Well over 14,000 visitors attended the 26th edition of DanFish, an event dedicated to the international fishing industry and held at the Aalborg Congress & Culture Centre in northern Denmark. Held every two years the event this year boasted over 400 exhibitors from 30 countries and visitors from 50 including Norway, the US, and China. Demand for stand space was so strong that the organisers expanded the available area to include, for the first time ever, the lowest floor of the centre, which could accommodate 44 stands. Interest in DanFish stems not least from the fact that Denmark is an important fishing nation and among the world’s biggest exporters of fish and seafood. Denmark is also an important platform for the trade in certain high value commodities, such as northern prawn (Pandalus borealis), and has a reputation for high quality technical solutions for the fishing industry.
The exhibition focused on nets, trawls, other fishing gear, vessel engines, and other equipment but also included several side events. A seminar on fishing vessels of the future and how they will meet requirements for longevity and sustainability pointed to the use of electric fish pumps and winches as one of the ways to makes fishing vessels more environmentally friendly. Another seminar on Brexit and its likely impact on the Danish fishing industry also attracted a lot of interest. While much remains unclear about the final outcome, the two biggest Danish fishing organisations, Danish Fishermen PO and Denmark’s Pelagic Fish Producers’ Organisation, have agreed to collaborate on Brexit. The Danish fisheries sector is also working with its counterparts in other countries to ensure that fisheries is a prominent part of the agenda in any negotiations with the UK.
DTU AQUA, part of Denmark’s Technical University, and the Danish Fishermen PO, who have been collaborating on the development and testing of selective gear, demonstrated flexible selective solutions for the Norway lobster fishery. Two of the solutions are designed so that they can quickly be attached to existing gear to reduce by-catches of round fish and flat fish when targeting Norway lobster. Trials in the sea showed that the gear led to a reduction in the by-catch of cod and plaice and even an increase in the catch of the target species. DanFish also featured a reception hosted by Danish Fishermen PO to welcome the new managing director of the organisation, Kenn Skau Fischer, and bid farewell to Niels Wichmann, who led the organisation for 25 years.
The next edition of DanFish will be held on 13-15 October 2021.
