How Can Norway Become the Leading Seafood Nation in the World?

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

I happen to believe that Norwegian seafood is the best seafood in the world. But what does it take to become the world’s leading seafood nation? In order to point out the right direction, a starting point might be to identify what kind of values seafood represents. What does seafood, in all its aspects, mean to Norway?

First of all, seafood is culture. Norwegian coastal culture cannot be reviewed separate from the history of harvesting and processing fish. Traditionally, farms along the coast line had limited agriculture areas at their disposal, and thus “fiskarbonde” became the predominant coastal occupation. Today, the Norwegian seafood industry employs more than 20.000 employees directly, according to scientists at SINTEF, in addition to another estimated 20.000 in related activities. Seafood keeps the Norwegian coast alive!

Except for oil, gas and metal in modern times, nothing has contributed more to the Norwegian economy than the fishery resources. For centuries, the Italian language was more often spoken in Lofoten, than English. Why? Export of dried cod, brought from Lofoten via Bergen to southern Europe, bloomed long before we even talked about trade balance in national economy. And for the world’s second largest seafood exporter that’s maybe not so strange.
 
Some would argue that health aspects are among the main drivers behind increased consumption of seafood globally. The healthy properties of seafood are well-known, not least due to extensive research. In Bergen, the National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES) has recently presented findings on how marine fats, compared to other fats, to a lesser extent contribute to over-weight. Such findings add to the variety of healthy properties of seafood already known.

However, nothing reminds us more about the value of seafood, than when we are gathered around a tasty seafood table. Traditionally, survival has been the predominant driver behind the choice of proteins in Norway. And available conservation techniques were often the premises as to how the food was served. Today, Norwegians too have discovered various ways of making seafood even more tasty! Striving for sublime taste most probably has deeper roots in France than in Norway, but we are learning:

Over the last 50 years, the Norwegian dinner plate has been subject to substantial developments. Old traditions have been supplemented by new ways of making and presenting food. This is not only due to increased travelling and inter-cultural exchange. I believe it also has to do with our increased interaction with French cuisine. French Cuisine has long been the primary source of inspiration for Norwegian chefs. And while the chefs look to France, Norwegians look to the chefs. Increased dining-out has resulted in many new restaurants, providing new arenas for development of a new generation of Norwegian chefs building on the solid French tradition. I am proud to mention that even gold medals from the famous French culinary competition Bocuse D’Or have over the last years been brought home to Norway by Norwegian chefs serving in Norwegian restaurants. The French has also thought us the value of being proud of our own products and traditions.  This has resulted in a growing use of Nordic raw materials.

The value of seafood is manifold; cultural, financial, health-related and social. But, as an important renewable resource, seafood resources carry along great responsibilities. No country can become the world’s leading seafood nation without taking into account the interests of our grandchildren. And no leading seafood nation can ignore that the world’s population is growing at a quick rate. Not only do we have to harvest and produce at levels responding to an increasing world population. We also have to do it in a way that our grandchildren can applaud. A reflection of both the values and the responsibilities will be the point of departure for the process of writing a white paper on how Norway can become the world’s leading seafood nation. It is an ambitious task for an ambitious country, nothing less.

It is my hope that a final white paper will represent a coordinated signal to the public, generating common efforts towards common goals. The white paper should become the tool with which we form the seafood industry of the future.
During the process of making that tool, we will have to look to other countries too. Where can we find inspiration? Who has experience from similar challenges? Inspiration may come from different countries depending on which topics are discussed. But when it comes to seafood as food, one answer is obvious: Look to France! World-class French culinary products are indeed an outcome of national strategies in order to collectively lift identified industries. What are the common challenges shared by France and Norway? How does France address these challenges? And, what can France teach us?

The history of Norwegian seafood is closely related to the conditions under which Norwegians have survived. Life up north was harsh, and the nature’s producing capacity determined Norwegians choice of food. Along the coast, fish was the easiest choice. Trade and export evolved where, successful conservation techniques were developed.

One striking example is the dried cod from Lofoten: The cod’s spawning in February, around the islands off-shore of Bodø, enabled fishermen to bring on shore enormous amounts of first class seafood. But in order to get paid for these amounts – totally exceeding the short-time consumption capacity in the region – the unique natural conditions in Lofoten for drying fish made the fish into a commodity. The cod, hanging from drying racks for fish  from February, is every year subject to a perfect combination of weather conditions throughout the spring season; regularly shifting between wind and rain, while never overheated by sunshine, nor frozen by minus degrees.

