Page 47 - Sjæklen2003

This development generated further expansion and towards
the close of the period, new catch technologies were intro-
duced and, at the same time, fishing was slowly expanded
outside of coastal waters.
The following period, from 1930 to 1970, was characte-
rised, in the beginning, by a series of advances in foodstuff
technology, in the form of better freezing techniques, and
improved preserved products. In addition to this, standardi-
sation of the various products was started which, all in all,
increased the consumers’ confidence and created the basis
for further expansion. In support of these trends, new and
flexible forms of transport such as aeroplanes and trucks
became more and more involved in the transport system. As
a further stimulant for the development of the market, the
general post-war increase in wealth, combined with the
introduction of modern marketing techniques, came into the
picture. These last-mentioned trends led to a marked in-
crease in the distribution of goods which, in combination
with greater efficiency in the trade chain led, in turn to a
pattern of consumption that was more equally spread out.
Thus, this period was characterised partly by an increased
internationalisation of the shrimp industry and partly by the
fact that shrimps went from being a luxury item to beco-
ming synonymous with the growing middle class.
During the period following 1970, a series of fundamen-
tal changes to the shrimp industry took place. Firstly, the
USA lost its dominant position in the development and in-
stead, a series of new players came onto the scene. Second-
ly, shrimp farming began to make headway as an alternati-
ve to shrimp fishing. This last mentioned point came about
as a result of the depletion of a series of shrimp stocks, pri-
marily in southern Asia. Countries such as China, Thailand,
India and Indonesia were much further along with their
developments but also South American countries such as
Ecuador, Brazil and Venezuela were making their mark
with their know-how from the USA. The many new players
gave rise to globalisation of the shrimp industry so that
shrimps from one continent could be sold in another con-
tinent, perhaps on the other side of the world, the following
day. However, this close contact made the industry extre-
mely sensitive to the fluctuations in the global economy. On
many occasions both in the 1980s and the 1990s, events in
certain areas caused great changes in the industry as a who-
le. Examples of this are: the devaluation of the Japanese yen
and, during the period just after the turn of the millennium,
the outbreak of SARS in China. Improved transport time
and, not least, better dissemination of information have now
become crucial parameters for the shrimp industry on the
global market.
47
Nogle danske og tyske rejebomtrawlere i Havnebys havn på Rømø.
Trawlerne fisker på Vadehavets bestand af hesterejer.
Foto: Poul H. Moustgaard