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Issue link: https://seafoodbusiness.epubxp.com/i/112398
Market Report Scotland salmon on the rise Scottish salmon triumphs in Asia Atlantic salmon production, in metric tons Chinese demand is good news for exporters S cotland���s Atlantic salmon farming industry is often overshadowed by the superior output of Norway, but the former is still the EU���s leading salmon-producing nation and the No. 3 producer in the world. As salmon is the United Kingdom���s bestselling seafood product, the bulk of Scottish production ful���lls domestic demand; it���s also Scotland���s No. 1 food export with an annual value of around ��220 salmon million (���255.8 million; $346.1 million). Exports are built upon Scottish provenance and tradition. In 2011, the country���s fresh salmon exports totaled 95,638 metric tons (MT), an increase of 20 percent on the previous year. Te main export markets are Europe, the United States Blue���n breeding encouraged 2000 and Japan, but analysts believe it���s Scotland���s special relationship with China that o���ers the most growth potential. A trade agreement allowing Scottish seafood products to be sold in China was reached by the two countries��� governments in 2011 and is already bearing rich fruit. According to data released by HM Revenue & Customs, Scotland exported 8,675 MT of salmon to the Far East in the ���rst 10 months of last year, 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012* 125k 135k 145k 155k 165k 175K * Estimate; Source: Marine Scotland Science more than all of 2011. Te value of exports to this region through October 2012 was ��37 million (���43 million; $58.2 million), up from ��28 million (���32.6 million; $44 million) in the same period of the previous year. While salmon sales in the Far East have increased more than 12-fold in the past three years, the Scottish Salmon Producers��� Organisation (SSPO) (Continued on page 22) Humboldt squid a mixed blessing Quotas soar, but species��� emergence may come at a cost Chief substitute bigeye stays cheap J apan���s government tuna is limiting the catch of wild juvenile blue���n tuna while boosting captive breeding. Te Fisheries Agency has introduced restrictions on the total catch of juvenile blue���n for aquaculture beginning this year. In line with a Western and Central Paci���c Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) agreement, purse seining of blue���n aged 1-3 years in the Paci���c Ocean has been limited to less than the average of the years 2002 to 2004. Currently, 20 percent of blue���n consumed in Japan is from farmed production, but most farming operations are stocked with wild fry. Kinki University in Wakayama has succeeded in closed-cycle blue���n breeding, but spawning is triggered by seasonal changes in water temperature and daylight, making year-round supply of fry di���cult. To address the problem, the Fisheries Agency will begin operating a controlledenvironment land-based facility for spawning blue���n tuna fry in Nagasaki Prefecture. Te WCPFC strengthened regulation of bigeye tuna catches. For 2013, the commission extended to April from March the traditional seasonal (Continued on page 22) 20 SeaFood Business March 2013 J umbo ���ying squid (Dosidicus gigas) are found throughout the Paci���c, though in South America production has been focused in Peru and Chile, where landings and sales have skyrocketed along with demand and seasonal factors that have boosted stocks. While Peru is still by far the larger producer of the species, also known as Humboldt squid, capture quotas in both countries have risen signi���cantly. Interpretations of why stocks have grown range from weather factors to alleged reductions in predator species that feed on the squid. Quotas in Peru doubled from 250,000 metric tons (MT) in 2010 to 500,000 in squid 2012, with a similar amount proposed for 2013. In Chile, where there was virtually no production in 2000, quotas have risen from 175,000 MT in 2010 to 200,000 in 2013. Both countries heavily favor traditional ���shermen in assigning these quotas: In Peru the sector has 60 percent of the catch guaranteed while in Chile it receives 80 percent. Tis is partially because the rise in jumbo ���ying squid in both countries has coincided with drops in the traditional pillars of the sector: hake and mackerel. Tere is also debate regarding whether or not the squid���s arrival has been directly related to the fall in hake and mackerel stocks. Asian markets like South Korea are growing but so too are prices: Peru frozen squid went from 73 U.S. cents per kilogram in January 2010 to $1.49 in just two years. While data is not yet available on 2012 prices, the total value of exports was up 87 percent through November 2012 compared to the year before. Peruvian ���shermen staged a brief strike in 2012 over what they were being paid in port for the product: between 0.20 soles and 0.47 soles (7 to 18 U.S. cents) per kg. ��� Brewington & Co. Visit us online at www.seafoodbusiness.com