Thursday, March 5, 1.45 pm CET
Turkey's 'huge' aquaculture potential
Turkey's fish farming industry has seen incredible growth over the past years -- and the country is ready to continue on that path, Kilic's Hayri Deniz told the audience at NASF.
Between 2002 and 2012 the volume increase of aquaculture amounted to 288 percent, he said. In 2013, combined output of farmed fish -- mainly trout, seabream, seabass and meagre -- amounted to 233,000 metric tons.
"We have a huge potential" to grow this further, Deniz said.
By 2023, the aim is to have reached a total production of 500,000 metric tons, and exports in the amount of $1 billion.
--Elisabeth Fischer
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Thursday, March 5, 1.35 pm CET
Kilic looks for further bass, bream expansion
Turkish producer Kilic is ready to invest and expand its operations, and is looking at new sites in Albania, Mexico and the Bahamas to expand its operations, Hayri Deniz, director of oversees investments and international relations at the company, said.
The vertically integrated company, which is the biggest producer of bass and bream in the country, currently has a production capacity of 42,000 metric tons, but is continuously working on diversifying species and markets.
The US market is growing and it would make sense to set up base in the Americas to cater to this demand, Deniz said.
At the same time, the company is also looking to venture into new aquaculture species, including bluefin tuna -- as IntraFish reported earlier this year -- and it has plans to start a mussel farm business in Turkey this year.
To make sure the expansion is a success, Kilic is looking for "serious and strong partners for joint investments" all over the world, Deniz said.
"We will need more cooperation, collaboration and dialog to reach our goals," he told the audience.
--Elisabeth Fischer
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Thursday, March 5, 1.20 pm CET
Regal Springs exec: Stable outlook for tilapia prices
Global tilapia prices have been relatively stable for a while, and only showed a small increase in 2014.
This trend won’t change much in the future – or at least not this year, Magdalena Lamprecht Wallhoff, vice president of sales at Regal Springs, told the audience at NAFS' whitefish seminar this Thursday.
“I don’t think they [prices] will rise,” she said, unless they are pushed up by other commodities, such as pollock or pangasius and even salmon, or currency fluctuations.
Currently, the weakening of the euro against the dollar is putting some pressure on prices in the European market, she said.
But Europe is still lagging behind in terms of consumption, and the United States is expected to remain to be the dominating nation for moving tilapia, she said.
However, while tilapia is seeing the second highest dollar sales in finfish after salmon, average retail prices are the second lowest, she said.
“Tilapia still seen as the cheap alternative, and that’s an ongoing challenge for us,” she said.
Global production is also relatively stable, rising from 4.3 million metric tons in 2012 to 4.5 million metric tons last year.
In 2015, global production is estimated at 4.7 million metric tons, Lamprecht Wallhoff said.
However, there could come some movement into the sector through the emergence of new countries such as China and Latin America.
China – the world’s largest producer of the species – is increasingly developing an appetite for tilapia. Latin America on the other hand is “coming up” both as a producer and a buyer, she said.
--Elisabeth Fischer
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Thursday, March 5, 1.06 pm CET
A new era for feed supply
Marine Harvest’s new feed plant has added 280,000 metric tons of capacity into the market in Norway, and the company revealed its ambitions to consider expansion in other markets as well.
This extra capacity for feed supply in Norway has reduced the contestable market by some 16 percent, and this is “really a challenge for now,” said Ian Carr, marketing director, at Ewos, as the extra capacity will not be offset by growth in demand until at least 2018, “at the earliest.”
“So there is sufficient capacity to supply demand in Norway for the foreseeable future.”
But while this brings challenges, it also brings opportunities, said Carr and Ewos plans to now invest in research and development (R&D) rather than investing in capacity expansion.
“Ewos will continue to innovate and we are collectively re-investing NOK 500 million in R&D every year,” he said. “Eighty years of innovation will make the difference for Ewos.”
There is also a trend of consolidation within salmon farming at the moment, which also presents a challenge for feed companies.
Mitsubishi acquiring Cermac and Marine Harvest acquiring Acuinova along with its plans to merge with AquaChile, are all factors which could change the face of the feed market and impact independent feed suppliers, added Carr.
--Dominic Welling
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Thursday, March 5, 12.45 pm CET
Trident exec calls for more innovation in whitefish
It is no secret that the global Alaska pollock industry is bogged down by a number of challenges, and according to Allan Kimball, executive vice president, global sales at Seattle-headquartered Trident Seafoods, the lack of innovation is one of them.
The days where the Alaska pollock industry could live on the income from roe sales are over, he said. It is significantly more dependent on making money from sales of the flesh, such as blocks, surimi and H&G.
But the global market price for the fish “is today determined by a 450 gram package of fish fingers sold by the German hard discounters at €1.39,” he said.
European customers face continued resistance to price increases from the retail industry. In addition, the rising cost of re-processing in China – combined with this inability to increase the price for finished products – results in poor quality, which drives down demand.
“This should be a huge concern to all of us,” Kimball said.
“Do we want to continue to rely on the unprofitable fish finger market?” he challenged the audience.
More innovation is among the solutions to a brighter future for the industry, he is convinced.
But the drive for this will no longer come from raw material customers and the brands, Kimball said.
“We still believe in the future of the fish finger and breaded fish but quality is key to grow consumption in our core markets and in new non-traditional markets such as China and Asia,” he said.
Alaska pollock will not only have to venture into the fresh and chilled markets but also take on the mantra of “ABB – anything but blocks,” he told the audience.
To grow margins in the future, he said, new premium single-frozen products such as fillets and sausages will have to be on the forefront.
In addition, the industry should go back to basics and cut H&G into steaks for emerging markets and low income households in Europe.
Together with promoting the Alaskan story to consumers world-wide, this should make for a game-changer, Kimball said.
“We got to have more innovation,” he said.
--Elisabeth Fischer
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Thursday, March 5, 12.32 pm CET
Global salmon feed market may pass 4 million tons in 2016
The market for salmon feed has grown 38.7 percent in the last four years, from 2.79 million metric tons in 2010 to 3.87 million metric tons in 2014.
While this year it is expected to grow further and reach 3.96 million metric tons, in 2016 this will likely jump to 4.17 million metric tons, according to Ian Carr, marketing director, at Ewos.
“We expect two to three times more growth in feed demand over the next three years, driven by improving biological conditions in Chile, increased productivity in Norway and clear agendas for growth in other markets too” said Carr.
Between 2015 and 2018 demand could grow 16 percent to around 4.6 million metric tons, he said.
But this demand could increase even further if Norwegian farmers can leverage the productivity potential, he said.
The best farmers are producing around 1,600 metric tons of fish per license and the average in 2013 was 1,082 metric tons per license. “If only half of this gap is closed – 1,300 metric tons per license – productivity increases by 20 percent”
“Therefore the knock on effect for feed demand in Norway is significant.”
--Dominic Welling
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Thursday, March 5, 12.05 pm CET
It all rests on Peru
Global production of fishmeal and fish oil fell 11.5 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively in 2014, but hopefully things should stabilize, if not increase, this year, according to Enrico Bachis, chief analyst at the International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organization (IFFO).
World production of fishmeal fell to 4.1 million metric tons in 2014, while the amount of fish oil produced fell to 843,000 metric tons.
In 2015, Bachis said overall there will be similar levels of production, perhaps with a slight increase hopefully to reach ideal levels of 5 million metric tons of fishmeal and 1 million metric tons of fish oil.
