Tag: Container fish

Reports

Comparison of transportation bins for whole fresh fish / Comparison of transportation bins for whole fresh fish

Published:

01/10/2018

Authors:

Jónas R. Viðarsson, Marvin I. Einarsson

Supported by:

AVS S10015-10 (small project / preliminary project)

Contact

Jónas Rúnar Viðarsson

Director of Business and Development

jonas@matis.is

Comparison of transportation bins for whole fresh fish / Comparison of transportation bins for whole fresh fish

The aim of this report was to consider the main advantages and disadvantages of different transport packaging for whole fresh fish (container fish), and whether the choice of packaging affects the quality and value of the catch. The report discusses the export of containerized fish, the value chain of containerized fish, the containers that have been used for the storage and transport of containerized fish, and the factors that must be taken into account when processing, storing and transporting whole fresh fish. In addition, the relationship between price and quality of catch sold on auction markets is briefly discussed. An experiment was carried out with the export of containerized fish in four different types of containers, where it was to be investigated whether there was a difference between the quality, weight loss and the value of the catch. However, this experiment did not provide sufficient reliable information to establish whether the type of transport container affected the aforementioned factors. However, the development that has taken place in the production and sale of tanks shows that more and more companies are choosing smaller tanks, and this should therefore be a good indication that the size of the tanks is important. However, the experiment clearly showed that it would be very difficult to re-box the Icelandic fleet. Icelandic sailors have become accustomed to pots and have little interest in returning; in addition, the installation in trains is today designed for pots. In addition, it is common for Icelandic vessels to catch fish that simply do not fit in the boxes, due to their size. However, it is not ruled out that in some cases, boxes could be a good option for exporting whole fresh fish, such as sun charcoal or "anglerfish tails".

The aim of this report is to identify the main pros and cons of different storage containers for whole fresh fish, and to speculate if the choice of storage containers has an effect on the quality and sales price of the catch. The report includes a discussion on the exports of unprocessed fish to the UK, the value chain of those exports, the storage boxes used and the things that need to be considered during handling, storage and transport of those catches. The report does as well discuss briefly the linkage between quality and price at auction markets. The report also covers an experiment that was made where four types of tubs and boxes were used to transport fish to the UK, in order to study applicability and effects on quality, drip loss and prices. The experiment did not, however, give clear enough results to allow for any conclusions to be made on the issues. The study did however suggest that the applicability of using boxes onboard Icelandic fishing vessels is lacking. Fishermen prefer to use tubs and the onboard setup is made for tubs. The sales agents in the UK did also agree on this, as they are not able to guarantee that using boxes will have any effect on prices. They did however suggest that some high-price species or products would likely attain price premium if transported in small boxes eg lemon sole and monkfish tails.

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Reports

Supply chain of Icelandic containerized fish to the UK / Supply chain of Icelandic containerized fish to the UK

Published:

01/04/2010

Authors:

Jónas R. Viðarsson, Sveinn Margeirsson

Supported by:

AVS

Contact

Jónas Rúnar Viðarsson

Director of Business and Development

jonas@matis.is

Supply chain of Icelandic containerized fish to the UK / Supply chain of Icelandic containerized fish to the UK

This report describes the progress and results of the project "value chain of Icelandic container fish to the UK" funded by the ACP Fund. The aim of the project is to promote improvements in the value chain of container fish with the aim of increasing the quality and value of the products. In the first part of the project, a statistical assessment is made of whether the price and quality of container fish go hand in hand, but the results from that analysis indicate that supply has a dominant effect on fish prices and that the effect of quality is completely overshadowed. One of the main preconditions for encouraging improvements in the container fish value chain is that it can be shown that increased quality has financial benefits. Therefore, attempts were made to increase the provision of information on the forthcoming supply, in addition to which the information that accompanied catches was added to the floor of the auction markets. This was done in the hope that it would boost buyers' awareness of quality and that it would have a positive effect on fish prices. However, this experiment did not yield the desired results. It is the project partner's opinion that the key to increasing the quality and value of container fish is to arouse more interest among sellers as well as buyers in quality. In this way, buyers will be more willing to pay a higher price for the best quality, thus creating a market-related incentive among sellers to deliver only the best possible quality. With this aim in mind, the project partners were responsible for the introduction of quality assessment in the classification of fish in the UK markets and it is hoped that this will be useful to buyers in identifying which exporters perform best. The website www.matis.is/gamafiskur was also launched, with the aim of disseminating information to everyone in the container fish value chain on the issues that are likely to affect quality and value.

This is a report on the progress and results from the project "supply chain of Icelandic containerized fish to the UK". The objective of the project is to contribute to improvements in the supply chain of containerized fish from Iceland with the aim to improve quality and value. Financial benefits are a necessary condition in order to motivate improvements in the supply chain of containerized fish. Experiments were therefore made where information on expected supply and labeling of bins at auction markets were improved. This however did not return the expected results ie it did not affect average prices. The key to increasing quality and value of Icelandic containerized fish is to raise awareness for quality amongst suppliers and processors. Processors need to identify the suppliers that are supplying the best fish and they also need to reward them with higher prices. This would create a market-based incentive for suppliers to supply only top-quality fish. In order to contribute to this an intake quality score system has been implemented at Fishgate and Grimsby Fish Market, collecting data on the performance of individual suppliers. Also, a web-based supply chain guide www.matis.is/supplychainguide has been published, where relevant information for each link in the supply chain will be gathered.

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