1

The Role of Aquaculture in

Fish Supply Chains

June 2013

Table of contents:

Introduction...... ................................................................................................................................ ....2

The method........................................................................................................................................ 3

Main results...................................................................................................................................... 4

Recommendations ......................................................................................................................... 11

The role of aquaculture in fish supply chains in Denmark................................................................... 13

The role of aquaculture in fish supply chains in Estonia ..................................................................... 18

The role of aquaculture in fish supply chains in Germany .................................................................. 22

The role of aquaculture in fish supply chains in Latvia ....................................................................... 28

The role of aquaculture in fish supply chains in Lithuania ................................................................... 32

The role of aquaculture in fish supply chains in Norway ..................................................................... 40

The role of aquaculture in fish supply chains in Poland ...................................................................... 47

The role of aquaculture in fish supply chains in Russia ...................................................................... 60

This publication was prepared within the framework of the INTERREG IV B project AQUAFIMA. www.aquafima.eu The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the authors and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.

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Introduction

This work focuses on answering the following two key questions in order to analysis the role of

aquaculture in fish supply chains in the countries of the Baltic Sea area:

Where do the states around the Baltic Sea sell the aquaculture production?

(Fresh water and salt water aquaculture)

What are the options to develop the market and supply chain?

(New species, live/fresh/frozen, processing methods, distribution methods, marketing, promotion)

The distribution channels and market destinations are described as well as the greatest problems for

the aquaculture sector today (marketwise). Furthermore, the constraints for the sector to evolve are

described. In the end, prospects/ideas for the further development of the market of aquaculture

products are also given.

The method:

Each partner chose the one or two most important aquaculture species/products for his region.

The questions have been answered trough:

o National statistics and available market information.

o Aquaculture producer interviews, following a questionnaire (the 3-5 most important

national producers supplemented with associations, local authorities, etc.).

o Market/supermarket/processor interviews, following a questionnaire (the 1-3 most

important ones depending on the country).

Each country’s work is presented in a country report at the end of this report.

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Main results:

This report is a collection of the results from each country report.

The main results have been shortly collected in the table below. For more detailed information please

study each country report.

Country: Denmark

Focus species /

production

Species is mainly rainbow trout:

Small (300 - 400g) 30,000 tonnes

Large 7,000 tonnes

(Eel 1,700 tonnes)

Market

Export is about 90% of the total production

Small trout for processed smoked fillets or small trout live, fresh or frozen

is exported

Large trout: row exported for Japan at high prices

Main market for small trout: Germany and the Netherlands

Three large processors make smoked trout fillets primary for export

Development of

market and

supply chain

The needed agents and logistics are in place

Environment restricts the production but the market is the main barrier

today

Recirculation aquaculture development

New environmental regulation in Denmark is implemented at the moment

but it will take some time until it is followed in practice

One solution is to look for new species with higher value: Pike perch is a

promising species

Other solutions are organic production, recirculation systems. At

Bornholm (Baltic Sea) 5 sites at sea have been selected, one of them are

under serious consideration

5

Country: Estonia

Focus species /

production

Rainbow trout

Annual aquaculture production in total 750 tonnes

Rainbow trout 600 tonnes

17 fish farms (three with recirculation)

Market

The primary markets are local market and supermarket chains

The main product is whole fresh gutted fish

Direct sale on site takes place

There are small processing plants that smoke fish and make caviar

Small parts go to sales agents

And other small parts go to put-and-take lakes

There is a little export of large rainbow trout to Finland

Development of

market and

supply chain

Farmers would like to sell through a producer organization

There are two associations in Estonia, but main constraints are

communication problems between fish farmers and the lack of a common

vision

Customers prefer large fish of 2-3kg, but the production costs are too

high for Estonian producers

It is a price sensitive market – the production is cheaper in Finland,

Norway and Sweden

Farmers expect restrictions from government on imports to help them to

compete

Certification standards and slaughter date on price label are mentioned

as means to increase prices

Treats: Estonian rainbow trout is 1.5 to 1.7 kg – it is too expensive to on

grow them up to 3-4 kg. Norwegian salmon can be imported at lower

price

6

Country: Germany

Focus species /

production

Focus on the Mecklenburg-Western Pomeranian area

Species: Carp, Trout and African catfish (recirculation)

29 fish farms

Market

The market is local - direct marketing to local restaurants and cafeterias

Some sale to wholesale and retail traders

High value market is spot marketing – own restaurant, smoke house

close to the production facilities

Development of

market and

supply chain

The focus could be to develop strong local brands and labels

“Welsmeister” is mentioned as a very successful brand in the area

Further processing to convenience food is another option to increase the

value

Organic label and certification could be means to increase value as well

Recirculation systems could bring more steady supply of fish to the

market

Threats: Environmental groups. There is a strong group against mass

production of fish and any disturbance of the environment

Country: Latvia

Focus species /

production

600 tonnes per year on average

Species: Carp (438 tonnes), other species: trout, sturgeon and pike

perch

44 fish farms and 5 state owned hatcheries

Market

The market is local – primary fresh fish for the local market

There is a little export to Poland, Lithuania (crayfish, catfish)

Development of

market and

supply chain

Intention to increase the production volume due to increasing local

supermarket demand

Further development of the export

7

Country: Lithuania

Focus species /

production

3,500 tonnes (organic production in ponds are alone 1,135 tonnes)

Species: Carp (Trout, pike, Trench, African catfish)

Carp 3,295t most produced in ponds

50 fish farms can provide carp all year around

Market

Local – the carp is relatively cheap and it is delivered to supermarkets,

market places and special places during high season

30% of the production is exported to Latvia and Poland as main countries

There is also Export to Estonia and Sweden

Development of

market and

supply chain

Intention to increase the organic production

The unstable and short termed relationships in trade could be developed

Breeding of new fish species and / or valuable fingerlings

Recirculation aquaculture development could increase production

capacity

Education of manager’s skills

Modernisation of current ponds (30-40 years old)

Treats: Competition on the international market, spread of diseases in

ponds can happen. Increasing energy prices and rising wages.

8

Country: Norway

Focus species /

production

Species: Salmon and trout

1,150,000 tonnes of salmon

(70,000 tonnes of trout)

4,500 employees directly; 8,000 indirectly

Market

Export to 150 countries

Estonia 6,136 tonnes

Finland 826 tonnes

Latvia 332 tonnes

Lithuania 24,154 tonnes

Poland 116,067 tonnes

Russia 132,700 tonnes

Sweden 38,298 tonnes

Germany 30,779 tonnes

Denmark 70,722 tonnes

Development of

market and

supply chain

Natural conditions make salmon production ideal at the coast line

Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) is important in the marketing work.

NSC is financed through fees on all seafood export (0.75% all types of

fish, 0.20% on processed fish)

They make:

Joint marketing (500 projects a year in 25 countries)

Market information (statistics and trade info)

Communication and risk management (reputation, crisis

management team, solid updated information)

Value adding in the Baltic area:

Example: The Morpol company in Poland

One out of ten trailers with salmon from Norway goes to Morpol.

Value adding happens trough filleting, portioning and smoking.

In Denmark and Poland it is processed for further export. The export to Russia is

for its own population.

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Country: Poland

Focus species /

production

Species: Carp and Trout

Carp: about 14,500 tonnes per year

Trout: about 14,650 tonnes per year

There are 235 registered trout producers

50,000 ha fish pounds for aquaculture

10,000 farm owners declared fish production while for most of these

farms aquaculture is not a core business

It is estimated that about 600 farms involved in breeding and rearing of

fish for the market

In this group, about 400 farms operate fish ponds of a total area of more

than 50 hectares

Market

Since the carp is a very popular dish for Christmas Eve supper; so far,

the breeding of this species is very common and traditional in Poland.

Carp is almost entirely designated for the domestic market.

There is a growing interest of consumers in rainbow trout consumption. It

is a result of growing availability of fresh fish and fish products on the

retail market. The trout is exported as well.

Development of

market and

supply chain

Rainbow Trout:

There is a large constantly growing and profitable export

There are available financial assistance from structural fund for the

development of sector and the fish market

Growing interest of consumers at home and abroad about trout products.

There is growing demand for fish as stocking material

Carp:

The development of ecological aquaculture is one option

There is an opportunity to diversify income sources (direct sales,

catering, tourism, angling)

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Country: Russia

Focus

area/production

Production in the whole country is about 160,000 tonnes

Aquaculture in Russia is undeveloped

Focus on Leningrad oblast and Kaliningrad oblast

Leningrad oblast:

5,900 tonnes

Rainbow trout 95% of total.

Covers only 3% of the demand

Kaliningrad oblast:

40 tonnes.

25 tonnes of Carp (25 tonnes in ponds)

Market

A regional development program for aquaculture in Kaliningrad region

was adopted in 2012

The federal law on aquaculture have been discussed for five years -

without a result

Development of

market and

supply chain

There is currently a plan to develop recirculation systems for 1,500

tonnes sturgeon (4.5 tonnes of caviar), 500 tonnes of pike perch and

1,000 tonnes of rainbow trout.

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Recommendations:

Where do the states around the Baltic Sea sell the aquaculture production?

Most of the countries surrounding the Baltic Sea sell their aquaculture products locally at the door, at

the local market or to national supermarket chains. Produced carp for instance is mainly bound for the

local market.

Some countries like Poland and Denmark (and Norway) have a large export of their aquaculture

products. Germany is a large and very good market for aquaculture products and close to all producers

in the project. The main species being exported is trout (salmon from Norway).

What are the options to develop the market and supply chain?

There is a big potential to increase the production, but the main obstacle to overcome are the missing

market opportunities in most countries.

