ROMANIA
The fisheries and aquaculture sector in Romania
New auction could trigger far reaching changes The Romanian fisheries and aquaculture sector has seen some interesting and possibly profound developments in the last couple of years. Possibly the most momentous is the new fishing auction in Tulcea, the first of its kind in the country, that is due to start operating later this year.
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nother novelty is the use of cages to farm trout in a dam lake. Both these developments were made possible with support from European funds. The auction is intended primarily for fish from the Danube Delta, but ANPA, the National Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture, the body that is currently responsible for the auction, expects that in time it will be used also to sell farmed fish and even fish from the Black Sea.
Huge increase in rapana production Romania has a multifaceted fisheries and aquaculture sector, which although not large is very diverse: marine fisheries for finfish and shellfish from the Black Sea, freshwater capture fisheries from the Danube Delta as well as other freshwater bodies, pond fish farming of cyprinids, and trout farming using raceways, recirculation systems, and (now) cages. Nearly three fourths of the total fish and seafood production in Romania stems from the farming sector and the remainder from capture fisheries. Total Romanian catches in the Black Sea have increased over the four years to 2014 from 537 tonnes to 2,200 tonnes, according to data from ANPA. This is mainly due to the rapid increase in catches of veined rapa whelk www.eurofishmagazine.com
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(Rapana venosa), a marine snail, for which there is a ready market in Korea and Japan. Catches of this mollusc increased from virtually nothing in 2010 to over 1,950 tonnes in 2014. Romanian catches of other species found in the Black Sea such as anchovy and sprat have fluctuated over this period but were relatively modest with an annual average of 55 and 77 tonnes respectively. The low catches of sprat and anchovy can partly be attributed to the popularity of rapana as fishers would rather target this high value snail than low value small pelagics. In addition, Romania has no single large and modern port with all the facilities to land fish. Instead landings are dispersed over several sites none of which have storage facilities for fish. Since rapana can be kept alive and fresh for longer than fish, fishermen prefer to catch this. Although Romanian catches in the Black Sea are minor (Turkey is the dominant player in this regard) it is making an effort to work with other countries in the region to reduce IUU fishing, a significant problem in the Black Sea. Marian Chiriac, President of the National Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture (ANPA), says that the riparian countries are developing a common plan for inspection and control, and
Marian Chiriac, President of the National Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture (ANPA)
are strengthening their cooperation in the GFCM Working Group on the Black Sea. Romania is also working to improve fisheries data collection and the enforcement of legislation so that fisheries are sustainable in all senses of the word, economically, environmentally, and socially. Additional measures include the designation of ports and landing points, the use of better technology, such
as an electronic catch reporting system, and the regular training of fisheries inspectors with the help of the European Fisheries Control Agency. ANPA’s desire to achieve a balance between stocks and fishing effort also extends to consumers. They will be the target of ANPA information campaigns that will urge them to pay attention to the traceability of fish and seafood. Eurofish Magazine 6 / 2015
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02/12/15 10:56 PM