Lilian Datcu runs, together with her husband and son, a company with interests in fishing, processing, a fish farm, and a restaurant on the Black Sea coast.
Fish from the Black Sea is landed at a number of sites along the coast most of them privately owned. The fishermen are mostly coastal fishers using fixed gear which is emptied every day. The fishing season stretches from February or March to September or October depending on the weather. Catches comprise horse mackerel, flounder, Black Sea mackerel, sprats, and anchovies.
Sardafish is a fishing company owned by the Datcu family that has diversified over the last few years. The fish is caught by the seven fishers who are employed by the company. The fishers use fixed gears that are deployed 10 to 15 m from the shore. Catches vary from year to year with some species dominating one year and others the next. The company’s fishery license gives it a right to a certain area in the sea, within which the fishers are entitled to set as many traps as they like. In practical terms, however, the number of traps is restricted by various physical parameters including the topography of the seabed, the currents, and the tides. Today the total catch amounts to 2-3 tonnes per month, a figure that has been falling for the last few years. Liliana Datcu attributes lower catches at least partly to changing currents caused by the building of dykes, which she feels has also resulted in the disappearance of species like crabs and seahorses.
Diversifying into other fish-related activities
While fishing is still an important part of the company’s activities, it also owns a carp farm and, for the last two years, a fish restaurant. The restaurant is located in Agigea along the coast near Constanta and serves almost exclusively fish and shellfish, including oysters and rapana, from the Black Sea. The restaurant, says Ms Datcu, was opened partly as an alternative to selling the catch to rapacious buyers who would squeeze the price as low as possible. When the fishing season comes to an end and fresh fish is no longer available, fish that was caught during the season and frozen is served instead. Since the fish is frozen immediately on being landed the product is of very high quality. The restaurant, which is open all the year around, also serves fish from the farm that is owned by the company. The restaurant is so popular that during the summer it attracts two to three hundred guests each day, some from as far as Bucharest, 225 km away.
| Sardafish srl | |
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Restaurant Pescaria lui Matei Tel.: +40 752 230691 pescariamatei@yahoo.com |
Owner: Matei Datcu, Lilian Datcu, Matei Datcu jr Activity: Fishing, processing, restaurant specialised in Black Sea fish, carp farm Catch: 2-3 tonnes per month Species: Horse mackerel, flounder, Black Sea mackerel, sprats |
As a natural extension of the existing businesses Sardafish is also moving into fish processing. A new processing facility is being built at the landing site, which will have modern smoking chambers to be able to offer a range of smoked products to diners at the restaurant as well as for general sale. The company is planning a range of marinated products too. The facility will also be available to process fish from the farm as demand for farmed products that are more convenient to deal with than live fish is likely to grow. Carp or other farmed species can be gutted and portioned if consumers demand it.