In China, fishmeal production was down 10 percent in 2014 to around 500,000 metric tons and it is expected to stay at this level for 2015.
Thailand, Vietnam and India production levels are expected to remain the same also, while North America will be similar to 2014, although there has been talk of an increase in quota of Atlantic menhaden in the United States, which could boost it upwards.
Production will be stable in Ecuador, but in Chile things “are not looking good” with a 20 percent cut in the quotas, said Bachis. Nevertheless the sardine quota in Chile is supposed to be revised in March.
African production is expected to increase slightly in 2015 and in Scandinavia quotas are also slightly up.
“So overall we are not expecting a decrease in production in 2015, and maybe even a slight improvement,” said Bachis. “In the end it’s all down to Peru, which is capable of changing the landscape.”
Production in Peru came to a halt in the fourth quarter of 2014 as the second anchovy fishing season was canceled and the Instituto del Mar del Peru’s (IMARPE) recommended no more fishing until the biomass has recovered.
According to Bachis, in the whole of 2014, Peru produced 545,787 metric tons of fishmeal, down from 1.2 million metric tons in 2013, and 118,866 metric tons of fish oil, down from 178,194 metric tons in 2013.
However, things are looking up for Peru with biomass levels returning to normal.
In the south, anchovy biomass has increased from 244,329 metric tons in October 2014, to 607,008 metric tons in January 2015, which is an appropriate number to start the fishing season. The only problem at the moment is that most, 94 percent, of these fish are juveniles, so it is up to Imarpe to find out if they have matured to the right size.
If they have, the fishing ban in the south could be lifted as soon as March 26, said Bachis.
Meanwhile, in the North/center fishing area, biomass has increased from 1.5 million metric tons to 4.4 million metric tons, with 65 percent juveniles. Imarpe sent out a research cruise Feb. 17 to check the status of stocks and hopefully the season will be allowed to begin towards the end of April.
--Dominic Welling
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Thursday, March 5, 11.40 am CET
'We're all price-takers' in whitefish
“Why are all [whitefish] companies not making money and are under financial pressure?” Felix Ratheb, CEO of $140-million turnover South African hake supplier Sea Harvest, challenged the audience at this morning’s whitefish seminar.
“What’s the problem here? I’d say it’s one simple thing: We’re price takers,” he said.
There are only a few companies in the whitefish processing industry who actually work profitably and report good margins, he said.
The reason? The industry is still too fragmented, and consolidation is much needed.
“Costs are increasing but company strategies are not changing,” he added. “I don’t think many companies own the route to market – retailers have all the power.”
Unless these issues are addressed, the short-term outlook is “bleak,” he said.
--Elisabeth Fischer
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Thursday, March 5, 11.35 am CET
New aquaculture species to drive demand for fishmeal, fishoil
Although traditional buyers of fishmeal and fish oil are showing “formula flexibility” and reducing the amount they include in feed, there are still growth sectors, namely new emerging aquaculture species, according to Gorjan Nikolik, associate director at Rabobank.
Traditional buyers include salmon and shrimp farmers in the aquaculture sector and chicken and pig farmers mainly in China, but all over these are working to reduce the amount of fishmeal and fish oil in their feed.
However, with plenty of emerging aquaculture species, such as grouper, cobia, amberjack, and tunas, Nikolik said there will still be strong demand.
“I’m quite bullish on demand side of things,” he said. “Production volumes of these species are already significant with a high growth rate, and these species will still require at least 45-50 percent fishmeal in their feed.”
Furthermore, as aquaculture evolves and becomes more intensive and modern in the future, there will be more need for formulated feed and in turn the need for more fishmeal.
“Land and water area is even more limited that feed, so we expect feed demand to grow with the intensification of aquaculture.”
--Dominic Welling
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Thursday, March 5, 10.30 am CET
What are Alaska pollock's future markets?
With the US and European market maturing, where will Alaska pollock end up in the future?
That's one of the biggest questions suppliers on both sides of the pond should ask themselves, Ivan Osadchiy, director of strategy and business development at Russian Fishery, said.
Current key markets are still the European Union, the United States and Japan but those markets “are fairly mature in our opinion. We are really interested in what could be the growth points going forward,” he said.
Asia is one obvious destination, he believes, and China could develop from a processing hub to an actual end market for finished products.
But the big growth, he reckons, could come from South Korea, where it’s mainly consumed whole-round, and Brazil, where pollock is known as “mini-cod” and could ride on bacalao's success.
“Pollock is a versatile fish,” he said. “It’s wild-caught, which is recognized as a premium, especially in emerging markets. What we see is that pollock has a growth future in some of the key markets outside Europe and the United States."
Product diversification will have to go hand in hand with market diversification, and Russian Fishery is currently “playing around” with new product and packaging formats in Russia itself to test out their reception.
“New markets require new product developments but that can and will be done in the medium to long-term. Baby steps,” Osadchiy said.
Commenting on the potential of the Russian market itself, he told the audience, there is “significant growth potential” but pollock will have to be heavily promoted and marketed.
Last year, around 200,000 metric tons of headed & gutted (H&G) pollock were consumed in Russia.
This could grow to volumes of 350,000 to 400,000 metric tons, but will only be reached through attractive and convenient packaging, as well as fillets and portions instead of H&G.
--Elisabeth Fischer
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Thursday, March 5, 11.20 am CET
Anchovy sector is volatile – deal with it
If investors and bankers are able to take a long term view, they will see there are plenty of growth opportunities to be had in the Peruvian anchovy sector, according to Gorjan Nikolik, associate director at Rabobank.
“We need to understand volatility is part of the business model, it will always be there,” he said.
“El Nino for example has caused major volatility in the past and will do so again in the future. We can also expect wild biomass fluctuations. But the fish always return.”
The fish always returns after El Nino events and if regulation is well implemented and focused on the sustainability of wild resources then the fishery will always recover.
“As bankers and investors we need to be aware of the nature of the volatility in this industry. Is one financial year a good frame of reference for the Peruvian anchovy industry or do we need a longer term approach?”
--Dominic Welling
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Thursday, March 5, 10.00 am CET
Northern Atlantic mackerel quotas, supplies expected to drop in 2015
There are many challenges in making predictions about Northern Atlantic pelagic quotas and supplies, stocks of which can show large variations year-on-year, according to Otto Gregussen, CEO, Norway Sales Organization for Pelagic Fish. However, he gave some prognosis for what will happen to mackerel supplies in 2015.
In 2014, the overall mackerel status for Norway, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Russia and the EU (NIFREU) in 2014 saw a 1.41 million metric tons quota, consumption of 1.37 million metric tons with 27,000 metric tons going into fishmeal and fish oil.
However, in 2015 Gregussen’s prognosis is the total NIFREU quota will shrink to 1.23 million metric tons, consumption will fall to 1.21 million metric tons, and the amount going to fish oil and fish meal will drop to 20,000 metric tons.
Split into the different countries, in 2014 Norway saw a mackerel quota of 279,000 metric tons, 277,000 metric tons of which went into consumption while 600 metric tons went to fish oil and fishmeal. In 2015, Gregussen said this quota will drop to 245,000 metric tons, consumption will likely be 242,000 metric tons, and 500 metric tons will go into fish oil and fish meal.
Iceland mackerel quota meanwhile is expected to be 150,000 metric tons in 2015, consumption 135,000 metric tons and fish oil and fish meal 15,000 metric tons.