National market:

Several options have been suggested by the countries to develop the national market:

o Organic production,

o Certification, labelling and increased product quality,

o Raising public awareness and social acceptance through story telling (tell the customer

the good story about product, its history and the producer).

o Local labels/brands can be developed to increase the value.

Export markets:

The same options as mentioned above can be utilised on the export market as well.

Other issues mentioned can be:

o Common organisation of national marketing campaigns and market information as it is

being done in Norway.

o Increased focus of product development, to increase the convenience of the products

and the value as well.

o Develop the business relations between producer and the sale agents/supermarkets.

o Focus on skills/training - to increase the education of people in the whole sector.

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There is a big potential to increase the aquaculture production in the Baltic countries, with a much more

cost- effective labour force than countries like Norway. The main obstacles to increase production are

missing or limited market opportunities in most countries, and also the limited production possibilities

along the inner coast line. Recirculation aquaculture development and land-based systems will

increase in the years to come, and could increase the capacity in part of the value chain.

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The role of aquaculture in fish supply chains in Denmark

Background

Associations, producers and fish farmers have been interviewed for this study. They have all been kept

anonymous in this report.

In Denmark trout is by far the most important aquaculture species and it is chosen for this study.

Table 1: shows the production of the main aquaculture species grouped by region from 2011.

The weight is in tonnes and value in 1.000 DKK (1 EUR = 7.46 DKK)

Species Region Total

weight

Total

value Capital Central

Jutland

North

Jutland

Zealand South

Denmark

Rainbow

Trout

Freshwater 0 13,904 1,987 90 10,609 26,590 555,298

Seawater 1,922 7,531 1,400 10,854 237,141

European

Eel

38 819 137 159 1,154 84,262

Mussel /

Oyster

294 244 537 2.001

Other 1 244 62 0 287 594 36.265

Total 1 16,402 3,113 7,759 12,455 39,729 914,966

Source: The Danish Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture register

The production of the part of Denmark in the Baltic area is included in the numbers from Zealand.

There is no seawater trout production around Bornholm and only minor freshwater production.

Denmark exports most (85-90%) of the aquaculture production. Table 2 shows the trout export in 2010.

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Table 2: Trout export 2010

Trout – form Tonnes Million DKK

Alive 4,286 107.186

Fresh/chilled 4,768 117.050

Frozen 7,676 173.723

Filet 852 20.883

Smoked 9,158 310.142

Large Trout roe 1,267 76.059

Source: Danish statistics

Total production of trout in Denmark is about 37,000 tonnes and the value about 106 million EUR.

About 430 people are employed in the primary aquaculture production in Denmark, estimated 6,000

people in the whole aquaculture sector. In general the export of small trout (300-400g) has been the

major trout market.

Small trout (300-400 gram):

Is primary smoked and 63% of all small trout is exported to Germany (final smoked product, further

processing or live sale), The Netherlands 6%, Belgium 5%, Russia 5%, Switzerland 5% Australia 4%.

Large trout (2-5 kg) – produced at sea:

Is primary exported to Japan 46%, Germany 14%, Canada 9% and Sweden 8%. A substantial value is

generated from the trout roe export primary to Japan. The Japanese trout roe market is a very high

value market segment, but it has a limited size. There are three main companies that produce large

trout at sea in Denmark.

Three large Danish processors produce smoked trout fillets (small trout) for export and they are in

charge of all the market contacts and collect live fish from farmers for the production and slaughter

them at the factory just before further processing. Trout producers also have trucks to live transport of

fish to processors or for live export mainly to Germany. In Germany some processors get supplies of

live fish from Denmark. This segment has a limited commercial value. The large processors produce

3,000 - 6,000 tonnes a year. A nice market in Germany is live fish supplies to local farm shops with

direct sales and /or in a combination with sales to put-and-take lakes.

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Options to develop the market and supply chain

For several years it was very hard to be a producer of small trout in Denmark. The European market for

small smoked trout fillets is overloaded with the trout from Turkey. Turkey has been subsidising the

prices illegally for years. The Danish aquaculture association claims the support equals about 80

Eurocent per kg final product. The association has brought this issue for the EU court recently and they

have a good case. However - it will take years to solve this issue at the court. Meanwhile the farmers

and processors need to survive on the current market.

Farmers

The very high investments in large recirculation aquaculture facilities have made it possible to produce

large amounts of trout at relatively low costs. The minimum size is said to be 1,000 tonnes trout a year

for new recirculation farms – to be feasible. The large ones produce about 3,000 tonnes a year. The

investments in recirculation technology are long term and that cannot be changed fast. The following

are market options as an outcome of the farmers’ interviews to develop their business:

Organic production: Organic production bypasses the competition from Turkey and there are

strong consumer segments in both countries, Denmark and Germany. There are currently many

farmers that opt for organic production. Today there is also one small farm at sea that produces

large organic sea trout.

Increased export of live production: Live fish, for instance, for put-and-take lakes in Germany

is a profitable alternative market and that could be developed further.

New aquaculture species: Pike-perch is one of the very profitable species with a consumer

price of about 27 Euro per kg. There is a limited amount on the market and one of the large

Danish producers (Aquapri) has now solved most of the problems about artificial reproduction

and growth of them. For Danish weather conditions the recirculation aquaculture plants need to

be covered by a roof to increase the water temperature for the fish. That is however possible

and this is a good option.

Increased production of large trout at sea: There is a good Japanese market for large sea

trout and trout roe. Permissions have not been given to increase the production at sea for years,

but there is more political will today to change the situation and permissions will probably be

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given. Work is done to increase the production and there are currently plans (only) to establish

a new sea farm at Bornholm, at 3 km from the coastline outside the harbour of Nexø (in the

Baltic Sea area).

Processors

The main option for the processors to extend their market is to develop more sophisticated products

than their current standard “bulk” products.

One of the processors developed some years ago three different spiced smoked filled products in a

connected product series that have been very successful in German supermarkets.

Hard work on product development could create new products that will bypass the competition from

Turkey – at least for a while.

Local Danish market

The local Danish market does only take up a minor share of the production (maximum 10%). The local

market mainly consists of the supermarkets that are supplied with smoked fillets from the processors

but frozen or fresh trout are also present at the market. There is also a good steady group of Danish

consumers in the organic product segment. Organic fresh trout is on the market and this segment is

increasing at the moment.

Conclusion

For years the environmental restrictions in Denmark have been the main constraint for the development

of the aquaculture sector. The use of feed has been fixed to a certain amount for each aquaculture

plant. Now a new regulation is slowly being implemented. In that case you can use more quantities of

feed as long as you use a biofilter to clean the water. The local environmental authorities are still very

slow to give permissions but environment is not the main obstacle to develop the sector – it is the

market. An effective logistic system is in place for live and for chilled/frozen distribution that is not an

issue. The unfair competition from Turkey is the main problem for Danish trout producers at the

moment. The solutions on short term are to:

Focus more on the German live trout market

New high value species as pike perch

Increased organic trout production

develop new and more sophisticated processed trout products at the processors

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References

The Danish Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture statistical register 2013

http://naturerhverv.fvm.dk/fiskeristatistik.aspx?ID=24356

Vurdering af markedsudsigter for akvakulturproduktion i Danmark. 2008, DTU Aqua rapport

Danish statistics 2011. Regnskabsstatistik for akvakultur 2011

Store laksefisk skal produceres på havet og på land 2013. Ingeniørens ugeblad 28 May 2013

http://ing.dk/artikel/kronik-store-laksefisk-skal-produceres-paa-havet-og-paa-land-159160

Personal interviews at the island of Bornholm (Maria Røjbek, Bornholms lakseklækkeri) 2013.

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The role of aquaculture in fish supply chains in Estonia

In 2011 the Estonian aquaculture production was 750.9 t, of which 621.6 t was basically large red flesh

rainbow trout. Production of rainbow trout increased since 2002 (287 t) until 2009 (789.6 t), but in the

last 3 years the production has been approximately 600 t per year (Fig. 1), what is less than the

demand on the domestic market. It is expected that the rainbow trout production will grow slightly, but

not so much as needed to cover the demand.

Fig.1. Rainbow trout production in Estonia during the last ten years (Source: Statistikaamet)

In 2012 rainbow trout was cultured in 17 farms belonging to 14 companies over Estonia (Fig. 2), but

only 4 of them give most of production (Kalatalu Härjanurmes, Simuna Ivax OÜ, Karilatsi Kalamajand

OÜ and AquaMyk OÜ). Three of them have flow-through aquaculture system and one has recirculation

system (RAS). The RAS aquaculture can market the production year round depending on arrival of

stocking material. Autumn happens to be lower period sometimes. Marketing of production of flow-

through fish farms depends on season and therefore most of it is sold in summer and autumn. Small

part of production is stored for sale throughout the year.

The rainbow trout farms market their production as fresh, chilled and gutted fish. Two farms have their

own little fish processing factory and one fish farm produces trout fillet, smoked fish and caviar. One

trout farm is still ordering the fish processing service, but is planning to build its own fish processing

factory. Most of the fish farms have their own vehicles for live fish transport.

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Estonian rainbow trout farms 2012

13

Viru Salmo AS

Neli Elementi OÜ

KalataluHärjanurmesVikerkala

OÜ

Störfisch OÜ

Karilatsi kalamajand OÜ

Beetela OÜ

Aquamyk OÜ

Pähkla Vähi- jakalakasvatus OÜ

Arowana OÜ

SK Trade OÜ

Piscor OÜ

Lapavira OÜ

Simuna Ivax OÜ

Fig.2. Estonian rainbow trout farms in 2012

Most of the trout is sold on the domestic market. The export share of trout products is very small. 3-4

years ago the significant part of trout production (at least 1/3) was sold to put-and-take lakes angling

enterprises. Aquaculture had also some influence on the economy through tourism, because put-and-

take lakes were an attractive part of leisure time activities. Both fish farmers and tourist companies

benefited from trade of fish. Now people have become more price sensitive and prefer to buy cheaper

fish that comes from Norway (salmon). Due to its small size, the aquaculture sector has little influence

on the national economy, fish consumption or social situation in rural areas. The Estonian fish market

and processing companies do not depend on domestic aquaculture production, but are dominated by

capture fisheries or imports of farmed fish.

