sive. Are producers moving away

from traditional metal cans to oth-er forms of packaging?

Vieites: Indeed, in the recent years, the tin metal packaging has become more expensive, which is certainly not good news for the competitiveness of our industry. The packaging is a key element to boost the innovation in the indus-trial processing sector of fisheries and aquaculture products. Thus, our sector is continually looking for new opportunities to diversify the packaging and to adapt itself to the new demands of the con-sumers. Therefore, new products and new packaging are presented each year, such as easy-peel, prod-ucts in a plastic bags, glass jar or tetra-pack.Eurofish: How has ANFACO made use of the Spanish presidency of the EU to further the interests of its members?

Vieites: ANFACO-CECOPESCA has asked the Spanish Presidency of the EU to adopt measures to de-fend actively the Spanish process-ing and trading sector of fisheries and aquaculture products to main-tain its current leading position. In this sense, we have informed that the Spanish industry, notably

the tuna industry, determines to continue to develop its business in the territory of the EU. We have also informed the key industry concerns regarding different EU policies. Furthermore, ANFACO-CECOPESCA expressed its percep-tion that the European Commis-sion did not take into account the interests of its own tuna industry when it signed the Economic Part-nership Agreement with the Pacific States. This Agreement damages seriously the competitiveness and future viability of the EU tuna fleet and tuna processing industry, since improving the EU market access for canned tuna processed in these countries by the major competitors of the EU tuna indus-try (Thailand, Philippines...) under preferential conditions and even with a derogation of the rules of origin, is unprecedented.

In short, it is necessary that the European Commission ensures the maintenance of their industry, which wants to continue to de-velop its business in Spain and in the European Union, maintaining the employment and not estab-lishing precedents that may cause serious damage to the EU canning industry.

Eurofish: Consumption of canned fish during the last 6 years has been quite stable in spite of the popula-tion increase in Spain. What initia-tives have been developed to secure the continuous consumption of canned fish products?

Vieites: Achieving this level of consumption has meant that the sector makes a great effort in pursuit of excellence to offer con-sumers a wide range of innova-tive products that are constantly evolving. Thus, Spain has become the first producer of canned prod-ucts in the European Union and the second one in the world with a production of 354,179 tonnes, val-ued at EUR1,300m.The consump-tion is 6 kg/capita/year, which has been stable in recent years, taking into account the increase of the number of inhabitants in Spain. Spain has the greatest variety of products and preparations of pro-cessed fishery and aquaculture products, where tradition and mo-dernity go hand in hand, provid-ing the consumer with products of the highest quality. It is only possible thanks to continued work whose objective is to add value to fisheries and aquaculture prod-ucts by processing.

To consolidate this leadership, the sector together with ANFA-CO-CECOPESCA will continue to promote quality and food safety, research, innovation and techno-logical development, the develop-ment of new products and pack-aging, among others, contributing to the promotion of consumption of canned fish and shellfish by of-fering consumers products that are adapted to their needs and increasingly healthy and safe. Fur-thermore, through the promotion, we inform the consumers as well the restaurant sector that canned fish and seafood can be prepared in many ways and help to lead a healthy life.

Structure of ANFACO’s membership as a percentageTotal: > 220 members

2.82 %Supporting services5.08 %

Packaging

5.08 %Mussels

27.12 %Frozen and fresh

0.56 %Preserves

3.39 %Raw material

10.73 %Machinery

5.08 %Fishmeal and fish oil

40.11 %Canned fish and seafood

Source: ANFACO


The Jealsa Group operates in several countries in the world, but the operations

in some countries have a bigger role than in others. In Chile, for example, the Jealsa Group com-pany is called Robinson Crusoe. It produces canned shellfish such as clams, razor clams, and mus-sels, as well as some canned tuna. The production is exported to 12 Latin American countries and to Spain. Chile is the only country apart from Spain from which the company exports directly.

Facilities in Africa, Europe,

and Latin America

In Latin America the group also has production facilities in Guate-mala where it produces tuna loins for export to Spain. The loins are processed at two facilities Escuris and Jealsa. The Escuris plant pro-

duces cans of mussels, sardines, squid, cockles, and salads as well as tuna produced using loins from the Guatemala plant or from other sources. The other plant

in Spain is Jealsa, which was the original plant built 52 years ago by the company founder Jesús Alonso Fernández. Here the com-pany produces canned tuna of

which 80% is from raw tuna and 20% from loins. In addition, the company owns plants in Morocco where sardines are produced, a plant for cockles in the UK, anoth-er in Norway, and another plant producing sardines in Greece.

Spanish plant shows the future

The production is mainly in cans but also in pouches and most re-cently in Tetra Recart containers. This is a retortable carton-based packaging solution that is de-signed for products traditionally packaged in cans or pouches. The Tetra Recart package allows the product to be sterilised in-side it giving a shelf stability of up to 24 months and in addition offers several advantages over conventional packaging. These packages are convenient to open, light weight, easy to store due to the regular shape, and are made from renewable resources for low environmental impact. The Jealsa plant where the Tetra Recart packages are produced is a highly modern and extremely productive plant producing some 25,000 tonnes of tuna. Normally production on this scale would call for 250 employees, at the

Jealsa Rianxeira is based in Spain, and has operations in several countries around the world.

A variety of canned fish and shellfish is produced under the Rianxeira label.

Jealsa Rianxeira, S.A.

Investing in automation to stay competitiveThe Jealsa Group has interests ranging from canning to fish feed production to electricity generation. Based in Spain, but with operations in Chile, Guatemala, Morocco, the UK, Norway, and Greece, the group has invested abroad to secure its markets and raw material supplies.


spain

Jealso plant there are just six. The raw material used at the plant is a fish block, that the company produces itself, and which lends itself to the production process. Juan L Alonso Escuris, the opera-tions manager of the group (and the son of the founder) says that the Tetra Recart plant exempli-fies the way the company intends to develop in the future. “This is the only way we can compete with companies in Asia, Africa, America or anywhere else, where labour costs are much lower than they are in Europe, and yet con-tinue to produce in Spain. We are a Spanish company based in a small town, Boiro, where every-body knows everybody else. And it is important for us that we con-tinue to produce here,” says Mr Escuris, “that is also my father’s wish.” He also sees a move away from metal cans into other kinds of packaging including plastic containers, pouches, and car-tons, as the price of metal cans has soared.

Production in the group amounts to about 105,000 tonnes of tuna generated partly from loins and the rest from raw tuna, while production of shellfish is about 100,000 tonnes. These figures are however just to give a rough es-timate. “The yield of cockles, for example, could be 10% or 20% de-pending on the year,” cautions Mr Escuris, while the yield of sardines differs absolutely. The markets for these products are mainly in Por-tugal, France, Spain, Italy and the UK, though the group also sells in the rest of Europe.

Activities not confined to fish and seafood

The Jealsa Group has interests in a number of activities which are only peripherally related to their core business of canning. These include a fishmeal plant in

Spain, which gets its raw material from the groups canning facilties as well as from outside, two cold stores, and even a sizeable electri-cal co-generation facility. Some of the electricity generated is used by the company itself while the rest is sold on the market. The

heat produced by the electric-ity generation is used to produce steam that in turn is used to heat the water to cook the tuna. In ad-dition the Group has established four companies that generate wind-based electricity. All these facilities are in fact different com-

panies owned by the Jealsa Group.

This diversity may be a strength for the company that has helped it to grow steadily over the last 25 years, not in great leaps, but in regular steps that have continued even through the international fi-nancial and economic crises. We do not seem to have been affect-ed by the crises, says Mr Escuris, perhaps because the food sector in general was less affected than other parts of the economy, but the last two years have not been different for us than other times. But there are other longer term changes that could have an im-pact on the Group’s operations, including the opening up of Eu-rope’s borders and the lowering of tariffs. Despite wanting to remain a Spanish cannery based in Spain the Mr Escuris is acutely aware of the wage differential between Spanish workers and workers in Thailand or Viet Nam. The only way forward is to make our pro-duction more efficient so that we can compete, he says, we have to automate, and use less labour to produce at the same level.

Tuna cannery committed to sustainability

Tuna is a key raw material for the Group and according to Mr Escuris, for tuna processors “the world is getting more difficult each day.” Jealsa has joined the ISSF, the International Sustain-able Seafood Foundation, a global partnership between scientists, the tuna industry and WWF, a conservation organization, as a signal of its commitment to sustainable tuna stocks. ISSF fo-cuses on ensuring that effective conservation and management practices are in place to maintain the health of all tuna stocks. As a member of ISSF Jealsa only buys tuna from fishing companies that fish sustainably.

Jealsa Rianxeira has two plants in Spain, Escuris and Jealsa. Part of the Jealsa plant is used to produce tuna in Tetra Recart packages, an operation that produces 25,000 tonnes of tuna using six people.

Jealsa Rianxeira, S.A.Bodión, s/n - 15.930-Boiro - A Coruña Tel: +34 981 845 400 Fax: +34 981 844 551, +34 981 847 [email protected]

Operations manager: Juan L. Alonso Escuris

Products: Canned tuna, canned shellfish (clams, razor clams, mussels, cockles), canned sardines

Facilities: Spain, Guatemala, Chile, Morocco, UK, Norway, Greece

Volumes: Approx. 105,000 tonnes of tuna, 100,000 tonnes of other products

Markets: Portugal, France, Spain, Italy and the UK, the group also sells in the rest of Europe; Latin America

Other interests: Cold stores, electricity generation, fishmeal production

Fishing companies: Sant Jago, Albacora (tuna fishing)

Sales and marketing companies: Soluco Europe (France), Mare Aperto (Italy)

Turnover: EUR374mEmployees: 3000

Jealsa Rianxeira Company Fact File


Today Iberconsa has 16 vessels fishing in the southern Atlantic, which

focus on the hake fishery in Ar-gentina, Namibia and South Africa. In South Africa and Na-mibia the target is Cape hake, which in South Africa has been certified by the Marine Steward-ship Council. Volumes of Cape hake amount to 3,000 tonnes in South Africa and 7,000 tonnes in Namibia. Hake accounts for 90% of the catches in Namibia and South Africa; of the rest, the company has a trawler catching

monkfish which amounts to some 500 tonnes.

Hake, squid, shrimp are the main species

In Argentina Argentine hake is the main target, while the sec-ond biggest product is squid. Two jiggers catch Illex off Ar-gentina while two trawlers target Loligo off the Falkland Islands. Shrimp is the third big-gest product with two shrimp-ers targeting pink wild shrimp off Argentina. The catches re-sult in the production of 1,000 tonnes of shrimp frozen on board while a further 1,000 tonnes is produced on land at the processing plant in Rawson, Argentina. The fishery in Ar-gentina also results in catches of red cod, hoki, grenadier, king clip, and some other species in-cluding Notothenia, butter fish, and blue whiting.

More than half of the production from Argentina, South Africa and Namibia is exported directly to markets around the world; the Argentinian production facility supplies the Middle East, north-ern and southern Europe, Rus-sia, China and Japan, with a lit-tle also going to Australia. From South Africa and Namibia prod-uct is exported to northern Eu-rope, the US, and Australia. The production that is not sold is sent to the company headquarters in Vigo for distribution from there. Iberconsa is moving to new of-fices that will include a coldstore with a capacity of 15,000 tonnes as the lease for the current place

Squid, Loligo and Illex, is among Iberconsa’s biggest product lines. Last year was a bad year for squid catches not only in Argentina, but also China and Korea.

Fernando Lago, international sales director, has overseen the diversification of the company’s portfolio of markets. Today Iberconsa exports to 55 countries in the world.

Iberconsa

Frozen fish exports to 55 countriesIberconsa specialises in the catching, processing, and distribution of a variety of frozen seafood for markets all over the world. The company has fishing vessels that are active in the southern Atlantic supplying processing factories in Argentina and Namibia.


spain

expires. The new space is being built at the premises of Frigalsa Coldstores where Iberconsa has a 50% shareholding.

2009 a poor year for squid

While hake is one of the main species for the company Illex is also very important. The com-pany produces 6,000 to 7,000 tonnes of Illex a year if catches are good. This has been far from the case the last couple of years. The 2009 season was horrible, says Mr Lago, a boat that was making eight to nine trips in 2008, made only one in 2009. And the problem seemed to be universal with poor catches in New Zealand as well as Korea and China.

The company’s customer base can be organised into three groups; industrial customers, who use the products as raw material, amount to 40-50% of the customer base; food service companies, who buy the more value added products, form 35-40%; and the rest goes to the retail sector in Spain, Portu-gal, Italy, and to some extent in France. Most of the retail sales are private label and are con-

centrated on Spanish and Por-tuguese chains. In addition Iber-consa has its own chain of stores selling frozen food, most of it seafood, but also other frozen products. The shops are called Hiperxel and in Galicia there are 52 of them. Iberconsa also relies considerably on imported products and is an active inter-national trader, buying fillets and the Asian range of surimi and shrimp. Twenty.five percent of our sales are from imports says Mr Lago. The company also sends some of its Loligo and Illex production to China to be repro-cessed there – producing rings from Illex or tubes from Loligo – and then sent back to Europe.

Steady diversification of export market

Last year was a difficult year due to the financial crisis with a 35-40% drop in sales in the first three months compared to the same period the year before, but by pushing back hard and offering better prices the com-pany was able to end the year with only a slight difference in the overall result compared to 2008, says Mr Lago. This year has been better, turnover has recovered and growth is better compared to last year and even slightly better than in 2008. The company’s strategy over the last years of diversifying its markets

seems also to have paid off. When I joined 11 years ago we did 75-80 percent of our sales in Spain, says Mr Lago. That has now come down to 50%. The company today exports to 55 countries and has managed to build up a very balanced portfo-lio. The increased globalisation of the fisheries trade also means that Spain is no longer the refer-ence for products like squid or hake as it used to be in the past. If, for example, prices for Illex in China are high then Spain has to follow suit.

Open to new partnerships anywhere

in the world

The relatively strong position the company finds itself in has fos-tered ambitions to acquire some assets in Africa and Argentina in order to consolidate the busi-ness there.. The company may also strike out into new products as it has done in the past, such as salmon and mussels from Chile, and shrimp from Asia. However, I do not anticipate a move into the chilled fish business, says Mr Lago, diversifying our range of frozen products is more likely or entering into partnerships in other parts of the world.

Iberconda has a chain of retail shops called Hiperxel that sell frozen products, mainly but not exclusively fish and seafood.

The hake is sourced from South Africa, where the fishery is Marine Stewardship Council certified, Argentina, and Namibia.

IberconsaMuelle Comercial de Bouzas 20Aptdo. 64036208 VigoSpainTel.:+34 986213300 Fax: +34 986204669 [email protected]

International Sales Director: Fernando Lago

Products: Frozen seafood, primar-

ily hake, squid, shrimp, but also a range of other fish and seafood

Markets: 55 countries around the world

Processing facilities: Argentina, Namibia

Vessels: 16 operating in the southern Atlantic

Other interests: Coldstores, chain of retail shops

Turnover: EUR115mEmployees: 150, of which

in Spain 60-70

Iberconsa Company Fact File


Pescanova’s aquaculture op-erations are in Spain and Portugal as well in several

countries in Latin America. The company concentrates on four species, shrimp, salmon, tilapia, and turbot. Farming activities started in 1985 and for a number of reasons Latin America was se-lected as the area to start. There was a cultural affinity in terms of language and work ethos, the main markets in the US and Eu-rope were only one and three weeks away respectively, and fi-nally the ingredients for fish feed could be readily sourced in the vicinity; fishmeal and fish oil from Chile and Peru and grains from Argentina and Brazil.

