Groundfish - August 2011
Good management is behind these achievements and sustaining this positive situation will be a challenge for the future, not only for fishing companies but also for the authorities that oversee them. New challenges will arise as well; China and several other developing countries are rapidly growing as seafood consumption markets and are already having some impact on prices as the middle class in these countries expands.
Depending on the growth in aquaculture, rising demand and increasing consumption could lead to a long term shortfall in global seafood supply. In the short term this will not impact supply as low priced species are currently in the greatest demand, but availability and prices will be affected in the long term. Chinese demand is increasing rapidly for wild and high-value seafood. It is expected that prices for all types of seafood are going to move upwards somewhat over the next five years, which will present a demanding scenario and a new challenge for the food sector.
Recently, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) announced that for the new fishing year,starting on 1 May, 12 out of 15 major stocks in New England will have higher catch limits, although two species were reduced: haddock and pollock. However, as the current catch of these species compared with their Annual Catch Limit (ACL) is very low, the reduction in the total ACL should not have an impact on landings.
Argentinean authorities have also announced catch quotas for 2011, although the quotas may be modified depending on scientific recommendations. Quotas for the first semester are 193 000 tonnes for hake, 150 000 tonnes for hoki, 45 000 tonnes for pollock and 3 250 tonnes for Patagonian toothfish. Fish landings declined by 30% during January and February and export volumes dropped, but value rose because of stronger prices.
Norwegian first quarter 2011 clipfish exports reached levels not seen for many years
At the beginning of the year, as a result of good clipfish sales in Portugal during Christmas, inventories were at a minimum, which resulted in strong demand for any form of groundfish. According to the Norwegian Seafood Export Council (NSEC), groundfish exports, including clipfish, during the first quarter totalled EUR 397.5 million, 10% more (EUR 35.6 million) than in the same period in 2010.
Norwegian clipfish exports reached a new record during the first quarter, as exports totalled EUR 126 million, a 8% increase over the previous year. Within the category, cod clipfish exports increased by EUR 1.9 million to EUR 64.8 million and saithe clipfish exports went up by EUR 9.4 million, making a total of EUR 52.1 million.
Total value of all salted fish products rose by 34% or EUR 14.5 million, making a total of EUR 56.7 million compared with the first quarter of 2010. In volume terms the total was 12 953 tonnes, 1 977 tonnes more or 18% up.
Norwegian wild fresh groundfish exports increased by 7% to EUR 62.6 million, partly because exports of fresh whole cod rose by 1 043 tonnes to a total of 8 379 tonnes (14% higher).
Frozen groundfish exports reached EUR 105.9 million in value, a 15% increase over the same period in 2010. In volume, exports grew by 7%, mainly because of an increase in exports of frozen whole cod (up by EUR 4.6 million to a total of EUR 24.1 million) and frozen whole saithe (up by EUR 6.6 million to a total of EUR 16.1 million) to China.
Alaska Pollock Total Allowable Catches increased as a result of recovery in fishing grounds
The North Pacific Fisheries Management Council decided to raise quotas based on the recommendations of its scientific committee as stocks have recovered from the low biomass reported in the past. The total allowable catch for Alaska pollock for 2011 in its management area has been increased to 1.27 million tonnes, 56.2% more than the 2010 quota of 813 000 tonnes. Larger stocks in the Gulf of Alaska and in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands have resulted in higher total allowable catches for both regions of 13.5% and 52.8% respectively.
Prices are expected to fall by between 10 and 15% as the increased quota will most probably limit prices. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) and the Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) will expand efforts to market and promote sales of the increased volumes.
Alaska Pollock provides the mainstay of the surimi industry and demand for the raw ingredients for surimi is growing. Half of all pollock catches from the USA North Pacific go to surimi, and countries such as France, Spain and Russia significantly increased their imports in 2010; that trend will probably continue during 2011. Although the need for surimi is on the rise, there is also a growing demand for products from non-processed raw materials.
Although the healthier state of resources is very good news, there is also concern about how this increase could impact the market. The forecasts for the rest of the year are also good, which is also a sign that stocks are being well managed.
