Global Initiative for Life & Leadership through Seafood

HEALTH & SEAFOODChallenges for a more Sustainable and Competitive

Mexico

Roy Palmer GILLS

Chronic Diseases (WHO)

• Leading cause of mortality – 63% of all deaths• In 2008

36 million people died from chronic disease9 million were under 6090% occurred in low and middle income countries

Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs)

• Nr 1 cause of death• In 2008

17.3 million people died (30% of all deaths)7.3 million coronary heart disease and 6.2 million were due to strokeover 80% of CVD deaths take place in low- and middle-income countries (M/F equal)

Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) - 2

• Prediction – By 2030 deaths will increase to reach 23.3. Million. CVDs are projected to remain the single leading cause of death.

• 9.4 million Deaths each year, or 16.5% of all deaths can be attributed to high blood pressure. This includes 51% of deaths due to strokes and 45% of deaths due to coronary heart disease.

According to WHO

Most cardiovascular diseases can be prevented by addressing risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet and obesity, physical inactivity, high blood pressure, diabetes and raised lipids.

Non Communicable Disease

Diabetes (WHO)220 million people globally3.4 million die each yearPrediction – deaths to double from now til 2030

USA Cost (American Diabetes Assctn 2005-7) $174 billion of which $116 billion is for medication

Brain/Mental issues (Prof Michael Crawford)

• 2004 Audit of ill-health in the EU - cost of brain disorders for the 25 member states had overtaken all other burdens of ill-health at a cost of €386 billion.

• 2010 (+3 more states) the cost was €789 billion

• UK (DoH) 2007 the cost was £77 billion and 2010 calculated at £105 billion

Prevention or Cure?

• Professor Crawford “Brain/mental issues are on the rise and I believe

they have superseded CVD’s as the most costly of issues in both deaths and medical costs.

Prevention is possible if governments listened to eminent specialists and followed up on actions they agreed in the 2004 WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health.”

Brazil• The Brazilian Association of Supermarkets and the Ministry of Fisheries and

Aquaculture in Brazil • Annual “Fish Week” • Aim - To market the health benefits of fish consumption to Brazilian

consumers through a large promotional campaign and discounted fish prices.

• Supermarkets that participated in 2008 demonstrated a greater than 30-percent increase in their sales of fish and other categories of complementary products during the promotion period.

• In 2009, more than 300 supermarkets involved. Convinced companies to slightly reduce their profit margins in order to obtain stronger and more long-term partnerships with markets and consumers.

• Consumption has increased from 5kgs to 9kgs

Ecuador• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), El Salvador’s Ministry of

Agriculture with El Salvador “Eat Fish” • Campaign disseminated attractive and easy to read materials

promoting seafood’s health benefits• Marketing fish as a “source of life” with “the nutrition that you

need” • Recommending eating seafood at least twice a week. • The materials also provided helpful tips for home fish

consumption. • The project was called “Feed Your Stomach and Your Brain” and a

number of promotional materials were created.

Indonesia• 2011 - Indonesia Marine and Fisheries Ministry began holding a series of

promotional fairs on the benefits of consuming fish• Target - pregnant mothers. • These events are part of a government program aimed at increasing fish

consumption nationwide; national fish consumption in 2010 was 30.47 kilograms per capita per year, but aiming for 38 kilograms by 2014.

• Indonesian Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister, Fadel Muhammad, said that the government targeted pregnant mothers for the campaign because survey results found that many Indonesian children lacked Omega 3, which is thought to be capable of strengthening an infant’s immune system and prospects for healthy growth.

• Promotional fairs will be held in villages across the country using local languages.

Bangladesh• Countries like Bangladesh get the importance of seafood. • In July of 2011, a National Fisheries Week was inaugurated in Bangladesh

with a target to produce 3.5 million tonnes of fish by the end of 2013 and 4.2 million tones by the end of 2021.

• This is seen as a significant step towards Bangladesh achieving food security and sovereignty. Currently, the fish sector supplies 60% of animal protein, 3% of export earning and 3.74% of the total GDP.

• The 2011 National Fisheries Week theme was: “Produce safe fish to change Bangladesh”

• Fisheries and Livestock Ministry provided support with workshops and technical trainings.

• The week also aimed to increase awareness about fish to citizens through fish fairs, publications of supplementary information in national newspapers, telecast of various programs, essay writing and a painting competition.

Denmark• Campaign was coordinated by Fiskebranchen, an umbrella organization that brings

together a number of players in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. In order to make the campaign successful, efforts were coordinated between the seafood industry, Denmark’s Technical University, the Heart Foundation, and most importantly, the retail segment. Formative work by researchers from the University and the Danish Heart Foundation demonstrated that there were several specific reasons for consumers not eating enough fish. These included the perception that fish was difficult to prepare and not readily available, as well as a lack of clarity about the amounts to eat and its benefits.

• From this formative work, specific campaign messages were developed to achieve the following objectives:To familiarize consumers with the dietary advice from the Danish Veterinary Food Administration.To show consumers that fish was tasty and easy to prepare.To encourage retail chains to increase the range of fish sold.To motivate consumers to change their consumption habits.To educate consumers about the different species and increase overall consumption.

Denmark (2)• Website - information about fish and included two new recipes each week. A link on the

website allowed users to sign up for a weekly newsletter that would include recipes; today there are over 52,000 subscribers. A cookbook was also published with simple recipes for daily cooking and for special occasions, which proved to be quite popular with 1.7 million copies printed and distributed. Organizers noted that the most difficult part of the campaign was increasing awareness about the availability of fish and getting retailers to reduce their prices.

• Campaign has been analyzed, with researchers finding that fish consumption has in fact increased.

• In March 2010, an analysis compared the market in 2006 to 2009 with the market before the campaign in 2005. They found that in 2009, sales of fish increased by 14,000 tonnes (EUR21.5m) compared with 2005, though some of the increase in value can be attributed to price increases for fish, which went up by 23.7% in 2009 compared to 2005.

• The analysis also found that the campaign has increased visibility of fish at retailers, discount catalogues, on the Internet and in public spaces, with consumers having more experiences selecting and cooking fish. Lastly, the analysis concluded that the main existing barrier to fish consumption is that consumers still regard fish as expensive.

Other countries• Czechoslavakia and Poland supported a campaign called “Mister

Carp Campaign”• The Inland Fisheries Institute in Olsztyn and the Fish Promotion

Society conducted a promotional campaign for carp, the most traditional Polish aquaculture product. The campaign was largely a result of carp breeders facing growing competition from breeders outside the EU. The campaign sought to reassert carp’s position on the market and was supported with funds from the EU.

• UK – Seafish – Two per week campaign. Now doing Omega 3 v Omega 6 blood tests. Started with one family as trial now expanding thisto larger audience.

Issues

• Health – deaths, illness and costs• Food security - fisheries & aquaculture• Workforce Development• Research & Development• Education• Efficiencies and confidence through standards

Solutions & Way Forward

• Strategic Aquaculture Development • Government commitment• Industry Partnership• Education – Industry - Professionalisation• Education – Young girls & women focus• Education – Doctors/GP’s• Measure the changes

Topics to discuss

• Training VET – Australia has Package – how to share?

• Professionalisation of Industry – Certification AISP- skills & knowledge are here – Mexico can be pioneer?

• R&D – collaboration – Aust/NZ/Mexico – utilization WAS?

• Government & University partnership with GILLS?