Repositioning British trout in the market place

Siri Elise Dybdal The trout industry in the UK remains small compared to the total size of the UK aquaculture production - which is primarily accounted for by the salmon farming sector operating in Scotland. In recent years, there has been a decrease in the number of trout companies and sites in operation as the industry consolidates, which has also accounted for a decrease in certain aspects of production as the industry restructures and repositions itself in a highly competitive market place.

However, according to David Bassett, Chief Executive Officer of the British Trout Association (BTA), the production tonnage for 2012 is expected to be up by around 1600 tonnes, chiefly due to a predicted expansion in the production of large trout in seawater in Scotland. Moreover, a planning application for another large trout site is currently being reviewed and, if approved, will boost production further by as much as a further two thousand tonnes. Demand for large trout is growing both in the domestic market in the UK and also for export markets, and is perceived as an area for future growth for the industry, Bassett reveals. Many small producers According to the BTA, the total volume of freshwater UK rainbow production in 2010 was 11987.5 tonnes and the total value was approximately £28,770,000. 7524.5 tonnes of the production comes from England, 288 tonnes was produced in Wales, Scotland produced 3533 tonnes and Northern Ireland 642 tonnes. Estimated farm gate price is between about £2.10 and £2.40 per kilo.

The UK also has a small brown trout production, the majority of farms based in England, which produced 573.6 tonnes in 2010 with a total value of £2,868,000. Both species may be farmed to organic standards, and consequently use organic feeds, although this market remains small, producing only in the hundreds of tonnes and only at present for brown trout.

There are 350 registered trout sites across the UK, and around 200 companies. “The vast majority of the British trout producers are SMEs (small or medium sized enterprises). I would say most of these companies are micro to small. Our smallest member produces around two tonnes of fish a year, whilst larger members might produce in excess of 1500-2000 tonnes,” says Bassett.

He points out that all the trout farms in the UK are privately owned and there is no foreign / multinational ownership. “The businesses are often family-owned or operate as part of a landed estate with perhaps 2-3 people working on the site. However, the biggest UK producer, Dawnfresh, is a fully integrated company with a number of sites, from hatchery to ongrowing sites in both fresh and saltwater, a processing factory and employs a larger number of people,” Bassett explains. Farmed across the UK The only production area for large trout in sea water pens is currently Scotland. However, Bassett says that large trout is a growth area, and reveals that BTA is involved in a scientific project looking at developing a demonstration site to explore how marine aquaculture could be developed in England. “We are very keen to see what can be done,” he emphasises.

Rainbow trout and brown trout are farmed across the UK, but the main production areas are Scotland, Yorkshire, the south and southwest of England. There are more sites in England than anywhere else, but these tend to be smaller, Bassett says.

Three companies are behind 40 per cent of UK production, and overall the top ten producers in the UK account for 70 per cent of total produce.

UK trout farming differs to some other countries in that British farmers employ a number of different production methods across the country. Trout are produced in flow through systems, partial recirculation systems, open net pens in freshwater and in saltwater, earth ponds, tanks and raceways.

“Recirculation technology is mostly used in hatcheries in the UK. This is partly because we have an alternative approach to water resource management, and greater water resources, than elsewhere in the EU.

“In Denmark, for example, recirculation sites work well, but the geology and geography in the UK is both different and varied and we operate with different environmental considerations, having to co-exist with a different mix of co-users of our aquatic resources than perhaps elsewhere in continental Europe,” Bassett says, but adds that although there is no pressure now, potential future pressure on water usage and climate change could make the industry show greater interest in recirculation technologies. Domestic market Two thirds of the trout production in the UK goes to the domestic table market. One third of rainbow trout and brown trout production is for restocking fisheries.

In England and Wales brown trout farmers have made a move towards producing triploids. This trend is expected to continue, as it will not be possible to stock rivers and most lakes where there is a native brown trout population with fertile (diploid) farm strain brown trout in England and Wales from 2015. “This is a policy of our national Environment Agency who see this measure as the route to safeguarding wild trout populations as there cannot be any genetic ingression / breeding between wild and stocked fish,” Bassett explains.

He says the table market for fish and seafood has been challenging in recent times, as the pricing point is extremely important in the current promotion-driven retail market. “We’re working with industry colleagues that deal with other species, and it is clear that we are all facing the same challenges. “The salmon market in the UK performs well, but even here, about 50% of the current market is on promotion, and we must include considerations such as imported salmon from Norway,” he says adding that Scottish salmon producers also enjoy successful export markets for parts of their production.

