Fishy business

Fish consumption is on the rise in Germany, and so too are the prices.

Per capita consumption was 15.7 kilograms (based on catch weight) in 2010, compared to 11 kg in the 1980s, and is expected to exceed 16 kg next year, according to the German Fish Information Center.

That's a significant increase for a country that loves pork and poultry. And even though this rise in consumption is just a drop in the bucket compared to big fish-eating countries like the Maldives with its 142.4 kg per capita and Greenland with its 91 kg, it shows a growing appetite for more.

Upward prices

Like consumption, fish prices in Europe are also on the rise, up 3.6 percent in 2010 compared to the year before.

"There is a general upward trend in prices due to more countries developing middle-class families that like fish and are willing to pay for it and also to fluctuations in fish supplies," said Matthias Keller, director of the German Fish Information Center. "It's becoming more difficult to meet the growing demand and this, of course, is driving prices upward."

Keller noted, for instance, that problems in Chile last year gave Norway a "near monopoly" in supplying salmon, resulting in higher prices. "Now Chile is back delivering and the prices are falling," he told Deutsche Welle.

While some countries are boosting production of domestically raised fish to sidestep fluctuations in sea-caught fish, Germany has relatively strict environmental laws that hinder the expansion of fish farms, Keller added.

Germans, in general, are eating more fish because they like the taste of it and believe it's healthier than most meats, according to Keller. In 2010, they devoured nearly 1.3 million tons (catch weight). Around 88 percent of the catch is imported. Norway is Germany's biggest source of fish, supplying nearly 15 percent of the market.

Top five favorites

Today, consumers in Germany can choose from more than 660 different types of fish, with their top five favorites being Alaska pollock, herring, salmon, tuna and pangasius, according to statistics compiled by the German Fish Information Center.

Another preference: Germans like to purchase frozen fish over fresh fish - and preferably in discount stores. Every second fish product is sold in a discount supermarket, like Aldi or Lidl, according to the consumer market researcher GfK.

While fish retailers can hardly be happier with growing demand and rising prices, some consumers are beginning to worry about seafood someday turning into a pricey delicacy rather than remaining an affordable staple.

A steadily growing appetite for fish around the world has resulted in overfishing in many regions.

Around 32 percent of the world's fish stocks are estimated to be overfished, according to Keller. "This is too much," he said. "In some areas, we still don't have sufficient controls. But in others, we do and fish populations are recovering."

The center offers an Internet portal (www.fischverband.de/faokarte) that shows fish stocks in key fishing areas around the world.

Fishing quotas

Other experts, however, remained concerned.

Christopher Zimmermann, a professor at the Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut in Rostock and deputy director of the Baltic Sea Fishing Institute, believes the fishing industry requires still greater efforts to replenish fish stocks.

He says new European Union recommendations aren't "ambitious enough" and worries that they could be watered down by member states seeking changes.

Zimmermann argues that to combat overfishing, fishing nations needs to abide by legal quotas, take action against those that ignore these quotas and introduce management policies to effectively control fish stocks moving ahead.

In overfished areas, the solution "is to lower fishing quotas for a couple of years until fish populations recover and then manage stocks," Zimmermann told Deutsche Welle.

But he was quick to admit that "less fishing won't be easy for many companies" and that the industry as a whole will need to go through a "valley of tears" if it is serious about achieving a sustainable business.

Consumers, too, will likely shed a tear or two as prices climb on growing demand for a food sought by more people than ever before.

Author: John Blau
Editor: Sam Edmonds