Fish farmers usually use different market channels for sale. The local markets and supermarket chains

are the main channels for both raw and processed fish. Part of production is marketed through agents

and part of production goes directly to put-and-take pond angling enterprises, local markets and

restaurants. A small proportion is sold on-site. Because the potential market of red flesh salmonids is

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larger than Estonian own production, imports from Norway dominate the market. A small amount of

large rainbow trout is exported to Finland.

Estonian statistics does not make any difference between aquaculture products or wild fish. Therefore,

the right numbers for imported or exported quantities of aquaculture products are not available, and the

statistics shows only production of the whole fishery sector.

Estonian fish farmers would be interested to market their products through producer organizations, who

would forestall the market. At the moment there are two producer organizations in Estonia, but these do

not function as expected and needed. The main constraints are communication problems between fish

farmers and the lack of a common vision.

The Estonian consumers prefer large (2-3 kg) rainbow trout, but it is much more expensive to produce

large trout in Estonian climate condition than portion size trout. The cost price of Estonian trout is

higher than cost price of Norwegian salmon. It is not important to consumers, whether he buys salmon

or trout, both are red fish. Price seems much more important for consumers.

Prices vary by product. Chilled and gutted trout sales price of producers is around 3.70 EUR kg plus

VAT, but it probably increases more than 4 EUR per kg in this year. This price is higher than price of

imported red fish. Therefore, the fish farmers are expecting from the state to impose restrictions on

imported fish and protection measures for the domestic market as the standards and quality

requirements for fish. It should also help to raise the awareness of customers about fresh fish and

needed to make campaigns and advertises for Estonian rainbow trout. Presenting fish catching date on

the price label would indicate fish freshness.

Establishing Estonian red flesh trout standards is not appropriate for the moment, because there is no

organization responsible for traceability and for monitoring and ensuring compliance with the standard.

One of the biggest fish processor companies which is the market leader in Estonian fish trade and

deals with selling of fresh and frozen fish and the production and sales of various fish products and

refrigerated fish and fish products says that the produced by Estonian fish farmers red trout is smaller

and more expensive than Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish salmon or rainbow trout. Therefore, it is much

more difficult to market it because consumers are price sensitive. The Estonian large rainbow trout

weights usually 1.5-1.7 kg that is too small for processing compared to the demand of fish for filleting

(2-3 and 3-4 kg). It is too expensive to produce larger trout in Estonian fresh water. The processed red

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fish in Estonia (mainly imported as raw material) is mainly exported to Finland, Sweden, Denmark,

Latvia and Israel.

References

Eesti forelli turunduse käsiraamat. 2011. Koostaja: Toidu- ja Fermentatsioonitehnoloogia

Arenduskeskus. 13 pp.

Statistika andmebaas. http://pub.stat.ee/px-

web.2001/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=KA40&ti=KAUBAKALA+KASVATAMINE+JA+M%DC%DCK+KA

LALIIGI+J%C4RGI&path=../Database/Majandus/08Kalandus/&lang=2 (January 2013)

Interviews with trout farms owners and owner of fish processing company.

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The role of aquaculture in fish supply chains in Germany

(With special focus on federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania)

Aquaculture producers and total production

Traditional aquaculture production in Germany focuses on the species carp (Cyprinus carpio) and trout

(Salmo trutta) coming from pond farming. In recent years production in closed recirculation systems

has risen as well. Species coming from these systems is mainly African Catfish.

Unfortunately, official statics cover the topic of aquaculture only since 2011. The first aquaculture

survey showed that 4.762 companies are working in the field of aquaculture and realizing an overall

aquaculture production in 2011 totals up to 39,000 t fish, mussels and other aquaculture products. Fish

production with 4.739 companies, covers a share of 46.6 % meaning 18,269 t.

Fig.3: Total aquaculture production in Germany

Source: Destatis (2012): Aquaculture statistics; own illustration

Taking a closer look on the federal German states neighbouring the Baltic Sea, the following numbers

are relevant. Comparing the figures, it is obvious that less fish aquaculture producers in Mecklenburg-

Western Pomerania produce more amounts of fish than in Schleswig-Holstein. Nonetheless,

Schleswig-Holstein is the major mussel producer in Germany.

18,269

20,830

7

Aquaculture production in tonnes

Fish Bivalvia Crustacea

23

Mecklenburg- Western

Pomerania

Schleswig-Holstein

Number

of Farms

Amount in t Number

of Farms

Amount in t

Total 29 1,138.2 40 10,758.7

Fish 22 997.1 33 178.5

Bivalves 7 141.1 7 10,580.2

Fig. 4: Aquaculture production in German part of the BSR

Source: Destatis (2012): Aquaculture statistics; own illustration

Distribution of aquaculture products

The distribution of aquaculture products in Germany is illustrated using the example of Mecklenburg-

Western Pomerania.

The majority of fish farmers use direct marketing as their concept of distribution. Thus, they are making

the local market their main point-of-sale. In Mecklenburg we can discover three ways of acting on the

market.

Firstly, the producers do have a fixed customer base which is provided with fish on a regular basis.

Those customers are mainly restaurants and cafeterias in the wider local region.

Secondly, the producers formed a cooperative, aiming to secure a larger production amount and a

steady delivery. Their customer base are wholesale and retail traders as well as restaurants and

cafeterias.

Thirdly, the fish farmers decided for an on the spot marketing and have their own restaurant or smoke

house and sell processed products near the production facilities.

Producers report of a difficult situation finding customers and answering their expectation. Within the

last years a stable customer base helped to focus further on production enhancement.

In Mecklenburg- Western Pomerania fishers are using central locations in order to market their fresh

fish. A fish market, located in one of the industrial harbours districts in Rostock, offers the opportunity to

market the fish directly.

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Fig. 6: Distribution channels

Source: Destatis (2012): Aquaculture statistics, own illustration

The next illustration (Fig. 7) shows where Germans, in general, buy their fish products and shows the

market shares. It becomes obvious that producers do have to work with wholesale and retail traders in

order to market their products. Nevertheless, for small companies it is impossible to provide the asked

production amounts. Thus, it is important to find strategies and structures which will make it easier to

market fish products.

Fig. 7: Where do Germans buy their fish?

Source: FIZ (2011), translation by S.Stoye

0,0

50,0

100,0

150,0

200,0

250,0

300,0

Direct marketing

Wholesale Retail trader Others Own processing,

personal use

Forms of Distribution

Production (t) Number of companies

25

Deriving from this information it is obvious that fresh or frozen filets are one of the main products

coming from aquaculture production in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Further processing can be

found with smoking. Other ways of processing are relatively rare and can only be found for the African

catfish. There is just one company in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania that is further processing the

produced fish for canned food. The following illustration (Fig. 8) gives an overview of favourite fish

products in Germany.

Fig. 8: The most popular fish products in Germany

Source: FIZ (2011)

Fish product Share in

%

Bivalves and 17

Canned food and

marinades

25

Frozen fish 31

Processed fish salad 2

Other fish products 7

Smoked fish 9

Fresh fish 9

Source: FIZ (2011), translation by S.Stoye

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In an interview with the cooperative “Fischgut Nord e.G” the following strategy was evident. The

product which they are mainly selling is called “Welsmeister”. The product is named due to a better

marketability; the name allows clear distinguishing the fish between other products. The “Welsmeister”

is sold on a regional and to a larger extent on a national level with the help of wholesale traders. The

main products are fish filets at different sizes, adjusted to the customer’s demands. Fischgut Nord eG is

selling filets at different size ranges of 200-400g or 300-500g. They also deliver as different filet serving

sizes, e.g. 150g, 170g, 190g, 220g. Other forms are also possible, for instance gilled, gutted and head

off.

An important part of the product range is to deliver pre-fabricated filet to a processor who adds a

certain topping and further markets the product. The filets are also available in modified atmospheric

packaging within the convenience area in supermarkets.

To sum up it is clear that the fish is mainly transported as frozen or fresh filets. Fischgut Nord eG is

cooperating with forwarding agents who deliver the product directly to the customer.

Price for the fish products is a hot topic at the moment. Due to destructive competition through fisheries

the price is sinking. Fischgut Nord expects this process to take on for another year. Afterwards the

process will stabilize and prices will develop positively.

Their own market research shows that they are expecting a further rise in the production of

convenience foods. They would like to market their products as convenience foods with a premium

label. Within the next year they are expecting also a further rise in single households and a further

trend towards healthy food, thus leading more people to eat fish. Nonetheless time will be rare and

people will look for processed convenience food. The premium label guarantees a higher price which

will display the quality of the fish.

The Fishgut Nord produces in warm water recirculating systems and is therefore independent from

seasonal influences. Thus they can guarantee a constant production.

In an interview with a fish processor from “Schwaaner Fischwaren GmbH (Sywan)”, the following

aspects have been disclosed. With regard where the processor gets the supply of aquaculture products

from the following has been mentioned:

- Main source of fish at the moment is herring as sea fish,

- It is substantially cheaper and it is not affected with environmental restrictions,

- The market for aquaculture still needs to be developed,

- The aquaculture producers have some left over capacity, but the market is limited,

- Schwaaner Fischwaren is working with african catfish but the meat of the catfish has a red

colour that’s why the market is limited! The customer prefers to have white fish!

