Scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries present a pioneering study on amateur fishermen

The importance of hobby fishing has so far been enormously underestimated. Recreational anglers living in Germany get seven to ten times more fish from the waters than all commercial lake and river anglers in this country. This is what Dr. Robert Arlinghaus as part of his doctorate at the Humboldt University in Berlin, which he completed at the Leibniz Institute for Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries in Berlin. The scientist puts the total economic benefit of non-commercial angling in Germany at 6,4 billion euros annually. Robert Arlinghaus will present his work at a press conference of the German Angler Association (DAV) on Wednesday, March 24th in Berlin.

Arlinghaus has broken new ground with his studies. For the first time he systematically investigated the importance of hobby fishing. In doing so, he not only focused on the economic benefit, but also ecological and sociological aspects. According to experts, his work has a pioneering character in Germany and is unparalleled in all of Central Europe. So far, the EU has hardly taken fishing into account in its common fisheries policy.

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The economic downturn in the German economy inhibited consumer demand for organically produced food last year; sales increased only slightly. Because organic food is usually significantly more expensive than conventional goods. In 2003, one kilogram of conventionally produced braised beef cost an average of 8,55 euros. According to ZMP surveys, consumers paid an average of 14,74 euros per kilogram for the same product from organic production, i.e. a good 70 percent more. The price differences for pork were even greater. In the case of fruit and vegetables, too, consumers often have to calculate surcharges of more than 50 percent for organic products. But there are also articles for which the “eco surcharge” is quite limited. For example, one liter of fresh organic whole milk in a deposit bottle cost an average of EUR 1,03 last year, which is only 18 percent more than for the comparable conventional product.

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Pig prices recovered across the EU

The EU Commission has lifted the export refunds for pork that had been granted since January of this year. The decision has been in effect since March 16 and is justified by the significant recovery in pork prices in the European Union. The average EU price for half-slaughtered meats rose from 112 euros per 100 kilograms at the beginning of January to around 135 euros per 100 kilograms in mid-March. The price recovery is related, among other things, to the import ban on poultry meat.

At the beginning of January, the EU Commission set an export refund of 40 euros per 100 kilograms for slaughtered halves and 25 euros per 100 kilograms for belly meat. Export refunds are still paid for processed pork products.

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Slow business at the German egg market

The upcoming Easter festival has not yet triggered any significant revival in demand, and buying interest is unusually calm on all sales channels. At the consumer level, no more eggs have been bought than usual, and the processing companies obviously still have sufficient stocks. The egg dyeing factories are also rather reluctant to order. At the moment, the supply exceeds the demand in almost all weight classes, only white eggs in weight class M are sometimes in short supply. The providers can therefore only charge a little more for these sortings, otherwise little changes in the prices. This means that there are no holiday-related surcharges on the shop floor either.
 
Three weeks before Easter, a ten-pack of eggs in weight class M (standard goods, mostly caged) cost a national average of 1,10 euros, which was 21 cents less than at the beginning of January. Free-range eggs from conventional production cost an average of 1,84 euros per ten pieces, five cents less than at the beginning of the year.

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The breeding of Spanish fighting bulls may no longer be financed with EU subsidies and thus by European taxpayers. This is what Bavaria's animal welfare minister Werner Schnappauf demanded in Munich after media reports had revealed that fighting bulls would be promoted with considerable funds even after the EU agricultural reform. Schnappauf: "Federal Minister of Agriculture Renate Künast must immediately work in Brussels to ensure that this subsidy practice, which is contrary to animal welfare, is ended as quickly as possible."

Every year the EU gives up to 22,5 million euros to around 1.200 Spanish fighting bull breeders, the minister said. Schnappauf: "Bullfighting is cruelty to animals. Animal rights activists all over Europe are rightly outraged. The fact that the Federal Government apparently considers the EU subsidizing this cruelty to be something completely incomprehensible and makes a mockery of animal welfare. Minister Künast has the duty to to act here if she wants to be credible as an animal rights activist. "

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Internet platform activated

On April 19, the new regulations for labeling genetically modified foods will take effect. Consumers can thus obtain more comprehensive information than before about the role genetic engineering plays in individual products. The new website www.gentechnik-kennzeichnung.de provides information about what the new regulations mean in concrete terms and how consumers can use the labeling when shopping.

The site is supported by the labeling initiative, to which several associations and organizations have come together. The aim of the initiative is to make the new genetic engineering labeling known to the general public. Only when consumers are familiar with the purpose and scope of the new regulations can they make conscious use of them.

