nofima.no
Creating value
2013
37
Partner:
CRISP – Centre for Research-based
Innovation in Sustainable fish cap-
ture and Pre-processing technology
Technology that enables the purse seine fleet to land larger and fatter herring can provide major economic benefits.
photo: frank gregersen © nofima
This is the conclusion of a report by Nofima scientists
who analysed the Norwegian purse seine fleet.
The report is part of CRISP, a centre for research-based
innovation in sustainable fish capture and pre-processing
technology. The goals of CRISP are to add value to the
Norwegian seafood industry and reduce the strain on the
environment.
“The potential for added value lies primarily in
improved quality (size and fat content) of the landings.
New technologies that enable the vessel to catch the
desired quality and contribute to increasing the prices
of the lowest paid deliveries up to the average price
will constitute a combined annual increase for mackerel
and Norwegian spring-spawning herring of around NOK
50 million,” says Director of Research at Nofima, Bent
Dreyer.
Energy consumption:
The purse seine fleet currently
has the lowest energy consumption in relation to catch
volume.
The total fuel costs for the purse seine fleet were
approx. NOK 380 million in 2010. The largest component
of the fuel consumption is the distance between the
fishing grounds and the point of delivery, but fuel con-
sumption for locating the fish is also high.
If CRISP can contribute technological solutions that
make it easier to locate and catch the desired fish that
reduce fuel consumption by 10 percent, this will consti-
tute an annual saving for the fleet of NOK 38 million.
Ownership:
The size of the purse seine fleet has re-
mained stable at 80 vessels since 2008. Since 2008 there
has been no acquisition of quotas for transfer from one
vessel to another in this fleet.
“The ownership of purse seine licenses is extremely
fragmented, and an ownership group (often a family)
often owns only one vessel. The 17 largest ownership
groups controlled just 51% of the rights in 2011. This is a
far lower concentration than we find, for instance, in the
cod trawling fleet,” says Dreyer.
Quality improvement giving a 10% better price would have increased the
catch value of mackerel and herring by around NOK 380 million in 2011.
Purse seine fleet can add value