In the Faroe Islands, the mackerel quota in 2014 was 156,000 metric tons with consumption of 146,000 metric tons and 5,000 metric tons going into fish oil and fish meal. In 2015 this is expected to drop to be 133,000 metric tons, consumption 131,000 metric tons, and fish oil and fish meal 2,500 metric tons.
The total EU mackerel quota in 2014 was 613,000 metric tons, consumption was 599,000 metric tons, fish oil and fish meal was 1,000 metric tons.
For 2015 this will drop to 520,000 metric tons of quota, consumption will drop to 520,000 metric tons, while fish oil and meal will also be 1,000 metric tons, said Gregussen.
As for herring for Norway, in 2014 the quota was 396,000 metric tons, consumption was 356,000 metric tons while the amount heading to fish oil and meal was 49,000 metric tons.
In 2015 the prognosis is a quota of 306,000 metric tons, consumption of 312,000 metric tons and fish oil and meal of 6,000 metric tons.
--Dominic Welling
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Thursday, March 5, 9.40 am CET
Havfisk CEO: Barents Sea cod stocks could drop further
After a massive year for cod supplies from the Barents Sea in 2014 – with a quota of around 1 million metric tons divided mainly between Norway and Russia -- total allowable catch (TAC) was cut 10 percent in the current fishing season.
This downward trend will continue in the years to come, Webjorn Barstad, CEO of Norwegian fishing firm Havfisk, said.
“Even though I don’t like to make predictions – especially as we are a publicly listed company – I think quota will continue to go down in the Barents Sea in the next years,” he said.
Citing third-party research figures, he said, TAC could see yet another cut of around 10 percent next year and a further “slight” decrease is expected in 2017.
Quota could therefore stabilize at around 700,000 to 800,000 metric tons within the next two years.
Despite this, the stock situation remains “very healthy” with spawning biomass still way above any levels considered as dangerous.
--Elisabeth Fischer
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Thursday, March 5, 9.30 am CET
Global pelagic supplies fall 2.4 million metric tons in 2014
The big drop in the anchovy fishery, as a result of El Nino in Peru, affected global supplies strongly in 2014, according to Gunn Strandheim from Kontali.
Total global pelagic landings hit 19.1 million metric tons in 2014, which was a drop of 2.4 million tons as a result the phenomenon.
Of the total, 10.4 million metric tons went into direct for human consumption while 8.7 million metric tons was used as raw material fish oil and fishmeal, said Strandheim.
If we exclude anchovy though, there was an increase in pelagic landings , primarily due to a strong blue whiting and Atlantic mackerel fishery.
Atlantic mackerel landings were around 1.3 million metric tons in 2014, which was a 350,000 ton increase on 2013, said Strandheim.
But this year pelagic supply could grow by at least 2 million metric tons, should everything return to normal in Peru. Excluding anchovy however, total pelagic landings in 2015 are expected to decrease by 100,000 tons on the back of tighter supply, Strandheim said.
In particular catch volumes of blue whiting, herring and mackerel are expected to fall, but capelin landings are expected to increase in 2015 compared with 2014, to reach around 400,000 metric tons.
--Dominic Welling
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Thursday, March 5, 9.27 am CET
Stable outlook for 2015 groundfish supply
Kontali’s Ragnar Nystoyl expects a fairly stable groundfish outlook for the current year, with only “minor changes” expected in supply.
A slight increase in the global supply of Alaska pollock will outweigh the marginal decline in landings of Atlantic cod and hake, he told the audience at this morning’s whitefish seminar.
In terms of farmed groundfish, he expects no volume growth in terms of pangasius and only “moderate growth” of around 4 to 5 percent in the supply of tilapia.
Both the US and EU tilapia market will, however, remain stable, with more production going into emerging markets such as China.
Also the impact of the Russian import ban will be minor, and so far has only marginally affected groundfish trade flows, he said.
North Atlantic cod and haddock will see more balanced volumes throughout the season (see previous blog post).
This will be a strong price driver in the first three to five months but more stability is expected in the second half of the year.
Norwegian suppliers might feel an impact from the strong Norwegian kroner, he said. The weakening of the Russian ruble, on the other hand, is a “guarantee” that Russian fish will be sold internationally also this year.
--Elisabeth Fischer
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Thursday, March 5, 9.25 am CET
Price play
Cod suppliers have long been talking about an “exceptional” start to the fishing season in 2014 and Ragnar Nystoyl, managing director at Kontali, brought it to the point at this morning’s whitefish panel.
In 2014, 51 percent of Norway’s total cod supply was landed in the first quarter of the year and prices had risen only 6.5 percent between January and March, compared to 2013 levels.
In the second quarter about 19 percent of the total allowable catch was landed and prices rose 9.5 percent.
This year, the situation is clearly a different one: Kontali estimates that “only” about 35 to 38 percent of the total allowable catch will be landed in the first quarter of the year.
However, prices shot up by about 45 to 50 percent so far in 2015, compared to the same time of the previous year.
--Elisabeth Fischer
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Wednesday, March 4, 5.30 pm CET
A tale of woe
Borge Prytz Larsen, CEO of Russian salmon trader Severnaya Company, is clearly exhausted by the saga of the Russian ban on Norwegian seafood, and peppered his presentation with deep sighs.
“Believe me – it has been turbulent,” Larsen sighed. “It’s been worse than my worst thoughts.”
His mood didn’t get any sunnier – he showed a graph on the ruble exchange rate and said, “This graph has been one of my biggest nightmares ever.”
The ruble spiked up to 80 percent to the US dollar in December, then crashed back down weeks later. In January, it began to climb again, “now it’s more or less in a free fall.”
Inflation rose by 15 percent, imported good costs have risen 50-100 percent. Staff has been reduced by 20-50 percent, disposable income falling, and spending is declining.
“Two goods that haven’t increased in price are vodka and caviar,” he said.
The consumption numbers are ugly. Fresh fish sales are down 70 percent, value-added sales volume is down 30 percent, retail seafood sales are down 40-50 percent and horeca seafood sales are down 40 percent.
Of course, frozen salmon volume jumped as importers turned to Chile, and frozen salmon imports shot up 40-60 percent.
“We’re returning to the 90s,” Prytz said, when the ratio of frozen to fresh fish was around 70-30. “Which is of course sad, much more work for us, and it’s not something we want.”
Following the ban on Western seafood in August 2014, it was unclear which countries would be shut out, and word on the street for a couple of days.
Prytz Larsen and his team thought Norway would not be affected.
“Basically we were calm,” Prytz Larsen said.
Then the word came down Norway would be shut out as well. With 70 percent of Severnaya’s turnover coming from Norway, Prytz Larsen had to jump on a plane from a holiday in Spain to Moscow.
“When Norway was closed, we didn’t know what to do,” Prytz Larsen said.
The allowance for Faroe Islands to ship fresh salmon in has been “a happy story for consumers, brokers and I hope for the producers.”
The allowance of value-added processing and frozen Chilean salmon were also a boon for the industry.
“That helped us a lot,” Prytz Larsen said.
Domestic production is beginning to take hold. The government is increasing aid for aquaculture, for example, and Prytz Larsen said he’s aware of four fish farming projects around Moscow alone for rainbow trout and sturgeon.
Still, the road ahead will be long.
“I’ve been through four different crises, and each time we were prepared,” Prytz Larsen said. “This time, no.”
