28 February 2007
Eight delegates representing the Danish shellfish growing industry visited Shetland last week on a fact finding mission to discover the best production techniques for growing mussels. Initially, the Danish contingent will return home to discuss what they have learned with fellow farmers but, ultimately, it is hoped that the two regions will forge a strong relationship that will see both participate in a proposed collaborative project led by NORA (North Atlantic Co-operation) – an organisation aimed at improving the framework and conditions for industry, trade and development in the Nordic Atlantic region.
Ruth Henderson, chief executive of Seafood Shetland, explained: “The new project aims to explore the commercialisation of blue mussels by collaborative effort among production regions in the North Atlantic . Potential partners include institutions and private enterprise from Canada , Iceland , Norway , Denmark , Shetland, Faroe and Greenland .
“Last year, Lindsay Angus of Cribba Sound Ltd, attended a meeting in Gander, Newfoundland to help prepare the project proposal.
“We are very keen to be part of this network, which hopes to explore areas such as environmental testing, production site evaluation, spat collection and technological innovation, as well as facilitating a forum for sharing knowledge and experiences to develop the industry as a whole.
“It has been really useful to meet at this time to speak about the new initiative and how it could benefit everyone involved.”
Mussel farming is a relatively new industry in Denmark with only 20 farmers, mainly in and around the Limfjord area. The annual tonnage last year was 650 tonnes, which the industry hopes to more than double this year. Shetland currently produces an annual tonnage of around 2,150 tonnes.
There are many differences between growing mussels in Shetland and Denmark . Growing conditions and temperatures are different and, while Shetland mussels take three years to reach market, Danish mussels are ready in just one year. The latter is a slightly smaller mussel with a thinner shell.
The group had three main outcomes to achieve from its visit: to explore the variety of growing techniques used in Shetland for a specific research project; to collect information on mussel farming to share with other farmers in Denmark ; and to find out more about how Shetland farmers sell their product.
During the two days the group visited Demlane Mussels, North Atlantic Shellfish, the NAFC Marine Centre, Johnson Shellfish and Blueshell Mussels, as well as meeting representatives of Shetland Islands Council's Economic Development Unit for an overview of the local economy.
Ditte Tørring of the Danish Shellfish Centre heads production research investigation. She said: “Rope grown mussel production in Denmark is a relatively new operation. I was particularly keen to discover more about the different growing techniques used in Shetland, including the Smart Farm and ladder systems.
“We have joined forces with the Danish Institute for Fisheries Research, the Danish Institute for Environmental Research and the Danish Shellfish Farmers' Association to undertake a project on ‘New Grow-Out Techniques' and the information I have gathered over these past two days will be extremely useful in developing our research.”
The second outcome is to link up with a very similar project financed by the Danish government and the European Union, which aims to collect information about farming and share it free of charge on the Internet. The project involves the Danish Institute for Fisheries Research, the Danish Shellfish Centre and the Danish Shellfish Farmers' Association.
Per Dolmer, a senior scientist at the Danish Institute for Fisheries Research, is leading this initiative. He commented: “This is a very important project exploring the variety of growing methods used by farmers that can then be disseminated online to other growers. We have found mussel farmers very open to sharing information – when the market is so huge there is no need to compete against each other. This industry is all about supporting one another for the benefit of all.”
Arne Baekgaard, chairman of the Shellfish Farmers' Association of Denmark, was particularly focused on finding out more about how Shetland mussel farmers organised their sales operations. He said: “In Denmark , we have established a co-operation of farmers, a producer's organisation similar to the Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group, which allows us to keep a tight control on the market.”
Overall, the delegates were very impressed with the Shetland mussel farming industry and the professionalism of the individual farmers they met. Arne Baekgaard continued: “We felt that all the farmers were very open and we were very pleased that they were happy to share information with us. We would like to return their excellent hospitality by extending an invitation for them to visit us in Denmark . Visiting Shetland has been an extremely valuable experience and we would be delighted if we could continue to build a strong working relationship between the two countries.”
Further information:
For further information, please contact:
Ruth Henderson, Seafood Shetland, tel 01595 693644, email ruth@fishuk.net or visit www.fishuk.net
Or, Louise Rosie, Shaw Marketing and Design Ltd, tel 01595 692465 or email louise.rosie@shaw-online.com
The photograph shows:
Front row (left to right):
Jorgen Sogaard - farmer
Ditte Torring - Danish Shellfish Centre
Sisse Redeker - Danish Shellfish Centre
Michael Laurenson - Blueshell Mussels
Back row (left to right):
Thomas Olesen - farmer
Peter Henriksen - chairman, Danish Producers' Organisation
Per Dolmer - Danish Fisheries Institute
Arne Baekgaard - chairman, Shellfish Farmers' Association of Denmark
Kaj Lykke Larsen - farmer