27

- Other types with good potential are pangasius or trout

Concerning the selling of the products the following answers have been given:

- The main partner for Sywan are the food retail discounters,

- Aquaculture fish is very often too expensive,

- Aquaculture fish could be sold more often, if it would be possible to get a eco-label for the fish,

- But there are many lobbies against this fish, because green lobbies say, that it is a mass animal

production,

- The eco-label issue is already known by the politicians, but so far there is no action,

In the end it also has been asked about the ideas how to develop the market.

- Eco-labelling is important! Customers tend to spend more, if the organic certification is on the

product

- Most of the fish might be distributed more successfully on a regional basis together with touristic

attractions or sports (fishing, leisure, nature).

References

Press release of the Statistisches Bundesamt dating: 04. July 2012 concerning aquaculture production

in 2011.

Fisch-Informationszentrum e.V. (2012): Fischwirtschaft. Daten und Fakten 2012.

Illustration taken from website and translated:

http://www.fischinfo.de/index.php?1=1&page=infografiken&link=f, 13.03.2013.

Personal interview with owner of fish processing company.

28

The role of aquaculture in fish supply chains in Latvia

Introduction

For better understanding of fish supply chain in Latvia, it is important to have a common overview of

Latvian aquaculture sector. In comparison with the total catch in the Baltic Sea, aquaculture production

volumes in Latvia are low. This aspect must be taken into consideration when analyzing aquaculture in

the supply chain.

Paper is divided into two parts. First chapter briefly describes aquaculture sector in Latvia, its

specialization, most significant species and number of companies. Second chapter provides

information about fish export by countries and species.

Aquaculture sector overview

Since 2007 the yearly aquaculture production has varied from 517-729 tons per annum, but in

comparison to production volumes within the period before the 90’s, there is a very rapid decrease.

There are two main directions for fish farming in Latvia:

fish farming for consumption;

fish breeding for fish restocking and reproduction in natural streams and lakes (fish recourses

reproduction).

The Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment "BIOR" is responsible for the

implementation of the National Fish resources restocking program. In BIOR there are five state-owned

fish hatcheries – Tome, Dole, Karli, Brasla, Pelci – designated for breeding of salmon and sea trout

smolts, pike, pike-perch, river lamprey larvae and juveniles. The program is established in order to

ensure the fish fry compensatory releases to lower the damage to fish resources caused by

hydropower stations as well as to restore damages and losses facilitated by different human activities

in public water bodies. Every year they restock up to 20 million fish larvae, juveniles and smolts in

public waters, however, it is not sufficient; therefore the private hatcheries should be involved as well.

In 2011 state hatcheries released about 15 million fish larvae, juveniles and smolts.

As it was already mentioned, one of the opportunities for private hatcheries is the specialization in fish

restocking for public water bodies. Year by year the input of private hatcheries in restocking programs

is growing and varies from 10-25 %.

29

In aquaculture sector there are economically active 49 enterprises (including state fish hatcheries)

employing more than 300 people. In overall the sector is mainly focused on carp breeding, but also

some negligible amounts of trout, sturgeon and pike are produced for market. At the moment there are

some slow changes going on in the sector, reorienting from carp to other species (i.e. trout, African

catfish).

Table 3: Overview of most significant fish species for breeding and number of aquaculture farms

Most significant fish species for breeding in 2010

(Tons per year)

Common carp - 438

European catfish - 27

Pike - 18

Tench - 11

Trout - 11

Sturgeon - 11

Number of the main types of aquaculture farms in 2010

Ponds - 801

Basins - 1240

Information from interviews According to the information from Food and Veterinary Service, there are four main private aquaculture

hatcheries which produce 75% of aquaculture production – “Skrunda”, “Sātiņi-S”, “Oskars”, “Nagļi”.

For example, SIA “Oskars” hatchery’s specialization is carp, trout, catfish, sturgeon and tilapia which

are sold in domestic market. According to SIA “Oskars” information, African catfish juveniles are

breaded in Latvia and exported to Poland and Lithuania.

According to information that was provided by representatives of Ministry of Agriculture Latvian

aquaculture production volumes (except fish for restocking activities) are very low, that is why all

produced fish is sold in local market. There is no precise data about aquaculture production

consumption as nobody is collecting this kind of information. Nevertheless, it may be assumed that

small amount of fish products (crayfish, catfish) is exported.

Aquaculture production is mostly sold in open markets, and small amount of the production in local

supermarket chains.

Aquaculture production is mostly consumed as fresh fish (carp, trout, sturgeon), and in small amounts

as canned (perch, catfish, carp) and as smoked products.

30

In order to develop the market and supply chains, it is necessary, first of all, to increase production

volumes, as even local supermarket chains are interested in larger production amounts. As well as for

export developing in particular it is necessary to boost production or specialize in decorative fish

production.

Export

Historically the Latvian fishers and fish processing companies produced more fish products than it was

necessary to ensure the local market demand. Therefore, fisheries can be considered as more export

oriented sector of economy and this is characterized by permanent positive external trade balance.

External trade balance for fisheries products in 2010 was 34.14 mil EUR. For many decades Latvia

successfully exported fish products and canned fish.

During the first half of 2012, fish products were exported to 30 countries. Comparing this year first 6

month with the same period in 2011, fish export (in tonnage) have decreased by 9% and amounted to

34,0 thousand, or in monetary terms 41,2 million Ls. This was due to the decrease in catches in the

Baltic Sea.

Traditionally most of the production goes to the EU and CIS region countries.

Among EU countries the leader position was taken by Estonia, Lithuania and Poland, that hold

respectively 20,1%, 17,8% and 9% of the total of Latvian fish export. Lithuania and Estonia were

countries where fish product exports this half a year had increased by almost 40% for each country, in

comparison with the previous year, as well as the export had increased to Sweden, Romania, Britain

and Bulgaria but not significantly enough to affect the total fish production export. On the contrary the

export has decreased to the Denmark (4,5 times), Germany (5,6 times) and Poland (by 26%).

32,5

56

11,5

Export of fish products, 6 month of 2012, %

CIS

EU

Other countries

31

In recent years, mostly chilled sprat was exported to Denmark, and chilled cod to Poland. In 2012 the

export structure of the country has changed. For now, 89% of the production exported to the Denmark

consists of chilled and smoked salmon, while nearly two-thirds of the export that go to Poland consists

of chilled cod, and 30% of frozen herring and sprat. To Lithuania have mainly been exported chilled

and frozen sprat (41,6% of the total fish production), chilled cod and herring (6-7% of each species), as

well as re-exported salmonids (14,5%) and mackerel (4,9%).

Dynamics of the fish production in 2009-2010

2009 2010

Fish

production,

in tonnes

Value of the sold

production excl.

VAT, thousand

EUR

Fish

production,

in tonnes

Value of the sold

production excl.

VAT, thousand

EUR

Fish

production

135974 49119 142015

Prepared or

preserved

fish

38502 69523 46376

References

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries department informative materials, http://www.zm.gov.lv/?sadala=2085

[viewed 11.02.-28.02.2013];

Valsts zinātniskais institūts „Pārtikas drošības, dzīvnieku veselības un vides zinātniskais institūts”,

“Esošās zivsaimniecības un akvakultūras pārvaldības situācijas Latvijā analīze”, Riga, 2012;

“Strategic plan in the Fisheries sector 2007 - 2013”, Ministry of Agriculture, Riga, 2006.

Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia, www.csb.gov.lv

Interviews with owners of fish farms and representatives of Ministry of Agriculture.

32

The role of aquaculture in fish supply chains in Lithuania

(Species: Carp and African catfish)

Aquaculture in Lithuania – short overview

Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing industries in the world as well as in Lithuania (table1) and,

according to predictions, main developing industry of the 21st century. Considering that sea fish

resources are nearing or have already reached the consumption limit and their raising potential is

exhausted, the production of output in aquaculture will have to reach approximately 500% in order to

meet the demand for global sea products and the aquaculture of fresh waters in 2025 (Parker 1995).

Table 4: Data of fishery ponds Lithuania 1939 - 2012 years

Years The projected area of

ponds (ha)

Produced (realized)

commercial fish (t)

1939 1180 91

1950 278 28

1960 465 142

1965 2739 250

1970 3963 862

1975 6254 2370

1980 7003 2034

1985 8580 3358

1990 10517 5855

1995 10517 1714

2000 10517 1996

2005 10517 2013

2010 10517 3216

2011 10517 3288

2012 10517 3506

33

According to the 2007 – 2013 national strategic plan of Lithuanian aquaculture sector, approximately

2,000 tons of aquaculture products, out of which 94 percent consisted of carps, were raised in

aquaculture ponds. Besides the carps other valuable fishes are raised in the ponds, such as: trout,

pike, crucian carp, tench, catfishes, herbivorous fishes, etc.

Although the supply of aquaculture production to markets and fish processing factories in Lithuania is

quite developed, most of the fish products are imported from other countries and due to the small

domestic market and low purchasing power, more or less, only the carps, which have low demand in

Western Europe and are sold domestically, are raised. Therefore, Lithuanian aquaculture should be

oriented towards the production and rising of output which contains high added value (for the export).

Lithuanian farmers which raise fish in the ponds are also engaged in commercial aquaculture. There

are over 50 such farms in Lithuania. Recently, the interest in aquaculture business in Lithuania has

greatly increased. There are some farmers, companies and individuals who take the initiative and, with

the help of 2007 – 2013 EU funding for aquaculture, invest in the development of aquaculture farms

and in the establishment of new farms. Such companies are very important for the expansion of the

range of raised fish breeds and improvement of the production.