--Drew Cherry
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Wednesday, March 4, 5.25 pm CET
Germany consumption drops as awareness of certification grows
Although the number of MSC products on the shelves in Germany grew 11 percent to reach around 4,000 in 2014, general consumption of fish in the country is on the decrease, according to Jürgen Pauly, from the retailer Globus.
“Awareness of certified sustainable products like MSC is growing, but consumption of fish is decreasing,” he said.
At the same time, despite the strong economy in Germany, expenditure at fish counters is at its lowest, Pauly said.
A lot of it could be down to price, said Pauly, which is seeing the strongest retail competition in years. Since 2014 fresh fish has been available in the discount retailers Lidl and Aldi nationwide, he said.
For example, fresh salmon fillets at the retailers are selling for between €19.90 to €27.90 per kilo at fish counters, but at €13.30 per kilo MAP-packaged in the discount stores.
Meanwhile MSC fish fingers are selling for around €2.80 per kilo in promotions, said Pauly, “so is there a correlation between price and sustainability?” he asked.
--Dominic Welling
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Wednesday, March 4, 5.00 pm CET
Is seafood most adulterated product in the world?
Food fraud is nothing new, and as old as the food industry itself, but there is scope for concern around adulteration taking place in the seafood industry, according to Mike Mitchell, CSR and technical director at Young’s Seafood Limited.
“We are in an era where food fraud is very sophisticated and difficult to detect,” said Mitchell. “But we are also seeing a major shift in regulatory framework to combat this.”
Following “Horse Gate," a new report has been compiled in the UK -- The Elliot Report – to address current weaknesses in the country’s food supply networks. The report gives recommendations to the government and should help companies identify and combat food fraud.
The report suggests eight pillars of food integrity, including putting the consumer first, a zero tolerance approach, intelligence gathering, laboratory services, audits, governmental support, leadership and crisis management.
“If we get all of this right then we will be more effective against fraud,” said Mitchell. “We have an obligation and at Young’s we have a big agenda around this.”
Ultimately when operating in a “high risk environment”–ultimately with products which have lengthy and complex supply chains – there are three important, logical and sequential steps which should be taken.
First it is about identifying the risk through processes such as internal business intelligence and NGO activity, then it is about classifying the level of risk and lastly it is about applying mitigation measures.
“Then you should be left with residual, manageable risk,” said Mitchell. “But it is important that we all work together to combat these issues.”
--Dominic Welling
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Wednesday, March 4, 4.55 pm CET
European retail in a nutshell
Nielsen Company’s Jean Jacques Vandenheede provided the audience at NASF with an overview of the European retail sector, cleaning up with some of the biggest myths floating around.
In conclusion, his main points were:
- The format game is not working anymore. Despite all the testing/piloting efforts nothing is moving
- The decline of the hypermarket is a myth for fast-moving consumers goods
- Modern convenience grows at the expense of traditional convenience
- Discounts are not the winning juggernaut
- Short-term tactics employed by retailers have a diminishing return of investment
- E-grocery remains a midget
- Retailers have not yet discovered the digital connection
- The local agenda defines the market, global retailing has failed
- Battle of formats is a battle of banners
--Elisabeth Fischer
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Wednesday, March 4, 4.46 pm CET
The three 'Ts'
Transparency, traceability and trust: those are the three elements that will define tomorrow’s winners in a new business climate, according to Bjorn Haugland, chief sustainability officer at DNV.
Increased demand for energy, food and water, constraints in resources and urbanization are quickly impacting the way the seafood industry will do business.
“This sector knows better than many threat there is a diverse stakeholder expectation, and it’s important to stay proactive and on top of the game,” Haugland said.
One of the biggest challenges for the aquaculture sector will be traceability, and feed in particular.
“By the end of the day, you will in the end be held responsible for what you put in the fish,” Haugland said. “It’s maybe not fair, but that is the way it will be.”
Communicating the transparency of that supply chain will be just as important.
“Tell the good stories, bring the facts out, make sure the consumers get the right information based on science, research and facts,” he said.
And while it may seen onerous, embracing regulation is a key part of creating transparency and trust.
“I see from sector to sector those sectors that build really strong platforms for growth embrace regulations,” he said. Strong regulations keep less serious companies from playing a role in an industry, he said.
“I’m not asking you to love regulations, but at least to embrace it,” Haugland said.
Haugland finished his talk by paraphrasing a comment made by Marine Harvest Chairman Ole-Eirik Leroy earlier in the day: “To be sustainable in the long term is to be responsible in the short term.”
--Drew Cherry
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Wednesday, March 4, 4.26 pm CET
MSC certified products going into feed will double by 2017
Within the next two years, the volume of MSC certified products being used in fish feed, including trimmings, will double, according to Chris Ninnes, managing director of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council.
Currently the MSC has listed 217 fisheries on 87 stocks important for the reduction industry, and this is growing all the time, said Ninnes.
However, 177 of these are not yet formally part of the MSC program. Currently 40 are in full assessment or certified sustainable, supplying 1.2 to 1.4 metric tons of whole fish and trimmings, but in the next two years this will be close to 3 metric tons, accounting for 15-17 percent of the global supply.
Meanwhile, 57 others have undertaken pre-assessment or are engaged by the MSC outreach staff. Combined, these 40 fisheries plus 57 fisheries account for 45 percent of the total supply, said Ninnes.
Furthermore, another 50 out of the 177 are from a rapid internal pre assessment and have the potential to become certified over the next 3-5 years, “although some will require improvement work first,” said Ninnes.
Of these, 23 have undertaken the pre assessment and have potential volume of 10.5 metric tons – Peruvian anchoveta is the key fishery in this group, said Ninnes.
A further 27 are not yet engaged, but have a potential volume of 3.8 metric tons. These concern Araucanian herring in Chile and Japanese anchovy fisheries predominantly.
-- Dominic Welling
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Wednesday, March 4, 4.12 pm CET
Good and bad news
Cost escalation is the biggest threat to earnings for Norwegian salmon farmers and shareholders in salmon farming companies, Henning Lund, analyst at Pareto Securities, told the NASF audience.
If the trend of the past six years continues, costs will hit NOK 35 per kilogram of produced salmon by 2020.
“That’s the bad news,” he said.
The good news? Average salmon prices could settle at NOK 50 per kilogram by the same year.
--Elisabeth Fischer
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Wednesday, March 4, 4.10 pm CET
Eco labels - is it just ‘badging up’?
There is a real change in attitudes towards certifications and eco-labels, and the concept of sustainability is becoming more and more mainstream, according to Tom Pickerell, technical director at SeaFish.
And while sustainability has always been a given with everyone willing to take part, are eco labels just “badging up” what has already been done or do they serve a greater purpose?
“Taking MSC as an example, improvement is inherent in the MSC program,” said Pickerell.
According to Pickerell data shows that with those fisheries who are under assessment or certified stocks are improving all the time. On the other hand those which are not assessed are declining.
“Standards and eco labels have been pioneers of the sustainable seafood movement. For fisheries and farms they provide a point of differentiation and achievement, while for businesses they provide a credible reference point for action.”
There are questions though as to whether the proliferation of eco-labels in the market is reducing their value, and whether consumers really care on understand.
-- Dominic Welling
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Wednesday, March 4, 4.05 pm CET
The salmon bloodbath that never was
Helge Moen, the CEO of Kverva, one of the leading investment firms in the seafood sector with stakes in Salmar, Pelagia, Lofoten, HitraMat and other companies, had a confession to make: he was way, way off on his predictions about the future of the salmon farming price.
