reLAKSation 100.
“Good
tidings we bring!!!” (words from a well
known Christmas carol): Jan Egil
Ytrearne, Managing Director of Seaborn, told Intrafish that large salmon are
currently fetching in excess of NOK 20/kg and these prices should hold at least
through to Christmas time. He also believes that prices will rise even more for
heavier fish.
This
prediction comes at a time, when a consortium of Norwegian companies are
currently planning to freeze up to 30,000 tonnes of salmon in an attempt to
boost low prices. This means that there appears to be some discrepancy in how
the industry perceives the market. On one hand, the industry claims to be in a
dire position, yet on the other, exporters are hopeful that improving prices can
be sustained for the rest of the year.
The
reason for this inconsistency is simple to explain. The market is starting to
demand larger fish at a time when they are in short supply. Producers have too
many small fish which the market does not want. Many of the fish which should be
reaching the larger sizes needed for the Christmas market have already been sold
in order to satisfy a need for cash. As a result the smallest 2-3kg fish are now
extremely difficult to sell.
Producers
could try to push growth, but it is more likely that any attempt to boost larger
fish now will not satisfy this demand when it is most needed. Instead, producers
could find themselves with larger fish that the markets no longer require.
It
is no longer enough to put fish to sea and hope that prices will be high enough
once they reach harvest size. The industry needs to produce fish for specific
needs for which they can receive extra margin. Producers need to produce the
fish that the market wants at a time when the market wants it. Ideally, those
producers who could benefit most are those producing for a year round market,
rather than for a specific time, such as at Christmas. This is why investment in
both market and product development is so fundamental to the future well being
of the industry.
Profit-taking
or stimulating demand?: In reLAKSation no 98,
we discussed how the head of aquaculture development at the European Commission,
Dr Constantin Vamvakas had criticised supermarkets for excessive profit-taking.
He said that consumers are not reaping the benefits of the efforts made by
producers to cut costs. We, at Callander McDowell, disagreed arguing that a
significant part of the price differential between cost and selling price is
made up of the huge operating costs involved in running a supermarket chain.
Whilst
the basic price of salmon may not have been cut, supermarkets do provide
consumers with many value for money deals. These certainly help promote
consumption. Our regular retail surveys shows that British supermarkets are
currently offering the following deals on packs of chilled salmon:
Asda
– Salmon fillets - now £6.97/kg down from
£8.39/kg
Morrisons
– Salmon fillet - £5.99/kg
Safeway
– 500g pack of salmon fillets - now £2.69 down from £5.69. (£5.38/kg)
Sainsburys
– Salmon fillets - more than 50% extra free. 720g for the price of 400g - £5.99.
(£8.32/kg)
Somerfield
– 300g pack of salmon fillets - now £1.99 down from £3.99. (£6.63/kg).
Tesco
- Salmon fillet - now £6.97/kg reduced from
£8.38/kg. Also 260g packs of skinless & boneless salmon filets – now £2.68
down from £2.98.
Stolen
– the last 10 years?: The Salmon Farm
Protest Group continues to condemn salmon farming yet claims that it is not
anti-farming. The group told Intrafish that it wants to bring cage farming to an
end because of alleged environmental damage. Instead, it wants to see salmon
farming brought ashore. Of course, this is never going to happen as such shore
based farming is neither realistic or economical.
Whilst
the SFPG are vocal in trying to denigrate the salmon farming industry, they are
more reluctant to discuss the motivation behind their campaign. Bruce Sandison,
Chairman of the group told Intrafish that the salmon industry has ‘stolen ten
years of his life’, but provides little explanation. Yet a clue may be found
in the group’s web based magazine – The Salmon Farm Monitor. The last page
is given over to Rod McGill, a regular contributor to a number of fly fishing
and angling magazines. From this it can be concluded that Mr Sandison is an avid
sports fisherman. He can only be alluding to the fact that he has lost ten years
of sport by falling numbers of wild salmon in the rivers he regularly fishes.
This he blames on the presence of salmon farms and which is why he demands that
they be removed.
However,
at a time when Mr Sandison and his group have stepped up demands for an end to
cage farming, Fishupdate.com report that the fish counter on the English River
Tyne has shown that 2000 fish have entered the river during June as compared
with only 500 during the same month last year. This is because 52 of the
remaining 68 drift net fishermen have been bought out reducing the pressure on
wild stocks.
Although
the River Tyne is in the North East of England, it is located well away from the
Scottish salmon farming industry. Like many other salmon rivers, the Tyne has
seen a dramatic decline in wild fish numbers. This demonstrates that Mr Sandison
is wrong to lay the blame on salmon farming for his inability to engage in his
sport.
Interestingly,
the Salmon & Trout Association who brokered the deal with the Tyne netsmen
now want the Republic of Ireland to act in a similar fashion because many of the
salmon intercepted off the Irish coast are destined to swim to rivers in the UK.
As
Chairman of a protest group, Mr Sandison may be interested to know that other
protest groups are just as unhappy with the way that he practices his sport. One
group, Pisces actively campaigns against angling which they claim is cruel. They
are supported in this by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals which states in its policies that it is opposed to angling because of
the cruelty involved. Pisces recognise that they have along way to go before
they can influence public opinion on angling because its such a popular pastime,
however the mood swing in the UK has already seen Government bring about change
to the law about hunting with dogs that changes to cruel sports are inevitable.
Mr Sandison will then have something to really complain about. Meanwhile, Mr
Sandison might consider building his own tank ashore as somewhere to dangle his
own rod.