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That became possible due to close cooperation with SIA North Star – an owner and operator of four vessels running under EU flag – that regularly supplied Seagourmet Norway with live snow crabs. Back then the factory worked in full swing, while its average production output reached 8-10 tonnes of cooked frozen crab clusters daily.

In September 2016, the supply of snow crabs was put on hold after EU and Oslo failed to come to terms regarding quotas and possibilities for European boats. EU vessels were practically ousted from snow crab business, and SIA North Star had to withdraw its vessels back to the shore. The case was brought to courts, and is still under litigation. 

Seagourmet Norway tried hard to find alternative suppliers of live snow crabs but luck was on other side. Norwegian vessels were not that eager to deliver live snow crabs to the shore, while EU vessels had been pushed out of the fishing area.

“We believe the production of snow crab will be resumed”, say the team of Seagourmet Norway, “We should not give up and wait forever until EU and Norway come to terms”. With this in mind, the company decided to take a look into other popular seafoods. Northern cold water shrimps sounded promising and tasty.

On August 11, Saturday, a vessel again operated by SIA North Star, set off to the Barents Sea chasing shrimps – pandalus borealis. Unlike common practices, shrimps will not be cooked aboard, but they will be kept tenderly in special tubs and delivered live to the factory of Seagourmet Norway in Batsfjord. Furthermore, shrimps will be caught in pots rather than trawls to ensure the best possible quality of shrimps. This is quite an innovative approach. Fingers crossed.

“The boat is expected to bring its first catch in a week or so. Although our expectations are quite high, I cannot say for sure yet what volumes and sizes we will be able to offer”, says the head of sales Andrei Kazakov. “We are exploring different market channels right now, and we will act accordingly”.

Seagourmet Norway sees fresh cooked shrimps as the main product. Some shrimps will be sold to other factories for peeling and deeper processing.

Batsfjord i Fest is a yearly social event that gathers hundreds of Batfsjorders and visitors from other parts of Norway. Along with other numerous local bands, the festival this year featured a long-awaited band DDE that starred on the stage of Batsfjord 20 years ago.

Established in 1992, DDE has gained national acclaim as one of the best pop and rock bands in Norway.

The event was opened with culture awards from the Batsfjord Mayor Geir Knustad and a fashion show. Jam sessions, dj sets and food tasting followed culminating in a DDE performance. Seagourmet Norway AS was the general sponsor of  the concert. 

More than 26,600 seafood professionals attended the exposition in 2015; and although the exact number of attendees has not been counted yet for 2016, the show organizers claim this year’s exposition featured 1664 exhibiting companies from 80 countries, including 73 national and regional pavilions.  New national and regional pavilions included Finland, Russia, Scotland and Uruguay; and new exhibiting countries from Barbados, Seychelles, Tanzania and Uganda.

Formerly named the European Seafood Exposition and Seafood Processing Europe, Seafood Expo Global and Seafood Processing Global form the world’s largest seafood trade event.  Thousands of buyers and suppliers from around the world attend the annual exposition in Brussels, Belgium, to meet, network and do business.  Attending buyers represent importers, exporters, wholesalers, restaurants, supermarkets, hotels, and other retail and foodservice companies. 

Seagourmet Norway have yet again confirmed they know how to stand out. Booth 4080 has been one of the busiest during the entire three-day show. Visitors came around to chat about crab business, get the taste of relatively unknown snow crab, and establish business connections with the Norwegian crab processor.

And when the curtains are drawn, Seagourmet Norway will be building relationships with a now expanded network of promising buyers from around the world. A little is known if the exposition may bring immediate results, but the odds are good of a long term success.

In 2015, almost t 27.000 buyers, suppliers and other seafood professionals from 140 countries attended the event where Segourmet Norway made its first public appearance.

You are welcome to visit our stand at Seafood Expo Global 2016. This time you can find us at Hall 9, booth 4080. 

Batsfjord, a municipality of 2200 citizens, counts around 60 companies in the fishery sector. Fishery employs 400 people of 27 nations in Batsfjord.

Saturday, February 13, over 100 people gathered in a cinema hall Skansen, where Iceland, Lithuania, Russia, Syria, Thailand and Norway presented their ethnic cuisine. Seagourmet  Norway came forward with a local way of serving snow crabs. “This was definitely a success”, claim organizing committee, “so we will continue the show next year”.

In 2017, a new “We are in Fishery Capital” set of food festivals, concerts, crab safaris, and exhibitions is scheduled to take place during week 6.

“We use this opportunity to highlight that we are a fishing capital, just in the industry's most hectic season. Winter. The unpredictability is what spices up our lives. This is exactly why so many of us live and thrive here”, explains Arnfred Eilertsen, a daily manager of a local seafood-oriented SMEs support agency Linken Naeringshage.