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SALMON companies should start to think outside the box when it comes to marketing their products, the Humber Seafood Summit was told.
Aquaculture expert Dr Martin Jaffa, principal of Callander McDowell, a company which conducts regular surveys of salmon products in the British retail market place, said fish farms should be ready to give the consumers what they want rather than what they think they should have. "Adapt your fish products to what the customer needs," he added.
In his address entitled "Marketing Salmon - an Aquaculture Dilemma" Dr Jaffa said there was no doubt that fish farming had an excellent future provided it produced what people wanted.
As an example, he cited the reluctance among the British fish eating public to move away from traditional species like cod and haddock, which were not as high in Omega-3 as salmon.
"So what we need is a white fish rich in Omega-3," he argued. "Why not farm salmon without the pigmentation so it is white and then it can be sold to fish and chip shops who can then coat it in batter.
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Dr Jaffa, who has over 35 years experience in the aquaculture industry, said two or three decades ago salmon was being classed as a luxury food until the price collapsed due to over-production. Then followed a major debate on how the fish should be marketed with Scotland attempting to control lost margins by controlling production. This did not work because Norway was accused of dumping and attempts were made to impose trade restrictions on that country. Scotland continued to promote its premium image with its tartan mark, but supermarkets were selling salmon in identical packets and sizes and at identical prices - except that one batch was from Scotland and the other from Norway and hardly any notices the difference.
He said there was no doubt Scotland had an advantage over imported salmon because of its freshness and the fact it was closer to the retail markets. But Dr Jaffa said he believed that the consumer decision on buying fish was generally dictated by price rather than the place or country of origin.
Should people be 'stimulated' to eat white fish alternatives to cod?
