February 6, 2006

EU sources for seafood as supplies dry up

The EU is becoming more dependent on foreign countries to fulfill its seafood supplies as depleting stocks and fishery quotas reduce the catch available for its seafood processors.

In 2004, EU imports of fish and fishery products totaled EUR12 billion (US$14.4 billion) while exports totaled EUR2 billion (US$2.4 billion), a trade deficit of EUR10 billion (US$12 billion), a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) report stated.

82 percent of EU fish imports in 2004 were raw fishery products. The UK is the largest fish processor in the EU, followed by France, Spain and Germany.

France, the largest market for salmon and scallops in Europe, is a major seafood consumer and a net importer of many seafood products, including shellfish, surimi, and a variety of whitefish. The US is France's largest supplier of lobster and surimi products.

Germany, another major consumer of seafood, imported fishery products worth EUR2.12 billion (US$2.55 billion) in 2004 with countries outside the EU accounting for 60 percent of the imports.

The EU is the biggest market for Norway, a major fishery product exporter in the EU. In 2004, the value of Norwegian seafood exports increased 7.6 percent on-year to reach US$4.2 billion.

Processors in the EU are increasing their demand for exports of US seafood. US imports continued to grow during 2005, driven by high-value products including lobster, wild salmon, cod, surimi, scallops and whiting.

Exports of such seafood products, at a value of US$849 million, set new 11-month export value records, the USDA reported. Strong EU demand for cod and domestic supply constraints have boosted US imports, which have tripled since 1996.

Scallop imports have nearly doubled since 2004 and exports of surimi have rose by nearly nine times since the last decade. The increase reflects increases in EU consumption of surimi products, many of which contain Alaska pollock. US lobsters are also very popular in markets in Italy, Spain and France, the USDA reported.

With decreased catches, EU processors are increasingly receptive of US Pacific cod, thus driving import growth, the USDA stated.

The EU catch has dropped by 26 per cent from 1995 to 2003. Severely depleted stocks led to an emergency closure of fisheries in 2005. The main species caught in 2003 were Atlantic herring, blue whiting, mackerel and sprat.
 

Adding to the processors' woes is the fact that there will be tougher quotas on fishing this year. Measures include a 10 percent reduction and a ban on the use of gillnets in Atlantic waters.  The Commission has proposed a 15 percent reduction in both catch and number of days at sea due to depleted cod supplies.

Last month, more restraints were put on fishing on the Mediterranean side, including a ban on deep-water trawling in some areas. The move is expected to affect fishing fleets from Spain, France, Greece and Italy.