Cod grows as pangasius dips
The state of cod stocks in the North Atlantic has improved considerably. Preliminary figures for cod catches in the North Atlantic showed notable increases by late January 2011, compared with the same period in 2010. Norwegian vessels reported catches of some 13 000 tonnes. The increase has come mainly in landings of fresh fish, which exceeded by 7 200 tonnes the volumes of January 2010. On the contrary, volumes of on-board fillets showed a decrease. For the Faroese fleet operating in the Barents Sea, the catches were considerably higher in January this year compared with the same month in 2010.
In France, cod sales rose in 2010 as pangasius sales fell 12% in value to EUR 24.87 million. Cod fillets rose 18.1% in value. The Norwegian Seafood Export Council revealed that the French consumed 19.4% more frozen cod fillets than the previous year. Consumption of fresh cod also increased but tight supply in the second half of the year prevented further increases. Pangasius sales fell 11% in volume despite of an average price lower than that of cod, and remained stable at EUR 7.50 per kilo. In January seafood prices rose for the majority of fish species sold in France.
The UK subsidiary of Ocean Trawlers, headquarted in Hong Kong is currently trying to promote the consumption of cod in the UK because consumers can be confident that the cod sourced from Russian, Norwegian and Icelandic waters of the North Atlantic and Arctic comes from stocks that are bigger than they have been in decades.
Scientists say the 1 million tonne harvest is sustainable. The company, whose cod and haddock products are MSC certified, supplies 120 000 tonnes of fish and seafood annually, most of which is cod and haddock.
Hake as a generator of jobs in Namibia
In Namibia, the fishing industry is one of the most important sectors of the economy as it employs over 10 000 workers and contributes about 5% to the country’s GDP. The total allowable catch of hake for the 2011/2012 fishing season has been set at 180 000 tonnes. This decision has been welcomed as fish processors have had difficulties because of a lack of available quota for the past few years.
The current relatively weaker exchange rate of the Euro against the Rand/Namibian dollar has also affected business in Namibia, as about 65% of sales are in Euros. Namibian markets remain sensitive to price increases as a result of the economic crisis in Mediterranean countries, which are the main consumers
of Namibian hake. Fuel prices changes will also play a major role in the coming months as diesel is one of the main expenses of the industry. 70% of Namibia’s fish quota is value-added onshore in order to create and maintain employment opportunities in the land-based segment of the fishing industry.
The introduction of pangasius has significantly affected demand for hake as it has been used as a substitute in the catering sector (schools, hospitals) because of stability of price as well as consistent availability of the product.
Some members of the hake processing industry in Namibia have been in conflict with the government over a request for extra quota to tide them over during the last month of the previous quota period. The industry threatened job cuts when the extra quota was refused but the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources said that there was no scientific justification for it. The Minister also suggested that companies could plan their activities to cover the whole quota period so that raw material for production was more evenly spread.
Argenina: good prices thanks to lower volumes
In Argentina seafood export volumes declined but the value remained stable because of stronger prices. The latest release from the National Service for Food Health and Quality reported that, in the first quarter of 2011, hake exports totalled 21 308 tonnes valued at USD 58.6, representing a 38% decline in volume and 18% in value compared with the same period in 2010.
Scotland: new source of hake
Scotland is experiencing a surge in hake landings and is assessing new opportunities to market the fish. Hake in Scotland is caught as incidental by-catch but not as a target species. However, catching patterns have changed and hake has become far more important with landings up to several thousand tonnes. Scottish fisheries will have to find the best opportunities to sell their hake in a strong market such as the European market, where it is already well established.
Outlook
As a result of responsible fisheries management, many fishing grounds have recovered levels of biomass not seen for decades. This has resulted in higher total allowable catches and in higher volumes of groundfish landed at ports. The appetite for groundfish is recovering, and countries such as China are showing interest in it. In the short term prices are likely to rise with perhaps some localised exceptions, and in the middle- to-long term, because of increasing demand, and higher manufacturing and fuel prices, this trend will be even more apparent.
The new quotas will place a greater amount of fish in the market pushing companies to make promotional sales to encourage buyers to take the increased amount.
The drop in pangasius production and exports will be an advantage, but companies must rise to the challenge of reaching different markets, manage fuel price increases and develop new added value products to attract consumers.