Since 2003 aquaculture companies which raise the fish in the ponds became more oriented towards

the production of ecological output.

Table 5: The production of ecological aquaculture in Lithuania

Years

Certified and

stocked ponds

in hectares

number of

companies

Eco-pond

production

tonnage

Eco-production

(%) of the total

production

2006 5169 13 868 39

2007 4940 13 1335 39,5

2008 5086 13 1410 46,9

2009 5856 15 1500 46,6

2010 5207 13 1300 40,4

2011 5206 14 944 28,7

2012 5392 15 1135 32,3

34

SWOT analysis of aquaculture sector in Lithuania

Strengths:

Fairly developed network of aquaculture

companies able to provide the customers

with carp production for a whole year

Big areas of ecological ponds

The establishment and retention of jobs in

the countryside

Weaknesses:

Slight management of many aquaculture

companies, insufficient marketing skills to

operate in EU market

High demand of electricity used for filling

up the aquaculture ponds with water

increases the production costs for

aquaculture companies

The damage done to the owners of

aquaculture companies by the

ichthyophagous birds

Opportunities:

The raising of new fish breeds which meet

the market demands in aquaculture

companies

The development of ecological

aquaculture

The breeding and growing of valuable

species of fingerlings in aquaculture

companies

The use of new technologies (RAS)

Threats:

The growth of competition in the

international market

The spreading of contagious diseases in

aquaculture ponds

Lithuanian fish processing industry – overview

Lithuanian fishing companies provide approximately 10 – 14 thousand tons of fish to fish processing

factories each year, i.e. only 20 – 25 percent of demand (demand being 50 – 75 thousand tons).

Therefore, Lithuanian fish refineries produce aquaculture products mostly from imported frozen raw.

The main countries exporting fish to Lithuania are Norway, Holland, Latvia, Germany, USA and Russia.

From Lithuania fish and fish products are mostly exported to Latvia, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, France,

Denmark, Estonia, the UK, Belarus and Poland. Lithuania is prone to unstable and short-term

35

relationships when providing primary aquaculture products for the market. Micro companies, small and

medium businesses are dominant in the industry of Lithuanian fish processing industry (approximately

half of the companies are small business or micro companies). There are almost 40 fish processing

factories in Lithuania. Most of them are licensed by the Public Food and Veterinary Office to produce,

store and provide aquaculture products for local and general market of EU.

Most of the live, chilled, frozen fish and its products in the internal market are sold in supermarkets,

market-places and in specialised trade locations during the season. Small businesses providing fish

products (mostly people with business license for fish smoking) buy their stock from the local

fishermen. Some stock is imported as well (African catfish is mostly imported from Poland farms raised

using the recirculating aquaculture system (RAS).

Carp

Therefore, it is obvious that carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) is the most popular and prevailing fish species in

Lithuanian. Carp is raised in ponds and also very common throughout the world. Besides Europe and

Asia, carps are also raised in North America, Australia, Africa, ocean archipelagos. Carps are one of

the most important species of freshwater fish raised in the world. Its breeding in freshwater ponds is

very popular due to the fast growth and maturity, big edible portion yield, non fastidiousness, great

consumption of various kinds of forage and, of course, the quality of meat. Carp meat contains 16% of

proteins and up to 15% of fat.

In Lithuanian aquaculture carps are also popular for their dietary habits. They are omnivorous and can

eat food of either vegetable or animal origin, such as molluscs, insects and their pupae, worms,

crustaceans, plant seeds, cereal and combined forage. Lithuania started raising carps in 16th – 17th

century.

Table 6: The production of carp in Lithuania (2005 – 2012, in tons)

Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Total fish

production

2013 2225 3378 3008 3422 3216 3288 3506

Carp 1892 2091 3175 2827 3216 3023 3090 3295

In 1967 in the district of Prienai the construction of Šilavotas pedigreed-selected fish farm (now

changed to Aquiculture Service of Lithuania, the branch of Šilavotas) was started and in 1972 first

ponds were exploited, since then began the work of creating the Lithuanian breed of carps. In the 18th

of February 2010, the Lithuanian carp breed “Šilavotas carp” was accepted as the independent fish

36

breed by the order of the Minister of Agriculture K. Starkevičius, No. 3DO133. Since 1990 (when

Lithuania gained independence) at least 300 and sometimes even over 1000 of 4 – 6 year old various

breed carps raised in Šilavotas are sold each year (one third of which are Šilavotas carps).

Table 7. The 4 – 6 year sales of carps raised in Šilavotas

Years 1990 1991 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2001 2002

units 9

60

7

57

2

92

3

45

4

70

15

78

13

00

1

292 895

Total Years 2003 2004 2005 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

units 990 940 1155 280 1160 780 427 716 14337

As mentioned before, although in Lithuania, mostly carps are raised in the ponds, they are not so

popular in most of European countries. According to the results of surveys and research, raised fish is

mostly sold in country market and only 30 -32 percent of it is being exported (Table 3). The export

routes mainly lead to Latvia and Poland, also some fish is exported to Estonia and Sweden. Only two of

the surveyed companies claim that they sell their fish only in Lithuania. One company does not do retail

and export its products only to Latvia and Poland. Among the surveyed companies, raised carp prices

ranged from 6,2LTL/k., to 10LTL/k. + VAT1. Some companies refused to reveal their prices. Such

fluctuation of prices is influenced by market as well as seasonal fluctuation of prices. Surveyed

companies claim that the price of raised carps also depends on their condition. Small businesses and

micro companies dominate in Lithuanian aquaculture sector.

Table 8. Aquaculture companies’ sales in 2006 – 2012.

Indicators 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Total sales of carp (t) 2225 3378 3008 3422 3216 3288 3506

Local market (t) 1811 2173 2207 2046 1748 1940 2065

Export (t) 414 1205 801 1376 1468 1340 1541

1 1 Lithuanian Lithas (LTL) = ca. 0,29 €

37

Every company sells its production from hand to hand and to regional supermarkets. Bigger companies

provide Lithuanian large supermarkets (“Maxima Group”, “Palink”, “Norfa Retail”, “Rimi Lithuania”).

Company’s not providing large supermarkets name competition and production inefficiency as the main

obstacles. By making contracts to supermarkets, fish breeders are committed to provide fish the whole

year, some of the surveyed companies do not have such potential. Some companies also provide their

production to fish processing factories.

Carps are popular in Lithuania because they are by comparison cheap – about 11LTL for a kilo (in the

market-place the price ranges from 10 to 11,50LTL for a kilo and in the supermarkets “Maxima”, “Iki”,

“Rimi” – 11,99LTL for a kilo). Shops also provide various carp products. In shops, carp fillet costs

27,99LTL/k., soused carp - 28,99LTL/k., treated headless carp – 20,99LTL/k. Market-place sells

smoked carp for 22,50LTL/k. All of the mentioned carps arrive to Klaipėda from Kintai and Rusnė i.e.

from western Lithuania. Surveyed supermarket’s members assured that supermarkets sell carps raised

only in Lithuania.

In Lithuanian national market, the range of sold fish depends on the season. During the end of

summer, the beginning of autumn and spring (when the ponds are drained) the numbers of carps,

pikes, crucians and trouts greatly increase.

Lithuanian small businesses claim that they would buy Lithuanian products raised using RAS if the

prices were fair. According to the respondents, it all depends on the cost and the amount of customers.

Survey showed that average prices of live carp and African catfish at the local trade locations and

market-places are 10 – 11LTL/k. for the carp and 19,99 – 21,99LTL/k. for the African catfish. Similar

prices can be seen at supermarkets. Since Lithuanian territory is not very wide, according to regional

and national level, the prices remain more or less the same. Surveyed companies have refused to

present any information regarding international trading.

One of the main problems in the aquaculture is low consumption rate in the internal market (low

purchasing power). A resident of Lithuania consumes approximately 12 – 14kg of fish and its products

on average per year. In other countries of EU the average consumption is approximately 26kg per year.

The supply of fresh fish from the Baltic Sea and inland waters does not meet the demand of Lithuanian

consumers. Carp is popular in Lithuania, possibly due to its comparative low price (approx. 10LTL/k.).

As mentioned before, the sector development is interfered by the low consumption rate in the internal

market; also Lithuanian aquaculture is often understood as the raising of fish in the ponds. However, it

must be noted that pond aquaculture has some flaws. Mostly carps are raised in Lithuanian ponds;

unfortunately, carps have low value and demand in most countries of Western Europe. Ponds take up

large areas of land (which is currently expensive), their establishment costs a lot of money and it is

difficult to protect them from thieves. Ponds require a lot of water in order to be filled and operating.

38

Despite the consumption, pond productivity is rather low (approximately 700kg/ha per year in grassland

ponds). Lithuanian farmers and fishermen have very few opportunities to establish ponds in their lands,

not to mention the effective raising of fish.

Considering the export to the countries of EU, a number of threats should be taken into account such

as consumption levels in the old EU countries which have stopped increasing, strict quality

requirements, safety requirements for eatables, increasing fuel prices, bigger assurance in the buyer’s

market which requires high amount production and small amounts of export from developing countries

carried out by the new members of EU.

African catfish African catfish belongs to the Clarias family. It is common in some countries of Africa and Asia and is

often called African catfish (although catfishes belonging to other genera are also called by this name).

These fishes live in various waters, including the ponds that dry periodically. Over their long evolution

African catfishes have adapted to the water low on oxygen and containing a lot of organic matter. They

have also adapted to live crowded and breed off-season. As a result, African catfishes are easy to raise

artificially without worrying about the water quality. Moreover, they eat forage of both vegetable and

animal origin feed (in the natural environment they mostly feed on dead and alive fish).

