The world’s largest seafood trade fair kicks off face-to-face events for the global seafood industry today in Barcelona, with 1550 exhibiting companies from 76 countries and 59 national and regional pavilions.
Taking place at Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Vía exhibition centre, Seafood Expo Global has had a challenging few years – first in shifting this flagship event from its long-time home in Brussels to Barcelona, plus two years of waiting, uncertainty and a couple of false starts as Covid-19 brought face-to-face exhibitions to a halt.
For three days, Barcelona now becomes the sector’s largest international platform. The event is expected to generate an economic impact of up to 100 million euros for the city.
‘We are very pleased with the interest that Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global has once again generated in the industry and the confidence that so many companies from all over the world have placed in us for this first year of the event in Barcelona,’ said Diversified Communications Group VP Liz Plizga.
‘Exhibitors and visitors have been anticipating this event, in Barcelona, for a few years now. The impressive exhibit floor reflects the industry’s eagerness and need to return to in-person events and generate new business opportunities.’
This year, the event features an extensive conference programme with more than 20 educational sessions that will address the main challenges the seafood industry faces. More than 65 leading international experts from the sector will gather in Barcelona to offer practical and theoretical insight into key current topics including aquaculture, the seafood business and leadership, the latest projects in sustainability, and initiatives to tackle climate change and its effects on the maritime ecosystem.
A keynote address by Megan Greene (global economist, Financial Times columnist and senior research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School) will open the conference programme.
Other speakers include Amy Novogratz, co-founder and managing partner of Aqua-Spark, Audun Lem, deputy director of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division of FAO, Europêche and IFCA president Javier Garat, and Christophe Vande Weyer, policy officer at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, among many other industry leaders.
