SPAIN
A unique fishmongers network in Europe
Breathing new life into an old tradition Nobody doubts that the Spanish fishery and aquaculture sector is at the cutting edge of every part of the value chain. The figures confirm it. Spain is the biggest producer in terms of both capture fisheries and aquaculture in the European Union and is the second biggest European consumer of seafood.
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ut only few know that the Spanish traditional fish shops network is one of a kind, for many reasons, including the number located in Spain, the great variety of products, and because of its specialisation. This fantastic fish shops network, run by fishmongers, makes it possible to find fisheries products in any corner of the country, strengthening the Spanish population’s taste for fishery products. This unique network, through which 45 of the total amount of fresh fish in the country is still distributed, has made the Spanish market the one with the greatest variety of species in the world.
Traditional fishmongers still have a third of the market Fedepesca has represented this network of small fishmongers since 1978, but the number of businesses has been reduced, coinciding with the rise of other commercial sales formats, socioeconomic changes in society, and the introduction of new technologies. Currently there are 10,000 selling points, and the traditional fish retail sector still has one third of the market. More than 20,000 people work in this sector, almost one fourth of the entire employment in the fishery value chain. They stock up early in the 42
Eurofish Magazine 6 / 2016
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morning, and they work many hours so they can guarantee the Spanish consumer access to the best fisheries and aquaculture products. The decrease in market share comes along with a reduction in consumption of fisheries products. Lifestyles have changed and the lack of time in daily life reduces the visits to traditional fish shops. Consequently, there have been changes in the healthy dietary habits related to the Mediterranean Diet, that enabled Spain to be one of the countries with the longest life expectancy. In 2008, household consumption was 27.89 per capita, the latest figures (2015) reveal that this consumption has reduced to 25.86 kg (Magrama). A further fall is expected in household consumption in 2016.
Product appeal needs to be adapted to young people Fish is appreciated for its healthful qualities and its taste, but consumers don’t feel it is practical to cook. This attitude is hurting the sector, and is especially prevalent among young people. Youngsters nowadays have few cooking skills and they are afraid to go to a fish shop because they don’t know what product to choose. Everyone wants a healthy lifestyle, but
Luisa Álvarez Blanco, Deputy Manager, Fedepesca
nobody wants to spend time in grocery shops or cooking. We like cooking, but we need help with it, because more than ever we demand easy-to-cook products, that only need the finishing touch. For this reason, traditional fish shops have widened their selection with ready-to-eat products, or other salted, cured
and smoked products, as well as some complementary products for cooking fish, like rice, wine, salt, broths. They have realized that filleting and gutting alone is not enough to attract consumers. Tasting the product at the selling point is an important trend that Fedepesca would like to promote. www.eurofishmagazine.com
28/11/16 11:12 PM