The last couple of years have been turbulent and uncertain, not least for the fishing industry, but the organisers of DanFish were certain throughout that the 2021 event would go ahead – and with less than a month to go, they were right.
There’s no denying that the last couple of years have been nervous ones, but now it’s clear that the fishing industry is more than ready to start meeting face-to-face again – just as Denmark has finally lifted its Covid restrictions a few weeks ago.
‘We are very much looking forward to DanFish International 2021, and we are excited about it being a live in-person exhibition where stakeholders and professionals from the commercial fisheries industry can meet, engage and network with each other,’ said Martin Winkel Lilleøre, head of Danish Export – Fish Tech which is bringing more than 90 companies to the Pavilion of Denmark.
‘People are longing to meet in-person again, and with covid restrictions lifted entirely in Denmark, we hope to welcome a large amount of European visitors to DanFish International.’
The Danish city of Aalborg which hosts DanFish International every two years is ideally located, placing it at the centre of the whole North Atlantic and close to some of Europe’s key fishing and industry regions. This is an exhibition that brings fishing industry people together from across the whole of Northern Europe and around the world – both exhibitors and visitors.
‘Danfish is a great Expo for us. How often do you get to participate in a Trade Expo in your home town? We are proud to contribute to showing how much Aalborg and Denmark have to offer,’ said Carsoe’s Communications and Marketing Manager Julie Drustrup, and her comments were echoed by the company’s Sales and Business Manager Jeppe Christensen.
‘Danfish we meet our clients and partners from the Nordic Regions and Canada and showcase Carsoe as an market leader in the seafood processing industry. We look forward to meeting in person again,’ he said.
DanFish International is an exhibition that never fails to be well attended, and always buzzes with activity, both at the stands during the day, around the seminars and conferences that are an integral part of the schedule – and around the city after the exhibition closes its doors in the evenings.
Exhibitors tend to come back time after time, and this year’s event is no exception after two years of practically none of the usual industry events taking place.
‘We always make sure to have a strong presence at the DanFish exhibition. With its broad range of visitors around the world, we see this as one of the most important industry events. This is where we meet our existing customers and always get to know some new ones,’ said Bogi Nón of Faroese fishing gear supplier Vónin.
‘After almost two years of lockdowns and precautions due to Covid-19, it will be fantastic to be back in Aalborg for DanFish 2021.’
This year DanFish has attracted more than 300 exhibitors from 23 countries, the majority of them from the Northern Europe region, ranging from fishing gear suppliers to producers of sophisticated technologies and service providers such as ports and harbours.
‘For us at Hirtshals Havn, DanFish is a big event and one that we definitely never miss,’ said Port of Hirtshals head of development Linn Indrestrand. ‘Aalborg always brings in visitors from all over northern Europe who are looking to do business in Denmark, as well as providing an opportunity for us to showcase the range of facilities that Hirtshals Havn has to offer and the opportunities for companies exploring the possibilities of bringing their business here.’
This year Hirtshals Havn’s new director Per Holm Nørgaard gets to experience the buzz of DanFish for the first time since taking over his new role.
‘I’m really looking forward to being part of DanFish this year,’ he said. ‘I have been part of this exhibition previously and it going to be great to see old acquaintances and create new ones.’
The region around Aalborg, ringed with some of Denmark’s key fishing ports, is where much of the country’s fishing technology sector is located, producing fishing gear and processing systems that find their way to users around the world, as well as being home what has become the fishing industry’s leading shipbuilder. Located just along the coast at Skagen, Karstensens Skibsværft is a serious success story in exporting fishing vessels to every major fishing nation in northern Europe, and the yard always has a presence at DanFish, often taking the opportunity to unveil new orders at the exhibition.
‘DanFish is the exhibition we wouldn’t ever want to miss out on,’ the yard’s Kent Damgaard said.
‘This is a highly important event for us and for the Danish fishing industry as a whole. We always make sure we have a presence at DanFish.’