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"Schoolchildren are not worse than they used to be - just different" - teacher conference "School and Quality of Life" on the road to success

At the end of March 2003, the first specialist conference for teachers of the "Network for Healthy Nutrition" took place in Bonn. The extraordinary response encouraged the partners of the "Network for Healthy Nutrition" to continue this series. "We will be offering this symposium in several federal states in the coming years," said Dr. Margret Büning-Fesel, managing director of the aid infodienst in Bonn. In addition to aid, the network also includes the Association for Independent Health Advice eV (UGB) and the NRW consumer center. The second symposium "School and Quality of Life" took place on March 20.3.2004, XNUMX at the University of Hohenheim near Stuttgart. This time, too, the event was fully booked.

Prof. Dr. Helmut Heseker, University of Paderborn, opened the lecture program with an analysis of the current situation. "Nutritional education leads a shadowy existence in our schools", says Prof. Heseker. Although nutrition-related problems are increasing in children and adolescents, the subject is often taught in an unrelated and inadequate manner. Above all, the practical side is neglected: Which school is currently investing in kitchens and cooking? Accordingly, an enormous loss of competence can be observed among the students, the handling of food is reduced to the purchase of snacks.

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Young families eat healthily, but do not forego sweets. This is the result of a survey by ELTERN magazine and the Federal Ministry of Food, in which over 3.000 young parents took part.

   In most young families (85,5 percent), the mothers cook; in only 11 percent of households, the partners share the cooking. Most of them attach great importance to fresh and home-cooked meals and only cook with ready-made products in exceptional cases. With only 0,2 percent of the survey participants, pizza, fries and the like are pushed into the oven every day and with 29,5 percent a meal from the package is put on the table once a week.

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46 animals are threatened with death

As reported by the Agriculture Ministry in Schwerin, BSE was found in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for the first time since December 2002. A cow from the Ludwigslust district was affected. Another 46 animals belonging to the so-called cohort must now be killed. This also applies to the three offspring, two of which were sold to Spain.

Many of the 46 cohort cows are very pregnant, according to a ministry spokesman. The authorities are now checking whether they can calve before they are killed according to EU regulations. The affected cow had shown no signs of mad cow disease, the spokesman said. She had been slaughtered after being injured. The compulsory tissue sample produced the BSE result.

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Caviar Creator Düsseldorf builds largest closed aquaculture facility / 30 million euro investment / laying of the foundation stone in Demmin

Caviar from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania? What sounds unusual at first will soon be commonplace. In the Hanseatic city of Demmin in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the Düsseldorf company Caviar Creator is building the world's largest closed aquaculture facility for rearing sturgeons. The groundbreaking ceremony took place in December last year, and the cornerstone for the 20 million euro project was ceremoniously laid on Saturday, March 30th.

The first sturgeons should come into the basins of the facility as early as next autumn. They are adult animals that provide the roe known as caviar after a year of acclimatization. Frank Schaefer, Head of Caviar Creator Europe, specifies the planned production volume as 33 tons of caviar per year. That is twice as much as the total German caviar imports in 2002. "The demand for high-quality caviar is very high," emphasizes Frank Schaefer. Due to the decline in the sturgeon population in the wild, the supply of wild caviar has drastically decreased. 15 years ago there were around 2.000 tonnes traded on the world market, last year the supply was only 70 tonnes. In addition, the sturgeon has been under species protection worldwide since 1998.

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Partly quieter business after Easter

At the beginning of April, many agricultural products are in increasing demand due to the upcoming Easter holidays. Business calmed down again in the second half of the month. At the meat markets, beef, veal and lamb are initially the focus of interest; after Easter, depending on the weather, demand could shift more to grilled cuts of pork. However, the prices for slaughtered cattle tend to decline somewhat. Eggs are lively until Easter, after which there is a rather restrained demand. The sale of dairy products also benefits from Easter. In the case of potatoes, the focus of sales has shifted significantly to imported early goods in the course of the month. The range of fruit and vegetables is becoming more and more diverse. Large quantities of strawberries and asparagus are already coming from southern Europe. Cattle prices often lower

The fixed price development in the marketing of young bulls should come to an end in April for the time being. The quotations are likely to tend to be weak. Strong discounts are not to be expected, as the number of young bulls is likely to remain small. The domestic beef trade is concentrated in the first half of April on the fine cuts that the trade has already stocked up on from mid-March. The Easter holidays could affect beef sales somewhat, as many German citizens go on vacation abroad. When sending young bull meat to EU partner countries, however, no significant recovery is expected.

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