Another example is the salmon: Today’s aquaculture production benefits indeed from modern techniques not available a few generations ago. But it still derives from the substantial traditional salmon fishing in Norwegian rivers in order to feed the relatively poor population. Along some Norwegian rivers, they say, season workers, who were paid room and board by local farms, had a contracted right to get served “salmon maximum 6 days per week”. Traditional conservation techniques, like smoking and fermenting, was at that time a way to secure stable supply of food. Today it’s a way to produce high-end delicacies – in many countries simply known as Norwegian Salmon

Old conservation techniques are being modernised, or replaced by new ones, or replaced by as little conservation as possible: Substantial amount of cod and salmon are delicacies exported fresh to the world market, barely touched. But they were caught and farmed in Norwegian waters, and are symbols of a proud national tradition. How do we add value to the product by attaching to the product its very origin? How can we develop our market position by making the products more distinctively Norwegian?

In a global seafood market, success carries the risk of being copied. New species with some similar features, but lower production costs, not least resulting from increased fish farming, are being introduced to markets formerly known as for example the “cod market”. Such developments have already brought about competitors to traditional ground fish, and will bring about more. Neither can we exclude the possibility of one day welcoming to the market a red competitor to Atlantic salmon.

One answer to these challenges is to start building product identity towards identified geographic areas. The Norwegian seafood industry is in an early phase of this work. However, the sub-title of a book about Norwegian seafood launched here today, underpins the important work being carried out by the Norwegian Seafood Export Council, aiming at establishing a common nation-wide slogan for all seafood products: Seafood from the cold, clear waters of Norway. Furthermore, in identified markets, work is being done in order to brand specific products in accordance with its Norwegian origin. One example is the branding of salted cod as Bacalhau da Noruega in Portugese speaking countries, and Bacalao de Noruega in Spanish speaking countries.

As regards the building of geographic markers for food and drinks, I cannot think of any country being more successful than France. There are many striking examples of successful French geographic branding, but the wine industry may be somewhat outstanding. Norwegians enjoy a special tie to the relatively small town in the French Charentes region, which has given name to a well-known eau de vie from the area, exported to all over the world: Cognac.  Many foreigners once settled in Cognac, among them some Norwegians too. One of the producers of cognac, the Braastad family, may not speak Norwegian anymore. But we know where the founder of the brand, Sverre Braastad, grew up: close to the town of Gjøvik in Oppland. 
Even more famous is the well-known sparkling wine from Champagne, practically symbolizing the branding of a limited geographic region. How did it become such a world-wide success? Some say that the early producers of champagne devoted considerable energy to creating a history and identity for their wine, associating it with nobility and royalty. Through advertising and packaging they sought to associate Champagne with high luxury, festivities, and rites of passage. Their strategy was no doubt successful.

Not only marketing strategies played a role when building these region-related branding. French rules have long specified not only how champagne and cognac are to be made, but also from which regions the grapes must come from. If these requirements are met, the product enjoy a certain protection that makes it reasonable for the producers of sparkling wine in Champagne, and producers of eau de vie in Cognac, to invest in the marketing of their respective region.
In Norway, some measures have been taken over the last years towards establishing a framework of rules and regulations protecting local- and region-specific products. The project Matmerk aims at supporting local and regional food industry wanting to brand a food product according to its local or regional origin. But more work need to be done in this field. And in order to become the world’s leading seafood nation, we have to get inspired by the telling examples of how hard-working farmer regions like Champagne and Cognac managed to transform their names into world-wide symbols.

The target ahead for the Norwegian seafood may differ from that of French wine. What we have to build up, France did a few centuries ago. However, in today’s global market there might be challenges shared by the Norwegian seafood industry and the French wine industry. I think of two striking things we have in common:

Firstly, we both export high-end products produced in high-cost countries. This shared feature makes for similar thinking as to our how market positions are maintained and further expanded. Despite our differences, France and Norway will have to face the same shifting trends in the world market in the years to come.

Secondly, French wine and Norwegian seafood represent ingredients which together constitute meals of first-class quality – especially when treated according to French cuisine. The organizers of Bocuse d’Or have brought the combination of Norwegian seafood and French cuisine to a new level: Seafood from Norway has a number of times played a role as mandatory ingredient in the competition, stating Norwegian seafood as a natural part of the proud French cuisine.

The example of Bocuse d’Or indicate that cooperation between French wine and Norwegian seafood may be of mutual interest to both industries, as they share some features, and are both faced with an ever-changing and challenging market situation. French wine adds richesse to Norwegian seafood, and Norwegian seafood might help further envisage the unquestionable qualities of French wine.

To become the world’s leading seafood nation is indeed an ambitious task. I have sketched some ideas as to how we will address the process of writing a white paper that can provide guidance to our work. The white paper will be an important tool for coordinated work in the future. But it will not be enough:  A united seafood industry will have to work together in order to meet the goals.

In the meantime we should indeed enjoy the world’s leading seafood – I am confident that it comes from Norway. And when accompanied with champagne, few would deny that we are quite close to what could be called the world’s leading combination of food and drinks! Our eminent chefs will demonstrate the combination later on, and I think it’s something to really look forward to.

Thank you.