The Restructuring of the Spanish Salted Fish Market
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The restructuring of the Spanish salted fish market KNUT BJØRN LINDKVIST Department of Geography, University of Bergen, Fosswinckelsgt 6, NO-5007 Bergen, Norway (e-mail: [email protected]) LORENA GALLART-JORNET SINTEF Fiskeri og havbruk A/S, Brattørkaia 17 B, 7465 Trondheim, Norway (e-mail: [email protected]) MAI CECILIE STABELL Department of Geography, University of Bergen, Fosswinckelsgt 6, NO-5007 Bergen, Norway (e-mail: [email protected]) This article discusses how cultural, technological and La restructuration du march´e du poisson sal´een social factors contribute to the restructuring of the Espagne Spanish salted fish market and production systems. Cet article se penche sur la fac¸on dont les facteurs The analytical principles used are institutional, culturels, technologiques et sociaux font progresser la evolutionary socio-economic theories on spatial, restructuration du march´e espagnol du poisson sal´e technological and social change. A major focus of the et des syst`emes de production. L’approche analytique analysis is the use of production chain theory to utilis´ee repose sur les principes th´eoriques de analyze the Spanish salted fish market. The main l’´evolution socio´economique et institutionnelle en issue is whether Spain, as a traditional salted fish mati`ere de changement spatial, technologique et consumer market, is more influenced by technology social. Notre analyse porte principalement sur le and supplier strategies than by cultural aspects and recours alath` ´eorie de la chaˆıne de production dans consumer traditions. The strategies of Icelandic l’´etude du march´e du poisson sal´e en Espagne. La salted fish suppliers, better preservation systems and grande question soulev´ee est celle de savoir si new salting methods seem to have influenced the l’Espagne, en tant que march´e traditionnel de restructuring of the Spanish salted fish market more consommation du poisson sal´e, est davantage than cultural factors. Nevertheless, without the influenc´ee par la technologie et les strat´egies des Spanish tradition of salted fish, the new light salted fournisseurs que par des ´el´ements culturels et les fillets and desalted products most likely would not traditions des consommateurs. Les strat´egies mises have been accepted by consumers. In addition, the au point par les fournisseurs islandais de poisson Icelandic influence proves the strength of national sal´e, les syst`emes de conservation am´elior´es, et les Icelandic production systems. nouvelles m´ethodes de salaison auraient eu une plus grande influence sur la restructuration du march´e espagnol du poisson sal´e que les facteurs d’ordre culturel. Cela dit, la tradition espagnole du poisson sal´e aurait permis aux nouveaux filets l´eg`erement The Canadian Geographer / Le G´eographe canadien 52, no 1 (2008) 105–120 C / Canadian Association of Geographers / L’Association canadienne des g´eographes 106 Knut Bjørn Lindkvist, Lorena Gallart-Jornet, and Mai Cecilie Stabell sal´es et aux produits sans sel de faire leur entr´ee sur le march´e de consommation. De surcroˆıt, l’influence de l’Islande est une preuve de la vigueur des syst`emes de production nationaux islandais. Introduction is often the reason for poor end-product quality (Joensen et al. 2004). The Spanish market for salted fish products is Many changes in the production chain pro- undergoing a fundamental restructuring. Import cesses of industries have resulted from an volumes of salted fish to Spain almost doubled interaction between the use of technology, organi- between 1991 and 2005, from 30,000 to 59,000 zational characteristics related to the different in- metric tons. New products have been introduced, dustries, specific demand and action spheres, and and the entire process of salted fish production the production and demand structures of spe- has changed. This article aims to determine the cific markets (Storper 1997; Dicken and Malmberg key factors responsible for such trends in one 2001; Crevoisier 2004). Crevoisier (2004) linked of the world’s leading seafood markets. Although technology, organization and territories to inno- the Spanish salted fish market is influenced by vative environments through the agents’ ability tradition, the article examines whether modern to make use of the right technology (machinery, Spanish salted fish processing for consumption know-how and innovation orientation) and orga- is more influenced by general technological, so- nizational arrangements (adapting to governance cial and economic factors. These external factors rules and participation in production networks) include new salting processes, trends among con- within the characteristic material and institu- sumers towards demanding