Large scale, vertically integrated shrimp production

The first species to be farmed was shrimp P japonicus in the South of

Spain (and then vannamei), and the company established vertically integrated operations including hatcheries, grow-out ponds, feed plants and processing facilities as well as sales offices. Today shrimp is scientifically farmed in Guate-mala, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Ecuador with a yield of about 30-40,000 tonnes. Each site offers full traceability at each stage of produc-tion and a genetic improvement programme gives faster growth and greater disease resistance.

The Group’s salmon farms are located in Chile in the XI and XII Regions, while the tilapia cultiva-tion is in Pernambuco, on the east coast of Brazil. It is only the turbot farming operations that are locat-ed in Europe. Spain and Portugal host grow-out sites and Spain is the site of a hatchery with a pro-duction of 10 million fry that sup-plies both the grow-out sites. Pro-duction in Spain is about 3,000 tonnes while in Portugal, where production started last year, the

intention is to reach 7,000 tonnes in the space of four years. Why move to another country rather than expand at the existing site? According to Enrique de Llano Monelos, the director of aquacul-ture operations, the site in Portu-gal had several advantages. The water was in the right tempera-ture range, and the daily tempera-ture variation was only a couple of degrees, the salinity and water quality were good, and the price of the land also played a role. In addition negotiations for the land had to be done with only one per-son rather than 200, which made it much simpler.

Research collaboration to prevent in-breeding

At the turbot hatchery the brood-stock were caught 20 years ago from different parts of Europe, from Galicia, Ireland, the Baltic Sea and Norway. In partnership with the University of Santiago the company identified the ori-gins of each fish and its genetic make-up to prevent problems of consanguinity from cropping

Enrique de Llano Monelos, director of aquaculture operations.

Isaac González Toribio, director of corporate communications.

Pescanova Group operates in 21 countries with aprox. 3,400 employees.

Pescanova Group

Aquaculture production on two continentsThe Pescanova Group is Spain’s biggest Spanish fisheries company and one of the largest in the world with interests in fishing, aquaculture, and processing and with production sites all around the globe.

Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2010 35

spain

up when selecting fish for desir-able traits including faster growth rates, better colour, and greater disease resistance. “The fish are grown on land-based facilities in tanks. We did some trials in the sea,” says Mr Monelos, “at the bot-tom and in floating cages.” But this fish lives in the sand so a firm base is needed and a net cage did not work. But growing the fish on the ocean floor is expensive, al-though the fish grow well, as you need specialised people to watch the fish and a lot of equipment for feeding, harvesting, grading etc. The product is usually sold whole fresh directly the day it is harvest-ed, so it is very fresh. It is exported to a number of countries in Eu-rope including Germany, Switzer-land, Poland, Italy, France, and Portugal, but the main markets are in Spain (40% of the produc-tion) and Italy (25-30%). “German customers prefer their fish gut-ted,” says Mr Monelos,” but for the rest it is all whole.”

Kuruma prawn sold live

In southern Spain Pescanova also produces about 60 tonnes of Kuruma prawn (Penaeus japonicus). Production is limited because only a single harvest is possible in the south of Spain. In Latin America where tempera-

tures are between 25 and 32 de-grees it is possible to work all the year around. The product is quite special as it is packed in polysty-rene boxes, chilled, and sold live directly to restaurants, delicates-sen and to end consumers. Eighty percent of the production is sold at Christmas time. There is no comparison between the Spanish product and the shrimp farmed in Latin America, adds Mr Mone-los. One is a delicatessen product, the other is frozen for mass mar-kets in the US and Europe. Local sales in Latin America are non-existent as the price level is gen-erally too high.

Pescanova is also working with other species such as Dover sole, lemon sole, and Senegalese sole which the company thinks could

be interesting. “We have also closed the breeding circle for seabass and sea bream,” says Mr Monelos, “but they need to be grown in the Mediterranean and there are already so many coun-tries growing these species that we do not think there is much fu-ture there. The tilapia production is being ramped up in Brazil, but that fish in not popular in Spain, while pangasius sells a lot. So we are toying with the idea of going into pangasius production, but investing in a new country is very demanding. You have to know the rules and regulations and then there is the question of the genetic background of the species which will also have to be researched, so there are many issues that would have to be resolved first,” says Mr Monelos.

Recirculation systems used at

Chilean operations

Recirculation systems are used at the turbot hatchery, and they are also being deployed by the company at its Chilean opera-tions where new regulations pre-scribe that Salmo salar farmers recirculate the water used for the broodstock and the fish until they reach the smolt stage, when they weigh about 200 g. They can then be released into the sea for on-growing. These regulations do not apply for Salmo trutta and coho production.

There are two turbot hatcheries about 20 km apart. One produces 3-4 million fries, while the other does 7-8 million. The combined production covers all the require-ment of the company. The female broodstock are usually about 3 years old when they start lay-ing eggs. The best period is from about 4 years to about 6 years, though the company keeps them in service for about 5 years. The fe-males at 5-6 kilos are bigger than the males at 2-3 kilos. The hatch-ery is monitored and controlled electronically, all the parameters, water temperature, oxygen level, pumps etc can be controlled from a central computer.

Turbot is farmed at two sites, one in Portugal which will reach a production of 7,000 tonnes in four years and the other in Galicia, where production is 3,000 tonnes.

The turbot faming site in Galicia.

Pescanova S.A.Rua Jose Fernandez Lopez s/n E 36320 Chapela - Pontevedra Spain Tel.: +34 986 818 100 Fax: +34 986 818 417 www.pescanova.es

Director of aquaculture operations:

Enrique de Llano Monelos

Director of corporate communications:

Isaac González ToribioAquaculture operations: Shrimp

(vannamei) farming in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Ecuador (30-40,000 tonnes), Salmon farming in Chile, Tilapia in Brazil, Turbot cul-ture in Spain and Portugal (10,000 tonnes by 2012), Kuruma prawn farming in Spain (60 tonnes)

Pescanova Company Fact File


spain

In 1947 Paquito’s founder in-vested in mussel rafts in order to start the production of fresh

mussels.

This was followed by the produc-tion of frozen mussels that were exported to many countries in Europe including, Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Turkey, Greece, Russia, and the UK, as well as sold on the domes-tic market, which was the biggest, absorbing about a quarter of the production.

Expansion of mussel production in Chile

By 1994 the company was con-centrating exclusively on the production of frozen mussels having discontinued the sale of fresh mussels. However, the price of the raw material was moving upward and the company real-ised that as a producer of frozen mussels it needed to have cheap raw material that could compete with mussels of other origin. As Manuel Lopez Outeiral, the

general manager of Paquito says, you need a cheap product in the frozen market otherwise you are out.

This prompted a strategic deci-sion to look at Chile as a source for the raw material. With an in-vestment of about EUR9m the company established a subsidi-ary in Chile, Chilena de Pesca-dos y Mariscos SA, which is the farming company. The area for growing mussels amounts to 220 ha and the company produces 7,000 to 8,000 tonnes of mussels per year on longlines. This kind of area gives us plenty of room to expand says Mr Outeiral. If we invest the money we can produce up to 30,000 tonnes of mussels at our Chilean site. While the Chil-ean business was developing the company in 1998 started a new production line for pre-cooked, battered and breaded products based on squid. Production to-day is about 10,000 tonnes of frozen, battered and breaded squid rings, and shrimp, and other materials. The raw material for this production comes from Peru, China, New Zealand, and sometimes Korea and Russia, but the most important source is Ar-gentina, which is responsible for about half the global supply of squid.

Poor squid catches send prices soaring

Last year catches of squid failed, particularly in Argentina, but they were also poor in New Zealand and China, with cata-strophic results. A number of vessels went bankrupt and the the price of squid shot up from EUR800 a tonne to EUR5,500 a tonne, says Mr Outeiral, and we had to stop production because it does not make sense to buy the raw material at a price that we cannot sell on the market.

Manuel Lopez Outeiral, the general manager of Paquito, has suffered from a huge increase in squid prices last year.

Paquito is essentially a mussel farming and processing company. This side of the business is set to expand, though much of the expansion will be in the Chilean operations.

Paquito SL

Frozen mussels and breaded squid for the European retail sectorPaquito started in the in the food marketing business several decades ago when the company founder put the first mussel rafts in the water. Since then the company has extended its mussel farming operations to Chile and has established a squid processing line in Spain where it produces a range of battered and breaded products for sale on the local and international markets.


spain

Normally prices are much more stable, though a year and a half ago they fell to EUR800 a tonne, which is also too low. The aver-age price of the last 10-15 years has been between EUR1,200 and EUR1,500 a tonne. At this price says Mr Outeiral the vessels make money, yet it is also eco-nomical for us, and the market is happy with this level so it is a win-win situation.

The squid products are an im-portant part of the company’s operations currently contribut-ing some 60% of the turnover, but Mr Outeiral still considers the company essentially a mus-sel farmer and processor. I ex-pect more growth in this area, he says, though the expansion will

be in Chile rather than Spain. We need to find out how we can add greater value to the mussels.

They are much in demand in Europe and from Chile it is easy to export to the US as there are

no tariffs or other barriers, the product goes straight to the mar-ket. In Spain we will develop the range of precooked or prefried breaded and battered prod-ucts using not just squid but also other seafood. The plant in Spain is IFS certified with an in-house laboratory that is re-sponsible for quality control and traceability of the final products both frozen and pre-cooked.The laboratory is equipped to do the physical and chemical control of the raw materials and final product and can analyse for a number of pathogens includ-ing, listeria, salmonella, E. coli, and staphylococcus. Once a year the company simulates a recall of its products to verify that its systems are working.

The raw material for squid products comes from Peru, China, New Zealand, and sometimes Korea and Russia, but the most important source is Argentina, which is responsible for about half the global supply of squid.

The squid products are an important part of the company’s operations currently contributing some 60% of the turnover.

Paquito, S.L.Lg. Careixo s/n, Boiro, POB 16 E 15930 Pontevedra Spain Tel.: +34 981 844050 Fax: +34 981 846800 [email protected] www.sabordemar.com

General Manager: Mr. Manuel Lopez Outeiral

Products: Frozen mussels, frozen battered, breaded squid and shrimp products

Volumes: Mussels 7-8,000 tonnes per year in Chile; 3-4,000 tonnes per year in Spain; 8,000 tonnes of breaded products

Sites: Mussel farming and pro-cessing sites in Spain and Chile, squid processing plant in Spain

Markets: Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Turkey, Greece, Russia, and the UK

Customers: Metro, Lidl, Carrefour, Intermarché, Netto

Employees: Spain, 200; Chile, 250

Paquito Company Fact File


spain

As a naval engineer it was natural for Jesús Taboada to first develop products

that would find application in the navy. But soon he realized that many of these products

could also be used by industry. For example, an anti-fouling and anti-scaling system that he developed to protect seawater pipes on naval vessels, could also be used by the oil indus-

try on offshore rigs. Gradually the company started to develop equipment for industry and also moved from producing machin-ery for use with salt water to ma-chinery that could be used with

tap water. Today the company produces a range of equipment that is used in industrial sectors as diverse as green energy, cater-ing, and health.

Close collaboration with research institutions

One of the company’s recent in-ventions is the PetFrost system. This system produces a germi-cidal water that can be used to extend the shelf life of fish, meat and vegetables, by eliminating the pathogens that contribute to spoilage of food. The company had originally considered the production of a germicidal ice, but then switched to a germicid-al water. Petfrost benefitted from the company’s collaboration with CSIC, a public research in-stitution, that worked with Peter Taboada to carry out the tests to ensure that the Petfrost system conformed to Spanish legisla-tion and that the product posed absolutely no threat to human health. The company carried out a series of tests using hake to demonstrate the efficacy of the product.

Samples of hake were treated with the germicidal water and were left for 17, 14, 12, 8, and 3 days respectively, while in a control experiment the hake samples were not treated with the germicidal water and left for the same numbers of days. The outcome of the tests showed clearly that the samples that had been treated with the germicidal water had a longer shelf life than the control samples. On aver-age the treatment extended the shelf life by three to four days, though in the case of the three oldest samples even this exten-sion in shelf life was not enough to allow the fish to be sold fur-ther. All the tests were indepen-dently verified. Tests were also

Peter Taboada, a company producing a range of water treatment equipment, has developed PetFrost, a machine that produces a germicidal water that can safely extend the shelf life of fish and seafood.

Peter Taboada

Germicidal water to extend the shelf life of fish and seafoodPeter Taboada was founded by a naval engineer, Jesús M. Taboada Presedo who began by creating water treatment products for use on naval vessels. This was followed a few years later by the development of desalination plants to remove the salt from seawater. The company has a strong research and development department and collaborates closely with universities and research institutes to develop new products. Currently it has five patents pending for products that were developed in house.


spain

carried out to assess the impact of the germicidal water on the taste, colour, and texture of the fish. The results showed that the product did not influence these parameters.

PetFrost can also be deployed against the bacteria that are found on the plastic film that is used to wrap products. By spray-ing the water on the film and leav-ing it for a certain period the film can be rendered bacteria-free. The issue the company had to resolve was to find the minimum amount of germicidal water and the minimum time needed to treat the film, that would still be effective against the bacteria. The question is one of cost. The Pet-Frost water has a price, so the less you use the more economic it is.

The company is now also plan-ning to test how effective the ger-micidal water is when combined with modified atmosphere pack-aging. One set of tests has already been carried out, but they were limited in scope and the compa-ny is looking to scale up the tests. We envisage the germicidal ice being used on fishing vessels and then germicidal water being used in the processing plants, which should substantially increase the shelf life of the fish, says Carlos Gómez, the sales manager. In ad-dition the germicidal water can be used to wash down all the ma-chinery in the processing plant, to further eliminate any risk of pathogens.

Ultraviolet and ozone combine to achieve

germicidal effect

The technology behind the Pet-Frost system is in the process of being patented and the details are therefore confidential, but Mr Gómez explains that the sys-

tem uses a combination of ozone and an ultraviolet (UV) filter. Water is treated with a UV filter while ozone is introduced into the air and both elements are then combined in a tank giving the germicidal water. If the wa-ter is of dubious quality it is first micro-filtered or carbon filtered before passing through the UV filter. The germicidal ability of the water can be measured in terms of its redox potential ex-pressed in milivolts. The water normally used in the fish indus-try has a potential of 400 mV. At a voltage of 900 mV the water is sterile, while at 1,100 mV the wa-ter is germicidal.

Mr Gómez points out that for the germicidal water to be effective

it needs to be in physical contact with the food or the film for a cer-tain length of time. As a further refinement the company is also considering a system whereby the water can be recycled after it has been used.

However, before the water can be used again it has to be filtered and ozonated, as the germicidal effect is not permanent – if the germi-cidal water is used once it cannot be used again with being filtered and mixed with ozone. This is both an advantage and a disad-vantage of the germicidal water. The advantage is that there are no residues in the treated product, but on the other hand the germi-cidal water stops working after a period of time.

Technology also of interest

to non-food sector

So far buyers of the PetFrost sys-tem have come mainly from the fish with some from the meat in-dustry, but other sectors including the dairy and the pharmaceutical industry have also bought PetFrost machines. For us the main problem is that potential customers do not want to buy a machine because it would mean admitting to the pres-ence of pathogens in their value addition chain, says Carlos Gómez. For another we find most of our clients want to test the machine themselves on their own premises before they will consider purchas-ing it. PetFrost has only been on the market for two years so far, but the company anticipates that it will be one of their big and important products in the future.

From left, Manuel López Gómez, the PetFrost manager Jesús M. Taboada, the founder and president of the company, and Carlos Gómez Pérez, the sales manager.

