The DanFish exhibition, held every second year in the Danish city of Aalborg, has a firmly established place as northern Europe’s primary fishing industry event.
It has always had a strongly international flavour, attracting both visitors and exhibitors from around the world, but the 2019 event is set to be even more international than ever, with exhibitors from 28 nations (compared to 23 in 2017) and with the fishing industry in robust health and investment taking place in new capacity, shipyards are prominent among those taking part.
The European fishing sector has seen a growing optimism in recent years that has triggered a new generation of fishing vessels being built, not least with the surge in construction taking place in the Russian fishing industry, with numerous western companies prominently involved in the design and supply sectors.
The first new fishing vessels for Russian owners are about to be delivered this year, built to designs from a Norwegian naval architect, and there are new fishing vessels emerging from yards across Europe this year – many of them incorporating innovative technology.
Greenlandic companies have been at the forefront of upgrading fishing vessels, with Niisa Trawl taking delivery of the new Regina C at the end of last year, followed by Qajak Trawl’s new Markus, both delivered by shipyards in Vigo. The new Sisimiut – the first of two new factory vessels for Royal Greenland – has just been delivered and is to be followed by its partner vessel later this year, plus a new trawler for Polar Seafood is also under construction in Spain.
Galician shipbuilder Nodosa is among a record number of shipyards at this year’s DanFish event, and the yard has a strong track record in building for its home market in Spain, including the first new fishing vessels in many years for the distant water fleet operating in Falkland islands waters, as well as innovative new fishing vessels for owners in Germany and Holland – and Nodosa is returning to DanFish this year.
‘With the fishing industry doing well, DanFish is one of the most important exhibitions for us as a shipbuilder specialising mainly in fishing vessels,’ said the yard’s commercial director José Ramón Regueira.
‘This is the event in northern Europe that really brings in visitors from all parts of the Nordic region and beyond. This is where we get to meet both out existing and potential customer, and we appreciate the number and quality of the visitors who come to Aalborg,’ he said.
Ports presence at DanFish
As always, there is a strong showing of Danish companies participating in DanFish, with more than a hundred companies that are part of the Fish Tech Group of the Danish Export Association, plus the Danish ports that never fail to make a strong showing at exhibition, making full use of the opportunities the exhibition offers to showcase what they can do.
‘It’s essential for the port as well as for the service industry in Hirtshals that we attend DanFish. We must be where the customers are and DanFish is the place – there’s absolutely no doubt about this. With around 25 exhibitors at the Hirtshals stand, there will be great opportunities for visitors to get to know the knowledge and the competences that form the cluster in Hirtshals,’ said Jens Kirketerp Jensen, harbourmaster at Hirtshals, one of Denmark’s primary fishing ports, placed just an hour from Aalborg.
Hirtshals has been developing its own maritime cluster and presenting itself as a one-stop-shop for repairs, maintenance and more – and DanFish falls neatly into its strategy of raising awareness of what the port has to offer.
‘On a daily basis we are naturally very close to our customers, but the DanFish exhibition gives us an unique possibility to open another kind of dialogue,’ he explained.
‘At DanFish we have the time and the surroundings to discuss lager projects, and we can look into the future and look into the possibilities that are open to each fisherman and fishing company. Of course this applies to both the fishermen we already know – and for the new business relationships that result from our presence at the DanFish exhibition.’
DanFish International takes place 9th-11th October 2019 in Aalborg, with 400 exhibitors from twenty countries taking part, and an estimated 14,000 visitors from 50 countries who regularly come to Aalborg for this key fishing industry event, held every second year in the Danish city of Aalborg
