It’s time to put a wrap on 2010. From the plume of ash that halted air fright across northern Europe in April to the never-ending mackerel war, here’s a look at this year’s 10 biggest seafood-related stories, as they pertain to the European market:
10) The volcanic eruption in Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull glacier caused quite a stir in April. Dozens of airports were closed and tens of thousands of flights were cancelled when a plume of ash blanketed northern Europe, bringing air freight to a virtual standstill and forcing seafood distributors to take to the road. Still, thousands of pounds of fresh seafood already en route when the volcano erupted rotted on airport runways. The volcanic eruption also caused a headache for those traveling to the European Seafood Exposition. But the three-day event went off without a hitch, and the Brussels Exhibition Grounds were packed with exhibitors and visitors.
9) The February collapse of British Seafood, which had racked up more than GBP 250 million in debt, was felt across the United Kingdom, as its subsidiaries were forced into receivership by administrator Deloitte LLP. Then, in April, British Seafood subsidiary Five Star Fish Ltd. was acquired by British entrepreneur Ranjit Boparan, founder of poultry processor 2 Sisters Food Group. Just days later, UK beef and poultry distributor Towers Thompson established a new seafood division in Grimsby consisting of former British Seafood Group staff.
8) Farmed salmon heavyweight Marine Harvest shook up its leadership this year, beginning with the resignation of CEO Åse Aulie Michelet in March. Less than a week later, the Norwegian company landed a new CEO — Alf-Helge Aarskog, previously the CEO of Lerøy Seafood Group. Marine Harvest also signed on another Lerøy executive, Ola Brattvoll, to head up its new global sales and distribution division.
7) It took only 10 months this year for the value of Norway’s salmon exports to surpass the total in all of 2009. Through October, Norwegian salmon exports amounted to NOK 24.9 billion, up NOK 5.9 billion from the same 10-month period last year. In November alone, they reached NOK 3.1 billion, a new monthly record, beating October’s total by NOK 66 million. Norway ramped up its farmed salmon production this year due to the infection salmon anemia outbreak in Chile, which has resulted in historically high farmed salmon prices.
6) Perhaps no European seafood company was as active on the mergers-and-acquisitions front this year as Morpol. The buying spree kicked off in August, when the Poland-based salmon processor purchased a 100 percent interest in Mainstream Scotland from Cermaq for NOK 350 million — its first foray into salmon farming. Later in the month, Morpol acquired Scottish organic salmon farmers Westray Scotland Ltd. and Rysa Salmon. Then, in September, Morpol netted a 100 percent interest in the UK’s Brookside Products Ltd. and landed an additional 74.1 percent interest in Marine Farms, controlling 90.5 percent of the Norwegian fish farmer.
5) The iconic canned-fish brand John West has a new owner. In July, Thai Union Frozen Products outbid the competition for MW Brands, which it purchased from Trilantic Capital Partners for approximately THB 28.5 billion. With the acquisition, the company’s tuna-processing capacity will now total 500,000 metric tons of whole round fish, making it one of the world’s largest canned-tuna producers. Thai Union also announced that it will add four processing plants in France, Portugal, Seychelles and Ghana to its existing five in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the United States and will grow its fishing fleet from four to nine vessels.
4) The popularity of pangasius — the catfish-like species farmed in Vietnam and valued for its clean, mild flavor and delicate texture — is through the roof in Europe. In Germany, for example, pangasius is now the fifth most consumed fish species, more than doubling its market share over the last two years. However, a war of words erupted over pangasius in November when Scottish MEP Struan Stevenson called the Mekong River “filthy” and accused Vietnam’s pangasius industry of “ruthlessly” exploiting workers. But the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers shot back, calling pangasius perfectly safe to eat and inviting the politician to visit the country’s fish farms and processing plants.
3) For the sustainable-seafood movement, it was yet another year of progress in Europe. There were too many accomplishments to fit in this space. But 2010 kicked off on a positive note with the eighth annual Seafood Summit in Paris, where the discussion ranged from farmed salmon to British chefs’ sourcing seafood responsibly, and ended on a positive note with the London-based Marine Stewardship Council program reaching two milestones — its 100th certified fishery (Barents Sea cod and haddock) and its 7,000th eco-labeled product (peeled, frozen shrimp at Sainsbury’s).
2) For bluefin tuna, the news wasn’t so positive on the conservation front this year. In March, the 175-nation Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species rejected a proposed ban on the international trade of Atlantic bluefin tuna at its meeting in Doha, Qatar. Reaction was mixed — environmental organizations like Pew and the World Wildlife Fund called the decision political and shortsighted, while fishing interests and politicians on both sides of the Atlantic applauded the vote. Then in November, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna reduced the Atlantic bluefin tuna quota only modestly, from 13,500 metric tons in 2010 to 12,900 metric tons in 2011, further angering the WWF, which had called for a quota of less than 6,000 metric tons.
1) The debate over the exploding mackerel resource in the North Atlantic, which pitted Norway and the European Union against Iceland and the Faeroe Islands, has been so intense this year that it’s commonly referred to as “the mackerel war.” The controversy began in July when Iceland and the Faeroes significantly increased their 2010 mackerel quotas to 130,000 metric tons and 85,000 metric tons, respectively. The move outraged Norway and the EU, particularly Scotland — the aforementioned Stevenson accused Iceland and the Faeroes of “trampling over the good fisheries management of Scottish fishermen with their recklessly enormous quotas.” Three rounds of talks have yielded a lot of finger pointing and no joint management plan for mackerel in 2011. As it stands this week, Iceland is holding its ground, as EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki builds support for a ban on Icelandic mackerel landings at EU ports. This controversy is far from over.
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