Easyfish.club: fish market trends, from producers to consumers
Fish is a beneficial and tasty commodity. However, many Ukrainians believe that it is difficult to find high-quality seafood in our country. That is not true. The volume of fish products imported into Ukraine has grown for over the past five years. Last year 411,000 tons of fish products were imported. This amount is 26,000 tons more than 2019 and is double what it was in 2015. In addition, Ukrainian producers are marketing 70,000 tons annually. That is why Ukrainian consumers have a wide range of choice. How to choose great fish and what do you need to know about the Ukrainian and global seafood market?
Wild fish is trending
More and more people are choosing a healthy lifestyle, from being flexitarians and vegetarians, and paying attention to the origin of the product and if it is environmentally friendly. These characteristics are a perfect combination with wild and seafood. Moreover, the life cycle of such products does not require any involvement from people. There are several places in the world where wild fish is exclusively caught. Alaska is such a place.
“More and more consumers in Ukraine prefer high-quality seafood. This is a growing trend. So a free educational project called Easyfish.club was founded. This a popular platform where Ukrainian chefs share their tips, recipes for cooking wild-caught fish, such as pollock, pink salmon, black cod as well as caviar. Moreover, here you can find the opinions of nutritionists and food experts, giving explanations of why it is useful to eat wild fish and what to combine it with on a plate. Easyfish.club makes it possible to go on a gastronomic trip to the best recipes of Alaska seafood for free. Fish and seafood produced in Alaska are environmentally friendly, and fisheries are conducted rationally, with concern for future generations,” said Ksenia Gorova, seafood market expert.
The waters of Alaska are home to five species of salmon: chum salmon, pink salmon, sockeye salmon, coho salmon and chinook salmon. In addition, the Anadromous Fish Conservation Act is enforced in Alaska. According to this Act, any permit for construction near salmon streams and rivers is approved in advance by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. It guarantees the purity of the water.
Frozen Alaska fish is imported to Ukraine all year. Distribution channels include retail chains from upscale GoodWine and WineTime to popular supermarkets like ATB, Silpo and Novus.
Alaska seafood producers use modern technology to reduce the destruction of fish cellular walls and moisture loss. It helps preserve the taste and quality of fish. The technology is cryogenic instant freezing. Freshly caught fish is frozen for several hours. After freezing, the fish is covered with a glaze that protects it from oxidation.
Based on the customs statistics, 90% of all seafood imports in Ukraine are frozen, which include salmon, pollock, and caviar from Alaska.
Importantly, frozen products are no less healthy than chilled ones due to modern shock freezing technologies allowing the preservation of moisture in fish, which secures nutrients and product quality.
“Experts in Alaska are using shock freezing technologies. That is why the consumer gets the best products with fresh taste and delicate texture. Such fish retains all its nutritional properties as a result of optimum transportation conditions and storage on its way to the consumers”, says Ksenia Gorova, seafood market expert, representative of the Easyfish.club project.
What are the benefits of wild fish?
Both wild and farm fish are supplied to Ukraine’s market. Fish consumption is growing globally. Ocean resources are not supplying the needs of world consumers, so the quantity of seafood farms is gradually increasing. At the same time, the production of wild fish and seafood remains at the same level due to catch quotas, which limit overfishing. Therefore, wild fish, such as wild Alaskan salmon, is gradually moving into the premium market segment. Yet still, wild fish species, such as pollock, are also available in Ukraine’s market. The natural diet and habitat make this fish unique compared to other sources of protein.
Natural seafood consumption helps the immune system. A high concentration of Omega-3 is one of the main reasons why seafood is beneficial for a person’s diet. For example, Omega-3 acids in wild Alaskan fish can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. It is an excellent source of nutrients such as iron, zinc, iodine, magnesium.
The American Heart Association recommends eating fish and seafood at least twice a week. This food helps regulate blood pressure. Wild fish are an important natural source of vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to depression, anxiety, osteoporosis, cardiovascular system disorders. Wild seafood covers the essential need for vitamin D in a person’s diet. One 170g serving of wild pink salmon contains 888 IU of vitamin D, and 1140 IU in sockeye salmon. It is especially important to eat fish and seafood in the winter and spring, when the immune system weakens and it is almost impossible to get vitamin D from the sun.
The healthy eating trend is driving fish consumption
The trend of healthy eating, i.e. eating more fish and vegetables and less meat, is becoming more popular in Ukraine. The World Health Organization recommends consuming at least 20 kilograms of fish per year. Over the past 50 years, consumption of seafood has doubled worldwide. Today Europeans consume an average of 27 kilograms of seafood per year. At the same time, the world average rate is 22.3 kg per person annually. According to Dmitry Zagumenny, President of the Ukrainian Importers of Fish and Seafood Association (UIFSA), the average annual fish consumption is about 15 kg per person.
Recently, Ukraine has introduced programs to promote healthy eating, including increasing the consumption of seafood. The amount of seafood was increased in school menus, thanks to the changes initiated by Elena Zelenskaya, the First Lady of Ukraine. Indeed, fish consumption rates are lower in Ukraine than in other countries.
“Consumers often don’t know the criteria for choosing the right fish and seafood products, especially frozen, and ways to cook it. “Easyfish” educational platform has made it easy to taste natural wild-caught fish, including Alaskan, cook delicious and simple dishes with famous chefs. On the website you can find ideas of festive dishes as well as simple ones. They were shared by the celebrities of the Ukrainian culinary industry, Vladimir Yaroslavsky, Masterchef project judge; Anastasia Goloborodko, a nutritionist, consultant on nutrition; chef Ievgen Klopotenko and other experienced culinary experts. As for the summer season, the platform has prepared a list of ideas for grilling fish, as well as a selection of low-calorie recipes for followers of a healthy lifestyle”, – notes Dmitry Zagumenny.