African catfish meat is very nutritious, low in fat (3,95%), contains a high protein content (17,9%) and

has a great taste.

African catfish can be raised in flocks since it does not require much space (usually 300 - 500kg of fish

in one cubic metre). It usually takes 6 – 8 months or less for a catfish to reach a marketable weight

(800 – 1000g.). As mentioned before, catfish is resistant to the large amount of organic matter in the

living environment. They are not dependent on water quality even during the spawning season. African

catfishes can live quite long without oxygen (it is useful if a factory has a case of emergency operation)

they grow up fast and their feeding rate is much lower compared to other fish.

Catfishes spawn several times a year. Therefore, it is possible to always possess some young fish for a

continuous cultivation. Even if raised intensively, catfish is very resistant to diseases. Catfish is noted

for its fine consumption characteristics: its meat is rich, contains no bones, and has some great culinary

features and exclusive taste. Catfish meat retains these qualities even when being stored or frozen.

The weight of pure fillet product, after the primary processing of catfish, exceeds 50% of live weight

which twice exceeds the rate of carps, herbivorous fishes, etc.

All these features make African catfish very suitable for aquaculture.

39

In 2009, Lithuanian supermarkets began selling gutted African catfish (19,99 – 21,99LTL/kg.). The price

of the African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) in 2010 was 13,2LTL/kg and the recent price in the retail is

19,99 – 21,99LTL/kg. 2 companies, raising African catfish, were surveyed. The first company has a

variety of African catfish production to offer, such as gutted, smoked catfish, semi manufactured, etc.

This company only offers its products with direct sales and locally, the cost of African catfish is 14LTL

for a kilo. The second company offers live, gutted or smoked catfish. Live catfish costs 20LTL, gutted

27LTL and smoked costs 40LTL for a kilo.

Conclusions

The practice of available potential directly depends on the production demand in the market. Many

companies sell live fishes as their fresh production but do not expand their assortment while ensuring

added value to raised production (by partly processing and directly selling) and increasing the amount

of realization while providing the clients with products which are more appealing and diverse.

The analysis of current state of the commercial pond aquaculture showed the growth of cost price due

to the increasingly expensive energy resources, the rising of wages, the damage done by the

ichthyophagous birds, outdated uneconomical infrastructure. A fact worth mentioning is that although

there are enough ponds in Lithuania, all of them were established 30 – 40 years ago or even earlier,

therefore, investments towards the modernisation of ponds’ infrastructure, taking of the preventive

measures against the ichthyophagous birds and improvement of company managers’ management

skills and specialised knowledge are necessary.

References

Conference “Promoting Fish and Aquaculture in Regional Development” results. 2013 – 03 – 05 in

Lithuania, Klaipėda.

Survey results. 2013.

Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriaus padėties analizė SSGG požiūriu ir poreikių apžvalga

(PROJEKTAS II).

Ovidija Eičaitė, Danutė Juškevičienė. 2010. Akvakultūros ūkių ekonominio dydžio, išreikšto europinio

dydžio vienetais, nustatymas.

VšĮ “Aivaturas. 2010. Vidauas ir užsienio rinkų uždarųjų recirkuliacinių sistemų žuvies produkcijai

tyrimas, įios produkcijos eksporto strategija ir eksporto skatinimo priemonės.

VšĮ „ Socialinės ir ekonominės plėtros centras”. 2007. Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriaus 2007 -2013

metų veiksmų programos ex – ante vertinimas.

40

The role of aquaculture in fish supply chains in Norway

Introduction

Norway is of course not a member of the Baltic “Family”, but due to Norway’s position as world’s

second seafood’s exporter in value, Norway has many partners in this area, both towards processing

industry and consumers.

The last years, the aquaculture has grown rapidly in Norway and of the total seafood export value

around 60 % originates from aquaculture.

Norway has a close cooperation with all countries and companies within the Baltic area. This means

that a great portion of the added value from “Norwegian Seafood” also remains within the Baltic area,

both related to workforce and profits. This paper will discuss this relation in some details, and will show

some strategy involved.

Table 9: The value of aquaculture exports compared with the fisheries, dark blue is Aquaculture.

Norway 2003-2012

Management industry and government

The Norwegian oceans and especially our coastal zone have great potential for food production and it

is important that this production is managed viable. The Norwegian aquaculture industry and

Norwegian authorities take environmental challenges seriously and take a common responsibility

towards safeguarding the production in this sector, in order to maintain it as sustainable as possible at

41

all times. Still there are challenges to work with, both in quality and in market promotion, as within fish-

health issue.

Statistics

Table 10: Seafood total, salmon and trout exports from Norway

Export from Norway

Total export all

species Salmon Trout

1 Euro

= 7,50 kr 2007 2012 2007 2012 2007 2012

Estonia

Value (mill. kr) 69 134 41 106 14 11

Tons 4556 8018 2072 6136 506 473

Finland

Value (mill. kr) 721 1013 543 826 53 12

Tons 28260 36739 21332 31705 2247 515

Latvia

Value (mill. kr) 223 460 153 332 18 9

Tons 14134 26509 5955 13304 819 322

Litauen

Value (mill. kr) 220 1222 94 631 3 11

Tons 24398 86479 3817 24154 138 376

Poland

Value (mill. kr) 1837 3843 1419 3227 4 33

Tons 97837 160282 51180 116067 107 1184

Russia

Value (mill. kr) 3618 5934 1346 3577 556 947

Tons 388988 322082 54035 132700 22915 31978

Sweden

Value (mill. kr) 1637 2388 903 1415 6 12

Tons 54009 68722 25898 38298 216 236

Germany

Value (mill. kr) 1165 2103 812 1055 2 19

Tons 51421 95209 23678 30779 65 546

Denmark

Value (mill. kr) 3178 3266 1945 1856 36 16

Tons 180385 174949 74520 70722 1552 712

Whole

world

Value (mill. kr) 35696 50862 17438 29601 1255 1696

Tons 1889940 2387369 606711 996499 48866 55781

42

From statistics and interviews on “how to outline some facts about aquaculture in Norway”:

The consumption of salmon is about the same as cod’s consumption, around 3-5 kg per person

per year, in net weight. In live weight the fish consumption is around 30 kg per person.

The fishing fleet in Norway comprises around 6000 fishing vessels, and 10 230 people have

fishing as their primary occupation, while the salmon and trout production generate around 4500

jobs in aquaculture directly, and 8000 indirectly.

The seafood sector is the 3rd most valuable business sector, in GDP perspective.

Among the top ten companies in Norway’s seafood sector, 7 are in aquaculture.

Half of the employees in the top 100 companies in the seafood sector have their office abroad.

Within the salmon exports from Norway, nearly 50 % of the volume is exported to Baltic

countries, including Russia, the latter was world’s number 1 in salmon in 2012, France number

2.

Other species produced in Norwegian aquaculture: cod : 8000 tons, blue mussels: 1600 tons,

halibut 2000 tons and turbot 250 tons. atlantic salmon with 1,15 million tons and trout with

70.000 tons are therefore very dominating in the sector.

In Norway there are also two main directions for fish farming:

fish farming for consumption;

fish breeding for restocking and reproduction in natural streams and lakes (fish resources

reproduction). This is only around 1 % of the first strategy.

Value adding of Norwegian salmon inside Baltic area

Norwegian salmon is exported to many countries for direct consumption, but also a big share is for

value adding through filleting, portion production and for smoked products etc.

Denmark and Poland are good examples here, and the main part is for further exports, and also

Russia, for its own population.

43

One example: Morpol is an international company with head-office in Poland. One out of ten trailers out

of Norway is heading for Morpol’s factories. This gives also work and wealth for these countries.

44

The salmon success in Norway - experiences

The marketing, science and knowledge support, the nature and the culture are four keywords in the

success story of Norway.

Due to the importance of the seafood sector for hundreds of years, there has always been a close

“Triple helix” cooperation between the government, the business and the knowledge sectors. There

have also been strong business organisations, which have promoted policies and legislation that

benefit to their members, and support the members‘ interests in regard to exports, trade and other

international issues.

Health, environment and safety are the most important issues in aquaculture, may be more than in

other sectors due to the fact that the fish (the core value) itself are so dependant of a good

environment. Good quality systems and food safety are also important issues.

Norway is a small country with many small communities, which also can be a factor in sharing

knowledge and good experience in an open-minded development. It might be easier to coordinate

research and development in a small country as Norway. But as 90 % of the seafood is exported, we

are also deeply dependant on good relations with over 150 “customer” countries. There has been close

research cooperation between many countries during the last 30 years, a process which is stimulated

by the international business structure.

Marketing- sales and promotion

The marketing competence is vital for a commodity as salmon. 33 million meals of Norwegian seafood

every day! How has this figures been achieved? The main factor is over 200 active export companies in

Norway, and over 80 in salmon solely.

The Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) can be an important factor in this marketing work, but they are

dealing with generic marketing work more then concrete sales promotion for companies.

NSC is financed by the seafood industry through market fees levied on all exports of Norwegian

seafood. There is a flat rate of 0.75% for all types of fish, and 0.20% on processed products. Their

head office is located in Tromsø in northern Norway and have representative offices in Sweden

(Stockholm), Germany (Hamburg), France (Paris), Spain (Madrid), Portugal (Lisbon), Italy (Milan),

Russia (Moscow), Brazil (Rio de Janeiro), Japan (Tokyo), Singapore, China (Beijing) and the USA

(Boston).

45

NSC’s activities are focused on three main areas (reference: www.seafood.no) :

Joint marketing

The marketing work carried out by NSC is aimed at further increasing demand for Norwegian Seafood.

