The Shetland stand worked well and the SSFA representation of Anne-Lise Smith and myself had a busy week. Things to watch out for - Tilapia, a warm water fish now farmed in huge numbers may well appear more regularly in European and UK fish counters. The Irish are very bullish about the potential for aquaculture and they were making the point with a larger presence. However, the show didn't jump up at you and there was a slightly subdued feeling overall. It is always too early to say in the aftermath of a show just how successful it has been.
Impressions are varied.
The answer is 'maybe', but perhaps the slowdown is more hype than reality. The smart money for me is on working to establish a better coordination of sales effort to the US, with companies in both Shetland and Scotland looking at nurturing the market share already gained and not just trying to compete on price with Chile in particular. The reputation of the farmed product depends on keeping a good quality image and Shetland needs to continuously strive to promote a branded image of our products.