Saturday, March 03, 2007

Guest Blog: Mike Purves, an organiser of the North Atlantic Seafood Conference, held in Oslo, Norway.

There was astrong Grimsby presence from the seafood secotr in Oslo. Here Mike Purves reviews the action for Business.

“A great conference – a terrific platform for idea sharing and communication of some of the key issues facing our industry today”.

This comment, from one of 428 delegates from 27 nations taking part in the second North Atlantic Seafood Forum, summed up the mood of the assembled catchers, processors, wholesale and retail buyers, traders, regulators and politicians who gathered for two days at Norway Trade Fairs’ Lillestrom, Oslo base on 27-28 February.

Over forty speakers, many of them CEO’s of major Norwegian and international seafood businesses, addressed a wide range of issues covering every aspect of North Atlantic cold-water species production trading ,retailing and marketing. The first day focused on the theme of ‘Market Access and Barriers to Free Trade’. Opening proceedings, Norwegian Seafood Export Council Chair Rolf Domstein observed:
“Many of you here are at the top of your profession, and it is the quality and huge range of experience represented here which is so striking. But no matter what our place may be in our own organizations, we come here together as equals.”

In a number of polished presentations by seafood CEO’s an overall theme emerged of a robust and stable supply situation and record 2006 prices driving some exceptional company performances, especially in the buoyant salmon sector.

Delegates witnessed the formal signing of a highly significant new international agreement struck between two major educational institutions specializing in fisheries management and science. Tromso University is an established centre of excellence in further education in fisheries and seafood education, backed by important research facilities. Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education, with over 25,000 students and postgraduates is sited in one of Europe’s biggest seafood processing hubs and has a worldwide track record in food industry training and consultancy. The two institutions will come together to offer a completely new post-graduate qualification in seafood industry management which will draw on the combined resource base of both. Grimsby and Tromso have been formally ‘twinned’ for over forty years, and this was also celebrated by a ceremony at the conference.

As speakers from Norway , Iceland and Denmark outlined their individual predictions for the coming year and beyond, a large group of bankers representing Norway and Iceland’s biggest finance houses listened intently. As one speaker observed, “With a record year behind u,s this was a good time for my banker to be listening.”

After delegates and speakers enjoyed the biggest of several parties which have given the North Atlantic Seafood Forum its reputation as an excellent networking event, day two opened with a major segment on sustainability sponsored by the UK’s Seafish Industry Authority and chaired by its Vice-Chairman John Whitehead. Rupert Howes, CEO of the Marine Stewardship Council, made a strong pitch for their certification and labelling programme (not entirely uncontroversial ), claiming that 90% of consumers want a label on products and menus. MSC now certifies 27 fisheries and is assessing 18 more worldwide – Howes told the conference that MSC approval now covers 33% of whitefish globally, with over 500 products carrying the MSC logo.

Delegates were then gripped by some dramatic new science on the observed effect of global warming on the North Atlantic food chain, delivered by one of the world’s leading experts, Dr Chris Reid. CO2–driven warming is now not just indisputable but is accelerating, said Reid, with serious consequences for the marine food chain. As the ocean warms, (possibly by 6 degrees in northern latitudes) some North Atlantic species such as cod will be seriously impacted, while others will move northward. To underline the rapidity of warming, a forecast that the Arctic may be ice-free in 100 years has now been revised to just 10 years.

Iceland’s Fisheries Minister Einar Gudfinsson then took the stand to underline his nation’s excellent record in fisheries management and (following the MSC presentation) put a case for a separate Icelandic eco-label, which sparked some lively questions from the floor.

The conference then moved to a Seafish-inspired segment on retail market by some outstanding presentations. Moderated by Youngs Seafood CEO Wynne Griffiths, delegates heard about the latest UK consumer research from Seafish’s Karen Galloway and an impressive exposition by Alison Austin, Sainsbury’s head of responsible sourcing and own-
3 of 3
brand labels. The UK’s biggest seafood retailer, selling 55.000 tonnes annually with strong growth, Sainsbury is committed to responsible sourcing and strongly supports MSC labelling.

The conference then heard from Norgesgruppen’s Vidar Olsen. The company, which runs 325 fresh fish counters in Norway from supermarkets to corner shops is making numerous changes to respond to rising consumer expectations, and is intent on driving variable quality standards higher.

The conference then divided with some delegates joined the banking community for finance round table discussions, while the Pelagic Summit got underway with speakers from Norway, Scotland, the Netherlands and Russia. The message overall was that the pelagic sector is in good shape, backed by stable and growing stocks, particularly in herring. Norway will see the creation of a huge ‘pelagic supermarket’ (as CEO Gunnar Domstein described it) as five companies merge to create the giant new Norway Pelagic, controlling half of all Norway’s pelagic seafood output.. Scottish EU Pelagic RAC Chairman Iain MacSween said that for healthy, inexpensive fish, the herring was king, in his view. Gerard van Balsfoort, representing the big Netherlands PFA Group operating 25 ships, reminded the conference that ‘there were other ‘pelagic supermarkets’ outside Norway.

An exit survey of the delegates found that 93% rated the conference either ‘very good’ or ‘good’ overall, commenting favourably on the quality of presentations and the wide scope covered. Conference Director Jorgen Lund: “ With this second event such a success, we feel that NASF is now firmly established on the international calendar. Our challenge now is to surpass this year’s high standard next year,and we aim to do so.”

The third North Atlantic Seafood Forum and linked study tour will be held in Oslo on 19-20 February 2008.

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