Brussels blog: Day 1

9 a.m.: Before the doors opened to visitors, SeaFood Business Senior Editor James Wright interviewed Mary Larkin, VP – Seafood Group, Diversified Communications, about the 2014 edition of Seafood Expo Global and its rebranding efforts. 

10:30 a.m.: Paul Aandahl, market analyst for Norwegian Seafood Council, reported this morning that Norway’s salmon production, by volume, should increase 7 percent this year, while global salmon production will grow by about 5 percent. Demand over the past decade has grown by about 30 percent. “That means we should have about 200,000 tons extra of Atlantic salmon every year just to keep the price stable,” he said. Aandahl added that the biggest increase in demand for Norwegian salmon is in Germany. Discount stores are driving that growth.

11 a.m.: Seafood Expo Global organizer Diversified Communications and SeaWeb announced nominations for Seafood Champion Awards were opened.

11 a.m. The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP) is at the expo to promote the pangasius industry’s drive toward sustainability.

According to VASEP, pangasius accounts for more than 25 percent of the total export value of Vietnam’s seafood, and more than 95 percent of the total export value of pangasius worldwide, and valued at USD 1.8 million.

Within the next two years, Vietnam aims to keep the volume of pangasius steady in order to improve quality and develop sustainability. VASEP announced in April that all Vietnam’s pangasius farms and supply chain will be required to be certified to the VietGAP pangasius standard or equivalent by 2020. VietGAP — which requirements and criteria are the same as international standards including GlobalGAP, ASC and BAP — is currently being widely applied for pangasius aquaculture.

In addition, VASEP touted the “Panga — Your fish every day” program which aims to enhance consumers’ image of the fish, operated in conjunction with the Center for the Promotion Imports from the developing countries.

11:45: The Russian Federation Barents Sea cod and haddock fishery celebrated their Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification. Russian companies ZAO Strelets and ZAO Eridan ntered their joint cod and haddock fishery into assessment for MSC certification in March 2013.The fishery successfully completed the assessment just before the world's largest seafood trade event.

12 p.m.: Peter Redmond, director of market development for the Global Aquaculture Alliance, had some late-breaking news. On Monday night, at about 9 p.m. local time, he was informed that GAA would be piloting the Global Seafood Sustainability Initiative, a global sustainability certification benchmarking program founded in 2013. GAA’s Best Aquaculture Practices program is also implementing a fifth star — zone management — that adds on to its existing certification programs for feed mills, hatcheries, farms and processing plants. Zone management certification, an indication of good coordination and collaboration in particular production regions, is available only to companies that have two stars. 

1 p.m.: Marfrío was presented with the Superior Taste Award from the International Taste & Quality Institute (ITQI) for its breaded squid strips, the breaded swordfish bites and the battered squid rings.

The award was given base don blind tasting by 60 restauranteurs in Europe who evaluated the products on appearance, smell, texture and flavor.

This marks the first time that ITQI gave the award to a Spanish frozen fish company. Marfrío's products are eligible to display the stamp for the next three years.

3:00 p.m.: Geoff Irvine, executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada, talked about the new Canadian Lobster brand that is being unveiled at Seafood Expo Global. “It’s really about the values,” said Irvine. “It’s a consistent message to our customers about the core values of our industry.” Irvine and all lobster producers in the country exhibiting at the show are boasting the sharp new logo and talking about the industry’s vision, mission and promise. “We have the most incredible wild environment in the world. It’s pristine. We have genuine, honest people, hundreds of different products … and we talk about traceability. Our product is safe and sustainable. These are the backbones of our brand.”

3:45 p.m.: Exhibiting at Seafood Expo Global for the first time, nine companies from the Calabrian region of Italy are represented this year, with hopes that “their presence here will help companies progress and grow in the future,” said Cosimo Caridi, fishing executive at Regione Calabria.

The region is is a good position to grow, boasting 700 kilometers of coastal territory. Under the European Fisheries Fund the region is taking advantage of measure 1.5 to help fishermen sustain the industry and measure 3.3 for the development of its ports and harbors.

“Fish does not represent very high numbers in our region, but I believe it will play a key role in developing the region,” said Antonio Alvaro, Assogac Calabria president.