450 Million hooked on the future

The new partners in the European future, from the north, the south and Central Europe are Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. They will all work together under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The number of coastal Member States jumps from 13 to 20, extending EU waters further into Mediterranean and the Baltic.

Apart from the vast market on offer, all the States bordering the Baltic (except the Russian Federation), will be EU members and the International Baltic Sea Fisheries Commission (IBSFC) will soon be abolished.

Under the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG), the new member states will receive over EUR 272million over the period 1 may 2004 to 31 December 2006.

The measures envisaged include amending FIFG rules better to target aid on environmentally-friendly technologies, diversification of farmed species and measures of collective interest such as market promotion, updating the rules on the safety of fisheries products and animal health, and increasing research financing opportunities for aquaculture.

The new hands on board

We look at the coastal states starting with Cyprus: The fishing fleet consists of around 700 vessels. More than 85 per cent are under 12 metres. Total catches amounted to 1,650 tonnes in 2001. The catching sector provides jobs for approximately 1,000 people. Aquaculture production has steadily increased in recent years and now stands at around 2,300t. Main species are sea bass and sea bream. The number of people employed in the fish farming sector is small, but hatcheries and a shrimp farm for feed production are also producing exports of more than three million out of some seven million fry.

Almost the entire fish production is sold fresh. Fish processing is the next industry shift and the country imports around 70 per cent of all fisheries products. Consumption per capita stands at around 18 kilos per year. Foreign trade balance in fishery products is negative at EUR-33 million.

Estonia

The Estonian Baltic fleet, made up of approximately 150 over 12-metre vessels and 500 small vessels, targets mainly herring and sprat and represents 70 per cent of total catches amounting to 105,000t in 2001. With an average age of 20 years, Estonian fishing vessels tend to be newer than vessels in many other Member States. The catching sector employs 5,400 fishermen.

The fish processing industry holds a strong position in Estonia's food industry, providing 40 per cent of the food industry's total export volume. It also makes an important contribution to the trade surplus for fisheries products which stood at EUR 93 million in 2001. The Estonian processing industry includes producers of canned fish and frozen fish, mainly targeting East European markets, (particularly former Soviet republics) as well as fast-food, fillet and delicacy producers who sell the majority of their production on Western markets. Approximately 80 processing companies in Estonia employ 4,500 people.

Latvia

The industry employs around 1.2 per cent of the active population. Foreign trade balance in fish production has been positive since the early nineties with exports of fisheries representing 3.7 per cent of total export volume. Fishing activities are mainly concentrated in the Baltic Sea and in the Gulf of Riga. Around 250 fishing vessels are engaged in commercial fisheries on coastal waters. Total catches amount to around 80,000t, of which 95 per cent is landed by the Baltic fleet, which fishes mainly for herring, cod, salmon and sprat. The age of fishing vessels averages 26 years.

Fish processing is almost entirely based on local resources. More than 125 companies produce approximately 155,700t of canned fish (53 per cent) and chilled and frozen fisheries products. Almost 90 per cent of production is exported.

Lithuania

The Lithuanian fisheries sector provides jobs for 5,900 people and fishing activity is concentrated in the seaport of Klaip da. The Baltic Sea fleet consists of 71 vessels between 18 and 30 metres. Catches in the Baltic amount to around 10,000t of cod, herring, sprat and flounder. A 25-vessel, high-sea fleet operates in the North Atlantic Fisheries Organisation and The North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission areas and in the South East Atlantic. This fleet accounts for the bulk of the Lithuania production catching almost 140,000t of fish and shrimp each year.

Some 75 per cent of Lithuanian vessels are over 26 years old and are manned by 2,400 fishermen. Output volume of the Lithuanian fish processing sector tripled between 1998 and 2002. There are 68 companies delivering 68,000t of fisheries products. Salted, smoked and dried fish account for 40 per cent and these almost exclusively go to the Lithuanian market. Surimi products (34 per cent) and frozen fish and fish fillets (23 per cent) are the main export products. About 75 per cent of raw material is imported. Fish processing employs 3,000 people and is an important branch of the Lithuanian food industry.

Malta

While it makes only a limited contribution to the national economy (0.1 per cent), fishing is socially significant. More than 90 per cent of the 1,900 vessels of the Maltese fishing fleet are under 12 metres and engage exclusively in coastal fisheries. Estimated total landings for 2002 amounted to about 940t of fish. Main species caught include bluefin tuna, dolphinfish, swordfish, mackerel and pilot fish.

The catching sector provides work for just under 2,000 fishermen.

Fish farming has gained in importance over the last 15 years. At present, six aquaculture companies produce a total of 1,175t of sea bass and sea bream per year and there are 5 sites specialized in fattening bluefin tuna. Foreign trade balance in fisheries products is negative at EUR --11million. The local market relies on imports to supplement local production as consumption of fish products per capita is high (at 31.3kg annually, it is the second highest consumption rate in the enlarged Union) and Maltese processing facilities are very limited. Up to 174,000t of both fresh fisheries products and processed goods are imported.

Poland

The total catches of the Polish fishing fleet amounted to 225,000t in 2001.The majority of Polish fishing takes place in the Baltic Sea. The deep-sea fishing fleet, once operating as far as the Antartic, the Falklands and the Bering Sea, has decreased significantly in recent years and was down to three vessels at the beginning of 2004. There are 5,400 fishermen working across the catch sector.

For some years, the processing industry has been characterised by high growth rates and it currently represents two per cent of the value of the output of the Polish food industry. At the end of 2003, 340 fish-processing establishments were operational with a global production of some 273,000t, the main products being canned fish and fresh and frozen fish fillets. The industry employs around 14,000 people.

Slovenia

It has a short coastline of approximately 47km. Some 90 per cent of the fleet are small, coastal vessels of less than 12 metres. Pilchard is the dominant specie caught, representing almost 70 per cent of the total catch. The fleet also targets anchovy, common carp and common cuttlefish. There are around 130 jobs in the catching sector.

The country has one major processing plant, devoted mainly to canning. As the domestic demand for fisheries products easily exceeds the supply from the Slovenian fisheries sector, Slovenia imports a considerable amount of fresh, chilled, frozen, dried or salted crustaceans and molluscs as well as prepared and canned fish. The balance of trade in fisheries products is negative, standing at -11,300t and EUR -26,5 million in 2001.

Hungary, the Czech republic and Slovakia

Although landlocked, these are important countries for their consumption of fish, particularly as they also represent long-standing tourist destinations. In the past, one-day and longer trip foreign visitors to Hungary have reached 48 million per annum (for a national population of 12 million).

The Czech republic has moved into the high, foreign visitor sector too since it opened up after the 1991 Velvet Revolution. Both have benefited from low-cost airline operations in recent years and Slovakia is also now seeing a boom in tourist traffic. All three source river fish from the major European rivers which run through them and their capitals. These three countries have a long tradition of aquaculture going back to the Middle Ages, for example perch and trout. The Austrian Federal Forestry Office has been working through Austrian companies with these countries on the development of largescale fish breeding. One example is early-bred trout in 1,000-litre containers for later release into ponds and brooks. The Austrian results have been reported to be very good with up to 13,500 small fish per container.