“I used to be a fairly well respected salmon analyst, and despite that, I expected the salmon price to be NOK 22 into eternity,” he said.
Moen, who left the analyst world to establish Kverva, said that if he would have been right, the Norwegian salmon industry would have lost NOK 7 billion today, and the global salmon industry would have lost a whopping NOK 10 billion.
“I don’t think I was pessimistic,” Moen said. Based on the performance of the sector and production costs, his estimates were in-line with other analysts at the time.
And while the price picture is 20 percent better, in 2006 the return on capital was 50 percent, whereas today it’s lower.
“It’s still fantastic…but also the cost of investing in one kilo of salmon has gone up substantially,” he said. “We need a high salmon price to cover cost and capital.”
--Drew Cherry
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Wednesday, March 4, 3.05 pm CET
Who will drive Chilean consolidation?
It’s no secret that consolidation is unavoidable for Chile’s salmon sector, and Jose Ramon Gutierrez, chairman of $400 million turnover producer MultiExport Foods, has some ideas who could be the main consolidating firms in the years to come.
“There is no question that consolidation is very beneficial in terms of production and markets – we are too many sellers with no marketing organization and a price difference of between 10-20 percent to Canadian and Norwegian sellers,” he said.
Six companies are on his list of possible consolidators, including Marine Harvest/AquaChile, Japanese Mitsubishi Group, Agrosuper Group, MultiExport Foods, Nissui Foods and Canadian firm Cooke Aquaculture.
The recently announced merger deal between Norwegian giant Marine Harvest and AquaChile will trigger new M&A activity in the industry, he believes.
If each of the six companies acquires or merges with another company in the next three years, the Chilean industry could be dominated by no more than four companies by 2017, he said.
The total number of companies could reduced from 21 last year to 15 in 2017, Gutierrez said, with the four biggest controlling 65 percent of production.
“Chile is definitely a good investment opportunity if you are looking mid-term combined with industry consolidation,” he said.
--Elisabeth Fischer
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Wednesday, March 4, 3.01 pm CET
Chile's growth outlook down for salmonids
He predicts a 1 percent growth for Atlantic salmon, from 604,000 to 610,000 metric tons year-on-year.
But overall sector growth is dragged down by a significant reductions in both trout and salmon.
Next year, could see significant growth to 875,000 metric tons of total Chilean salmonid output, he said, triggered by a 5 percent jump in the production of Atlantic salmon to 640,000 metric tons.
--Elisabeth Fischer
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Wednesday, March 4, 3.00 pm CET
Transition of retailers towards MSC
One of the major developments the MSC has witnessed over the past 15 years is the transition of retailers who are beginning to build in requirements for sustainable seafood and certifications.
Rupert Howes, CEO Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), said that fifteen years on since the formation of the MSC, the certification has moved on from being “a differentiator” to a "trust mark".
“Now competing brands are coming together to promote sustainable fish, with resulting spikes in seafood sales in general and consumers choosing fish over other proteins,” said Howes.
On the demand side, Howes said the there are now strong commitments from major global buyers to source their wild capture fish from MSC-certified fisheries. There is also a rise in co-promotions from retailers.
The global market for MSC products is now $4.8 billion annually, he said.
“Certification is making a difference, and labeling programs drive real and lasting change. But it is dependent on an inclusive multi stakeholder approach and partnerships from fisheries to plate.”
-- Dominic Welling
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Wednesday, March 4, 2.40 pm CET
Chile’s performance ruins predictions
Kontali’s Lars Liabo, arguably the most influential predictor of salmon production and markets, gave a detailed look at the 2014 salmon production and markets, showing that his estimates from NASF last year were off – but not by much.
Kontali’s 2014 estimate of 2.144 million metric tons was just 3.8% lower than the actual figure, primarily the result of underestimating Chile’s great year.
“Chile performed much, much better than expected,” Liabo said.
Loss rates were lower, yields per smolt were higher and production costs per kilo were better – all positive points of the country’s 583,000 metric tons of output, which was 21 percent higher than expected.
Other regions were relatively closely in-line with predictions. The UK produced 171,000 metric tons (7 percent higher than estimated), North America produced 121,000 metric tons (12 percent lower than expected), the Faroese production of 83,000 metric tons was 8 percent higher than estimated, and production from other regions was 1 percent lower than Kontali’s predictions.
--Drew Cherry
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Wednesday, March 4, 2.30 pm CET
Be prepared
Companies need to look at the bigger picture when it comes to sustainability, according to Markus Mau, director of the Institute for Innovative Strategies at the University of West-Hungary.
“Many players have a limited perspective, but need to look at wider perspective if they want to remain competitive,” he said.
Sustainability must become part of the business strategy with an overall perspective.
According to Mau, the higher the competition level, the more concentrated and mature markets become, they are more complex, and there is an ever increasing importance of sustainability in these supply chains.
“And most companies don’t do it – they need to see everything upstream and control everything downstream, they need to do more than before, and those who are prepared are at advantage.”
At the same time sustainable aspects from a consumer perspective is becoming more important, so there is more focus on what companies are doing.
“So there is a political dimension, a supply chain dimension, and a consumer dimension.” So it is about making the changes and also communicating these changes, said Mau.
“You have to change processes first and then communicate results, to avoid ending up with image problems.”
Successful communication of sustainability processes can also boost competitiveness for a company and there is a paradigm shift happening in management which can support this.
Instead of expanding market share to gain a competitive advantage and boost profits, companies should first focus on achieving a competitive advantage through being sustainable, which will then result in profitability, and then market share.
“Make your business healthy and then profit will come,” said Mau. “Instead of wait, identify and react, companies should be more strategic by planning and then acting. It is a multi dimensional approach.”
-- Dominic Welling
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Wednesday, March 4, 1.00 pm CET
How to sell (more) seafood?
James Hill, CEO of frozen food giant Findus, said he was confident of the seafood’s industry’s growth prospects and optimistic about the sector's future.
But “radical” changes in consumer behavior and the retail landscape will require some rethinking in the industry, he told the audience at NASF.
Firstly, the industry needs to jump on the e-commerce train, which has been booming for some industries and increasingly also for food.
“I’m not sure our industry is participating,“ he said.
Fresh fish, he said, is having an issue because consumers are reluctant to buy it online. “Fresh fish undertrades online and we need to change that.”
Frozen food, on the other hand, is selling well and “we can take advantage of that."
In addition, the way how people eat is changing rapidly, with one-person households on the rise.
But fish is “locked into the setting of the family” eating experience, Hill said.
To change and adapt to this new trend will be a challenge, especially in terms breaking into snacking and on-the-go food.
In addition, shoppers are more and more trading up or down in terms of their preferred retailers.
“The middle of the market is being diluted, some consumers are trading up some are trading down. The middle has been very soft and very soggy,” he said.
Discounters and premium retailers are on the rise. “We need to adapt to that,” he urged.
--Elisabeth Fischer
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Wednesday, March 4, 12.30 pm CET
The salmon industry of tomorrow
The future looks bright for salmon farming, according to the chairman of the world’s largest actor in the sector, Ole-Eirik Leroy.
By 2025, he believes, the problems that plague the industry -- sea lice, a lack of brands and consumer reputation as a sustainable food source – will have solutions.
