05/03/14: NORWAY – CENTRE FOR GLOBAL MEETINGS

Norway (Photo credit: Moyan_Brenn)

-->Norway has many examples of improved productivity where for example 12,000MT of Salmon can be grown in less than 10 enclosures (trying to get away from the word ‘cages’) in one area with no more than 10 people. This is a very efficient process.

Bergen, well known for its Bryggen Hanseatic Wharf, the Fish Market, and surrounding mountains and fjords, such as the Hardangerfjord and Sognefjord, has been the centre of some global meetings in the past few weeks, the CODEX meeting has just finalised and the FAO COFI meeting on Fish Trade takes place this week. That is followed next week by the North Atlantic Seafood Forum. 

Perhaps the powers that be that organise these meetings are hoping that some of efficiency in Norway rubs off on those attending and they take back their stories to their home governments and associations? It strikes me that in the global world of seafood in which we operate Norway is a beacon as a developed country in ’professionalising’ operations. They have been on a continual improvement process for many years in both fishing and aquaculture and the development has been in all sectors including government and administration.

In respect of the FAO last week they commented on the state of play regarding world fisheries and aquaculture (http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/214442/icode/) and it was lots of good news. This very positive news makes you wonder why our fantastic industry is in the media so much aligned with negative stories. The figures show the industry to be booming!

Clearly there are areas for improvement just like with any rapidly growing industry in the food area. The pressure is on to supply food for the growing population and to find sustainable solutions for countries where hunger and malnutrition is an ever present.

FAO say that benefits from international trade are not always trickling down to small-scale fishing communities, even though small-scale fishers and fish farmers constitute about 90 percent of the sector’s global workforce. Additional countries need to provide small-scale fishers with access to finance, insurance and market information, invest in infrastructure, strengthen small-scale producer and trader organizations, and ensure that national policies do not overlook or weaken the small-scale sector. 

The other important issue is that FAO is urging countries to assist small-scale fish farmers and fish workers – around half of whom are women – to overcome a number of barriers such as lack of bargaining power and access to credit, difficulty in meeting market access regulations and poor trade-related infrastructure, so that they can access local, global and especially regional markets.

As greater quantities of fish are processed for export, more by-products such as heads, viscera and backbones can potentially be turned into valuable products also for human consumption, FAO said.

“We must ensure that these by-products are not wasted from an economic but also a nutritional point of view,” Lem underlined. “By-products often have a higher nutritional value than fillets, particularly in terms of essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, and can constitute an excellent means of combating micronutrient deficiencies in developing countries.”

New markets for by-products are already opening up, he said, noting growing demand for fish heads in some Asian and African markets, while there is also potential to use fish heads and bones to meet the rising global demand for fish oil and mineral supplements.

Greater potential also exists to use by-products to make the fishmeal and fish oil used as feed in aquaculture and for livestock, indirectly contributing to food security, according to FAO. This would allow some of the whole fish utilized today for meal and oil production to be used for direct human consumption.

The overall figures show that in 2012, total world exports of fish and fishery products reached USD 129.1 billion, a 121% increase from 2002. Preliminary data for 2013 point to further growth, with 160 million tonnes produced (up 3 million tonnes from 2012) with exports valued at about USD 136 billion. Projections for 2013 indicate that fish farmers produced 70 million tonnes of fish.

FAO say that world fish trade is generating more wealth than ever before, but countries must help small-scale fishers and fish farmers benefit too.

“The record trade figures reflect the strong growth in aquaculture output and the high prices for a number of species such as salmon and shrimp,” said Audun Lem, Chief of FAO’s Products, Trade and Marketing Branch. “This is underpinned by firm underlying demand for fish products from world markets.”

Aquaculture production is expected to hit about 67 million tonnes in 2012 and projections for 2013 point towards fish farmers producing 70 million tonnes – 44 percent of total fishery output and 49 percent of fish for direct human consumption.

“The proportion of fish production being traded internationally is significant, at around 37 percent in 2013,” said Lem. “This makes the fisheries/aquaculture sector one of the most globalized and dynamic industries in world food production.”

Developing countries continue to play a major role in supplying world markets, accounting for 61 percent of all fish exports by quantity and 54 percent by value in 2012. Their net export revenues (exports minus imports) reached $35.3 billion, higher than those for other agricultural products combined including rice, meat, milk, sugar and bananas.

“There are exciting opportunities in regional markets at the moment as emerging economies such as Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia want more fish and are looking to their neighbours to supply it,” Lem said. “At the same time, this growing demand is stimulating new investments in local aquaculture production, including in Africa.”