Every two years the fish industry puts a red ring around February in their diary: that is when their firmly established trade fair “fish international” takes place in Bremen. Alongside the well-tried mix of product presentation, discussion of current topics, and ample opportunities for building or nurturing business contacts, Germany’s only fish trade fair always has some new topics on its agenda. From Sunday 9 to Tuesday 11 February 2014 visitors will find a much larger aquaculture section, for example. The new competition for the “Best Seafood Product” is already meeting with positive response from the industry, and the “Gastro Ivent” which takes place parallel to the fish trade fair and offers creative solutions for caterers and restaurateurs is an additional new attraction.
Gastro Ivent enhances fish international with a highly select range of products from the entire food and beverage spectrum. It wants to appeal to restaurateurs and caterers who were not interested in fish on it own… a concept that is being very well accepted: “We’ve already received much praise for this new development”, says Sabine Wedell, Project Manager of the double event, in eager anticipation of interesting new exhibitors.
The Danish fish industry is much more strongly represented than in previous years. In addition to individual presentations from companies such as the cold water shrimp specialist Chrisfish A/S or Seawell Hirtshals A/S there will also be a joint Danish pavilion in 2014. Participants include Uhrenholt A/S who according to company information is the worldwide pioneer for shrimps with the Euro organic seal, Vilsund Blue a/s who claims to be one of the two leading mussel producers in Europe, and Kimpex A/S who is well-known for pelagic fishes and fresh fish.
On the product side, fish international is for the first time holding a competition to find the “Best Seafood Product”, thereby giving traders and caterers an interesting possibility for orientation. Companies can showcase their products in the competition and thus gain an additional advertising option. The winners will be chosen by the public and an expert jury, reports Sabine Wedell. “And to our great joy the jury already has some high-calibre members – we see this as a sign of the industry’s appreciation of the prize.”
Among those who have agreed to take part are fish buyers from large retail chains such as Rewe, Edeka Minden-Hannover, and familia Nordwest. Apart from that: specialist buyers from Sodexo, Servicebund, Dussmann Service, and Compass Group. And representatives from bofrost, the German Agricultural Society, and the Bremerhaven Technology Transfer Centre stand for quality management and product development.
One product is so new on the market that it is not likely to be included in the competition. The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) plans to present the first certified farmed salmon on the Monday of the fair. “At present four Norwegian companies are undergoing the certification process”, reports Sun Brage from ASC.
The ASC presentation will be a special highlight in the aquaculture section of the fair which is going to be much bigger in 2014. “With this extension we are reacting to visitor wishes”, says Sabine Wedell. The Bremen exhibition organisers are also very proud to have been able to win two internationally known eminent authorities. Normally, Prof. Michael Timmons Ph.D. and James Ebeling Ph.D. hold their ambitious and yet entertaining workshop on fish farming in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) during the summer months at Cornell University in Ithaca/New York. Now they will be presenting it in Europe for the first time: in the neighbouring Congress Centrum Bremen on Monday 10 and Tuesday 11 February.
“We will be addressing both people who are considering starting an RAS farm, and farmers who are already active in that sector and want to expand or convert their farm”, says Michael Timmons. “The workshop will examine aquaculture systems from an engineering perspective and look particularly at the design of several system sizes from boutique to large commercial scale”, explains James Ebeling. And it will also consider the economics and profitability of recirculating systems.
The fact that the unusual workshop can take place is thanks to the support of the leading full supplier Aquacultur Fischtechnik from Nienburg and the big fish feed producer Biomar A/S. The Nienburg company will again be participating in the aquaculture section of the Bremen fair with a large stand for accessories and technology. There will be several newcomers among the exhibitors, too.
fish international and Gastro Ivent will be open on Sunday and Monday from 10:00 to 18:00, on Tuesday from 10:00 to 17:00. One ticket grants admission to both fairs. The RAS workshop requires separate registration at www.fishinternational.de
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