NSC’s marketing activities is of use to support the exporters’ own sales efforts, and NSC is often

involved in joint market activities together with partners within the Norwegian seafood industry. By

increasing awareness and preference for seafood from Norway, NSC’s marketing work helps to

establish a good foundation when the individual exporters are promoting their products to consumers

all around the world. Each year, NSC implements some 500 marketing projects in 25 different countries

all aimed at increasing demand and consumption of seafood from Norway.

Market information

NSC is the industry’s main source of statistics and trade information regarding seafood, and it

continually monitors trends and developments in global seafood sales in general but with a special

focus on Norwegian seafood. Each month, NSC publicizes statistics relating to Norwegian Seafood

exports.

In addition, NSC possesses updated information on import quotas, tariff rates and trade conditions in

the various markets, and based on this information NSC is in a good position to advise Norwegian

exporters on current framework trade conditions. This market information is shared with the Norwegian

seafood industry, the Norwegian authorities and NSC’s own organization in order to provide a good,

reliable decision-making basis.

Communication and reputational risk management

NSC shall contribute towards strengthening the reputation of seafood from Norway with active

information. Corporate communication, press grants, press travel and PR activities are all aimed at

increasing market awareness of Norwegian Seafood and stakeholder knowledge about NSC. At the

same time, NSC helps to increase awareness of the importance of Norwegian seafood exports and

knowledge of seafood from Norway.

Reputational risk management is important to safeguard and strengthen the image of seafood from

Norway and NSC is at all times ready to contribute to social debate with accurate, updated information

about our seafood products, NSC and the Norwegian seafood industry.

46

Fig. 9: Norwegian seafood exports, mrd means billions of Norwegian Kroners 1 Euro=7,50 NOK.

47

The role of aquaculture in fish supply chains in Poland

The specificity of aquaculture in Poland

Aquaculture in Poland is almost exclusively linked to production of freshwater fish species. Marine

aquaculture is not significantly commercial. According to data collected to set up a national strategic

plan for Poland’s aquaculture sector between 2007 and 2013, there is about 70 000 ha of fish ponds of

which 50 000 ha (70%) are allocated to aquaculture. According to the Agricultural Census of 2002,

more than 10 000 farm’s owners declared some fish production, while for most of these farms,

aquaculture is not a core business. It is estimated that only about 600 farms are involved in breeding

and rearing fish for market. In this group, about 400 farms operate fish ponds onto a total area of more

than 50 hectares. Most of these farms specialized in carp production. More than 50% all fish farms

decided to breed and rear more than one fish species (eg. silver carp and grass carp, sturgeon, arctic

char, brown trout, brook trout, brown trout and in lake trout, Atlantic salmon) in an effort to diversify their

business revenue. It is estimated that the activities of the culture provide annually from 34 000 to 37

000 tonnes of freshwater fish to the Polish market.

Fish, fish products, and seafood consumption reached 12.01 kg/person in Poland in 2012 and was

8,0% lower than in 2011. It has been estimated that the supply of fish, fish products and seafood to the

national market amounted in 2011 to 462.4 thousand tonnes and was 7.2% lower than year before.

The table 11 presents fish and seafood balance in Poland during the last four years.

48

Table 11: Fish and their origin on the market in Poland in the last four years (in thousands

tonnes)

2009 2010 2011 2012

Sea fishing 212.1 170.8 179.9 163.0

Baltic Sea catches 131.4 170.8 179.9 100.0

Deep-sea catches 80.7 60.7 69.1 63.0

Freshwater catches

and aquaculture 50.5 42.7 45.0 47.4

Total domestic catches 262.6 213.5 224.9 207.0

Import: 731.6 778.3 758.5 755.0

Export: 493.9 492.1 512.5 530.0

The supply of consumption of

fish to the internal market 499.5 498.5 462.4 428.4

Freshwater catches together with aquaculture varied at about 45-50.5 thousand tonnes per year.

Freshwater fish consumption was at the level of 23.8% of total fish consumption (2.85 kg/person) about

2.2% lower than in 2012. Origin of the most freshwater fish is aquaculture.

There are three directions in a European aquaculture:

inland fish farming

marine mussel farming

marine fish farming

Only the first direction has an economic importance because up to now, there is no marine aquaculture

in Poland.

Total value of Polish aquaculture production was evaluated as 390 790 000 PLN (91 518 000 Euro).

There are two main directions for fish farming in Poland:

fish farming for consumption;

fish breeding for restocking and reproduction in natural streams and lakes (fish recourses

reproduction).

The production value of the two directions is presented in the table (Tab.12).

49

Table 12: Values of aquaculture production in Poland (data on 2011) divided into consumption and fish recourses reproduction in millions of Polish zloty (PLN) and Euro

Value of aquaculture fish

production in (million

PLN)

Value of aquaculture

fish production in

(million Euro)

Consumption 282.140 66.074

Fish recourses

reproduction 108.650 25.444

Total: 390.790 91.518

In overall terms, the aquaculture sector is mainly focused on rainbow trout and carp breeding, but

taking into account polycultures where carp and other fish species are produced. The production of

breeding fish species other than carp and rainbow trout estimated at approximately 2000 tonnes per

year. The most important ones: silver carp, grass carp, crucian carp, tench, pike, wells, and pike perch.

For last several years breeding of African catfish farming are developed using the recirculating

aquaculture system (RAS). Few species of sturgeons are produced for market as well. Values of

aquaculture production of main fish species are included in the table below (table 13).

Table 13: Values of aquaculture fish species production in Poland (data on 2011) in millions of Polish zloty (PLN) and Euro

Value of aquaculture fish

production in

(million PLN)

Value of aquaculture fish

production in

(million Euro)

Rainbow trout 132.522 31.036

Carp 132.509 31.032

Other species 17.109 4.007

Total: 282.140 66.075

50

Table 14: Fish prices (quantity prices without VAT) at Polish market (data on 2011)

Quantity prices of

aquaculture fish (without

VAT in PLN/kg)

Quantity prices of

aquaculture fish (without

VAT in Euro/kg)

Rainbow trout 11,31 2,65

Brook trout 11,50 2,69

Brown trout 15,00 3,51

Arctic char 15,09 3,53

Carp 10,29 2,41

Rainbow trout

Poland is the tenth producer of rainbow trout in Europe (Fig. 9) (data of 2010).

Fig. 9. Rainbow trout aquaculture production in Europe (thousands tonnes) in 2010

First available data on rainbow trout production in Poland are published in 1973, then the total

production reached 250 tonnes. The maximum of production is reached in 2006 (about 15500 tonnes

acc. to data of Trout service). In the figure (Fig.10) is illustrated rainbow trout production during last

seven years. Fig. 2 presents data obtained from different sources of information such as:

Federation of European Aquaculture Producers,

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union,

“Trout service” - annual questionnaire monitoring managed by Inland Institute of Fisheries,

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Poland England Spain Russia Germany France Italy Denmark Norway Turkey

Th

ou

san

ds t

on

nes

51

Report on catches by methods of catches, expenditure of work, by fishing region, species and

type of vessels (questionnaire RRW-22) for Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

According to “Trout service” there was 154 trout farms in Poland, about 75 were examined by RRW-22.

In Polish Main Veterinary Inspectorate are registered of 235 trout producers.

Fig. 10. Rainbow trout and carp aquaculture production in Poland (tonnes) during the last 7 years

according to different sources of information.

Along the Polish coast of the Baltic Sea are three regions of Poland (voivodships):

Zachodniopomorskie (Western Pomeranian voivodship), Pomorskie (Pomeranian voivodship), and

Warmińsko-Mazurskie (Warmian-Masurian voivoship). An analysis of aquaculture production was

performed according to research on the basis of questionnaires from viovodships mentioned

hereinabove.

In Western Pomeranian voivodship 51 responses for 67 sent questionnaires were received. The

production was 69.1% of the total country production and sale was 64.1% of the total country amount.

The total export was 55.4% of the total sales. Direct export (alive fish) was 26.2% of the total export

from this region.

18500

1750018200

20000 20000

1420014650

15580 15430

17160

18300

15400

13500

14500

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Rainbow trout (FEAP)

Rainbow trout (Eurostat)

Rainbow trout (Trout Service)

Rainbow trout (questionnaire rrw-22)

Carp

52

In Pomeranian voivodship 30 responses for 45 sent questionnaires were received. The production was

21.0% of the total country production and sale was 24.9% of the total country amount.

In Warmian-Masurian voivodship received 9 responses tor 12 sent questionnaires. The production was

4.2% of the total country production and sale of was 4.5% of the total country amount.

53

Table 15: Production and sale of rainbow trout in Poland in 2011 according questionnaire data

Region Resources

for 01.01. 11

Purchase of fish

(tonnes)

Sale of fish

(tonnes)

Resources

for 01.01.12

Production

(tonnes)

Total Fry Other

stocking

material

Total Fry Direct export

(life fish)

Export via fish

processing

plants

Western

Pomeranian 2840.9 631.4 361.6 226.8 7812.8 400.9 1078.1 3029.4 3403.0 7743.3

Pomeranian 975.3 735,6 90,7 206.9 3032.1 75,2 61.5 139.0 1034.1 2356.1

Warmian-

Masurian 218.3 95.8 28.1 55.9 548.6 21.1 6.0 237.6 472.1

Poland 4271.0 1940.5 552.9 1005.2 12191 537.6 1205.8 3168.4 4933.1 11212.4

54

There is a growing interest of consumers for rainbow trout. It is a result of the growing availability of

fresh fish and fish products on the retail market. Table (Tab. 16) presents that tendency.

