Publication of an application for registration of a name pursuant to Article 50(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs

(2022/C 281/07)

This publication confers the right to oppose the application pursuant to Article 51 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) within three months from the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘Salacgrīvas nēģi’

EU No: PGI-LV-02507 – 2.5.2019

PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1. Name(s)

‘Salacgrīvas nēģi’

2. Member State or Third Country

Latvia

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product

Class 1.7. Fresh fish, molluscs, and crustaceans and products derived therefrom

3.2. Description of the product to which the name in (1) applies

‘Salacgrīvas nēģi’ are anadromous cyclostomes belonging to the river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis) species. They are sold fresh, or cooked and set in aspic.

Fresh lampreys are 30-35 cm in length, with dark bluish-grey or greenish-brown backs and upper flanks, while the lower flanks and undersides are greyish or white. Fewer than 15 % of the lampreys measure over 35 cm or less than 30 cm. The proximity of the geographical area to the sea and the method of fishing for ‘Salacgrīvas nēģi’ mean that the lampreys spend a minimal amount of time in river water, and so are distinguished by their cleanliness, with respiratory systems clear of impurities from riverbed sediment. They have a characteristic odour of sea and algae.

Cooked lampreys in aspic, produced from fresh lampreys, are also free from undesirable impurities and tastes from riverbed sediment. They have a rich, bittersweet and moderately salty flavour; in terms of consistency, the flesh is easily shredded, tender and succulent, and these qualities are preserved by the dense and supple aspic. The finished product consists of no more than 30 % aspic, no less than 70 % cooked lamprey meat, and between 1,2 % and 3,0 % salt. Cooked lampreys are greyish-brown in colour, and the aspic ranges from light yellow to light brown.

3.3. Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

No rules have been laid down with regard to the feed used, or to its quality.

The raw material of the processed product – cooked lampreys in aspic – are fresh lampreys caught in the Svētupe and Salaca rivers in Salacgrīva civil parish and Salacgrīva town.

3.4. Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area

Fresh ‘Salacgrīvas nēģi’ are caught in pots from 1 August to 31 January from fishing weirs in the Svētupe and Salaca rivers in Salacgrīva civil parish and Salacgrīva town.

All stages of the production of cooked lampreys in aspic take place in Salacgrīva civil parish and Salacgrīva town.

3.5. Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to

—

3.6. Specific rules concerning labelling of the product the registered name refers to

—

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The civil parish of Salacgrīva and town of Salacgrīva are located on the Vidzeme coast of the Gulf of Riga.

5. Link with the geographical area

Specificity of the geographical area

Today, it is only in Salacgrīva civil parish and Salacgrīva town that lampreys are fished using weirs and pots – a unique fishing method with many centuries of history behind it. The lamprey weir is a special type of footbridge built on spruce piles, held together without using screws or nails. It is this fishing technique in particular which makes frequent checking of the pots easier, and the geographical proximity of the sea to the location on the river where the lampreys return to spawn after having spent the majority of their lives in salt water means a reduction in the amount of time they spend in river water, thus limiting their intake of impurities from riverbed sediment and ensuring the product’s organoleptic properties, specifically its taste.

Specificities of the product

‘Salacgrīvas nēģi’ are anadromous cyclostomes belonging to the river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis) species. They have the following characteristics:

— fresh lampreys have an odour of sea and algae;

— the specificity of the product is based on its organoleptic characteristics – it has a rich, bittersweet and moderately salty flavour, unaffected by riverbed sediment.

Link

There is a causal link between the geographical area of ‘Salacgrīvas nēģi’ and the product, which underpins the product’s reputation and characteristics.

The most characteristic of the product’s specificities, i.e. its rich, bittersweet and moderately salty flavour and odour of sea and algae, are ensured by both the geographical proximity of the sea, which reduces the amount of time the lampreys spend in river water when they return to the river to spawn, thus limiting their intake of impurities from riverbed sediment, and the fishing technique used, which makes frequent checking of the pots easier.

The product has enjoyed an excellent reputation among the Latvian population for several centuries, as evidenced by historical records – ‘Salacgrīvas nēģi’ have been fished and processed since the 18th century. Lamprey fishing methods and cooking recipes are passed down from generation to generation. The archive of Salacgrīva Museum contains a drawing from 1780 by Johann Brotze, showing a lamprey weir in the Salaca river near Vecsalaca Manor.

Documents held by the Latvian State Historical Archives from 1867 indicate that there were 14 farms engaged in lamprey fishing at that time. During Latvia’s first period of independence, lamprey fishing in the Salaca River continued to be widely practised. Fishing rights were leased out at auction in twelve lots, known as ‘robi’. The then owner of Salacgrīva’s Upesjenni farm, Bernhards Skuja, was also much involved in the fishing and processing of lampreys in the 1920s and 1930s. In second half of the 1920s, Skuja had a building constructed for the cooking of lampreys. The building, which is still standing, represents the beginnings of industrial processing of lampreys in Vidzeme.

After the Second World War, the fishing and processing of lampreys in Salacgrīva was taken over by the Brīvais vilnis collective farm. An article by E. Dumbrājs in the magazine Zvaigzne (No 21, 1956) describes lamprey fishing in the Salaca and the production of cooked lampreys in aspic. A recipe contained in the article has been preserved to the present day.

The product’s reputation is also demonstrated in Riga Film Studio’s 1974 documentary film Mēs un jūra (‘The Sea and Us’) (scriptwriters: Daina Avotiņa, Jānis Peters), where these important words are spoken: ‘Lampreys are the Salaca’s pure gold!’

It is important to note that for the last seven years, on the second Saturday in October, an annual ‘Salacgrīva Lamprey Day’ has been celebrated. On that day, ‘Salacgrīvas nēģi’ are made into soup or cooked, and cooked lampreys in aspic are bought and sold. Thousands of visitors learn about lamprey fishing and processed lamprey products, taking home memories of Salacgrīva fishermen and lamprey cooks to recount to family and friends.

The tourist routes of Salacgrīva civil parish and town offer the opportunity to discover more about this unique, centuries-old fishing technique, and to taste the resulting products. The technique of fishing for lampreys from weirs allows tourists to observe the process and take part in it. Visitors to the Zutiņš murdā (‘Lampern in the Pot’) independent exhibition at the Salacgrīva Museum can also learn more about the history of the fishing and processing of ‘Salacgrīvas nēģi’, and the reputation of the product today. The museum’s exhibits include a construction device with which visitors can build their own lamprey weir from wooden components. Visitors can also watch the film No eglēm līdz nēģiem (‘From Spruce Stands to Lampreys’) to gain an insight into lamprey fishing on the Salaca river.

The excellent reputation of ‘Salacgrīvas nēģi’ is particularly appreciated by the initiator of the international Slow Food movement in Latvia, Mārtiņš Rītiņš. On 28 October 2018, on his television show Tuč, tuč Rītiņš, the celebrity chef presented to an audience of millions the traditional method of fishing for ‘Salacgrīvas nēģi’ and demonstrated the age-old techniques used in their processing.

Reference to publication of the product specification

https://www.pvd.gov.lv/lv/lauksaimniecibas-un-partikas-produktu-norazu-registracija

(1) OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.