TaboadaMillarada, 68 - Vilar de Infesta 36815 Redondela (Pontevedra) Spain Tel: +34 986 22 66 22 Fax: +34 986 22 35 70 [email protected] www.petertaboada.com

Founder and president: Jesús M. Taboada Presedo

Sales manager: Carlos Gómez Pérez

PetFrost manager: Manuel López Gómez

Products: PetFrost, a system producing germicidal water for use in the fish and seafood sec-tor; water treatment products; desalination plants; de-scaling and de-fouling equipment

Employees: 32 of which 7 are in the technical department

Customers: Fish and meat proces-sors, dairy industry, pharmaceu-tical sector

Taboada Company Fact File

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


Pablo García is the president of the aquaculture division reporting to the board of the

parent company Stolt-Nielsen. In a rare interview at the company’s turbot farm in La Coruña, Spain, Mr García expands on the phi-losophy that underpins the group, a set of values that lead directly back to the founder Jacob Stolt-Nielsen, and which determine the kind of activities the companies in the group get involved in.

Operates in areas that call for specialisation

In the case of fish farming Stolt Sea Farm, although a pioneer in salmon farming, decided that a business that has become so commoditised that the only way to survive was to make large vol-umes at the lowest cost possible, was not the way they wanted to work. By the standard of salmon farms we are a small fish farming

company, says Pablo García, but we are leaders in what we do, in turbot, in sole, and in caviar. We want to be in businesses where the barriers to entry are high, the technical requirements are de-manding and the production risks are considerable. This means that you need specialized knowledge to run such a business and if you

know what you are doing you will be successful. The company accumulated experience in the fish farming business, in salmon, where it made a lot of money in the 70s before seeing the writing on the wall and deciding to pull out, but also in halibut, and in tuna. We prefer to be a big fish in a small pond says Mr García, turbot

may be a small business but if you are one of the top players then it is well worth it.

The turbot is farmed at nine sites, six in Galicia, and one each in Portugal, France, and Norway and production amounts to some 4,000 t per annum. At the La Coruña site rows of covered cir-cular tanks house the turbot. The tanks are specially dimensioned to ensure the flow of water is nei-ther to fast nor too slow to ensure that the water in all parts of the tank is evenly oxygenated with no pockets that have too much or too little oxygen as this does not agree with the fish. All our efforts are designed to find out what the fish can tolerate in terms of density, temperature, oxygen levels, stress etc. and still feed well, grow nor-mally, and stay healthy, says Mr García. It is a question of balanc-ing the risks. For example, water for the farm is pumped from the sea and is then propelled by grav-ity through the tanks. We invest a lot in systems that pay off only in the long run says Pablo García. The pumping station for example if the heart of our operations and if anything happens there we will lose all our stock. Accordingly the company installed expensive filtration devices to prevent kelp from clogging up the pumps as the volumes of free floating kelp can be enormous under certain climatic conditions. Other refine-ments may seem simple enough on the surface but are the result of years of experience. For ex-ample the material used to cover the tanks is specially put togeth-er to withstand the storms and

Pablo García, the president of Stolt-Nielsen’s aquaculture division, favours being in specialised businesses where the barriers to entry are high.

“Our turbot are like bricks,” says Pablo García, “with a uniform size, shape, colour, and fat content all the year around, which is reassuring for Stolt Sea Farm’s customers.”

Stolt Sea Farm SA

A big fish in a small pondStolt Sea Farm is one of the business divisions of the Stolt-Nielsen group, an international company with Norwegian roots, that has interests in the specialized transport and storage of different cargoes. Stolt Sea Farm focuses on the high tech production of primarily three products, turbot, sole, sturgeon and caviar, which are produced on sites in France, Norway, Portugal, Spain and California.


spain

100 kmph winds that would oth-erwise destroy the covers.

Finding new turbot sites increasingly difficult

However, the wind or lack of it is probably secondary when it comes to selecting a site. One of the main barriers to entry is the site itself. Certainly in Europe says Pablo García, finding the 100,000 to 200,000 sq. m along the coast that is needed to establish a farm is becoming virtually impossible. Turbot being a bottom swimming flat fish is usually farmed on land in tanks rather than in net cages at sea. Besides the main market for turbot is in France and Spain as it is only in these countries that consumers are willing to pay EUR12 a kilo for the fish. So ideally the farm should be located some-where close to the market.

Farmed turbot does face compe-tition from the wild variety par-ticularly in May and June when the turbot catch from the Atlantic comes in. Farmed and wild turbot taste the same as regular blind

tasting sessions have shown says Mr Pablo García, but farmed re-tails at a slightly lower price than wild fish. However our custom-ers are industrial buyers not the end consumer, and for them it is more important that the fish are a uniform size, shape, colour, and fat content all the year around. The fish are sold typically whole round in a variety of sizes, from 500 g to 5 kg, with the smaller fish going mainly to the retail sector and the larger ones to wholesalers

who sell them on to restaurants and hotels. Some of the produc-tion is sold as gutted fish or even fillets, but this is a relatively small proportion.

Slow but steady growth and consistent profits

Stolt Sea Farms also produces caviar and sturgeon at four sites in California as well as sole. The lat-ter is produced at a site in France that went on stream 18 months

ago and sent its first production to the market this year in March. For the moment we have no plans to move into any other species but we are open to suggestions. We regularly receive proposals that we study to see if they are viable and if they fit in with our over-all strategy, says Pablo García, which has been to run a consist-ently profitable operation, grow-ing slowly but steadily - and that is the way we want things to run. You could say we have sacrificed some growth in favour of stability. This course has proved itself most recently with the financial and economic crisis that brought the price of turbot down from EUR10 per kg in 2007 to EUR5 per kg in 2009. Despite the collapse in pric-es the company still made money, though less of it, thanks to its cau-tious approach, which included not taking on debt, rapidly re-paying short term loans, and self financing its growth. Of course it helps to be part of a bigger group, adds Pablo García, as this gives us the freedom to recommend man-agement policies that may not be acceptable elsewhere.

Stolt Sea Farm S.A. Punta de los Remedios Lira, Carnota La Coruña 15292 SpainTel: +34 981 837501 Fax: +34 981 [email protected]

President of the aquaculture division: Pablo GarcíaTurnover: EUR40m Facilities:

- Turbot farming sites: 6 in Galicia, Spain; 1 each in Portugal, Nor-way, France

- Sole farming sites: 1 each in Galicia, Spain and France

- Sturgeon farming sites: 4 in California

Production volumes: Turbot 4,000 t, sole 350 t, caviar 12 t, sturgeon 200 t

Markets for turbot: Spain, FranceProduct form: Whole roundCustomers:

Wholesalers, retailers

Stolt Sea Farm Company Fact File

http://issuu.com/action/openurl?url=www.interfish-expo.com


spain

Grupo Tres Mares is run by three sisters, the daughters of Roman Ar-

regui del Valle who founded the company 40 years ago. Gloria Arregui is the managing director of the farm, while Carmen Ar-regui is the commercial director and Luz Arregui, the director of research and development, and fish health. The company has two hatcheries, one at Tres Mares in La Coruña, and the other at Tru-chas del Umia in Pontevedra. The fish from both sites are on-grown at Tres Mares.

Global Gap certified farm

As a trout farm the company has taken a decision not to get involved in egg production as it involves keeping broodstock and all the potential problems that go with raising these fish. We are trout growers, says Luz Arregui, and that is what we focus on. The company therefore buys eggs from suppliers in Spain, the UK, or France. We also used to buy fingerlings which we would then on-grow at our sites, but now that we have a Global Gap certi-fication we cannot get fingerlings from any non Global Gap sourc-es. The Global Gap certification is essentially a sustainability cer-tification that covers all the pro-

cesses and inputs including feed, environmental impact, traceabil-ity and sustainability that go into the production until the product leaves the farm. While these are important aspects of the certifi-cation, Luz Arregui says frankly that they invested in this certifi-cation primarily to prevent their products from being excluded from any markets.

With over 95,000 sq. meters of area including the hatchery, 350 ponds and the processing fa-cilities Tres Mares is one of the largest farms in Europe. The fa-cilities include two processing plants, one for frozen products,

one for fresh, that are certified to the IFS (International Food Standard) ensuring a high level

of food safety. The company also has a laboratory where it makes its own vaccines. Called autovac-cines, these are usually made in dedicated laboratories which develop a vaccine against the specific strain of a pathogen that is prevalent on a farm. In Tres Mares’ case the on-site labora-tory is sophisticated enough to carry out this task, so the com-pany does not have turn to an external facility.

Portion-sized trout in different sizes

A trout farm can specialize in dif-ferent products, explains Ms Ar-regui. This could be related to the type of product, whether fresh or frozen, pink or white flesh, large or small fish, We specialise in the production of frozen, white, portion-sized trout, which we produce in large volumes, says Ms Arregui. This specialization enables the company to export its fish to 18 countries in Europe including to markets that have their own domestic production such as the UK, France and Ger-many. On the Spanish market the demand is mainly for fresh trout and the company supplies fresh fillets, but this forms a relatively modest proportion of sales as 70-80% of the production is fro-zen and exported. Portion-sized trout vary in size depending on the market; typically this is 250-350 g, but some countries prefer smaller fish of 200 g while others will only accept fish between 320 and 340 g.

Fresh and salt water mixture

keeps parasites at bay

Tres Mares is currently not recir-culating any of the water it uses for the production. The farm draws 3.5 cubic m a second from the ground and, as it is located

Luz Arregui, the director of research and development, and fish health at Grupo Tres Mares.

ProductionCenter:LIRES S/N 15270 CEE A Coruña, SpainTel: + 34 981 748 004Fax: +34 981 748 [email protected]

Commercial Office:S.A.Centro de empresasC/Francisco Alonso, nº2 Of.228660 Boadilla del MonteMadrid, SpainTel. + 34 916 330 427 / + 34 916 330 585

Fax. +34 916 330 [email protected]

Production: 3,200 tonnes of mainly frozen rainbow trout

Product forms: Gutted frozen, IQF frozen fillets, whole fresh, gutted fresh, block frozen

Brand: Tres Mares Markets:

EU countries, RussiaCertifications: Global Gap, IFSEmployees: 100Turnover: EUR9m (2007)

Grupo Tres Mares Company Fact File

Grupo Tres Mares

Rainbow trout products for EU and Russian marketsGrupo Tres Mares is one of the biggest rainbow trout (Onchorhynchus mykiss) producers in Europe with a capacity of 3,500 tonnes per annum. Production last year reached 3,000 tonnes most of which was exported to markets in Europe as frozen, gutted, portion-sized fish. The farm, like many others in the sector, is struggling to compete with imports of cheap whitefish while at the same time complying with the rules and regulations that govern the freshwater aquaculture sector.


spain

close to the sea, a further one cubic m a second of salt water. The addition of salt water is not so much to cut down on the consumption of fresh water as to use it as a natural treatment method for certain parasites. Most freshwater parasites can-not tolerate salt water and vice versa. In case of an infestation with saltwater parasites we can switch to pure freshwater and get rid of the problem, thus re-ducing the need to treat the fish with chemicals. Recirculation systems here are not as com-mon as they are in countries like Denmark, says Ms Arregui. For one thing the temperatures here are higher both in summer and winter and this might have disease implications. Water is recirculated but usually only when there is a shortage of fresh water. Under such circumstanc-es the farm may filter the water using settling ponds and drum filters and add oxygen before re-using the water, but the treat-ment process will not include bio-filters. The trick is to know what the fish can handle in terms of changes in salinity and temperatures without having an impact on its well-being. Now with 20 years of experience the

company has been able to work out precisely how to ensure the fish thrives.

Stiff competition from imports

Today, however, it is not enough to know how to grow fish. Span-ish trout farmers have seen a drastic drop in production from 35,000 tonnes to 20,000 tonnes of trout over the course of the last five to six years. Over the same period imports of pangasi-us have increased from virtu-

ally nothing to 45,000 tonnes. Ms Arregui acknowledges that the competition is here to stay, but is bitter that the rules seem to be skewed so heavily against local aquaculture producers who have to comply with a heavy burden in terms of regulation and taxa-tion. It is as if the authorities are actually not at all interested in having a European aquaculture production sector, despite all the talk about how important aqua-culture is not only to secure the supply of fish, but also as a sec-tor with a social and economic role to play in remote rural areas where there are few other forms of employment.

The in-house laboratory develops and produces vaccines specific to the pathogens that may appear on the farm.

With over 95,000 sq. meters of area including the hatchery, 350 ponds and the processing facilities Tres Mares is one of the largest farms in Europe.

A wide range of fresh and frozen product forms are available under the Tres Mares brand.

Ice pack XL revolutionary Ice replacement products by Inter Fresh Concepts bv– More effi cient cooling then regular ice – Weight saving up to 40%– No more smelly/ messy

melt water problems– Optimal cooling during

transport guaranteed

www.IcePackXL.nl

– More effi cient cooling then regular ice

To receive your free sample pack CALL US NOW on tel: + 31 252340687

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


The Galician mussel indus-try produced some 220,000 tonnes of mussels (Mytilus

galloprovincialis ) in 2008, mak-ing Spain the largest producer of mussels in the world after China.

Mussel cultivation from rafts

Mussels are typically farmed from rafts from which lines are hung into the water. The culture starts with the collection of the mussel seed either from natural beds or from collector ropes that are made from old fish nets sus-pended from the rafts in March and April. Once the farmers have collected the mussel seed it will be attached to the ropes within 24 hours. This is either done manu-ally or with a machine which uses

a mesh to secure the seed to the rope. The mesh dissolves with a few days by which time the mus-sels have attached themselves. The amount of seed per meter of rope varies from 1.5 to 1.75 kg, giving an average rope weight of 14 kg.

The rafts are typically 27 m long and 20 m wide and are usually not bigger though they can be smaller. A raft of this size sup-ports around 500 ropes each about 12 m in length. The rafts are supported by floats and are kept in position with the help of

chains attached to a concrete an-chor. The number of chains var-ies depending on how exposed the site is and how much boat traffic there is in the area. The company Pescado Marcelino has 20 rafts in the Ria de Aldan (the Aldan estuary) and pro-duces 1,800 tonnes of mussels, getting a yield of roughly 100 tonnes of mussels from each of its rafts. “Most of our rafts are in the open sea,” says Crisanto Marcelino Canosa, who, togeth-er with his brother Ramon, owns the company. “Placing the rafts in the open sea ensures that you get mussels of the best size and quality.”

The mussels take 9-10 months to reach harvest size. During this period the mussels are thinned to prevent the mussels from fall-ing off in bad weather as well as to ensure uniform growth. Thin-ning is usually after 5-6 months when the mussels have reached half size. The ropes are lifted by a crane into the boat and the mus-sels are removed and graded. The mussels from the original rope are re-attached to 2-4 new ropes with the help of a cotton mesh and returned to the water. The thinning operation is re-peated before harvesting if the mussels grow rapidly and risk getting detached from the ropes in rough weather. The second thinning operation is also neces-sary for a uniform size of mussel at harvest.

Deep discounts on mussel prices

The main harvest period is from September to January as that is when the meat content is

Crisanto Marcelino Canosa, director of Pescados Marcelino, runs the company togther with his brother Ramon.

Freshly harvested and cooked Galician mussels. The red colour is desirable among some buyers.

Pescados Marcelino

Prices for farmed mussels gradually recoverPescados Marcelino is a family-run business farming and processing mussels. The company grows about 1,800 tonnes of mussels a year on rafts in an estuary in the southern part of Galicia. Mussels prices have been at their lowest levels for 10 years recently but are gradually climbing again.


spain

highest. A rope covered in mus-sels may weigh 200 kg in June and the same rope will weigh 350 kg in December as the meat in the mussel has increased. At harvest the ropes bearing the mussels are lifted on to the boat with a crane and the mussels are removed and graded depending on the number of pieces per kilo, starting at 40, and going on to 25-30, 30-35 while the big ones are 18 pieces per kilo. The smallest mussels are re-attached to ropes and returned to the water to al-low them to grow further.