“I’m convinced your doctor will ask you, ‘Are you stupid enough to be smoking, how much alcohol do you drink, and how much seafood are you eating?’” he said.
Though salmon farming is in strong financial health today overall, just 10 years ago, the industry was nearly on its knees.
“In Norway there was – believe it or not –a lack of funding,” he said. The industry was also plagued by antidumping, bankruptcies and political instability.
Fast forward to 2015, and the industry still has challenges to face and opportunities to exploit, Leroy said.
Sea lice, he said, is by far the biggest problem the industry needs to solve.
“We can talk about all kinds of diseases that have to be dealt with, but the mother of all diseases is the sea lice situation,” he said. “Nobody should have any doubt that we need to solve this problem, and I think we will in not too many years.”
Some two thirds of Marine Harvest’s R&D work is currently targeted at the sea lice issue.
Environmental sustainability is high on Marine Harvest’s list of priorities, and the company said the sector should focus on profitability, not growth at all costs.
Given the global demand for salmon, those profitability levels are likely to stay strong for efficient players.
Leroy noted that in the first four weeks of the year, Norway shipped 20 percent more salmon to Europe than over the same period a year prior. The US is the world’s largest salmon market, but the per-capita consumption is far too low.
Brazil already takes 100,000 metric tons of salmon “out of nowhere,” Leroy noted. And so far, salmon is not even sold in modern retailers.
“Just imagine what we can do,” Leroy said.
--Drew Cherry
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Wednesday, March 4, 12.30 pm CET
More than just a fishing company
Oceana Group is now the leading company in South Africa when it comes to black empowerment.
“It is important because we are a fishing company within a regulated industry but we have recognized our responsibility,” said CEO Francois Kuttel.
Hiring and promoting black business and workers in South Africa has become increasingly important and companies must abide by seven elements included in the government’s broad based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) program.
The seven elements focus on a company’s ownership, management and control, employment equity, skills development, preferential procurement, enterprise development and socio-economic development.
As an example of how far Oceana has come in terms of black empowerment, Kuttel said black representation at the company’s board level increased to 73 percent in 2014, up from 0 percent in 1993.
There is also 50 percent black representation at executive management level, and 25 percent black female representation at executive management level.
Furthermore, the company’s Oceana Empowerment Trust gave back $28 million in dividends to its employees in 2014 – an average after tax of ZAR 100,000 per employee, Kuttel said.
The spend on skills development has increased fivefold since 2006 while 89 percent of the company’s procurement spend is now done with B-BBEE suppliers, said Kuttel.
And the changes have benefited in sustained financial returns as well, he added. In 2014, Oceana Group posted revenues of more than ZAR 5 billion up from ZAR 3.5 billion in 2010. “We are just a fishing company, but deep down we’re much more than that,” said Kuttel.
-- Dominic Welling
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Wednesday, March 4, 12.10 pm CET
Coldwater Prawn Forum moves to Copenhagen
This year's Coldwater Prawn Forum will be moved from its traditional venue in London to the Tivoli Hotel & Congress Center in Copenhagen, Denmark.
It will take placed on Nov. 12, 2015, Royal Greenland's Simon Jarding announced.
"The Scandinavian market is important and we wanted to try something new," he said.
--Elisabeth Fischer
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Wednesday, March 4, 12.05 pm CET
Coldwater shrimp supplies will continue to drop -- but outlook is good
Global coldwater shrimp catches are expected to drop a further 27 percent from 2014 levels, according to estimates shown by Simon Jarding, director of Royal Greenland.
Supplies plummeted 41 percent from the “peak” in 2005 -- when supplies hit more than 450,000 metric tons -- to 267,500 metric tons last year, he told the audience.
“We expect further declines.”
In the years to 2017, global supplies are estimated to drop to around 194,000 metric tons.
"That's one good key take-away," he said.
At the same time, he urged the industry to understand and adapt to the changes in supply and to rethink from branding coldwater shrimp as a mass product to coldwater shrimp as a luxury product, and a special treat.
This will have to happen through value-creation, and changing consumers' perceptions by changing the product's image.
That, he is convinced will eventually lead to a further increase in demand.
--Elisabeth Fischer
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Wednesday, March 4, 11.50 am CET
You say potato, I say potato
When it comes to the state of the world’s fisheries, there tends to be agreement on the FAO’s numbers. The difference is how you interpret the data, and how you add those numbers.
The FAO estimates that 32 percent of the world’s fisheries are overfished, depleted or recovering, 53 percent are fully exploited, and 15 percent are underexploited.
Looked at it one way, 68-70 percent of the world’s fisheries are managed sustainably, Tore Nepstad, CEO of the Institute of Marine Research in Norway, said. However, the NGO message tends to be that 85 percent of the world’s fisheries are in crisis or unsustainable (the key point of contention being how “fully exploited” is defined.
“Some stakeholders constantly misinterpret facts and spread false information,” Nepstad said.
While there is certainly a need to embrace more sustainable fishing practices among industry, what’s missing, Nepstad said, is a shared agreement on what, exactly, defines sustainability, and what an acceptable footprint is.
That definition must be science-based, and when it is, and combined with governments, companies and independent science agencies, the effect can be profound.
“Do we have any kind of successful history for that?” Nepstad asked. “We definitely do.”
The Barents Sea cod stock, he noted, is an excellent example. The cooperation between ICES, Russian and Norwegian research agencies allowed the groups to analyze the stocks, define the threshold values, and an acceptable footprint for sustainable use. The result? Stocks have reached record levels.
That said, other fisheries need work, and get mired down in politics and short-term thinking by the industry.
“Both industry as well as well as management has a job to do,” Nepstad said.
--Drew Cherry
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Wednesday, March 4, 11.00 am CET
Aquaculture key to filling the supply/demand gap in 2030
Global demand for fish is projected to reach 261.2 million metric tons by 2030, with consumption per capita hitting levels of 29.1 kilos. However total fish production in 2012 was 156.5 million metric tons, says Arni Mathiesen, assistant director general of the FAO.
This means that if production levels stay as they are there will be a supply/demand gap or around 104.7 million metric tons in 2030, so where will all the extra supply come from, Mathiesen asked, wild capture or aquaculture.
“First of all it is unacceptable that more than 30 percent of fish stocks are over fished,” Mathiesen said. But the good news is this level has not really changed over the last 10 years – if anything it is slightly reduced, he said.
“In fact there are positive signals that we can expect to maintain levels from capture fisheries if not see a slight increase by 2030,” he said.
But it is aquaculture where the real potential lies, according to Mathieson.
With Asia accounting for 91 percent of the world’s aquaculture production in 2010, and China alone accounting for 61 percent, there are huge opportunities for other continents to increase their capacity as well. The Americas, Europe, Africa and Oceana combined only accounted for 9 percent of total aquaculture production in 2010.
“There is a huge potential to increase aquaculture – there can’t be such a big difference between the different continents,” said Mathieson.
By 2030, Mathieson does not expect to see much of a change within global fisheries. Stocks are moving away from the equator towards the poles, and moving away from the coasts into deeper water, which although good for the North, will be detrimental to small scale fishermen.
While the potential for wild capture fisheries to increase by 2030 is “doubtful” the potential for aquaculture is great if it grows at the same rate as in the past, said Mathieson.
“The scenario I see for 2030 us both plausible, possible and realistic. There will be more economic growth and more openness of markets, but it will not be as great as we’ve seen in the past two decades, which were an exceptional period.
