SALMON FATIGUE
AFTER several years of sustained expansion, the salmon market no longer appears to be growing. The latest figures show that salmon consumption in the UK is now static. Consumption in France and much of continental Europe has only increased by a few percentage points. A far cry from the heady days when the salmon market was regularly growing by 10% or 15% per year. It is apparently called "salmon fatigue". Throughout Europe there is salmon everywhere and people are frankly getting a bit fed up. If you don't believe me, walk through any supermarket south where you will find that salmon products account for more than half of all fish sold. On British Rail and British Airways, passengers are now regularly served salmon where, even a few years ago, this was unheard of.
Salmon fatigue is a serious problem. Salmon production is already outstripping demand and is set to continue to grow. The only way a catastrophe can be avoided is for the salmon market to continue to grow as well. But can the market continue to grow when salmon fatigue seems to be resulting in market stagnation? Are things really as bad as all this? There is clearly a problem. The capacity for Norway to produce over a million tonnes of salmon a year is only being held back because of feed quotas. If Norway's production (quite apart from the increasing production in Shetland, Scotland, Ireland, Faroe and Chile) is to be sold, then there must be a huge marketing campaign to overcome the effects of salmon fatigue.
But marketing costs money and who will pay? The Norwegian government appear to be backing their industry with a marketing budget. What about the UK? Few people would disagree that an increase in the salmon market is essential and that the aquaculture industry should therefore be spending more money. But, with most farms losing money, is it realistic to expect salmon farming companies to find extra money for marketing?
Lowrie does not think it is realistic for salmon farmers to meet the costs of a marketing campaign by themselves. The UK Government must therefore provide some help. The fact that salmon farming jobs are found in areas where employment opportunities are poor is an important factor. The most obvious body to help the Scottish and Shetland salmon farming industries is Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Financial assistance from the HIE network has been central to the development of the salmon farming industry. Here in Shetland the SIC continues to help and this must continue. If ever there was a need to market salmon, it is now. If no money is spend then salmon fatigue will take hold and the market will continue to stagnate. But the industry cannot expect public funding from the SIC and HIE without making some contribution itself. It is difficult when the industry is not profitable but the only way to restore profitability is through tackling salmon fatigue head on with an aggressive marketing campaign. In the editorial of last month's Shetland Fishing News, mention was made of the need for a marketing executive to market Shetland seafood.
Lowrie agrees. The time is long overdue for a co-ordinated and structured approach to fish marketing. Attending exhibitions is all very well but the industry needs a clear marketing plan of what the market wants and how Shetland hopes to supply this at premium prices. This is undoubtedly true for salmon as well as for other seafood from Shetland.