The crisis in Spain has had an impact on mussel prices, says Mr Marcelino. For every 20 tonnes of mussels that a client buys we throw in 8 tonnes for free. Most of the harvest is intended for the canning industry but the company has also established its own mussel processing fac-tory where it cooks and packs or freezes mussels as well as pro-duces canned mussels. The fac-tory however takes only about 10% of the mussel production from the farm, the rest is sourced from outside. This is a conscious decision in order to keep the two businesses independent of each other.

Switch from volumes to value

The Aldan estuary is in the southern part of Galicia and mussel farming here is differ-ent from in north Galicia says Mr Marcelino. The geographical conditions are somewhat differ-ent and the culture amongst the farmers also varies. In the north the farms tend to be smaller with fewer rafts and with less of a tra-dition of canning the mussels then there is in the south.

Mr Marcelino’s production has been increasing over the years

but the number of rafts has stayed the same. The authorities are not licensing further rafts in the bay so further increases in production will mean either in-vesting in rafts in another area or buying existing rafts in this bay.

Prices however have just started to increase again after having been at their lowest level in 10 years, so it is unlikely that he will expand the farm just now. The processing factory can handle 20 tonnes of raw mussels a day. As they come in the mussels are washed and cleaned, graded, and finally cooked.

The mussel meat is then sorted into large, medium, and small and is either canned by the com-pany itself or sold further to be canned by another factory. Ini-tially Pescados Marcelino’s pro-cessing operation was focused on volumes, but it has now switched to a different model where it processes less, but concentrates on greater value addition.

Every 30-40 centimeters a wooden or plastic peg is inserted into the rope to prevent the clumps of mussesl from sliding off.

Cooked mussel meat is either packaged by the company or sold to other canning factories.

Pescados MarcelinoAv. Jose Grana 27 – Aldan36945 Cangas (Pontevedra)SpainTel.: +34 986 391003Fax: +34 986 391293pescadosmarcelino@pescadosmarcelino.comwww.pescadosmarcelino.comDirector:

Crisanto Marcelino Canosa

Activities: Mussel farming and processing

Volumes: 1,800 tonnes of farmed mussels per year, pro-cessing factory has a capacity of 20 tonnes of mussels per day

Products: Fresh mussel, canned mussels, frozen mussels, vacuum packed half shell, mus-sel meat in different packaging

Pescados Marcelino Company Fact File


poland

Eurofish: Europe is starting to re-cover from the worst international economic and financial crisis in decades. How has it affected the fisheries and aquaculture sector in Poland?

Kazimierz Plocke: The economic crisis did not have a significant im-pact on the fisheries sector in Po-land. In 2009 we faced a decrease in imports, mainly from Asia. How-ever, the overall production and exports have actually increased. In 2009, the value of exports sur-passed the value of imports by about EUR12m. We experienced this positive balance in fisheries trade due to increasing catches of national fleets (mainly in pelagic species: 47% by Baltic fleet and 250% by long distance fleet) and depreciation of Polish zloty. Over-all, the fisheries-related businesses have proven their strength in tough global conditions. It bodes well for the future; we expect stabilisation and growth in the years to come.

Eurofish: The CFP is one of the old-est EU policies. The current policy is the result of the 2002 reform. In 2008, the Commission began a re-

view of the CFP and in April 2009, it began a public consultation on the future of the CFP, with a Green Pa-per. What are Poland’s priorities in terms of the reform of the CFP; what aspects of the CFP does Poland want to see changed, and which elements of the existing policy does Poland wish to retain and why?

Plocke: The Union’s Common Fisheries Policy needs an in-depth reform, so that we give our sector a sustainable long-term future. In-deed, some aspects need profound change, while some cornerstones of the policy, such as relative sta-bility principle, should remain un-touched. We also think that the idea to do away with funds for capacity reduction is not necessarily a good one. Through such ambitious pro-grammes, the new EU Baltic Mem-ber States have shown that these funds can be very effective if one has a real political will to deal with the problem of overcapacity – some-thing that also seems necessary in other regions of the Union. Poland has done a lot to deal with overca-pacity in its own backyard by reduc-ing the Baltic fleet by almost 50% (expressed in gross tonnage/GT).

Perhaps the most important area for a change is one of the decision-making process. EU fisheries policy requires a verification of manage-ment system to retain credibility. We support a move towards a more regionalized governance and in-creased role for fishers and sci-entists within it. Regionalisation must give local communities a real influence on decisions which af-fect them. Within the new architec-ture, we need to pay a lot of atten-tion to the link between regional processes and decision-making bodies in Brussels. Regional set-ups, comprising administrations, fishers and scientists, should work out technical recommendations that would be binding in princi-ple for Brussels-based commit-tees. Moreover, the fisheries policy should have a stronger multian-nual dimension – we must further strengthen the instrument of long-term plans for key stocks to assure more stability for our fishers.

We also need a change in the way the common market is organized. The role of producer organisations should be strengthened, the price mechanisms – more adjusted to

regional conditions and specifics. The new edition of fisheries fund should be as ambitious as the pol-icy changes that are intended, with special attention given to territorial cohesion principle, which must be retained for the benefit of local fishing communities, often suffer-ing after the necessary reduction of overcapacity. The remaining fleet should have good possibilities to modernize with the use of EU co-financing. We also think that fleet management in EU waters should be more stringent than for global fleets, which face global compe-tition. Thus, we will enable our long-distance sector to adapt flex-ibly to use Union’s historical rights worldwide.

Eurofish: Cooperation in the Baltic Sea region is an important way of tackling cross-country problems like pollution and illegal fishing. What are Polish priorities for the develop-ment of fisheries in the Baltic Sea region in the framework of the EU Baltic Sea strategy?

Plocke: As I said before, regionali-sation is key to achieving the goals of the CFP reform. Such issues as discards, for example, can only be properly addressed at a regional level, with due attention to all the detailed technical dimensions of this difficult problem. We are satis-fied with the way these discussions are progressing in the Baltic region and I am grateful to our Swedish colleagues for launching the Bal-tfish initiative, which can poten-tially serve as a blueprint for other EU regions.

As to our priorities for the Baltic fisheries in the years to come: we want to continue restructuring and modernizing our Baltic fleet, with special attention to the cod seg-ment which has been severely re-duced since accession. Our pelagic

Interview with Mr Kazimierz Plocke, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

Poland supports moves for greater regionalisation in governancePoland signed the Eurofish Agreement in January 2009 and went on to ratify it May 2010. The final step in the process of becoming a member of Eurofish was when the instrument of ratification was formally deposited with the FAO in Rome in June 2010. Welcoming Poland as the latest member of the organisation Eurofish interviewed Mr Kazimierz Plocke, Secretary of State, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to get his thoughts on a range of subjects including the reform of the CFP, the economic crisis, and the Polish Presidency of the EU Council in 2011.


poland

fisheries need modernization to successfully face tough competi-tion and realize their potential in providing prime-quality fish to the market. All this must come in full compliance with CFP rules – so tough controls are here to stay and improve further. We need to watch very closely the status of our stocks: the decline in sprat and herring must be closely looked at and ur-gently addressed. The rebuilt East-ern cod stock must be fished sus-tainably to keep its good biological status, as now confirmed by ICES and environmental organizations.

Eurofish: The Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) and the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) are key tools in delivering Common Fisheries Policy objectives. Which have been the main priority areas and achievements, including in-vestments, in Poland financed by these two programmes?

Plocke: The arrival of European funds has served as a catalyst in deep changes that Poland’s fisher-ies sector needed. FIFG allocation (201,8 m €) has been fully utilized. One of the key priorities was deal-ing with overcapacity, which was one of the main goals of the FIFG. It was successfully achieved with almost 50% reduction (expressed in GT) of the Baltic fleet between 2004 and 2008. This painful process was assisted with a range of socio-economic measures. A number of investments in processing and aq-uaculture have brought about high added value to these sectors, which are now very competitive in EU and global context. A number of ports have been modernized to provide better working conditions on land and improve quality of fish prod-ucts placed on the market. We are optimistic about Axis 4 of the EFF, which has met a great interest of lo-cal fishing communities – both ma-rine and inland. This instrument is key in facilitating self-organization

of the sector, which we consider as a very positive development.

There is a cause for concern, how-ever, as regards the investments in fleet modernization. Contrary to other Member States, Poland did not have possibility to use EU funds for new boats (this possibility was not available beyond 2004) or use more favorable modernization terms that applied in the past. Cur-rent conditions for modernization investments are overly stringent and sometimes not in line with re-ality of modernizing a vessel that is 30 or 40 years old. The availabil-ity of free gross tonnage for certain kind of modernizations poses a particular problem – the 4% of extra GTs that can be retrieved from per-manent cessation does not meet the needs of our fleet. We hope that this situation will improve through reform of the CFP.

Eurofish: Unreported catches pri-marily of cod has been an issue for the Polish fisheries administration in the past. What measures have been taken to tackle this problem and what effect have they had?

Plocke: Since very first days in the office, my government has taken this situation very seriously. We have instantly started negotiations with European Commission to find solutions to the problem at hand.

A resulting package was strictly implemented: we have strength-ened our control and inspection service (more than 20 new posts), purchased the necessary equip-ment, including IT improvements and patrol vessels used solely for inspection purposes. Better plan-ning and risk analysis have been assured. We have also intensively communicated with the sector to assure that they see the benefits of improved controls, in terms of i.a. higher credibility of their prod-ucts in the market. As a rule, all the landings of cod in excess of 750 kg are now inspected. To conclude: this problem has been solved for good and has nothing to do with current reality on the ground.

Eurofish: On 1 July 2011, Poland assumes the presidency of the EU Council. What are the priorities for the Polish presidency in the field of fisheries and aquaculture?

Plocke: Poland is the one to start the presidency trio (the so-called „troika”) under which the CFP reform shall be finalized by the end of 2012. So, quite naturally, advancing the reform package as far as possbile is bound to be the priority for our presidency. We are in the hands of the Commission as regards the timely adoption of legal proposals constituting the reform package and we hope that the deadlines they foresee shall be met. We count on a good coopera-tion with the European Parliament on this key matter. We are in favour of advancing adoption and, where necessary, revisions of long-term management plans for important stocks in EU waters, including those planned for the Baltic. Our aim is also to ensure smooth adop-tion of yearly TAC&quota packages for EU waters, which is related to the successful conduct of bilateral negotiations, including those with Norway. We look forward to this challenging task.

Eurofish: What efforts are be-ing made to ensure a sustainable maritime policy that takes into ac-count fisheries, the environment, and the economic needs of coastal communities?

Plocke: The EU Maritime Policy is a welcome development that will allow us to better coordinate man-agement of coastal and maritime activities, including rational use of marine resources. In Poland we pay special attention to the needs of coastal communities which depend on small-scale fisheries which have proven their environ-mental sustainablity. These fishers have lived out of the sea for gen-erations, and know that their future depends on good environemntal status of fishing grounds they use; these waters are their home. Legiti-mate interests of these communi-ties must be well represented in discussions on how to best use our coastal resources in the context of maritime spatial planning. Along these lines, we cooperate closely with our colleagues from environ-mental and marine adminstrations and strongly support a special treatment for small-scale coastal fisheries in a reformed CFP.

Eurofish: As a member of Eurofish what are Poland’s expectations of the organisation, in which areas would Poland like Eurofish to con-tribute?

Plocke: We are grateful for the very positive work that Eurofish has been doing up to date for the ben-efit of fisheries sector of Central and Eastern Europe. I think that the Magazine could become more accessible for our fishermen or-ganisations and provide them with information they need, for exam-ple the issue of certification of fish products. The country briefings are definitely a good idea and could be organized on a more regular basis, say every 2 years.

Mr Kazimierz Plocke, Secretary of State, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.


Carp farming in Poland has a long history and an important economic sig-

nificance. Production which was 20-25 thousand tonnes a year for some time has stayed at 15 thou-sand tonnes a year for the last three years.

This drop in carp production resulted from the growing costs of the stock of fish, expensive feed and lack of demand. One of the reasons for the demand drop is the inconvenience of bones in commercial carp products – gutted and headed fish, semi-fillets (fillets with ribs) and fillets.

Neutralise bones – increase the demand

for carp products

The presence of bones (several dozen of them in the tissues on the side of each fish) with their stiffness and forks are a threat to consumers’ health, causing dis-comfort while eating carp prod-ucts, which in a society of grow-ing wealth translates into the fall in demand for these kinds of products. Only in tinned food and products made from minced carp meat (fish cakes, fish fin-gers, etc.) are bones harmless for consumers because the high temperatures at which the cans are sterilized make bones brit-tle, and during mechanical treat-ment they get ground up. The one of ways increasing demand for carp products is eliminating the bones. The most obvious way of neutralising bones except for heat treatment would be their removal through pulling them out of the muscular tissue, as happens, for example, in the case of removing the so-called “pin bones” from salmon fillets. For commercial carp products such an operation is not possible; in case of headed and gutted fish it is prevented by skin obscuring the bones and in case of semi-fillets and fillets – too little tensile strength of the bones compared to their attachment to the muscular tissue.

In such a situation the easiest way to neutralise bones in commercial carp products is cutting them into short, non-threatening pieces imperceptible in the mouth. It is a well-known solution, and al-though arduous (for example, in a one-kilogram carp around 120 cuts should be done at each side), has been practised in households for years. Only cutting bones in carp fillets has been mechanised so far. Not so long ago only im-ported machines were available

Headed and gutted carp is notched at both sides in the places where the bones are ensuring their cutting into three-millimetre parts while the spine bone remains untouched.

Bone cutters for carp processing

Carp bones – threat for consumers and production volumesFish from carp family, mainly common carp, bream, silver carp, grass carp, crucian carp and roach, in 2007 were 53% of the world freshwater fish production (Fishstat Plus, FAO). Among them the most important are carps which participation in freshwater fish production reaches 40%. The importance of carps as farmed fish is based on many factors: fast growth index and ability to reach high volumes are the most important ones.


poland

in the Polish market, hand-driven or mechanical they were not ap-propriate however for cutting bones in semi-fillets or in headed and gutted fish. As a result of R&D works carried out within the SEA-FOODplus project supported by the results of conducted earlier research in the Sea Fisheries Insti-tute in Gdynia, three bone cutters were developed and constructed for commercial carp products: for cutting bones in headed and gutted fish, for cutting bones in semi-fillets and fillets. Exploita-tion trials of the machines were carried out in the Fisheries Farm “WÓJCZA” in Pacanów.

Bone cutter for headed and gutted fish

When going through the machine headed and gutted fish is notched at both sides in the places where the bones are ensuring their cut-ting into three-millimetre parts while the spine bone remains untouched. Basic technical pa-rameters of the machine: dimen-sions 850x850x430 mm, power demand: 0.55 kW, capacity – to 25 fish/min, size of fish processed – to 500 mm long, operation – 1 person. Exploitation trials of the machines were carried out on carps of 410 mm to 480 mm long and respectively of 1440g to 2120g weight. It was stated that all car-casses were cut in a way assumed by the developers. Both gutted fish as well as headed and gutted

fish were used for the trials. This did not make any difference (did not change the degree of opera-tion’s complexity) in performing the operation and achieving a re-peatable positive effect.

Bone cutter for semi-fillets

In the machine a semi-fillet placed on the conveyer line moves un-der three sets of rotating knives. The first knive set placed directly over the conveyer cuts bones in the back part of a semi-fillet mov-ing under it and controlled by cam it hangs over its abdominal part, leaving in this way untouched ribs. The remaining two sets of knives are placed symmetrically at the sides of the first set to treat both left and right semi-fillets, cut bones in their tail end. In this part of the semi-fillet bones are at both sides of its axis of symmetry, there are no ribs so all its surface is cut. Hence the semi-fillet is cut only in the

places of bones. As opposed to the bone cutter for headed and gut-ted carps, which requires manual moving of fish, the operation of this device is limited only to loading the semi-fillets. The trials showed that the device could fulfil the assigned tasks. Basic technical param-eters of the machine: dimensions 1300x900x1100 mm, power de-mand – 0.75 kW, capacity – to 30 fil-lets/min, size of the halves – to 310 mm length, operation – 1 person.