The UK trout industry is now being more proactive in marketing British trout and selling the trout story to retailers and is working towards expanding the product range and re-establishing its place in the market whilst boosting consumer interest. “The industry is going to be more proactive and aggressive in promoting our product,” he emphasises. Buy British trout So far, this has, amongst other things, included the on-going marketing campaign ‘Buy British Trout’. In November 2012, BTA, on behalf of its members, launched the ‘Buy British Trout’ campaign to encourage the nation’s shoppers to put British trout back in their shopping baskets. “Buying local and provenance of food is currently an increasing consumer concern,” Bassett claims and says that after the recent beef/horse meat substitution scandal - which has created a strong consumer reaction in Britain and Europe, he expects that provenance will become an even stronger selling point. He also predicts a greater emphasis on “buying British”, a policy retailers are already keen to emphasise in UK press. “We fit right in here,” he adds. The campaign highlights the health benefits, sustainability and affordability of British trout, and encourages UK shoppers to try different types of fish other than the big five - cod, haddock, salmon, tuna and prawns. It is set to run in different phases throughout 2013. 

“As the fish market has diversified over recent years, we have seen the market share of some of our traditional fish choices decrease. At the same time, UK consumers have become increasingly concerned with issues relating to sourcing and supply of fish – not to mention the affordability of their weekly shop. We believe that it has never been more topical to highlight trout – a fish that is good value, nutritious and sustainably farmed right here in Britain.  It is also important to remind the public that trout is an “oily fish”, meaning it is a source of key nutrients and vitamins including vitamin D, selenium and of course, omega 3 essential fatty acids. ”   The campaign is set to continue over future weeks and months, including the anticipated roll out of a consumer sampling campaign. It also sees the trout industry using social media channels to reach and engage with consumer and industry contacts active in the online community via Twitter and Facebook.

Switch the fish British trout also played a key role in Sainsbury’s ‘Switch the fish‘ campaign, which was based on the fact that 80 per cent of the fish bought in the UK is either salmon, tuna, prawns, cod or haddock. “This campaign encourages shoppers to try alternative fish species, and trout was included as the only farmed fish amongst the alternative options offered. Trout was presented as a sustainable alternative to salmon. It will never replace the salmon market, the volume of production is not there, but we were presented as an alternative option which is often overlooked. It was only a short campaign, but I have read reports of sales increasing by 147 per cent,” Bassett says. In addition to individual shoppers, the industry also seeks to boost the profile of trout within the food service and hospitality sectors, as well as working more closely on more generic national fish promotional activities alongside industry colleagues such as the Seafish Industry Authority and other fellow trade bodies.  “The aim will be to promote the strong health messages associated with eating fish, and stressing the nutritional benefits of eating a range of oil rich fish,” Bassett highlights.

Product development He says there is also a clear scope for product development using trout in the UK, and points out that there are not nearly enough new products containing trout in supermarkets today. “I’m very keen to see this happen,” he adds, “there is clear potential for a number of products to be introduced across different ranges, specifically within the value added, convenience meal options and lunch time dining. However, the one great challenge the British trout farming industry faces is that it is composed of a number of small producers, many who do not have the means to invest in such development themselves, or who will require greater levels of collaboration across the industry to achieve mutual benefit. It is also difficult to increase production or invest in new equipment. The recent rise in feed and other production costs, in the absence of a comparable increase in price, is pushing the industry to its limit. “The margin in trout farming is currently very low, some of our members report they are barely breaking even, And due to the private ownership there is often only limited equity available for investment or expansion, so expanding volumes of production is an issue,” Bassett says. One of the trout companies in the UK with a processing site that could develop such products is Dawnfresh Seafoods. The company began farming and increased its volume of processing trout in Scotland in 2008 when it acquired ScotTrout and formed Dawnfresh Farming Ltd. Dawnfresh says it is committed to product development and its current product portfolio includes trout fillets, portions, large wholefish, boneless portions, fishcakes as well as various other value added products. Chairman Alastair Salvesen has been quoted saying his aim is “to make trout the new salmon.” The company has been working on improving quality and increasing volumes, with considerable investments in people, equipment and technology to put it on a new footing. However, Dawnfresh experienced a hefty loss in the latest financial year when turnover fell 21 per cent due to an “extremely challenging” economic environment, with rising costs and a very competitive retail market.

Bassett says that part of the problem is that trout faces stiff competition in the fish category, especially from species such as farmed salmon and sea bass and bream. “Too often trout is seen as a very traditional fish option, but we need to reposition ourselves in the market place whilst continuing to satisfy our existing customer base. It is exciting, but challenging,” he admits. He believes the future focus for much speculative and short term investment will continue to be salmon, or the farming of tilapia, pangasius or shrimp in Southeast Asia acknowledging “investors want the best short term return.” However Bassett says the trout industry is serious about repositioning trout in the British market place, and positive about the future prospects: “For a few years now the industry has been restructuring in terms of ownership and where we are. Now, there is a real sense of confidence in the industry that with cooperation between producers and collaboration across the entire associated industry, we will start seeing returns.”