Conference Director Jorgen Lund says: “The coming years will be ones of great challenges and opportunities for our industry. A wind of change is blowing, with big decisions to be made, not least the reform of the EU Common Fisheries Policy, Iceland’s likely entry, impending IUU regulations, climate change issues – all set against a turbulent economic background.”
” So we have assembled a formidable group of international experts to look ahead to 2015, and tell delegates what the playing field is going to look like. Over two packed days, some 70 speakers will be giving us their unique take on industry outlook, providing valuable insights to seafood professionals now steering their business through choppy waters.”
The 2010 Forum will be chaired by Guus Pastoor, President of the EU Fish Processors Association, and opened by Norway’s Fisheries Minister and international colleagues. Straight into big themes – EU fisheries reform, eco-labelling, sustainability and resource management, seen from the North Atlantic perspective. Speakers including Scotland’s Iain McSween (CEO, Scottish Fishermens Organisation), Geir Isaacsen, (CEO Cermaq,) Libby Woodhatch, (CEO Seafood Scotland) and, from the Netherlands, Bart van Olphen.
van Olphen is the visionary founder of the seafood retail chain ‘Fishes’, dedicated to raising awareness of sustainability and environmental issues. He was nominated ‘2008 Seafood Champion’ for his work. Bart says: “At first we were leading our customers, now it is the other way around.” He will be telling delegates about how he set up the first fully-sustainable seafood retail shop chain, combining good policies with good business.
The Forum will then move on to a section called ‘Seafood Industry Captains’, which brings to the platform some of Europe’s top CEO’s, including Grandi’s Eggert Gudmunsson, Marit Solberg of Marine Harvest, and from Canada, Glenn Cooke of Cooke Aquaculture. The downstream industry will be represented by Morpol Poland’s Jerek Malek, Chris Britton of the Findus Group and Deutsche See’s Peter Dill. An NGO perspective will be addressed by the World Wildlife Fund’s Jason Clay.
Running alongside the plenary sessions in the afternoon, the innovative ‘Marelife’ seminar will be looking at the interface of technology and business; science used to improve profitability.
After the always-enjoyable delegate party (described by one 2009 attender as “the best networking event I have ever been to in this business”) day two will continue with a look at World and European market trends and outlook, with international experts including Seafish UK’s Karen Galloway, a report from market analyst Nielsen and speakers from Poland, France and Spain among others. The Marelife Seminar will move onto presentations of innovative case studies, while the Seafood Finance Seminar – a conference inside the conference – will as always assemble virtually every CEO from Norway’s biggest seafood companies, and their bankers. Jorgen Lund again; “The NASF has the potential to actually move the stock market, so much new information is revealed here, and the media will be in close attendance.”
With some 70 international speakers, the 2010 North Atlantic Seafood Forum will be the most ambitious and the most international yet staged, says organiser Norway Trade Fairs, who expect attendance to top the 450 delegates from 24 countries registered in 2009.
Full details of the programme, hotel deals and how to register can be found on:
www.nor-seafood.com