Conveyor bone cutter for fillets

The way the machine operates does not basically differ from the known solutions. The main dif-ference is the price. The machine developed in the SFI is consider-ably cheaper than those offered by foreign manufacturers. The trials showed good results and proved that the machine could be used by the industry. Basic technical pa-rameters of the machine: dimen-

sions 600x600x500 mm, power demand – 0.37 kW, capacity – to 30 fillets/min., size of the fillets – to 310 mm length, operation – 1 person.

Portable bone cutter

Portable bone cutter for fillets which is to complement the three machines, was presented during Polfish 2009 in Gdansk, Innova 2009 in Brussels and Concours Lepine International 2010 in Par-is. It was rewarded with the medal Mercurius Gedanensis, gold med-al and bronze medal respectively. The machine is simplified version of conveyor bone cutter and that is why it is smaller and cheaper. The basic technical parameters of the machine: dimensions 590x340x470 mm, power demand – 0.15 kW, capacity – to 50 fillets/min., size of the fillets – to 400 mm length, operation – 1 person.

Andrzej Dowgiallo Ph. D.Sea Fisheries Institute in Gdynia

The bones problem solved completely.

Bone cutter for semi-fillets - on the conveyer line moves under three sets of rotating knives.

Conveyor bone cutter for the fillets developed in the SFI is considerably cheaper than these offered by foreign manufacturers.

Portable bone cutter: medal-winning success.


poland

In Poland fishing for Baltic sprat has been traditional for many years. At present,

it is also a basic catch that se-cures the economic existence of a significant number of fish-ermen. For fish processing purposes the Baltic sprat from age groups of 2, 3 and 4 has the highest value. The special thing about the Baltic sprat fishing is that in general the catches peak during the first five month of the year. This results in certain technical and logistic complica-tion for the Polish fish process-ing business.

Baltic sprat is a valuable raw material

The Baltic sprat catches constitute over 60% of the total weight of fish caught by the Polish fishermen in the Baltic Sea. For many years the Polish fishing industry has been characterized by the unfavour-able and regular tendency of not using up the Baltic sprat fishing quota granted to Poland. In Fig. 1 the fishing quotas and catches of the Baltic sprat in the years 2005-2009 are presented. Incomplete use of the Baltic sprat fishing quo-tas may raise justified concerns

because these fish are a valuable raw material in respect to its tech-nological use, and can be widely applied in fish processing for ex-ample in the production of popu-lar canned or smoked fish prod-ucts. Despite its high importance to the industry the Baltic sprat consumption remains unsatisfac-tory and has been estimated as not exceeding 40%.

Chilled best in seawater and ice mix

The factor that limits catches and processing of the Baltic sprat is

the necessity to secure appro-priate quality, freshness and du-rability of the fish caught by the fishing vessels. The basic princi-ple critical for retaining the high technological value of the Baltic sprat for the longest possible time period is fast chilling of the catch to zero degrees or to mi-nus 2 degrees C and maintaining such temperature during both sea and land transport.

Chilling with crushed ice cur-rently used on the fishing ves-sels in the case of the Baltic sprat does not secure appropri-ate quality and durability of the caught fish. Sprat stored in boxes and chilled with crushed ice in short time undergo detrimental quality changes which lead to a considerable decrease of techno-logical value of the fish. A radical improvement can be achieved by applying a mixture of seawa-ter and ice. Onboard chilling of the catch down with a seawater and ice mix in isotermic con-tainers to the temperature close to zero degrees C is a lot faster compared to the method of chill-ing fish with crushed ice. Studies conducted at the Sea Fisheries Institute in Gdynia showed that sprats stored in seawater and ice mix retain high technologi-cal value for the time period that is 30-40% longer compared to the sprats cooled with crushed ice. Besides the application of a pump for loading and unload-ing of sprats from the containers does not cause mechanical dam-age to the fish and also consider-ably shortens the handling time on board the fishing vessel in the port.

Fig. 2 shows how the Baltic sprats are delivered to process-ing plants. Whole sprats chilled with crushed ice constitute the biggest share of deliveries to processing plants (76.9%). Sprats

Trends and possibilities within Baltic sprat processing

Development of new sprat products could increase consumptionThe Baltic sprat (Sprattus sprattus balticus) is a valuable source of food, particularly with regard to natural omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids that are essential for human nutrition. The flesh of sprat contains 12÷15% of protein; up to 17% of fat; vitamins A, D, E, niacin, B1, B2, B6 and B12; and mineral components such as potassium, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium.

Fig. 1 – Polish fishing quotas and catches of the Baltic sprat in 2005-2009 in 1,000 tonnes

2005

160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

02006 2007 2008 2009

Catch

Fishing quota

Source: SFI, Gdynia


poland

cooled in a mixture of ice and seawater comprise only 0.9% of the total delivery of this fish. Block frozen whole sprats con-stitute a relatively large share of deliveries to processing facilities (22.2%).

Block freezing and manual primary processing shall

be limited

In order to secure the continu-ity of deliveries to processing plants it is necessary to freeze the seasonal surplus of the Baltic sprat catch. This is particularly importanty with regard to sprats caught from September till April because these fish are character-ized by good quality and techno-logical value due to the high fat content. Block freezing of whole sprats is common and has a neg-ative influence on the fish qual-ity after thawing. Primary pro-cessing of the whole defrosted sprats is characterized by large technological losses and has a negative impact on the resulting semi-products.

In order to rationalize the use of the sprat resources for hu-man consumption the block freezing of whole fish should be limited to raw material destined for smoking, drying, salting and Individual Quick Freezing (IQF). The main bulk of the fresh chilled sprat should be subject-ed to primary processing, i.e. heading and gutting followed by freezing. Such procedure would eliminate ineffective and poorly efficient primary processing of the thawed fish which could in-crease the quality of the result-ing semi-products to be used for canning and marinating. In case of sprats with low technological value due to individual size and mechanical damage it is justi-fied to use them in the products

made from the minced fish meat, such as pâtés, salads, fish salad with rice, etc. after grinding and removal of inedible fish parts.

Low use of sprats for human con-sumption has also been caused by applying manual methods of primary fish processing, can-ning and smoking. Based on the available data it is estimated that only 30% of fish process-ing plants employ mechanical methods for primary processing. These are mainly large canning companies which have modern equipment for sprat heading (e.g. Cabinplant nobber made in Denmark). However, the major-ity of fish processing plants still use manual methods for primary processing of sprat, which has a detrimental influence on tech-nological efficiency as well as the quality of the resulting products. According to the manufacturers the main factors limiting the po-tential growth of sprat process-ing are: traditional and labor-in-tensive processing technologies; fish deliveries that are irregular and of mixed quality; short du-rability of the chilled fish; and the necessity to use primary pro-cessing step in the production plant. In addition limited mar-ket demand for traditional sprat products and the lack of new

and attractive products offers are major conditions that hold back the development of the Baltic sprat processing.

Innovative and diverse products are the solution

The possibilities for the develop-ment of the Baltic spat process-ing for human consumption in terms of quantity and diversity should be directly related to the need for activating the consum-ers’ market. At present the Polish market of traditional Baltic sprat products (canned fish in oil and tomato sauce, and smoked fish) is balanced in terms of sales and demand. Therefore the manufac-turers are not interested in fur-ther product development. Forc-ing additional production of the traditional sprat products could possibly burden companies with the costs associated with surplus production storage.

A radical improvement of the existing situation may occur via introduction of innovative tech-nologies for sprat processing to result in new functional and easy to use products such as frozen and chilled culinary semi-ready products, multi-ingredient fish dishes, and snacks. The applica-tion of modern packaging meth-

ods and approved additives that improve sensory, physical, and chemical features of the finished products should have a positive influence on the taste and nutri-tional value of the new types of the sprat product.

Automated production of new products could

boost consumption

New technologies should allow the efficient processing of sprats into attractive products through high levels of mechanization and automation of the produc-tion process. The possibilities in this field are related to the use of canning technologies based on minced sprat meat with the con-tent and nutritional values ad-justed to target specific consumer groups e.g. children, young and elderly people, etc. The advan-tage of such technologies is the high level of mechanization start-ing from mincing devices and in-gredient mixing equipment, and extending to automated forming/filling lines. These products can become an attractive offer for the consumers and thus increase the consumption of sprats.

In summary, innovative techno-logical solutions for Baltic sprat processing should allow the in-dustrial-scale production of new types of products. The resulting products would be an attractive offer for the consumers who pre-fer simple and functional foods. As the final effect the proposed actions should contribute to the increase of consumption of sprat-based products which are recommended and healthy com-ponents of the human diet.

Boguslaw Pawlikowski, D. Sc., Eng.

Department of Processing Technology and Mechanization

Sea Fisheries Institute, Gdynia

0.9 %fish in chilled seawater

76.9 %fresh fish on ice

in boxes

22.2 %frozen fish

Fig. 2 – Distribution of different modes of the Baltic sprat delivery to fish processing plants


European Union funds pay for modern

factory and coldstore

In 1991 Losos started to specialise in canned fish production. The mem-bers of the cooperative changed the legal form of the enterprise from a cooperative into a com-mercial partnership in order to re-adjust to economic changes taking place in Poland and in the world. Since 1 January 2000 the business activity has been conducted by the commercial company under the name Przetwórstwo Rybne Losos Sp. z o.o. In 2000 it was decided

to relocate to the Slupsk, Special Ecomonic Zone in Wlynkówko in the north of Poland. Thanks to the effective use of grants from the Eu-ropean Union a new, large, mod-ern factory was built. In 2008 the factory obtained further European Union funding which enabled the factory to be extended with an ad-ditional cold storage.

Today, Losos is one of the lead-ing producers of canned fish in Poland. It is a thriving company, which, thanks to its efficient management, has become the undisputed leader in the canned fish market, and is considered by many to be an outstanding spe-cialist in this field. The canned fish processing plant is about to produce over 250,000 cans of fish every day. Losos is located in an innovative production plant, with technologically advanced pro-duction lines, its own cold storage facilities and spacious warehous-ing, and its own sewage treat-ment plant. The plant is HACCP compliant and meets top quality standards, and holds IFS and BRC certifications. The firm guaran-tees fishermen the purchase of raw material from the Baltic Sea and so is able to ensure compli-ance with the highest of quality control standards. On a daily ba-sis, the company is able to process about 50 tonnes of this raw mate-rial, including Balitc sprats, Balitc herring and mackerel.

Quick response to changing trends

Over half a century of experience and the extraordinary effort and

Losos

Investments in quality give dividends in strong brand recognitionPrzetwórstwo Rybne Losos Sp. z o.o. (Fish Processing Company Losos, LLC) has a long history in the Polish fish industry. The beginning of its activity dates back to 1954. In the years 1954-1999 the company operated as a cooperative under the name Spóldzielnia Pracy Rybolówstwa Morskiego Losos. The factory was located in the Ustka harbour and by 1999 it was engaged in fishing in the Baltic Sea, fish pre-processing as well as selling fresh fish, producing canned fish, fish marinades, smoked fish and salted fish.

The company’s range of products includes herring, sprats, and mackerel fillets, fish salad, fish salad with rice and a full range of tuna products.

Losos exports its products throughout Central Europe to countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, and Hungary as well as to customers in Canada, Australia, Israel and USA.


poland

hard work of hundreds of people has led to the company’s success in the industry. Losos offers a wide range of products that are val-ued by its clients, not only for the choice of products, but also for its flexibility in being able to quickly adapt to the rapidly changing de-mands of the market. The compa-ny’s offer includes herring, sprats, and mackerel fillets, fish salad, fish salad with rice and a full range of tuna products. They are a supreme combination of the best of fish with flavoursome tomato sauce or oil. Losos has a well-de-veloped sales chain, and, through professionally trained sales repre-

sentatives, is well-placed to sell its canned fish throughout Poland. Canned fish from WLynkówko is available in all chain supermar-kets in Poland. The products are sold, under both the Losos brand and clients’ private label. Losos exports its products throughout Central Europe to countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, and Hungary as well as to customers in Canada, Australia, Israel and USA. Thanks to the high product quality, as well as a knowledgeable export department the company has been able to strengthen its posi-tion in foreign markets.

In consumers’ minds Losos is one of the strongest brand in Po-land. This is the result of decades of experience in the industry and a commitment to quality. Losos‘ investment in quality has mir-rored the development of the brand and has strenghtened its brand equity. Losos has won many awards and has been the winner of numerous competi-tions. The firm is the three-time recipient, in 2005, 2006 and 2007 of the Gazele Biznesu, as given by the trade journal Puls Bi-znesu, as the most dynamically developing Polish company. Losos has also won top marks in

promoting health and safety at work.

Losos’ success can be a template for others

Losos Limited began producing canned fish in Poland in 1954 – at a time when none would have believed that this modest work-ing co-operative would develop into a modern, dynamic enter-prise employing nearly 400 peo-ple. Investing in quality confirms the proper way of development of Przetwórstwo Rybne Losos and can be used as a standard for Pol-ish companies.

Expansion of the fishing harbour and boat repair facilities in the Port of JastarniaJastarnia, located in the middle of the Hel Peninsula, is a town that, together with Kuznica and Jurata, forms a mu-nicipality of 4,000 inhabitants. The town lives primarily of fishing and tourism.

The harbour is the economic lifeline of Jastarnia and the poor technical state of the port prompted the deci-sion to implement a project to expand the fishing harbour and boat repair facilities. The project was funded with EU grants amounting to 75% of the

total project value with the rest com-ing from the state budget. As a result of the project:

- The wharf was modernised;- A 130 m pier for fishing vessels

was built;- A 70-tonne travelift and a 5-tonne

crane were bought;- Three buildings were built, one for

administrative and social activities, another that serves as a workshop, and the last one for managing waste.

The total cost of this investment was EUR8.9m and it resulted in a major improvement in the boat repair fa-cilities as well as the overall safety of the workplace for the employees. The number of workstations was also increased from four to six and more people were hired; and finally the en-tire area was beautified by the mod-ern buildings and the landscaping.

The main function of this new repair facility is to serve fishing boats and vessel owners. On an annual basis it

is used by about 50 cutters with 2 to 5 crew members. They come from Poland and other countries in the Baltic region. Changes in the fishing industry have meant that fishermen are expected to (and are able) to modernise their boats. By expanding the fishing harbour it is now possible for vessel owners to make more ef-ficient use of its capacity. We are very pleased that we have been able to gather the funds to implement this project.

Tyberiusz Narkowicz, Mayor

Today Losos is one of the leading producers of canned fish in Poland.

The harbour in Jastarnia before and after the modernisation. EU funds contributed to 75% of the total cost of EUR8.9m.


poland

By renovating the vessel owners meet all the re-quirements related to ma-

nipulating and securing the raw material, which enables a very high quality raw material that meets all the expectations of fish processors. As a result of modern-ising the production process, all manual labour, which often dam-ages delicate raw material such as the Baltic herring and sprat, was eliminated.

Target species is sprat for the

processing industry

During the modernisation pro-cess on board the fishing ves-sel HEL-125, a vacuum pump was installed that allowed the elimi-nation of three critical points in the operation of managing the raw material on board the ves-sel. The fish hold was adjusted for transporting and at the same time for cooling the wet prod-uct, which guaranteed excellent quality parameters of the raw material. Achieving such a result was crucial for the owner of the fishing vessel, Jacek Schomburg, who targets sprat intended for the fish processing industry, and whose fishing areas are located

near the city of Hel, the vessel’s home port.

