Behnan Thomas

At all levels of production, from the origin of the raw materials in fishing and aquaculture, through processing and packaging, to the retailer’s, products are sorted and classified on the basis of defined characteristics.

Although fish and seafood products have a positive image in Germany and are generally perceived as contributing towards a healthy diet per capita consumption has for years remained about a quarter behind the global average. One reason for this is the concern that many consumers have with regard to overfishing of the seas or unsustainable aquaculture methods. Internet portals are now to enlighten the public by providing objective information which could dispel such prejudices.

As the global consumption of fish increases resources that were previously used for the production of fishmeal and fish oil are increasingly being considered for use by humans. Many of these fish are small in size and processing them involves a lot of manual labour. Some companies have however sensed an opportunity and are producing machinery that can relieve workers of this drudgery. One such company, Seac AB from Sweden, specialises in machines to process small pelagic fish ranging from sardinella/mackerel in the range of 2-8 fish per kg to European anchovy or vendace which ranges from 60 to 110 fish per kg.

Russia and the USA are preparing to cooperate in order to fight IUU crab fishing. This may lead to tighter supplies as illegal crab could be removed from the market.

May / June 2016 EM 3 Country profile: Latvia and Germany Events: SEG and SPG in Brussels: safe and better organized;…

The Italian production of fasolari (Callista chione) takes place in the Northern Adriatic waters, falling in the two Italian regions of Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto and is managed at compartmental level (sub-regional level) by the Consortia (CO.GE.VO.) of Chioggia, Venice and Monfalcone. Here the system is based on a co-management approach.

The fish market at Chioggia is one of the biggest in the region. Transport bottlenecks constrain its expansion and the authorities would like to move it to an area that is better connected to the road network.

The Italian aquaculture sector has a long history starting first in the coastal lagoons and then, as technology became available, expanding both inland and along the coast. While the freshwater production of trout is in terms of volume by far the most important, other freshwater species such as sturgeon and eels are also produced in significant volumes.

A Croatian producer of seabass and seabream has used a high quality product and good service to create a reputation on the Italian market.