From the 4th  to the 6th of April the European project PrimeFish, funded by the Horizon 2020 programme of the European Commission has presented its first results on the consumption of seafood in Europe.

On the 4th and 5th of April, scientists from 11 different countries discussed their latest work on data management, economic performance of fisheries and aquaculture, value chain analysis, market trends, prediction models, support to decision-making, shared value with stakeholders and management of the project.

Guðmundur Stefánsson, project coordinator, outlined the aim of the meeting: “The focus is on the commercial aspect of the project together with the possible improvements and the general good for society”. The 16 research centers, universities and SMEs working together in PrimeFish hold an annual meeting to help the researchers to coordinate their work and foresee the next steps to take.

On the 6th April and under the motto of “Science-based Competitiveness and Policy Making for the European Seafood Sector”, PrimeFish researchers introduced the first results of the projectin front of 60 attendants, among them representatives of the Directorate General for  Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Commission (DG Mare), Aurora de Blas (Spanish General Secretary of Fisheries), Grimur Valdimarsson (Senior Advisor from the Ministry of Industries and Innovation of Iceland), Ross Butler (CEO of Cooke Aquaculture), Haukur Þór Hauksson (Deputy manager of Fisheries Iceland-SFS), Mike Park (Chief Executive of the Scottish White Fish Producers Association), Jóhannes Pálsson (CEO of FF Skagen), Javier Ojeda (Manager of the APROMAR) and Sveinn Margeirsson (CEO of Matís). Other representatives from the fisheries and aquaculture sectors of Denmark, Italy, France, Germany, Greece and United Kingdom also participated in the meeting.

Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/primefish_h2020/

Presentations:

- Welcome and introduction to the PrimeFish project.

Gudmundur Stefánsson, PrimeFish coordinator.

- The Economic Performance of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

Paul S. Valle, leader of PrimeFish work in economic performance of fisheries and aquaculture.

- The Seafood Market Trends: Products and Consumers.

Sterenn Lucas, PrimeFish researcher in market trends.

- A Decision Support Framework on Ecosystem-based Management, the MareFrame project.

Petter Olsen, leader of PrimeFish work in data management.

- Success (and failure) story on cod: SFS (Iceland).

Haukur Þór Hauksson, deputy manager of Fisheries Iceland (SFS).

- Success (and failure) story on trout: Aquimer (France).

Anna Pineau, project manager of Aquimer.

- Success (and failure) story on herring: Danish Pelagic Producers Association (Denmark).

Christian Olesen, chairman of the Board of DPPO.

- Success (and failure) story on salmon: Cooke Aquaculture (USA/Canada).

Ross Butler, CEO of Cooke Seafood USA.

- Success (and failure) story on seabass and seabream: APROMAR (Spain).

Javier Ojeda, General Manager of APROMAR.

- A PrimeFish example; the Product Success Check.

Birgit Hagen, PrimeFish researcher on seafood innovation.

- The PrimeFish Decision Support Framework and System.

Heiner Lehr, PrimeFish leader of the PrimeDFS and PrimeDSS work.

- DG Mare and the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture.

Mirko Marcolin, Directorate General for  Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG- Mare).

- The Perspective of a National Administration: the Case of Seafood Consumption and Labelling in Spain.

Aurora de Blas, Spanish General Secretary of Fisheries.

- Household Fish Consumption: Drivers and Sustainability Effects.

Xavier Irz, of Luke, and Louis-Georges Soler, PrimeFish researcher on consumption.

- The Canadian case: Expanding the Boundaries of Research.

Carey Bonnell and Heather Manuel, PrimeFish researchers in the Canadian sector.

- Strengthening the Competitiveness Through the Blue Growth Strategy.

Sveinn Margeirsson, CEO of Matís.