The modernisation of the vessel included the following:

- replacing the insulation in the fish hold;

- moving the rooms for the crew from the underwater section to the above-water section;

- constructing four tanks for stor-ing products obtained from fish-ing in refrigerated sea water, us-ing the RSW technology;

- constructing a draining installa-

tion for these tanks;- fitting the pumps necessary for

pumping the water out of the tanks: a bilge pump, a sea water pump (for safety, navigation and fire-fighting reasons) and three electric bilge pumps for servic-ing other compartments of the vessel (for shipping safety rea-sons);

- fitting a vacuum pump for un-loading and securing the fish on board vessel;

- fitting and creating loading hatches on the working deck of the vessel;

- fitting a bow bulb improving the vessel’s stability, which also reduces the hull resistance and, hence, increases the cruising speed by approximately 18%;

- purchasing and fitting, in or-der to improve the navigation of the vessel HEL-125, naviga-tion equipment and an autopi-lot (navigation system, satellite compass, autopilot and visual monitoring system for the work-ing deck - 3 pieces, and a camera in the machinery space with a recording and visualisation sys-tem in the wheelhouse);

- improving the manoeuvra-bility of the unit by fitting a bow-thruster system.

The modernisation received co-fi-nancing from the European Union funds that Poland obtained for the 2004-2006 operational pro-gramme. After the reconstruction of the fishing vessel, the fish caught and transported to the port is of excellent quality. Unloading the fish consists of pumping the water with the fish out of the refrigerated seawater (RSW) tanks and into big boxes with ice. The demand for fish intended for consumption that is delivered in such a way is very high and is still growing.

Further modernisation looks to use

alternative energy

Currently, a project is being de-veloped that will enable the fish to be delivered in tanks directly to the recipient, which would elimi-nate the need for transport pack-aging and reduce the amount of reloading operations and the workload required. The owner of the fishing vessel HEL-125 applied to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for additional GT (gross tonnage) in order to in-troduce further modernisations aimed at using energy from alter-native sources.

Sprat fishing in Poland

Modernisation results in marked increase in quality aboard fishing vesselThe modernisation of the fishing vessel HEL-125 provides the evidence that after reconstruction and retrofitting, an old vessel may become a unit that satisfies all the criteria concerning the quality of the fish, shipping safety, the necessary social conditions for the crew.

The modernisation of the Polish fishing vessel HEL-125 resulted in the elimination of manual labour and a huge improvement in product quality. The modernisation was co-financed by funds from the European Union.


poland

North Atlantic Producers OrganizationCollection of North Atlantic fishing data an important part of NAPO’s actvitiesThe North Atlantic Producers Organization (NAPO) is the only PO in Poland associat-ing deep-sea companies. Its primary objec-tive is to represent and develop the Polish deep-sea fleet within the framework of the European Union. NAPO was established at the end of 2003, just before Poland’s acces-sion to the European Union. In the years 2004-2008, despite setbacks, the organiza-tion, supported by the Polish administra-tion, managed to partially restructure the

Polish deep sea fleet and broaden its fish-ing activity. Currently NAPO vessels oper-ate in the North Atlantic (NAFO, NEAFC, Svalbard), West Africa (Mauritania and Morocco) and in SPRFMO area.

NAPO activity within the EU

From the very beginning of its existence NAPO belongs to different fisheries bod-ies. The organization is a full member of European Association of Producers Organ-ization (EAPO) and Europeche. NAPO rep-resents Polish deep sea fisheries in RACs: North Sea RAC, Pelagic RAC and Long Distance RAC. Its representatives attend NAFO, NEAFC and SPRFMO meetings.

NAPO scientific activity

A very significant part of NAPO’s activ-ity is a scientific cooperation with the Sea

Fisheries Institute (MIR) in Gdynia. NAPO and MIR organize and conduct scientific surveys focusing on the collection of fish-ing data concerning biological characteris-tics of various species population (sex, age, weight, maturity) as well as fishing gears and fish processing. These scientific activi-ties are carried on within the framework of a common scientific agreement concluded by MIR and NAPO. Since 2004 NAPO and MIR have conducted a series of surveys in

North Atlantic. These surveys concerned greenland halibut, cod, redfish and saithe. The scope of research was broadened by research on the Chilean horse mackerel in the SPRFMO area which started last year.

Catches, market, production

NAPO catches in the North Atlantic focus mainly on saithe, cod and greenland hali-but. NAPO sells these species primarily in West Europe and Asia. In Africa and South Pacific NAPO vessels catch pelagic species which supply local markets. In order to supply its customers with the highest qual-ity products NAPO attaches particular im-portance to the whole process of produc-tion. Special attention is laid on packaging, freezing and storing systems. NAPO has also introduced the HACCP quality system which confirms the organization’s commit-ment to quality.

Currently NAPO vessels operate in the North Atlantic (NAFO, NEAFC, Svalbard), West Africa (Mauritania and Morocco) and in SPRFMO area.

Niemodlin fish farmModernised with the help of EU fundsAt the beginning of the17th century, the Niemodlin es-tate included 15 main ponds with a stock of 48,000 fry and over 40 fishing ponds with a stock of sixty thousand fry. At the time, over 18,000 carps were caught annually. Today, the ponds of the fish farm lo-cated in the Bory Niemodlinskie forest are a tourist attraction because of the rare bird species such as the white-tailed eagle, great egret and black stork that frequent the farm.

The Niemodlin Fish Farm has an area of just over 700 ha located in the Opole and TuLowice Forest Dis-tricts. The ponds are grouped within six facilities in-cluding forest reservoirs fed by rainwater. The farm’s activity is based on carp farming and breeding. The fish have a full, three-year farming cycle from natural spawning, through rearing of stocking material, to pro-ducing commercial fish to be supplied to the market. In addition, other fish species farmed include: amur, silver and bighead carp, catfish, pike and tench and caras-sius. In 2005 the Niemodlin fish farm reconstructed the fish ponds. The modernisation concerned catching the fish and draining the water. The investment allowed:

- reconstruction of the dam structures that supply and drain the water;

- avoiding the troublesome, manual catching of fish, instead the carps are let directly into a channel lead-ing to a catching device;

- weighing and loading the fish inside the building containing the catch box, thus the influence of cli-matic factors has to a large extent been eliminated (freezing of fish, icing of weighing containers);

- the use of electrical lifting equipment, which con-siderably shortened the duration of operations re-lated to weighing and loading the fish and reduced the level of noise produced;

- avoiding, thanks to the equipment used, a series of actions influencing the health and vitality of fish, thus increasing the quality and safety of the aqua-culture products;

- the more effective use of water resources;- and the purchase in 2009 of a John Deere 6630 trac-

tor with a loader and additional equipment.

The investments were financed by the Sectoral Op-erational Programme “Fishery and Fish Processing 2004-2006”, Measure 3.2 – Fish Farming and Fish Breeding. As a result of the modernisation, the old tradition of freshwater fish farming was brought up-to-date with the current requirements.


Nofima Marked has coor-dinated a project where the goal was to make in-

formation recorded in the fresh fish value chain available to the consumer. The chain consisted of fishing vessels, a landing and filleting company, a packing and distributing company, and finally a supermarket with a manned fish and meat counter.

Landing note information does

not follow the fish

In addition to the information already present on the label (spe-

cies, price), the consumers may want to know about gear type, catch area and catch date for the

fish, and they want assurance that the fish has been legally caught and landed. All this information

can be found in the landing note which (in Norway) is the standard and mandatory document issued by the sales organization when the fish is first sold. However, in the current system the informa-tion on the landing note does not follow the fish, and it does not reach the packing and distribut-ing company, the supermarket or the consumer.

To make sure that the relevant information follows the prod-uct, detailed recordings must be made in each link of the chain to document the material flow. It is particularly important to docu-ment when batches or lots of fish are joined together or split up, and assigned new identifiers. In general, the companies involved in the project did not make these recordings in such a way that the relevant information could follow the fish products in the supply chain.

It is possible to envisage a man-ual system where the relevant information on the landing note (or even the landing note itself ) is passed along with the fish, and every time lots of fish are split up and sent to different destinations copies of the landing note are made and passed along as well. When lots are joined together, a pile of landing notes would be as-sociated with the new combined lot. Such a system would obvi-ously be very labor-intensive, and every time anyone wanted to use the information (for in-stance to put on the label) the information would have to be

With an electronic system more information about fish products can be made easily available to all the players.

In the project the value chain comprised fishing vessels, a landing and filleting company, a packing and distributing company, and finally a supermarket with a manned fish and meat counter.

Pict

ure:

Odd

var D

ahl,

Nofi

ma

Pict

ure:

Kin

e M

ari K

arls

en, N

ofim

a

Experiences from implementation of traceability

How to get more information about your fish productThe requirements for documenting fish products are ever increasing. Extensive national and international legislation has been passed to ensure food safety and to document legal catch and landing, and both the industry and the consumers are also becoming more interested in additional knowledge about origin, processes and other properties of the product.

traceability


[ tracEability ]

re-punched into some software application.

Electronically saved data offers

greater possibilities

A more efficient solution is for all recordings to be made electroni-cally, and for all data to be sent through an internet connection to a central database that all have access to. Every lot of fish is as-signed a unique identifier, and a common data recording format is established so that comparable information can be recorded on the fish or lot in question. This takes away the need for the paper-based system; all that is needed is to keep track of the lot identifiers and how they relate to each other. Given the lot identifier, anyone can access the central database through the internet and find all the relevant properties of the fish product.

In the project, the central data-base and associated communica-tion protocols was delivered by the solution provider TraceTrack-er. The experience from the proj-ect suggested that this system was suitable for keeping track of lots of fish and their properties. The companies in the supply chain clearly saw the benefit of record-ing the relevant information elec-tronically rather than on paper, as it made reporting, re-use and sending of the data much simpler. The ideal solution would be to integrate the existing software ap-plications in the companies with the central database and extract all the relevant information auto-matically from the database with-out need for re-punching, but this was only partially accomplished in the project. Technically this is possible, but more work needs to be done to standardize recordings and formats to ensure compa-rable results independent of the

underlying systems. The interface of the technical solution must be adjusted to the companies’ op-erations. The biggest challenge with regard to implementation of traceability for fresh fish was to find optimal practical solutions. An important outcome of the project was to demonstrate the vi-ability of such a solution.

Facts about the project

The project owner is the Norwe-gian Seafood Association (NSL); the project was financed by In-novation Norway (IN) and the Fishery and Aquaculture Re-search Fund (FHF) and it was co-ordinated by Nofima Marked. The project involved collaboration be-

tween nine partners in the supply chain from fresh fish capture to supermarket. More information about the project is available (in Norwegian) in the Nofima report 2/2010, available on the Nofima web pages.

Kine Mari Karlsen and Petter Olsen, Nofima Marked

Customers may want to be reassured that the fish has been legally caught and landed. This information is currently in the landing note and with the proper tools could be made available to the consumer.

Pict

ure:

Fra

nk G

rege

rsen

, Nofi

ma


One of the highlights and visitor magnets at this year’s Bremen fish fair

in February was a walk-in pro-duction line which showed the complete production process of a smokehouse from incoming raw materials to final product control. The process was presented several times a day so that visitors could see what work is necessary before a smoked salmon fillet can be put into the display counter at the re-tailer’s. What was unusual about this demonstration was that all the process steps were carried out by machines. The idea of exhibiting processing technology in action, so that visitors could experience it live proved a real success. It at-tracted numerous people who stopped in their tracks to admire the processing machines’ perfor-

mance. The purpose of this special demonstration in Bremen was es-sentially to highlight the poten-tial of modern processing lines, because a lot of the tasks that are necessary in the fish industry and which used to be carried out by hand can today be performed by machines.

The classic ones are the primary processing lines that transform round fish into boneless fillets. What might sound easy often in-volves several work stages in prac-tice since a cod, for example, has first to be gutted and headed before it can pass through a filleting ma-chine. And even then, the fillets are not quite ready because they still have to be skinned and freed of any remains of the fin bases, bones or impurities. The fact that even these

complicated jobs can today be per-formed by machines shows how ef-ficient processing machines in the fish segment have in the meantime become. They are not only used for gutting, heading, removing scales and slime, filleting or skinning the fish, but can also take the pin bones out of the fillets, trim fillets, sort them according to colour and size and cut them into equal por-tions. Some machines are even in a position to sort the fish by sex or to separate the more valuable organs such as the liver and roe from the other parts during gutting.

Processing lines enable consistent

product quality

The demands made on fish pro-cessing machines are high and of-

ten very specific. This can already be seen in the fact that most of them are only suited to process-ing one single species or similar species that have a comparable body and bone structure and are approximately the same size. It is not possible to process demersal fishes on a processing line for pe-lagic fishes, and vice versa. Every individual process stage in the chain has to be finely tuned to the particular fish species in order to achieve a perfect result and maxi-mum yield. Even heading a fish, which at a fleeting glance may not seem to be a particularly compli-cated task, demands considerable know-how if unnecessary losses are to be avoided.

Depending on the species, be-tween 10 and 25% of raw fish weight is lost through the head-ing process. The highest yields are usually achieved when the cut fol-lows the rear edge of the gill flap exactly. This material-saving cut demands relatively high technical skills, however, which makes the heading machine accordingly ex-pensive. Its use is thus particularly worthwhile for more high-value fish species such as salmon or cod. In the case of less expensive mass species, such as a lot of pelagic species, it is not so much a clean cut along an exact contour that is important but rather the speed at which the fishes are headed. When processing these fish species, the cut is thus often made at a right angle to the backbone or diagonal-ly downwards whereby the pecto-ral and sometimes even the ventral fins are removed at the same time. A straight cut is technically less

Most fish processing machines are only suited to processing one single species or similar species that have a comparable body and bone structure and are approximately the same size.

Processing lines for seafood: productive, resource-saving, hygienic

From fish to fillet, from portion to end productThe share of processed fish products on the market is growing constantly. Jobs that used to be carried out by hand are today performed more and more often by machines. In the meantime there are not only machines for the more basic work such as removing scales and slime but also for highly sensitive processes like filleting, fillet trimming or exact portioning. These systems are particularly worthwhile if they can be combined to form complete processing lines.

fish Processing lines


fish Processing lines

demanding but often leads to the loss of part of the fillet.

Questions of this nature have to be posed for every machine in which a processor considers investment. Speed and precision are not mutu-ally exclusive but there are often priorities which have to be set. Processors who can rely on large quantities of fish of the same spe-cies and size are right to consider purchasing a complete process-ing line. Such lines free company employees of monotonous work leaving more time for other jobs, increase the overall speed of the production process, ensure con-sistent product quality, and im-prove hygiene standards: the more often a fish is touched by a human hand, the greater is the risk that pathogens will be passed on which will ultimately endanger the prod-uct’s marketability.

Apart from these benefits, ma-chine processing offers great sav-ings potential because it reduces individual errors and material losses that are almost inevitable during hand work.

The fact that a processing line will supply high-quality products is to-day no longer sufficient – it also has to meet all the regulations that are applicable to food companies, it has to fulfil legal hygiene, sanitary and environmental standards, its operation has to be as economical as possible (e.g. as regards water, energy consumption) and it has to be easy to clean and disinfect.

Complete solutions from one supplier

In order to make it easier for pro-spective customers to choose one of the numerous complex system solutions a lot of machine and plant manufacturers offer com-plete processing lines as turnkey solutions. This has both advan-

tages and disadvantages for the customer. The benefit is clear in that every supplier knows the per-formance of his machines best and also how they fit together best so that bottlenecks and material hold-ups can be avoided during production. Where complete so-lutions are concerned this should ensure that all processes work to-gether smoothly. On top of this, in the event of technical problems there is only one contact which makes service easier. On the other hand, being dependent on just one supplier can bring with it certain risks because not all plant produc-ers are equally competent for all machines. Any supplier who offers an efficient system for a particular work stage does not have to be so well-informed where other work processes are concerned, particu-larly since a lot of processing lines are IT-driven today, have their own system-specific intelligence, so to speak. Automatic image recogni-tion technology, three-dimen-sional scanners and computer controls are in the meantime an absolute must in a lot of produc-tion processes.