Ultimately I expect to see great advancements in effective governance and of course high productivity and output in aquaculture.”
-- Dominic Welling
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Wednesday, March 4, 10.35 am CET
PwC: TTIP no threat to Norway’s seafood suppliers
Torben Foss, attorney and director at PwC Seafood Centre in Norway, said should the TTIP agreement go through, the impact from a Norwegian perspective would "not be that great."
Currently, Norwegian supplies only cover 2 percent of US seafood consumption in terms of value, he said, referring to John Connelly’s previous presentation.
“Our assessment at PwC is that the FTA with Canada will have a much greater impact on Norway’s seafood power.”
But still, should negotiations be successful – “and I really wish you luck – it raises the question what we [in Norway] are going to do,” he said.
The natural consequence, he believes, should be the “immediate” elimination of all trade barriers for seafood.
--Elisabeth Fischer
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Wednesday, March 4, 10.23 am CET
Europe: A big market getting bigger
With 507 million inhabitants and €18.12 trillion ($20.2 trillion) in GDP, there is “substantial market power” in the EU for seafood.
Total seafood supply in the EU is currently around 13.93 million metric tons, according to Stefaan Depypere, director of international affairs and markets at the European Commission.
Of this, 8.38 million metric tons is imported, making the EU the largest importer of seafood in the world.
The EU produces, through wild capture and aquaculture, 5.55 million metric tons, but only exports 1.61 million metric tons said Depypere. In total the EU consumes 12.32 million tons of seafood, he added.
Consumption of seafood per capita in the EU however, varies from country to country. Average consumption per capita across the EU is 24.5 kilograms per person, per year. But this can be as low as 5.3 kilos per capita in certain eastern European countries to as much as 56.7 kilograms in Portugal, which is higher than Japan and Norway.
“But consumers are increasingly aware of seafood, so there is a huge market potential in the EU,” said Depypere. “They are increasingly aware of quality of seafood and eager for fish consumption, so there is a lot of market possibilities.”
Of the 13.93 million metric tons of fish, three quarters comes from wild catch and one quarter comes from aquaculture, said Depypere.
With production of 5.55 million metric tons, the EU is now fifth in the world after China, Indonesia, India and Peru.
EU landings are around four million metric tons per year, with small pelagics making up the bulk with 48 percent of the total. This is followed by groundfish, accounting for 12 percent. Aquaculture accounts for 1.5 percent of total production in the EU with around 1.24 million metric tons, the sixth-highest in the world.
Mollusks account for 48 percent of this and salmonids 31 percent.
The supply of processed fish into the European Union is around 4.26 million metric tons with a value of €30 billion ($33.4 billion), said Depypere.
Exports are limited, however, at just 2 million metric tons valued at €4.1 billion ($4.6 billion), 95 percent of which comes from wild capture.
-- Dominic Welling
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Wednesday, March 4, 10.23 am CET
We keep a-knocking but we can't come in
National Fisheries Institute (NFI) President John Connelly gave some straight talk to NASF attendees about the trade barriers facing US seafood in the EU 28, and how the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement could – and should – change trade between the two blocs.
In European Commission evaluation of the potential benefits of TTIP, Connelly noted, analysts found the increase in trade from the EU to the US would be 31.7 percent, while the US to European trade would grow by 44.9 percent.
“Fisheries would be a top five winner in trade expansion if TTIP goes forward,” Connelly said. “We would do very, very well in this area.”
But – and it’s a big but, Connelly said – the EU 28 needs to eliminate its 42 tariff on seafood.
“The US would need to eliminate about four,” he added pointedly.
European Commission labeling proposals, which would require detailed information as minute as individual vessels harvesting fish – a near impossibility in some regions like Bristol Bay, where millions of fish are caught in a matter of a few weeks – are another potential barrier to trade between the two regions.
“That’s for something that most consumers don’t want, or don’t care about,” Connelly said. “Consumers do not want this responsibility. Most consumers expect the market and the industry to have done this work for them.”
Connelly wasn’t just waving the American flag – he noted that the US has its own ways of setting up trade hurdles, typically in the form of non-tariff barriers such as countervailing duties and antidumping actions.
Most notable is the ongoing effort by US catfish producers to keep pangasius imports out of the country, an action the NFI vigorously opposes.
“If you really want to get screwed, be a Vietnamese catfish industry participant,” Connelly said.
“Success in TTIP does depend on reducing tariffs, but it is also incumbent on the US cleaning up some of its non-tariff barriers."
As a final aside – Connelly brought up the EC ban on US mollusk imports, an issue that has long had US shellfish producers up in arms.
“There are a lot of Americans eating a lot of mollusks and not getting sick,” Connelly said. “We’re not quite sure why there is a ban.”
--Drew Cherry
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Wednesday, March 4, 9.40 am CET
Norway gov't calls for better access to EU markets
Ingvild Naess Stub, deputy minister of EEA and EU Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway, urged for a relaxation of trade barriers between the European Union and Europe, while addressing the audience at NASF this morning.
“The EU has no problem to open up its market to other third countries,” she said, but Norway’s seafood producers are still struggling with trade barriers, which include a 20 percent duty on exports.
With Russia’s ban on imports from Norway, the country’s biggest market “virtually disappeared over night,” Stab said.
In its place, the European Union moved up to become Norway’s most vital market, led by Poland, France and the United Kingdom.
“All in all 12 out of 28 EU member states can be regarded as billion kroner markets,” Stab said.
Therefore, optimizing trade relations with the EU is a core goal for the Norwegian government in 2015.
“Market access for fish is a top priority to this government,” Stub said, adding it would be beneficial for both sides.
--Elisabeth Fischer
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Wednesday, March 4, 09.25 am CET
Working across boundaries
International co-operation should be high on the agenda for the successful future of the seafood sector, according to Guus Pastoor, president at the EU fish processors and traders association AIPCE.
Opening the tenth anniversary edition of the NASF conference Pastoor highlighted the importance of global seafood trade and market access.
Although a lot has changed over the past ten years, there is still much to be done said Pastoor, in particular improving the industry’s global image.
“A lot has changed over the past ten years, and the industry has worked hard to tackle the issues brought up by society,” he said.
The industry has engaged in the various debates surrounding sustainability for example, and shown commitment to implementing new initiatives, however communicating this shift has been less successful.
“We haven’t quite succeeded in improving our image to the same extent,” said Pastoor. “Somehow communication is not working as well as it should. Our message should be better received, and this is something we need to work on.”
In terms of seafood’s new geopolitical role, future International co-operation should be high on the agenda.
This includes successful lobbying for free trade agreements and the importance of import duties such as the GSP scheme. Reforms of fishery policies such as those concerning discards and fish stocks should also be addressed globally, as well as tackling problems around illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
“IUU should be high on the agenda, the EU cannot handle this alone, and other parts of the world have to follow similar approach,” said Pastoor.
-- Dominic Welling
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Tuesday, March 3, 19.05 pm CET
Seafood's stigma
The seafood industry needs to be more visible to young people to attract talent early on, members at the future global leaders Q&A agreed.
Reacting to Thomas Grieg’s statement seafood is not sexy enough, Henning Beltestad, CEO of Leroy Seafood, said: “Seafood is a very attractive industry and is sexier than maritime.”
The problem, however, is that no one knows it is attractive.
