Nile Perch - July 2009
Nile perch resources are dwindling. The Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO) estimates that the Nile perch stock was down from 1.9 million tonnes in 1999 to 370 000 tonnes last year. Catches of Nile perch are now controlled and several management measures are in place. Unfortunately, some illegal fisheries that escape control do occur on the lake. Without doubt, an important role could be played by the processing industry, if they refused to buy from unknown suppliers.
Naturland, a German eco-certifier announced in April 2009 that Lake Victoria Nile perch from specific sites has now been certified sustainable, and products will carry the organization’s ecolabel in future. The certification covers about eight landing sites in the western region of Lake Victoria and involves about
1 000 fishermen, in Bukoba, Tanzania. Products from the area will be both frozen and chilled fillets. They will be marketed initially in German-speaking countries. It is an interesting initiative, as it will give certification to small scale fisheries, generally excluded from the main stream of eco-certification. The initiative was in part financed by the German development assistance GTZ.
The guidelines for sustainability set by Naturland focus on environmentally friendly use of fish stocks and the entire ecosystem, avoidance of critical and environmentally-harmful fishing methods, ecologically-sound processing without artificial additives or genetic engineering and a publicly-open, transparent approval process for all parts of the value chain. In addition to sustainability standards and criteria for local conditions, Naturland’s certification process requires social criteria compliance so the livelihood of the fishermen and their families as well as processing workers are safeguarded.
Nile perch exports to the EU dwindling
Total Nile perch exports to the EU last year were 42 300 tonnes, 10 000 tonnes less than in 2007. Tanzania continues to be the main exporter of this product to the EU market, accounting for more than half of the supply of this species to the market. Exports dropped in 2008 by more than 4 000 tonnes. Uganda reported even stronger declines in exports, -5 000 tonnes. Uganda is thus in a very difficult situation, as the country has invested a considerable amount in processing facilities in recent years. Fresh fillets are the main Nile perch product imported by the EU, with about 32 000 tonnes in 2008. The existing trade links for fresh fillet exports are well developed and the quality is very high. In anticipation of lower availability of Nile perch, perhaps this trade experience could be applied to other products, especially tilapia fillets from aquaculture.
The first quarter of 2009 saw a further decline in exports of Nile perch fillets to the EU market. Some 8 800 tonnes were exported, almost 3 000 tonnes less than in the same period of last year. The drop in the volume of exports was almost equally distributed across the three exporting countries.
The outlook is bleak, as it will take the resource quite some time to recover. Despite the lack in supply, prices of Nile perch are going down. This is mainly caused by the strong competition of pangasius fillets in the market. Prices are relatively low at the moment at EUR 6.20/kg, which compares with EUR 7.00/kg one year ago.