Because it is hardly possible for a single supplier to meet all these re-quirements alone there has been an increasing trend in recent years for companies to act together on the market. They do everything they can to bundle their compe-tences, from equal co-operation to the takeover of other compa-nies whose profile complements or extends their own perfomance spectrum.

Marel, an acknowledged devel-oper and manufacturer of intelli-gent processing machines already joined forces years ago with Car-nitech, Pols, CP Food Machinery and Geba to form ‘Partners in Processing’. Since then, Stork and Townsend have also joined the group. With offices in more than 30

countries, 3,500 employees and a worldwide sales network the ‘part-ners’ have become a global player whose machines and plants are to be found in over 60 countries. The plants and machinery for seafood

processing that marked the early years of Marel’s company history and with which the Icelandic com-pany grew, today account for only part of total sales: In the mean-time, the Group does not only produce its machines, software and processing lines for fish but also for meat and poultry. In the fish segment the range includes superchilled lines and complete systems for salmon processing, sorting, weighing and batching plants, freezer plants and lines for low-pressure forming.

The Danish company Scanvaegt, which entered a strategic partner-ship with the Icelandic company Skaginn in May 2006, joined the Group some months later and today operates as a subsidiary of Marel. Scanvaegt is mainly spe-

cialised in large-scale industrial solutions for processing white fish and pelagic species. One of the highlights in the Scanvaegt range is super fast portion cutters with laser scanners which in just frac-tions of a second can optimize the cutting angle for every fillet. In order to enable full use of the ma-chine’s performance capacity of up to 1,500 cuts per minute there is an automatic vacuum infeed system for the processing line. This system is in a position to isolate products such as fillets or portions reliably and very fast and feed them into the processing line.

Robust machines with intelligent

computer controls

The traditional company Baader has for decades been producing processing machines for various work processes from gutting and heading, filleting and trimming to processing lines for pelagic spe-cies, demersal species and salmo-nids. A salmon processing line is a good example to portray here. First the salmon is gutted using a Baader 142 Princess Cut machine. Afterwards the heading machine Baader 434 removes the head with a cut along exact contours to guarantee maximum yield. Fillet-ing is done on the Baader 200 and subsequently the fillet sides are passed on to the Baader 988 which analyses the size and colour of the fillet automatically and trims it for maximum yield. The final control is carried out by the Baader 560. Then the Baader 1900 sorts the fillets according to size. The Line Monitoring Control System (LMC System) visualizes product flow within the line, makes processes and product batches transparent and thereby enables company em-ployees to make fine adjustments to maximize the line’s perfor-mance. Operator intervention is largely limited to the passing on of

In order to make it easier for prospective customers to choose one of the numerous complex system solutions a lot of machine and plant manufacturers offer complete processing lines as turnkey solutions.


technology

intermediate products to the next machine and certain control tasks.

Slicer manufacturer Salmco who recently celebrated their silver ju-bilee supplies not only their tried and tested slicers but also made-to-measure processing lines for numerous work processes and fish species. Over the course of the years Salmco has diligently developed and diversified its slicers further. Single and multi-lane cold and fresh slicers, also called soft slicers, cover all cutting needs. They enable cutting angles of between 0 and 90° and so can produce technically demanding vertical and horizontal cuts. These slicers have proved their worth for salmon and 35 other fish species in practical work environments. In cases where a complete process-ing line is required, Salmco co-op-erates with other manufacturers to fulfil customized applications.

The product range of the Danish machine manufacturer Kaj Ole-sen includes pinbone and dark meat removers, filet turners, trim lines and packing tables, tail cut-ters, and slicers for processing fro-zen fillets. These machines which cover a large number of tasks that are necessary during fish process-ing can easily be combined to form processing lines. In Olesen’s trim line into which the well-known pinbone remover is integrated the fillets are captured by photo cells after the pinbones have been re-moved and then passed to man-ual workplaces as required. This enables the avoidance of mate-rial hold-ups and ensures smooth-running work processes without interruptions.

Where shrimp processing ma-chines are concerned, Laitram – which placed the first automatic shrimp peeling machine onto the market in 1949 – is a leading sup-plier. In addition to peeling, cook-

ing, cooling and sorting machines the American company’s product portfolio also comprises complete processing lines for cold and warm water shrimps. At its simplest, a line can consist of the supply tank for shrimps and the peeler. For some years now Laitram has been producing new peelers that are said to achieve high yields amounting to only 1-2% less than the results of hand peeling. In con-trast to hand peeling there is prac-tically no risk of contamination of the shrimps during machine peeling. Depending on customer requirements, the processing lines can include systems for deveining and sorting the shrimps, too. Of particular advantage for the cus-tomers is the company’s after-sales service. In the context of special in-dustry leasing agreements Laitram employees visit plant operators regularly to carry out preventive maintenance checks and to refit the machines with new additional systems.

Despite technology, people are essential

Processing lines do not only ex-ist for primary processing of raw fish but also for the production of convenience products (second-ary processing) such as chilled

fresh products, frozen products or canned products. Such solu-tions are rarely available “off the peg” but are sooner individually tailored to the requirements and wishes of the customers. Suppli-ers of these kinds of system solu-tions thus require a tremendous amount of know-how in this field plus far-reaching experience.

Stork Food Systems, which togeth-er with Townsend has belonged to the Marel Group since 2008, is one such company. The com-pany’s strengths were originally to be found in poultry, meat, potato and vegetable processing, but to-day Stork also develops machines and systems for fish processing. Their range includes complete so-lutions for numerous tasks within the production process: prepara-tion, forming, coating, thermal treatment, cooking and freezing, plus in-company transport. Some systems, like the low-pressure forming machine RevoFormer are even equally suited to both meat and fish. This processing machine forms products of exact and con-sistent shape and weight whereby the typical structure of the prod-ucts is maintained. Subsequent processing stages such as flouring, wet coating and cooking or pack-aging of the fresh products can be

carried out directly afterwards, for example using the RotoCrumb. This machine is for adding a va-riety of crumbs, coatings or mari-nades to the products.

One of the leading suppliers of complete technical solutions for secondary processing of fish, sea-food and other products is Con-venience Food Systems (CFS) to which more than 40 different firms with special competence in the areas technology, distribution and service belong. CFS exten-sive product list ranges from indi-vidual machines and accessories, through special developments, to complete production lines, partic-ularly for ready meals, case ready and individual meal components. Together with their customers, CFS develops new food and pack-aging products that are exactly tailored to their special needs and are economical, i.e. profitable. The products and services mainly concentrate on the processing and packaging of fish and seafood, meat and poultry products, cheese products, pasta and vegetable meals plus special solutions for technical packaging.

Despite these numerous techni-cal solutions, however, it is still impossible to do without people during fish processing. The hu-man eye recognizes more reliably than some computerised image recognition systems the optical inadequacies of a fillet; and the complexity of a hand’s motion as it moves the knife for a particular cut can only be imitated at great technical cost. mk

ClarificationThe filleting machine used in the Irbe processing plant mentioned on page 38 of EM3 2010 is from AB Seac.

That a processing line will supply high-quality products is today no longer sufficient – it also has to meet all the regulations that are applicable to food companies including legal hygiene, sanitary and environmental standards.

Stand und Entwicklung der Aquakultur weltweit · Länder · Rankings neue Arten · Top Ten von Fischarten, Mollusken, Algen, Crustaceen

Süßwasser / Salzwasser · Glossar · Stichwortverzeichnis

Eine FischMagazin-Publikation

20102011

Aquakultur Jahrbuch

new

Order form

❏ We order ___ copies of the “Aquakultur Jahrbuch 2010 / 2011” at a price of 68,– € +shipping +VAT

Name / Company: ________________________________________________________________________________________

VAT: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Street: __________________________________________________________________________________________________

Postal code / city: ________________________________________________________________________________________

Phone number: __________________________________________________________________________________________

Date / signature: ��

biology, breeding, economyThe Yearbook Aquaculture 2010/2011 contains the latest available production figures, it shows developments and trends regarding important species, describes the current situation in the most important producing countries and analyses fundamental trends.

structure: Top ten nations in aquaculture Top ten fish species Top ten crustaceansTop ten molluscs Top ten algae and aquatic plants

a view to the future – new species:Snakeheads, Pompano, Khanka Giant Whitefish, Japanese Kelp Grouper, Blue Crab, Sea Cucumber, Sea Urchin

Aquakultur Jahrbuch

2010 / 2011 Author:

Dr. Manfred Klinkhardt, Fachpresse Verlag,

ISBN 978-3-939024-12-5, language: German,

size: 210 x 275 mm, 266 pages, full colour,

price: 68,– € +shipping +VAT.

Order nOw!!

The only comprehensive overview of global aquaculture today

n n n FachprEssE VErlag hamburgAn der Alster 21 · 20099 Hamburg, Germany · Fax: +49 (0) 40 / 280 37 88

This excellent overview of aquaculture worldwide has been published in German. If you would like to publish this book in another language, please contact us via E-mail: [email protected] !


Fish Infonetwork News

ProjectsFIN Directors meet in Mexico CityRegional competencies, technical skills and flexibility greatest assets of Fish INFONetworkDirectors of the organisations that consti-tute the Fish INFONetwork met for the third time in Mexico City at the end of June. The organisations include EUROFISH (Central and Eastern Europe), GLOBEFISH, INFO-FISH (Asia), INFOPECHE (Africa), INFOP-ESCA (Latin America), INFOSA (Southern Africa), and INFOSAMAK (Arabic-speaking

countries). INFOYU (China) was not repre-sented at the meeting. The FAO was repre-sented by the Fish Product Marketing and Trade Service (FIPM).

The organisations are linked through the FAO which collaborates closely with the Network to execute projects all over the world. For the FAO the members of the Network provide an economical and flex-ible solution to achieve FAO objectives as they have the necessary local knowledge as well as the technical and cultural skills.

There have been changes at the top in several of the organisations so the meet-ing offered an opportunity to get ac-quainted with the new directors who have taken over since the last directors’ meet-ing in Casablanca in 2008. Some of the issues that were discussed at the meeting included identifying synergies and areas of common interest which can be facili-

tated by the FAO; and finding new ways to mobilise the resources, both human and financial, from the international donor community as well as national authorities upon whom all the organisations depend to a greater or lesser extent. The directors also found the meeting useful to share experiences as it led to the discovery that

many of the challenges they faced were common ones.

Several operational issues were discussed and clarified at the meeting. Members of the Network tend to work within their regions as working across regions, apart from the complexity, often conflicts with the organisa-tions’ mandates. However, all the individual organisations work bilaterally with the FAO and with GLOBEFISH and part of the meeting focused on how to improve this cooperation.

The meeting was not completely devoted to work. One (very early) morning was spent visiting the Nueva Viga fish market, the big-gest wholesale market in Latin America, which is set to get even bigger when it is redeveloped over the next two years. Later that day the group visited the pyramids in the ancient city of Teotihuacan and followed it up with a tour of the National Museum of Anthropology.

Representatives of the organisations that constitute the Fish INFONetwork met for the third time in Mexico City at the end of June. Front row from left, Mohammed Ichibane, INFOSAMAK; Satish Hanoomanji, INFOSA; Mohamed El Malagui, INFOPECHE; Abdelatif Belkouch, INFOSAMAK; Helga Josupeit, GLOBEFISH; Aina Afanasjeva, EUROFISH; Santiago Caro, INFOPESCA. Back row from left: Marcos Sixto Toral Rebolledo, La Nueva Viga; Maria Carmen Culebro, FAO Mexico; Lahsen Ababouch, FAO HQ; Hector Gutierrez Ahumada, CONAPESCA-SAGARPA; Roland Wiefels, INFOPESCA; Suba Subasinghe, INFOFISH; Mohammad Ayub, INFOFISH.

Participation at the European Seafood Exposition 2010Within the framework of the project entitled “Techni-cal Assistance for the Upgrading of Small-scale Fish-eries and their Integration in International Trade,” a panel of fishermen cooperatives from Djibouti, Mo-rocco and Yemen participated in the 18th edition of the European Seafood Exposition which took place in Brussels, Belgium from 27 through 29 April 2010.

This activity aimed at assessing market acceptability of seafood commodities produced by project beneficia-ries. A separated and fully equipped booth had been booked by INFOSAMAK to enable the beneficiaries to display their fishery products, together with promotion-al material produced by the Centre. The cooperatives were supported by their national project coordinators.

Over the three days exposition, the CFC project stand received visitors from 13 countries namely: Belgium, China, Egypt, France, Greece, India, Iraq, Iran, Italy, Malta, Spain, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates. The participants reported many requests for information and fish prices.

Project beneficiaries at the opening of the INFOSAMAK stand at the ESE in Brussels this year.

Indonesian fisheries officersvisit Malaysia, the NetherlandsA visit was organised for 13 Indonesian fisheries offi-cers to Malaysia from 22–23 March, 2010. The visit was part of capacity building activities under the Value Capture Fisheries (VALCAPFISH) project implement-ed in Indonesia and funded by the Dutch Govern-ment. The main objective of the visit was to provide participants an opportunity to learn about fishing port management, organisational structure and of-ficial controls, facilitation of fish landing, handling and trade as well as fisheries resource management


in Malaysia. The team learned about the Malaysian fisheries set-up and visited the fishing port and vessel monitoring system sta-tion in Kuantan, Pahang state. A one-day workshop was held at the end of the visit. Accompanying the team were project consultant Ingrid Gevers from Wageningen International in the Netherlands and Sudari Pawiro and Tarlochan Singh from INFOFISH. Under the same project, another visit was arranged for a different group of 12 Indonesian fisher-ies officers and educationists to

the Netherlands from 12-23 April 2010. The study visit included trips to important places related to the fisheries sector, namely Urk, Harlingen, Wageningen Uni-versity, Leewarden, Rotterdam port and Schiphol airport (fresh cargo centre), Amsterdam. The visit focused on three main areas: education/training in fisheries; fishing port and trading (auc-tion) system; and aspects related to fish processing and quality control/ assurance. A consultant from INFOFISH, Sudari Pawiro, was also invited by the project to join the visit.

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

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

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

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

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

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

n EurofishH.C. Andersens Boulevard 44 - 46DK-1553 Copenhagen V, DenmarkTel: (+45) 333 777 55Fax: (+45) 333 777 [email protected], www.eurofish.dkMember Countries: Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Romania, Spain, Turkey,

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

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

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

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

events

The team of Indonesian fisheries officers in front of the fresh cargo centre at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands.

FAO-INFOSAMAK workshop on impact of WTO consultations on fisheries and aquacultureFAO and INFOSAMAK co-organ-ised a regional workshop on the impact of WTO consultations on fisheries and aquaculture, which was held in Casablanca, Kingdom of Morocco from 15 through 17 March 2010. The workshop was at-tended by almost 43 participants coming from 8 countries, namely: Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, and Yemen. Four international or-ganizations attended the meeting: Islamic Centre for Trade Develop-ment (CIDC); European Commis-sion; UNIDO; and the United Na-tions Development Programme (UNDP). Speakers from the FAO

Fisheries and Aquaculture De-partment, the World Trade Or-ganization (WTO), the European Union, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Friend of the Sea as well as INFOSAMAK consul-tants made presentations on fish trade; WTO agreements and cur-rent negotiations with respect to the fisheries sector, as well as is-sues relevant to fish trade such as seafood eco-labelling, trace-ability and IUU fishing. Repre-sentatives from the participating countries made presentations on the status of their fisheries sectors and their involvements in WTO negotiations.


events

FAO workshop on small-scale aquacultureAn FAO expert workshop on en-hancing the contribution of small scale aquaculture (SSA) to food security, poverty alleviation and

socio-economic development was held in Hanoi, Viet Nam dur-ing 21-24 April 2010.