Table 16: Network of distribution of fresh trout in the Polish market

Type of seller

Availability of

fresh trout before

2011

Availability of

fresh trout in 2012

Sales structure by

interview survey

(n=1063)

Hipermarkets

(eg. Tesco, Real,

Auchan)

excellent excellent

28%

For big city

population (50%)

Supermarkets (e.g. Lidl,

Biedronka, InterMarche)

depended on the

network, mostly

none in offer

good 16%

Fishmongers good good 35%

Grocery Stores bad (none on

offer)

Bad (none on

offer) -

Fish farms available in most

farms

available in most

farms 15%

Special commercial

angling ponds

available in many

objects

available in many

objects 6%

The problem regarding the growing consumption of trout in Poland is linked to the relative high price

and persistent small popularity of trout among potential consumers.

At the turn of 2009/2010, the tenacious team promotion towards the trout under the guidance of Prof.

Hedwig Seremak-Bulge, the availability EU funds of OP FISH 2007-2013, and the determination of the

Management SPRL, has led to the signature of a contract about a nationwide campaign to promote

trout (with a four-year budget of 10.8 million PLN) to popularize the consumption of trout.

Main goals of the campaign called “Teraz pestrąg” (Trout Now) was:

to encourage new customers (new households) in eating trout

to encourage consumers (households) who already eat trout, to increase the frequency of

purchases (current statistics about household consumption pattern of product from fresh trout :

a purchase every 3.5 months) - and as a result increase the annual purchase volume;

55

to establish / improve the image of trout among consumers.

Present results of the campaign “Teraz pstrąg”:

In September 2011, at the start of the campaign "Now Trout" any action

promoting trout impacted 1.7% of the consumers (while 25% of consumers

declared contact with any activities that promote fish),

In July 2012, again 18% of Poles declared contact with campaigns promoting fish. The

percentage of people who saw trout promotion in the country increased to 5.2%,

the introduction of new campaign slogans – “Nadejszła chwila na pstrąga z grilla” (Now is time

for trout on the grill – written as play on words referring to the generally well-known words from

a Polish comedy film.

56

SWOT analysis of rainbow trout aquaculture sector in Poland

Strengths

Advantageous ownership structure of the

sector

Good cooperation between producers and

processors

Stable profitability enabling activities

investments

High degree of mechanization production

Good cooperation with R& D centers

Experienced and committed the

development of the staff

Weaknesses

Limited availability of water and sites

useful to conduct farming of rainbow trout,

High capital investment

Weak interest of fish farmers in

cooperation within the organization fish

producers

Opportunities

Large, constantly growing and profitable

export

Availability of financial assistance from

structural fund for the development of

sector and the fish market

Development and availability of new

breeding technology

Growing interest of consumers at home

and abroad trout products

Trout is effective feedstock in fish

processing

Growing demand for fish stocking material.

Threats

The ease transmission of salmonid fish

diseases between objects of breeding

The deteriorating overall water balance of

the country

57

Carp

Carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) is the most popular and prevailing fish raised in ponds. Among the countries

belonging to the EU, Poland was the largest producer of carp at the beginning of the first decade of this

century.

Then the annual production of commercial carp ranges from 18 000 to 23 500 tonnes and was almost

entirely designed for the domestic market. The changes in aquaculture carp production are figured at

Fig.2 (light blue). Sales structure of the carp is very specific. Almost whole sale is concentrated during

the 2 last weeks before Christmas. Carp is offered then by basically all sellers who are authorized to

trade fish. The amount of annual recent production is very similar to rainbow trout (Tab.3) and

decreased in last decade because of cheaper imports from abroad (about 3.4 thousand tonnes).

58

SWOT analysis of carp aquaculture sector in Poland

Strengths

Traditional and ecological character of

ground ponds breeding carp

Developing cooperation between farmers

in activities promote the consumption of

carp in the country

Advanced R & D facilities

Good cooperation with R&D centers

Weaknesses

concentration of sales in the period of

Christmas and difficulty to maintain full-

year sales of fish

High capital investment

High and rising costs maintenance of

earthen ponds

The damage done to the owners of

aquaculture companies by the

ichthyophagous animals

Carp is an unattractive species for

processing companies

Low interest of fish farmers in cooperation

within the organization of fish producers.

Opportunities

The development of organic aquiculture

Availability of financial assistance from

structural fund for the development of this

sector and the fish market

Opportunity to diversify sources of income

(direct sales, catering, tourism, angling)

Traditional character of dishes from carp

Quantification of non-production values

(retention of water, conservation of

biodiversity, flora, fauna and landscape)

towards the public

Threats

unfair competition in fish trade

The ease transmission of cyprinid fish

diseases between objects of breeding

The deteriorating overall water balance of

the country

59

References

Bontemps, S., 2012. „Serwis pstrągowy”, Analiza Produkcji i Sprzedaży Pstrągów Tęczowych w 2011

r.. XXXVII Krajowa Konferencja - Szkolenie dla Hodowców Ryb Łososiowatych, Rumia, 10-12.

10. 2012, 1-31pp.

Kamińska, K., 2012. Roczny raport z wdrożenia

Kulikowski, T., 2011. Rynek produktów z pstrągów w świetle badań rynkowych. Magazyn Przemysłu

Rybnego. XXXVII Krajowa Konferencja - Szkolenie dla Hodowców Ryb Łososiowatych, Rumia,

10-12. 10. 2012, 1-15 pp.

Lirski, A., 2012. Polska produkcja pstrąga – nieubłagane statystyki. XXXVII Krajowa Konferencja -

Szkolenie dla Hodowców Ryb Łososiowatych, Rumia, 10-12. 10. 2012, 1-37 pp.

Szostak, S., Rakowski, M., Budny, T., 2012. Morska gospodarka rybna. Morski Instytut Rybacki.

Gdynia, 1-28 pp.

Wojda, R., Cieśla, M., Mizieliński, M., Mielcarski, P., 2008. wielkość produkcji materiału zarybieniowego

ryb reofilnych w Polsce w latach 2003 – 2006. Użytkownik rybacki-nowa rzeczywistość, PZW

2008, p. 123 - 126

Strategia rozwoju rybołówstwa 2007-2013. Uchwała Rady Ministrów z dnia 29.05.2007. Ministerstwo

Gospodarki Morskiej. Warszawa. 1-60 pp.

60

The role of aquaculture in fish supply chains in Russia

Aquaculture in Russian is undeveloped. During the last ten years, production of all types of aquaculture

(ponds, cages, recirculated systems and others) varied between 140 and180 thousand tons. It is about

20 times smaller than captured fishes, which reach in the last two years up to 3.1 million tons.

There are two regions of Russia that are connected to the Baltic Sea – Kaliningrad oblast and

Leningrad oblast.

Leningrad oblast

There are 38 commercial aquaculture enterprises in Leningrad oblast. The total production is about

4000 tons in 2010 and 5900 tons in 2012. Species: rainbow trout – 95%, white-fish – 1%, carp – 2%,

sturgeon – 1%, African catfish – 1%.

The aquaculture production meets only 3% of the needs in Leningrad oblast. The rest is being supplied

by import from abroad. Main imported fishes are Norwegian salmon and rainbow trout from Karelia.

Price (production/market): rainbow trout – €7/8, carp - €3.4/5, sturgeon - €15.

Kaliningrad oblast

There are only 8 commercial aquaculture enterprises in Kaliningrad oblast. It is due to the big amount

of fisheries, catching up to 50 thousand tons including such valuable species like bream, pick-perch,

smelt, herring, cod, flounder. Total aquaculture production is about 40 tons.

Main species are: carp – 25 t (ponds), trout – 10 t (cages), sturgeon – 4.5 t (cages), sterlet – 2 t

(recycling system), African catfish – less than 1 t (recycling system).

Price (production/market): rainbow trout – €7/9, carp - €4/6, sterlet - €12.

The price for captured fishes is cheaper than for aquaculture production.

There is a plan to develop four aquaculture enterprises equipped with recycling systems, and that will

reach the following production: sturgeon - 1500 tons and 4.5 tons of caviar, pick-perch – 500 tons,

rainbow trout – 1000 tons.

A regional program for development of aquaculture in Kaliningrad region has been adopted in 2012.

Federal law “on aquaculture” has been adopted in June 2013.

61

SWOT analysis of aquaculture sector in Russia (Baltic Region)

Strengths:

Abundance of water bodies

Historical experience

High developed aquaculture science

High developed aquaculture education

Development of federal legislation and

support

Weaknesses:

Slight management of many aquaculture

companies, insufficient skills to operate in

new market economy

Lower profitability compared with other

sectors and lack of investors;

Dependence on fish food and equipment

supply from abroad with high cost;

Insufficient development of legislation

and protection property right

No developed infrastructure and service

Opportunities:

Adaptation of Federal low “On

aquaculture” in 2013

The raising of new fish breeds which meet

the market demands in aquaculture

companies

Federal and regional support of

aquaculture development

Participation of private companies in

governmental restocking programmes

The use of new technologies (RAS)

Threats:

Competition with captured fisheries with

low price on production

No stable legislation

Change of law in connection with the

entry of Russia into the WTO

Possible change of regulation for import

technology and fish food from abroad

Lack of fingerling production for

commercial breeding

62

References

Strategy of aquaculture development in the Russian Federation for the period until 2020. Ministry of

agriculture of Russian Federation, 2007.

Federal Low “On aquaculture”, 2013.

Sergeev V.N. Development of aquaculture in Leningrad oblast // http://www.aquafeed.ru/node/66.

Sebulov A.V.. Stepanov A.Y., Poliakov O.A. A framework for the formation of a risk management

system for projects in the field of aquaculture innovative development in the Kaliningrad region//

Baltic region, 2012, No2, p. 128-143.

State Program of Russian Federation “Development of Fishery Industry Complex”, 2013.

Ecological handbook for aquaculture enterprises in North-West of Russia. 2012, 110 pp.