Logistics Center Planned for Baltic Herring, Sprat Processing
The Ministry of Agriculture has announced plans to create a logistics center for processing the two fishes most common to this part of the Baltic Sea.
The priority came to light in the form of the ministry's fishing strategy for 2014-2020, ETV reported.
Minister of Agriculture Helir-Valdor Seeder said that the anchovy-like fishes have great economic potential, and that the center would process both domestic catches and fish bought in from abroad.
The center would have multiple uses, he added: “Not just freezing the fish, but sorting it and giving it added value - canning, [creating] new products, product development and finding new export markets. The logistics center would encompass ports, refrigerated buildings and the fish industry.”
Mart Undrest, chairman of the Fishermen's Association, said good things could come out of the center, if it is done right. Fishing is a seasonal profession and coordinated planning is needed to minimize losses, he said.
“If we would summon the entire Baltic Sea [fishing] fleet during the first few months of the year, we'd currently have no capacity to take in all the fish and process it. This could lash back on the market with forced sales. But properly pursuing the said strategy could greatly help the Estonian fishing industry,” said Undrest.
The planned logistics center would need to rely on EU funding to be built. The amount of funds available to develop the fishing industry remains the same as it was in the 2007-2013 budgetary period - 102 million euros.