LITHUANIA
returns on investment reshaping the domestic aquaculture industry? We already see that carp’s dominant role in aquaculture production is decreasing. In recent years carp production has decreased from 90 to 80 of the overall amount of aquaculture production. I think that the form of presentation to the consumer should also change and greater variety
should be proposed. We invest a lot in the aquaculture sector, one third of the total amount of support from the EMFF in Lithuania is allocated to aquaculture. We already see some positive results – more and more fish is grown in closed recirculation systems. There are currently 26 closed recirculation system companies offering consumers catfish, trout, eel, sturgeon and products made from these fish.
How does Lithuania seek to increase visibility of the fisheries and aquaculture sector, promote seafood products, and create awareness about the health benefits of increased seafood consumption, among the population, to increase the consumption of fish? Unfortunately, Lithuanians do not consume a lot fish and fish products, therefore we are thinking of
educating the young generation and inculcating in them the habits of a healthy diet. The ministry has real projects pending on promoting and increasing the consumption of the fish products. I think that producers should also show their interest in increasing the variety of their products, promoting their taste, quality, and healthfulness, and in meeting the high demands of the contemporary consumer.
Fisheries and aquaculture in Lithuania
Fishers and farmers increasingly add value to their production Although a small country (population. 2.8m) Lithuania has a highly diverse fisheries and aquaculture sector. The fishing fleet comprises tiny vessels that are active in inland waters as well as large ones fishing the high seas, the aquaculture sector combines traditional pond farms producing carp and other freshwater species with ultra-modern recirculation aquaculture systems. The value of the output from the processing industry, which produces a large variety of fresh, frozen, smoked, salted, marinated, and canned products, has been growing steadily and was more than half a billion euros in 2016.
A
ccording to the official fleet register, as of 1 Jan 2016 the Lithuanian fishing fleet comprised 290 vessels. The fisheries administration recently introduced transferable quotas to all fleet segments in a bid to modernise fisheries management and make the activity more profitable. Artu-ras Bogdanovas, Vice Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, says that the administration studied systems of management being used in different parts of the world, before coming to the conclusion that an ITQ system would be the most appropriate in the Lithuanian context. The fishermen too were enthusiastic, at least about certain aspects of the new system. They liked the 32
idea of being allocated quotas for a period longer than a year and the fact that they would be based on historical catches, says . . Agne Razmislavicˇiu-te-Palioniene, the Director of the Fisheries Department. The system has built in safeguards to prevent undue concentration of quotas in the hands of few fishermen, a problem that has been seen in other parts of Europe.
High seas fleet targets small pelagics off Africa The high seas fleet is active in waters governed by regional fisheries management organisations in the northwest Atlantic, the northeast Atlantic, the south Pacific, and in African waters,
. . . Agne Razmislavicˇiu-te -Palioniene , Director of the Fisheries Department.
www.eurofishmagazine.com
06_LITHUANIA (LT).indd 32
08/06/17 6:22 pm