Novel shrimp peeling machine to improve the North Sea shrimp value chain

Background and Objective

Very few seafood products are consumed fresh at the place where they are caught. Instead, they undergo a series of processing and transport steps between catch and consumption, which gradually increases the value of the product. As each step requires special skills and should be as cost-effective as possible, such value chains are usually very efficient, consist of various intermediate players and are often organised across national borders. The downside of efficiency is often a high susceptibility to disruptions in the chain's processes. The effects of these disruptions particularly often affect the fishermen, as they have rarely any alternative options, unlike processing companies or consumers.

The brown shrimp fishery in Germany is also less resilient to external shocks, as the COVID-19 pandemic has shown. For reasons of efficiency, the shrimps caught in the southern North Sea are mainly transported via the Netherlands to Morocco, where they are peeled by hand in large de-shelling centres and then returned to Europe for resale after being preserved several times. When de-shelling capacities in Morocco were greatly reduced to contain the pandemic through social distancing rules and limits on the number of people per space, the volume of shrimps taken by wholesalers fell, and so did the catches themselves and thus the earnings of shrimp fishing companies in Germany. These losses could not be compensated for due to a lack regional de-shelling operations and a lack of alternative marketing channels.

Our research and development project aims to identify solutions for a regional value chain and to evaluate them in terms of their social and economic sustainability according to scientific criteria and standards. The basis for this is a new type of machine with which shrimps can be de-shelled without contact. As part of the project, we are developing, building and testing the prototype of a de-shelling unit. Its functional principle is based on using pressure waves to break open the shrimp carapace, which then separates from the meat. In addition to the technical feasibility, we are also researching the economic side of this shrimp peeling 3.0 (after the old manual peeling and after already existing machines which however work with contact). We are also investigating whether there is a market for the regionally de-shelled brown shrimps and whether the resulting remains can be utilised regionally. Our aim is to develop economically and socially viable solutions for the struggling brown shrimp fishery.

Target Group

Shrimp and coastal fishery, professional and public audience

Approach

The R&D project has five interlocking and complementary focal points:

1. Project coordination and public relations: Drs Ralf Döring and Arne Schröder from the Thünen Institute of Sea Fisheries coordinate and manage the project. They are responsible for knowledge transfer, informing the fishery and the public and publishing interim and final results. Additional tasks include the organisation of project meetings and cooperation with the project advisory board.
2. Construction and testing of a new type of shrimp peeling machine: In this focus area, the company US Processing Klever, together with the German Institute of Food Technology, is building and testing the new type of shrimp peeling machine. We use the data from test runs of the unit to analyse the economic efficiency of the new shrimp de-shelling technology.
3. Efficiency analysis of shrimp fishing:  Dr Tim Knöpfel from the Department of Agricultural Market Economics (Prof. Bernhard Brümmer) at the University of Göttingen is investigating the economic efficiency of the German shrimp fishery, also under the to be determined conditions of the future regional operation of the new shrimp de-shelling technology.
4. Economic analyses and innovation diffusion shrimp peeling machine: Dr Tobias Lasner and Melina Niemann from the Thünen Institute of Sea Fisheries are investigating the effects of the new type of shrimp peeling machine on the profitability of German fishing companies. They are incorporating the results of the market analysis (see 5.) and the technical trials (see 2.) in order to make empirically based assumptions about the economic potential and risks of an alternative way of adding value to North Sea crabs.
5. Market analysis for regionally de-shelled shrimp: A team led by Prof Antje Risius and Dr Brianne Altmann from the Department of Marketing for Food and Agricultural Products at the University of Göttingen is researching the changes in market potential and consumer attitudes towards brown shrimps that could be made possible by the establishment of a regional de-shelling industry.

The Thünen Institute has also awarded two subcontracts. The ttz Bremerhaven is investigating the regional utilisation possibilities of shrimp peeling remains and the quality of the shrimp meat. Sector experts Nicole Knapstein and Thomas Collande provide us with information on the current brown shrimp market, price trends and possible alternative sales markets. The results of these subcontracts are continuously incorporated into our work above in order to create an overall picture of a possible regional shrimp value chain.

Data and Methods

To answer our questions, we use both quantitative and qualitative approaches, including guided interviews and focus groups with stakeholders along the value chain, market inventories, representative online surveys of consumers and data from the catch statistics of the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE), the test farm network of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and consumer data on shrimp consumption from the "Gesellschaft für Konsumentenforschung (GfK)".

We analyse and interpret qualitative data from interviews with fishermen, fisheries officials, processors, wholesalers and retailers, restaurateurs and consumers using social-scientific methods, while statistical methods are used for quantitative market and consumer data. For example, the catch efficiency analysis of the shrimp fishery (see below) is carried out by analysing time series of the variables of individual farms using an economic regression model, or we apply the "typical farm approach" from the agri benchmark network to analyse the profitability of fishing operations.

Our Research Questions

The overarching question is: "How could regional shrimp de-shelling be competitive with the existing manual de-shelling process in Morocco?" To answer this question, we are working on a number of other detailed questions in our work packages, including:

• What exactly does the current value chain look like?
• How operational is the new technology?
• What output does the machine provide and at what cost?
• To what extent is the novel technology scalable?
• How can a machine be utilised operationally?
• Under what circumstances is it economical?
• What factors influence the efficiency of brown shrimp fishing?
• Can consumer acceptance of regionally de-shelled brown shrimps be increased?

Do regionally de-shelled shrimps have a higher quality?

• What alternative marketing channels are possible?
• How do alternative marketing channels affect the profitability of the brown shrimp fishery?
• What effects can the machine have on the value chain?

What can happen to the remains?

Preliminary Results

The results will be published or linked here on the Thünen Institute's homepage by the end of the project at the latest. However, preliminary interim results may be available at an earlier date. A final categorisation and interpretation will only take place after all the work has been completed and will be published here in the final report.

After publication, the results of the project are available free of charge to all companies active in the relevant economic sector or sub-sector.

Links and Downloads

Our projekt featured in various media, among others in SpiegelOnline, Arte, and OZ.