more packaged pro- tional settings of the specific territories. Collab- cessed products, and the adoption by Spanish oration in local production networks in specific market participants (consumers and processing territories produces joint production experiences, firms) of Icelandic quality measures for salted which are accumulated as non-codified or non- fish. In other words, is Spain a technology- traded traditions, conventions and competence and supplier-driven salted fish market? Indirectly, resources. When an innovative environment or this question addresses whether traditions among milieu of producers also establishes its own in- Spanish consumers and producers are having less sight into what takes place, not only in their influence. own territories but also in the other markets they rely on, the principal actors of such environments may achieve a thorough and relational under- Theoretical Perspective standing of the functioning and trade conditions of the whole production chain. The traditions, Nordic and Spanish research into the salted fish investments and competence formation that re- industry has concentrated on technological issues sult from the production practices then produce in the production process. Focus has been on an immobile, localized and socially shared knowl- salting (Barat et al. 2002; Andr´es et al. 2005), ad- edge asset within specific territories, which deter- ditives for salting and desalting; Thorarinsdottir mines much of the subsequent behaviour (Dicken et al. 2001; Esaiassen et al. 2005; Fern´andez- and Malmberg 2001; Crevoisier 2004). This terri- Segovia et al. 2006) and fresh fish as raw ma- torial influence was labelled the ‘matrix-effect’ by terials (Lauritsen et al. 2004; Barat et al. 2006). Crevoisier (op. cit). Social science perspectives on the analysis of However, the technological influences may at production chains in salted fish industries are times be so strong that former systems and not common, although technologies are imple- technologies are exposed to ‘creative destruction’ mented by firms and individuals who act within (Hayter 1997). Destruction in this sense means socio-economic frameworks. However, scientific that former products become obsolete and re- research seems to indicate that the wrong treat- placed by new products. Moreover, former pro- ment of the catches on board the fishing vessels duction environments may lose influence if they The Canadian Geographer / Le G´eographe canadien 52, no 1 (2008) The restructuring of the Spanish salted fish market 107 are unable to follow new demand trends. A tech- 1997; Boschma 2004, 2005). And, if one group of nology concept that includes new production so- producers in the initial stages of the production lutions and new knowledge may enforce new chain is able to replace customers’ market con- organizational and production practices and be ventions with their own producers’ conventions, the main explanatory variable for the relocation then the influence of the consumer markets will of industries. Furthermore, new consumer trends be reduced, and possibly by less than the influ- may change demand patterns from traditional ar- ence of the production territories. This article is eas to new products where some of the former concerned with this last possibility. producers are unable to compete. The remainder of this article investigates the The changes in technology and product mar- changes that are taking place in the produc- kets are followed by organizational restructur- tion chain and production system of the Span- ing among participants in consumer markets, as ish salted fish market. Technology, organizational well as among producers. Such transactions in changes and the markets as territorial settings the stages between producers and market play- are seen as influencing factors. The main hypoth- ers and consumers, which define the production esis is that the forces driving the restructuring chain, are seen within the perspective of Edging- of the salted fish production system in Spain are ton and Hayter (1997), who among others focus the strategies and actions of suppliers and their on territorial components, governance structures processing locations in the value chain. The main and specific institutional contexts of the pro- participants in both producer and consumer mar- duction chain. In accordance with the produc- kets of the salted fish value chain are further af- tion chain theory and the concept of ‘milieu’ or fected by changes in salted fish technology and production environments, this article defines a by associated socio-institutional processes. The market as the specific environments and their in- incorporation of technology into the production volvement in production and transactions in each strategies in accordance with market trends en-