Froystein Gjesdal, dean at Bergen’s Norwegian Business School, agreed, saying the industry needs to tackle its visibility issues, as well as the way it’s being portrayed in the media, which he described as “sometimes unfair."
“Everyone is realizing the industry has some issues that need to be solved. Students want to work at companies that are socially responsible, not for companies which only want to maximize profits,” he said.
If the industry wants to grow it needs to deal with this stigma, he urged.
Beltestad believes the Seafood Innovation Cluster could and should make a difference.
“We need to be more active in getting young people into the industry, to offer trainee programs through the cluster,” he said. “We have a huge opportunity and the potential to attract new and talented people. I hope the Seafood Innovation Cluster can make a difference."
--Elisabeth Fischer
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Tuesday, March 3, 6.20 pm CET
Making seafood sexy
Developing trainee schemes for the seafood industry would make it “more sexy” and appealing for young people to enter the sector.
Speaking about his experiences doing a training program within the global maritime industry, Thomas Grieg, a trainee with North Atlantic Drilling, said the seafood industry has a bad reputation, which needs to change if it wants to attract young blood.
In general, Grieg said every industry should offer trainee schemes to attract and develop talented young people into that sector. However he said seafood in particular would benefit from such programs.
“The industry’s reputation has suffered from bad publicity in the media – around issues such as lice, AGD, escapes – which lowers the attractiveness of the seafood industry, but it is not as bad as it looks in the newspaper,” Grieg said.
“Seafood is not as sexy as other industries such as maritime, but we have to make it more sexy. We have to learn why people are attracted to maritime and not to seafood.”
-- Dominic Welling
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Tuesday, March 3, 5.40 pm CET
Turkey's growing seafood potential -- now is the time to act!
Turkey holds the potential to become Norway’s next big seafood market, Gulin Kan of Innovation Norway Turkey, believes.
Addressing the audience at the Young Seafood Leadership Seminar on Day Zero at this year’s NASF, she said Turkey “is a country in development” and a new emerging seafood market.
The country’s per-capita consumption of fish and seafood is currently at only around eight kilograms.
With growing urbanization, an increase in the number of women at work and the exponential growth in the country’s tourism sector, seafood producers should actively seek opportunities in Turkey.
Norway has an EFTA agreement with Turkey, and in addition retailers are making improvements in their standards.
During summer -- high season for tourism -- the country is more reliant on imports due to the fishing ban in the period.
Going hand in hand with the growth of the tourism sector, the HoReCa sector is also expanding, Kan said.
“Now is the time to act,” she said.
--Elisabeth Fischer
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Tuesday, March 3, 5.15 pm CET
Where are all the women?
In the seafood industry, only one worker out of two is a woman, according to Marie Christine Monfort, an expert on seafood marketing in Europe.
They are invisible for different reasons, some are part time, some are not declared, some are not invited to public events, and sometimes they are just not there at all, she said.
Focusing on leadership positions in particular, the statistics were not great reading. Studying the CEOs of the world’s 100 largest seafood companies, only one of these companies is run by a woman (a Japanese company), said Monfort.
In a sample of 64 companies out of these 100 top companies, 55 percent had no women among the directors or board members. But none of the companies had zero men in the board of directors. Out of 621 senior leaders, only 58 were women (nine percent) compared with 20 percent in the United States' Fortune 100.
“So seafood is lacking behind many other industries,” said Monfort. “Only oil and gas is doing worse.”
Of the largest Norwegian seafood companies including Austevoll, Marine Harvest, Salmar, Cermaq, Grieg, and Norway Royal Salmon, most have above 40 percent women within their board of directors, but this is predominantly down to legislation requirements, said Monfort. Cermaq only has 14 percent but this is because it is not a public limited company and held by the same rules.
“This shows if it is not regulated, it is not there. Even in Norway,” said Monfort. “Females are like oxygen, rare in altitude, but things can change.”
In 2012, only six percent of delegates at NASF were women, a figure which has now climbed to 11 percent this year. At GOAL 2011 the percentage of women delegates was 5 percent, and this climbed to 19 percent in 2014.
“The trend is positive, it is not enough, but it is positive,” said Monfort. “It is not about being fair it is about being more efficient. It is accepted that better gender balance garners better results.”
-- Dominic Welling
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Tuesday, March 3, 4.45 pm CET
Seafood’s supply/demand gap
The world's total fish production hit 156.5 million metric tons in 2012, according to Stefania Vannuccini of FAO.
But if the population and fish supply keeps growing at the current rates, the demand for fish will jump to 261.2 million metric tons by 2030, resulting in a gap of 104.7 million metric tons.
This will hit people in developing countries especially hard, she said.
This trend can already be seen today: While around 20 kilograms of fish and seafood are currently available per person per year on a global basis this is “unevenly distributed around the globe,” she said.
Closing the gap between supply and demand will be vital, and aquaculture will be the main driver.
After all, around 62 percent of all fish and seafood supplies will come from aquaculture by 2030 up from currently around 50 percent, Vannuccini said.
--Elisabeth Fischer
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Tuesday, March 3, 4.20 pm CET
The suppliers of the future
Giving advice to an audience of young people looking to start their careers in the seafood industry, Mike Berthet, director of fish and seafood at M&J Seafood, said no matter which path is chosen, there is a need for competency in the sector.
“You are my future suppliers,” Berthet said. “You are the future of the industry, don’t underestimate the important part you will play going forward.”
No matter which role in the seafood industry -- of which there are many including fishing magnate, running the fish market, transport, logistics, admin, marketing, technical, legislation etc – Berthet said it was important people stand out from the crowd, and are competent.
“Competency must not be haphazard, it must be clear, well thought out, and well executed,” he said.
Ethical issues will be an important part of the industry going forward, he added. Illegal, unreported, unregulated (IUU) fishing will be an ongoing issue, even though the industry is already starting to “close the mesh”.
Food security will also be an important part of the agenda, he said, with the earth’s population expected to hit nine billion by 2050.
But ultimately Berthet urged the future generation to have fun and make sure they enjoy themselves no matter what they choose.
-- Dominic Welling
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Tuesday, March 3, 4.00 pm CET
Beat the butcher
M&J Seafood’s goal is ultimately “to beat the butcher” on the UK high street, which only has a limited number of species to offer, according to Mike Berthet, director of fish and seafood at M&J Seafood.
The company, which supplies between 9,000 and 12,000 different hotels, restaurants, and hospitals among others in the UK, is always looking to offer new species to its customers.
Most recently the company has seen new demand for arctic char from Iceland -- it sold half a ton this week – and skrei from Norway. Hake, whiting and trout are also increasingly finding their way onto menus in the UK.
“There is a move away from exotic species into more fresh fish, both wild and aquaculture,” said Berthet. “There is an insatiable appetite for fresh fish and shellfish in the UK, and a massive shift towards aquaculture.” he said.
-- Dominic Welling
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Tuesday, March 3, 3.30 pm CET
Back in Bergen
Snow, rain and sunshine -- we've had it all so far in Bergen today.
Just the perfect day to kick off the 10th North Atlantic Seafood Forum (NASF) conference, which will be seeing around 700 delegates from 35 countries flocking into the town on the west coast of Norway.
Topics such as seafood policy and trade, sustainability, as well as global supply and markets for salmon, whitefish and pelagics will be high on the agenda at this year's event.
We recommend to wear layers -- and are looking forward to seeing you on the conference floor soon.
For the full conference program, click here.
--Elisabeth Fischer
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