Saving Seafood

Aquaculture sector thriving in the European Union

January 15, 2019 — The performance of the aquaculture sector in the European Union is improving across the board, with all sectors displaying strong economic growth, according to the latest report from the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF).

The 2018 Economic Report of the EU Aquaculture Sector is a comprehensive overview of the latest production figures, value, structure, and competitive performance of the sector at both country and E.U. level between 2008 and 2016.

Analysis shows that sales volumes amounted to 1.4 million metric tons (MT), valued at EUR 4.9 billion (USD 5.6 billion) in 2016, which was an increase of six percent in volume and eight percent in value compared to 2014. Profits doubled during this time, reaching EUR 800 million (USD 917.2 million) total in earnings before interest and tax.

Of the 28 countries making up the E.U., the United Kingdom, France, Greece, Italy, and Spain accounted for around 75 percent of aquaculture production.

Speaking at the 50th anniversary of the European Fisheries Partnership in Brussels, prior to the report being released, E.U. Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu Vella stressed the need for sustainable fish farming to flourish and confirmed the European Union’s commitment to large-scale expansion of aquaculture by member-states.

“It is an industry that creates economic growth, employment and economic stability, especially in rural areas and along coastal areas,” Vella said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

28,000-Strong Survey Reveals Europeans’ Fish and Seafood Preferences

January 8, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Most Europeans prefer buying fish and seafood frozen but consumers in Mediterranean countries such as Greece and Spain prefer fresh, according to a 28,000-strong European Commission survey.

The EU is one of the world’s largest markets for fish and seafood.

While per capita spending on fishery and aquaculture products is one-third of that of Japan, the world leader, it is more than three times as much as in the United States.

A recently published study commissioned by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, therefore aimed to shed light on what Europeans look for in fish and seafood, where they buy it and which information they would like to see on-pack.

The survey questioned almost 28,000 individuals from each member state in face-to-face interviews that were conducted at home in their native language.

“It aims at improving understanding of the EU internal market for fishery and aquaculture products to allow operators to be more competitive and to support new strategies that can stimulate growth, strengthen economic activities in the internal market and lead to job creation,” the report said.

Overall, seven in ten respondents (70%) eat fishery or aquaculture products at home ‘at least once a month’.

Unsurprisingly, the biggest consumers of fish and seafood products are from countries with a tradition of fishing and eating fish. Spain led the way, with 92% of respondents saying they eat fish at least once a month, followed by Portugal and Sweden (both 87%), Estonia (85%), Finland (84%) and Denmark and Greece with 83%.

As with the previous 2016 survey , Hungary stood out for having the lowest proportion, with just over one quarter (28%) of individuals eating fish at home at least once a month. However, price may be a deterring factor for consumers in the land-locked country: 90% of Hungarians said they would buy or eat more fishery and aquaculture products if the prices were not so high.

Supermarkets are the preferred purchase point

Over three-quarters of these respondents (77%) buy fishery or aquaculture products at the grocery store, supermarket or hypermarket. However, a majority of Italians (64%), Greeks (65%) and Maltese respondents (74%) were more likely to buy fish or seafood directly from a fishmonger, a fishmonger’s stall in a market hall, or at a specialist store.

Almost no country seemed to favour online shopping for fish products with one exception: Denmark, with 6%.

The most popular format was frozen. A total of 68% of all respondents who buy fish and seafood purchase frozen products either from time to time or often, with Portugal, Austria and Sweden the top countries for frozen fish purchases. Greece, Spain and Portugal, on the other hand, came out top for fresh fish and seafood products.

Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Cyprus and Croatia preferred to buy whole products.

Respondents were more likely to express a preference for wild products (35%) over farmed products (9%), but nearly as many said that they did not have a preference (32%).

“The most commonly mentioned reasons to buy or eat fishery and aquaculture products are because they are healthy (74%) and because they taste good (59%),” the report said.

Label information

“More than half mention the product’s appearance (59%) and the cost of the product (52%) as important aspects when buying fishery and aquaculture products. The third most frequently mentioned aspect is the origin of the product, with more than four in ten respondents (41%) considering this important. More than a fifth (23%) of respondents consider the brand or quality labels (e.g. PGI, PDO) and how easy and quick it is to prepare as important. Finally, the environmental, social or ethical impact is least mentioned as important (17%).

After date of catch and production, the second piece of information consumers would most like to see on-pack was environmental information, which nearly four in ten (39%) thought should be on labels.

This story was originally published by SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission. 

Mediterranean countries looking elsewhere for seafood

May 26, 2017 — European Mediterranean countries now import almost twice as much seafood as they produce, according to a report just released by WWF.

Decades of rising demand, coupled with falling fish stocks due to increasing use of industrial techniques, poor catch monitoring, the spread of illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing and numerous environmental factors have all contributed to less seafood productivity from the once-abundant Mediterranean Sea.

For local inhabitants and tourists who flock to the region, fresh local fish is as much a part of the Mediterranean experience as its golden beaches and sunny climate. Artisanal fishing communities, fish markets, seafood restaurants and maritime heritage are all central to the area’s unique economic, social and cultural identity.

The report, “WWF Seafood and the Mediterranean 2017,” finds that the idealized image no longer matches the reality of the situation in the Mediterranean, where more than 93 percent of assessed fish stocks are threatened by overfishing.

The largest catches in the region are made up of sardines and anchovies (42 percent), demersal species (21 percent), cephalopods (8 percent), crustaceans (7 percent), molluscs and bivalves (6 percent), and tuna and swordfish (5 percent).

European Mediterranean nations such as Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia now harvest three times as much of their catch from Atlantic waters as they do from the Mediterranean. For every kilo of seafood caught by these nations, another two kilos are imported, the majority from developing countries including Morocco, Turkey, Mauritania, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, and Libya. Product is also exported to these countries, particularly low-value processed and canned products, fishmeal and baitfish.

Read the full story at Seafood Source