Organised by FAO and hosted by the Viet Nam Research Institute for Aquaculture, the workshop was presided over by the Vice Minister, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Viet Nam, Mr Vu Van Tam. Jia Jiansan, Chief, Aquaculture Service, FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture De-partment, Rome, also addressed the workshop. Some twenty-five experts from regional and interna-tional organisations, government institutions and universities par-

ticipated. Through in-depth dis-cussions, the workshop was suc-cessful in achieving its objectives of identifying the contribution/

potential and challenges/issues facing the small-scale aquaculture sector and producers.

It also determined the entry points for enhancing the contribution of SSA to food security, poverty al-leviation and socio-economic development. Actions plans to strengthen the capacity of SSA producers and households to deal with threats, risks, shocks, crises and emergencies were formu-lated. INFOFISH was represented by Shirlene M Anthonysamy, who presented a paper on the growth in global fish trade and its benefit to small scale aquaculture.

Participants at an FAO workshop on enhancing the contribution of the small scale aquaculture sector to food security, poverty alleviation, and socio-economic development in Viet Nam.

Important event in Patagonia, ArgentinaGLOBEFISH and INFOPESCA par-ticipated in the “Jornadas de actu-alización en comercio pesquero”, organized by the Universidad Tecnológica Nacional, Facultad Regional Chubut, from 3-4 May 2010, in Puerto Madryn, Patagonia, Argentina. This was the first inter-national event in the region, dedi-cated to the improvement of fish

marketing. The meeting brought together about 75 professionals and students, from the five prov-inces of Patagonia, including local secretaries of fisheries. The discus-sion centred on labelling, includ-ing organic aquaculture produc-tion, on the new EU legislation on IUU fishing, and EU rules regard-ing the import of fresh bivalves.

Workshop on fish tradeOn 3 and 4 May, a workshop on the trade in fisheries and aqua-culture products took place in the city of Puerto Madryn, province of Chubut, Argentina. The work-shop had almost 60 participants from 5 different provinces. Nine speakers delivered presentations, including Ms Helga Josupeit from FAO, Ms Graciela Pereira from INFOPESCA, and several speak-ers from Argentinean research

centers and government orga-nizations. Several topics were touched, such as the current situation of world fish trade; the status of aquaculture produc-tion in Argentina; the work of INFOPESCA in promotion and development of fisheries, aqua-culture and market information; the global challenges in fish trade; certification; and the role of women in the fish trade.

Buenos Aires hosts COFIIn the week between 26 and 30 April the 12th Session of the meet-ing of the Sub-Committee on Fish Trade of the Fisheries Committee of FAO took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Mr. Ramiro Sanchez, National Director of Fisheries Plan-ning of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of Argenti-na, was elected as President of the meeting. The Sub-Committee dis-

cussed the recent developments on fish trade, eco-labelling, market access, traceability, review of the work related to CITES, the future of food security, the 11th article of the Code of Conduct for respon-sible Fisheries, and the state of the projects financed by the Common

Fund for Commodities. Represen-tatives of over 50 countries and international organizations got to-gether for the event. From INFOP-ESCA, Nelson Avdalov, Santiago Caro, Graciela Pereira and Javier López Ríos attended the meeting. The team was led by the General Director, Roland Wiefels, who in one of his interventions referred to the projects financed by the

CFC, under the technical supervi-sion of FAO that are currently car-ried out by INFOPESCA. He men-tioned the results of the already concluded projects, the state of play of the current ones, and the future proposals to be presented for approval.

The 12th session of the Sub-Committee on Fish Trade meeting discussed recent developments in the fish trade, in eco-labelling, traceability, and the future of food security among other topics.

August

17-20 August, 2010Nor-Fishing 2010Trondheim, NorwayTel.: +47 73 56 86 40Fax: +47 73 56 86 [email protected]

September

Asia Pacific and Hong Kong’s Premier Seafood Trade Event

Asian Seafood Exposition

7–9 September, 2010Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre

Wanchai, Hong Kong www.AsianSeafoodExpo.com

Co-located with:

Connecting retail, foodservice, and distribution buyers with suppliers of live, fresh, frozen and packaged seafood products, equipment and services from around the world.

Register to Attend or for Exhibiting Information visit www.AsianSeafoodExpo.com

Supported by: Member:Produced by:

7-9 September, 2010Asian Seafood ExpositionWanchai, Hong KongTel.: +1 207 842 54 00Fax: +1 207 842 55 05www.asianseafoodexpo.com

13-14 September, 2010International Symposium on Scientific support to Innovation in Fishery ProductsVigo, SpainTel.: +34 986469301Fax: +34 [email protected]

13-15 September, 2010TUNA 2010 BangkokBangkok, ThailandTel.: +603 2078 3466Fax: +603 2078 [email protected]

14-17 September, 2010World Food Moscow 2010Moscow, RussiaTel.: +44 207 596 5086Fax: +44 207 596 [email protected]

16-18 September 2010Future Fish EurasiaIzmir, TurkeyTal.: +90 212 347 10 54Fax: +90 212 347 10 [email protected]. eurasiafairs.com

28-30 September 2010Value Added Seafood ConferenceLondon, UKTel.: +44 203 377 3658Fax: +44 203 377 [email protected]/vas

October

4-7 October, 2010Annual Meeting of WEFTAIzmir, TurkeyTel.:+902323434000 (Ext:5229)[email protected]

5-7 October 2010ConxemarVigo, SpainTel.:+ 34 986 433 351Fax:+ 34 986 221 [email protected]

5-8 October, 2010Aquaculture EuropePorto, PortugalTel.: +32 9 2334912Fax: +32 9 [email protected]

7-9 October, 2010Polar Fish 2010Sisimiut, GreenlandTel.: +45 99 35 55 55

Fax: +45 99 35 55 [email protected]

17-21 October, 2010SIAL France 2010Paris, FranceTel.: +33 1 76 77 13 33 Fax: +33 1 53 30 95 15 [email protected]

26-29 October, 2010Interfish 2010Moscow, RussiaTel.: +7 495 228 70 74Fax: +7 495 228 70 [email protected]

24-29 October, 2010Mauritius Seafood ConferencePort Louis, MauritiusTel. : +230 208 52 16Fax : +230 212 18 [email protected]

November

Booths and sponsorship opportunities now availableContact: John Richards at Conference PlusPhone: +61 (0)3 9330 2813Mobile: +61 (0)4 0739 1347Email: [email protected]

30,000 people plus are expected to visit Entry to the Exhibition is by “Gold Coin” donation with all proceeds going to Aquacul-ture without Frontiers

“The Wonders and Opportunities of our Oceans” ExhibitionSeafood: Benefi ting Health and Wellbeing

Featuring• The 250 plus seat Celebrity Kitchen with a range of chefs headed by Celebrity Chef Pete Evans of “My Kitchen Rules” • Career Expo• Excellent opportunity to present to the Public about all aspects of our interaction with the Ocean• Competitions including the Australasian Oyster Shucking Competition, the World Championship of Mudcrab Leg tying • Gala Dinner with 1,000 people being entertained with great Seafood and Show www.seafoodhealthconference.com/exhibition

6 - 9 November 2010

Melbourne Convention and Exhibition

Centre, Melbourne – Australia

International Seafood & Health ConferenceSuper Early Bird now available on Registra-tions - see website for updates to the Program and Speakerswww.seafoodhealthconference.com

The 250 plus seat Celebrity Kitchen with a range of chefs headed by Celebrity Chef

International Seafood & Health ConferenceInternational Seafood & Health ConferenceSuper Early Bird now available on Registra-

Featuring The 250 plus seat Celebrity Kitchen with

FeaturingFeaturingFeaturingFeaturingBooths and sponsorship opportunities

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION

MELBOURNE CONVENTION EXHIBITION CENTRE

AUSTRALIA 6-10 NOVEMBER 2010

With the technical participation of FAO

6-10 November 2010International Seafood & Health Conference and “The Wonders and Opportunities of the Ocean” ExhibitionMelbourne, AustraliaTel. : +61 3 9330 2813john.richards@conferenceplus.com.auwww.seafoodhealthconference.com

11-13 November, 2010Busan International Seafood and Fisheries Expo 2010Busan, South KoreaTel. : +82 51 740 7518Fax : +82 51 740 [email protected]

16-19 November 2010EuroTierHanover, GermanyTel.: +49 69 24 788-0 Fax: +49 69 24 [email protected]

17-18 November 2010II International Congress on “Quality of Fish and Seafood Products”.Bilbao, SpainTel. : +34 986 469 [email protected]

December

10-13 December, 2010Shanghai Int. Fishery and Seafood Exhibition 2010Shanghai, ChinaTel: +86-21-34140187Fax: [email protected]

February

19-22 February, 2011Mediterranean Seafood ExhibitionRimini, ItalyTel.: +39 0541/744 478Fax : +39 0541/744 [email protected]

Add your event to www.eurofish.dk

DIary Dates

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


Anfaco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Binyin Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Biro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

BVA-Auctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Cuxhavener Kühlhäuser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Diversified. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Emperor Aquatic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Future Fish Eurasia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Back Cover

Geo Eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Inter Fresh Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Interfish. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Intl Seaf&Health Conf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Irbe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Maass + Partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Multivac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Salmco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inner Cover

Sealane Cold Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Sia Salas Zivis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Szegedfish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

list oF adVErtisErs

Name of Company PageImprint

Publishing House Fachpresse VerlagMichael SteinertAn der Alster 21D-20099 HamburgGermanyPhone +49 (0) 40 / 24 84 54-0Fax +49 (0) 40 / 280 37 88

Joint publishers & managing editors

Michael Steinert, Aina Afanasjeva

Editorial office Copenhagen

Behnan Thomas (bt)H.C. Andersens Boulevard 44-46DK-1553 Copenhagen VDenmarkPhone +45 333 777 [email protected]

Editorial office Hamburg

André Nikolaus (nik)Phone +49 (0) 40 / 24 84 [email protected]

Björn Marnau (bm)Phone +49 (0) 40 / 24 84 [email protected]

Editorial office Delbrück

Dr. Manfred Klinkhardt (mk)Redaktionsbüro DelbrückFranz-Stock-Straße 23D-33129 DelbrückGermanyPhone +49 (0) 52 50 / 93 34 [email protected]

Editorial board Lahsen Ababouch, Martin Gill, Helga Josupeit, Michael New

Layout Sven Mohr-Eggert (responsible), Lukas TarapataMatthias Hellmuth, Norbert Lützow, Sebastian KrebsE-Mail: [email protected]

Translation Yvonne Bulmer

Advertising Eckhard PreußMarderstieg 7 D-21717 FredenbeckGermanyPhone +49 (0) 41 49 / 80 20Fax +49 (0) 41 49 / 72 [email protected]

Aleksandra PetersenEurofish MagazineH.C. Andersens Boulevard 44-46DK-1553 Copenhagen VDenmarkPhone +45 333 777 63Fax +45 333 777 [email protected]

Frequency 6 issues per year

Subscription details Price: EUR 100,– To subscribe visit www.eurofish.dkor send an email to [email protected]

Unless otherwise stated, the copyright for articles in this magazine is vested in the publisher. Articles may not be reproduced without written permission from the copyright holders.

Advertising rates and data available on request. The publishers cannot be held responsible for the nonap-pearance of the magazine in cases beyond their control such as strikes, shortage of paper or similar circumstances.

ISSN 1868-5943

Order your free trialFax: +45 333 777 56

E-mail: [email protected]

eurofish

the Fish Publishing House

@D ie Fachze i t sch r i f t f ü r d i e gesamte F i schw i r t scha f t

Appel FeinkostMarktposition durch Konzentration auf Markenwerte ausbauen Seite 24

Fischmagazinwww.fischmagazin.de 6 / 2010 C10152E @ Heft im Heft

Teichwirtschaft + Aquakultur

Magazin für Teichwirtschaft und Aquakultur

Das Unternehmenskonzept von Emsland Fischzucht ist wohl einzigartig in Europa, denn hier werden Aale hauptsächlich für den Besatz natürlicher Ge-wässer produziert. Emsland Fischzucht kauft jedes Jahr bis zu 5 t Glasaal ein, was der beachtlichen Zahl von 15 bis 18 Mio. Individuen entspricht.

Steffen Tepasse Karl-Heinz Meyer

Heft im Heft

FISH INFO network





www.eurofi shmagazine.com ISSN 1868-5943 July 4 / 2010 C 44346


Cover Story Tunamar


Eurofish Magazine FischMagazin eurofishmagazine.com fischmagazin.de




















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

SALMCO slicers

Perfectly simple...

simply perfect!

SALMCO SM 3027

Carpaccio Slicer

SALMCO SM 3026

Semi Automatic Cold Slicer

SALMCO SM 3029

Fully Automatic Cold Slicer

SALMCO SM 5418

Double Lane Slicer

SALMCO SM 5290

Vertical Slicer

SALMCO SM 5218

Shingle Slicer

SALMCO SM 5118

Single Lane Slicer

S

M

S

M

5

5

0

0

A

L

C

O

r

i

o

t

a

l

S

e

r

H

o

z

n

l

i

c

SALMCO SM 3015

Manual Slicer

SALMCO Technik GmbH · Hamburg · Germany

Tel.: +49 40 713 14 72 · e-mail: [email protected] · web: www.salmco.com

Salmco Technik GmbH · Hamburg · GermanyTel.: +49 40 713 14 72 · E-Mail: [email protected] · Internet: www.salmco.com

The fastest way to advertise in Eurofish Magazine

FISH INFO network



Processing lines: Productive, resource-saving, hygienicSpain: Consumption of seafood shows marked increase

www.eurofi shmagazine.com ISSN 1868-5943

July 4 / 2010 C 44346

Seeking customers in Eastern EuropeCover Story Tunamar

Eckhard PreußMarderstieg 7, D-21717 Fredenbeck, Germany

Phone +49 (0) 41 49 / 80 20, Fax +49 (0) 41 49 / 72 92


Aleksandra Petersen, Eurofish MagazineH.C. Andersens Boulevard 44-46, DK-1553 Copenhagen V, Denmark

Phone +45 333 777 63, Fax +45 333 777 56


Crustaceans

n n n n n n n n n n Supply SourCeS n n n n n n n n n n

packaging

Salmon slicers

Smoked salmon

liquid smoke

Styropor® ( polystyrene ) compressors

Wire ropes

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

SALMON SLICER... worldwideR. MAASS + PARTNER GMBH

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

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

Insulated Containers

Frozen seafood specialties

Hamburger Feinfrost GmbH - Frozen Quality ProductsGr. Elbstrasse 158 - 22767 Hamburg

Tel.: +49 (40) 39 92 92-0, Fax: +49 (40) 39 92 92 39E-Mail: [email protected] - www.hafro.de

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]

FeinfischräuchereiNoll GmbH

D-46514 SchermbeckTel.: 0 28 53/20 57, Fax: 14 65

Web: www.fisch-noll.deE-Mail: [email protected]

tasty-Smoke GmbHHövelsstr. 2748488 EmsbürenTel.: +49 (0) 5 91 / 6 10 44 51Fax: +49 (0) 5 91 / 6 10 45 07www.liquid-smoke.com

Liquid SmokeBBQ-oilHickory-SmokeSmoke PowderLiquid-Smokers

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

nn

n T

he F

ish

Pub

lishi

ng H

ouse

Eur

ofis

h M

agaz

ine

July

4

/ 201

0

FISH INFO network





www.eurofishmagazine.com ISSN 1868-5943 July 4 / 2010 C 44346


Cover Story Tunamar

http://issuu.com/action/openurl?url=www.future-fish.com

eurofish magazine 4 2010

Documents

n epoland

shingle slicersalmco

vertical slicersalmco

automatic cold slicersalmco

double lane slicersalmco

carpaccio slicer salmco

consumption of seafood

eurofish magazineh