AE2014 Plenary speakers

Day 1. Wednesday 15th: 09h15 to 10h00.

“Adding societal value: From aquaculture to Gastronomy”. Mikel Gallo, Nineu

The Basque Country and Donostia-San Sebastián are a well-known international reference in the Gastronomy sector. In this context, the opening plenary session will highlight the excellence of farmed fish and shellfish products in simple, innovative dishes that can be prepared by all. Mikel Gallo, a renowned chef from Donostia-San Sebastián (www.restaurantenineu.com) will prepare some special dishes based on different aquaculture species, such as Smoked mussels with a bourbon and cheese cream, Fried baby flounder with a grilled garlic cream…and will be interspersed with interesting information related to the aquaculture of such species.

Attendees will also be introduced in a dynamic and entertaining manner to other sensorial and gastronomic values that are inherent in these dishes: textures, flavours, aromas... Within show cooking, different topics of interest for today's European aquaculture sector will be introduced, such as sustainability, innovation in processes and products, technological breakthroughs, etc., which will be looked at in greater detail in the different scheduled technical sessions. In short, a new perspective of aquaculture will be shown through gastronomy, adding value to a sector that is facing important future challenges. 

Basque chef Mikel Gallo was born in Andoain in 1975, and has devoted over two decades to what he likes best: to cook. He almost entirely developed his professional career in the Martin Berasategui Group, subsequently IXO group. It was at the opening of the Restaurant Guggenheim Bilbao Museum in 1997 when he started as Head Chef and lived the first three years of this emblematic restaurant along with Josean Alija (Guggenheim Bilbao Restaurant Nerua).

In 2009, his career took a new turn. Together with Bixente Arrieta (IXO grupo), they presented a new gastronomic proposal, Restaurant Ni neu in the Kursaal Congress Palace, a new culinary concept which brought haute cuisine closer to society. Mikel develops avant-garde and accessible cuisine at Restaurant Ni neu. His entrepreneurial spirit and analytical skills are key to raise seemingly simple dishes with a deep knowledge of the product, enhancing their value by using innovative techniques.

Day 2. Thursday 16th 09h00 to 09h25:

“The Future of Fish Protein: Beyond Sustainability” Michael T. Morrissey, Director, Oregon State University Food Innovation Center

The world population has been growing at an unprecedented rate and it is estimated that by the year 2050 the total population will be between 9-10 billion people. There have been numerous articles about the grand challenge of increasing the production of food protein to meet increasing population demands. It is estimated that this increment will require a doubling of the world food production especially in high quality animal protein. One of the reasons for the escalation in protein demand is the rapidly growing middle class sector in developing countries such as India and China. While much of the debate has focused on the energy costs, green-house gas emissions and environmental damage of animal protein production versus plant protein production, there has been little discussion of the role of fish protein production in this debate. This paper will review the current situation in fish protein availability for human consumption and its future role in meeting growing demand. In most cases fish protein production, provides environmentally sound and sustainable systems, especially when compared to land-based animal protein production sectors, such as livestock. Opportunities exist for expanding fish production systems as part of the solution for meeting increased demands for protein foods over the next three decades.

Dr. Michael T. Morrissey is a Professor of Food Science at Oregon State University (OSU) and is currently the Director of the OSU Food Innovation Center in Portland, OR. He was previously Director of the OSU Seafood Laboratory from 1990 to 2009. The Food Innovation Center is part of the College of Agriculture Experiment Stations and is unique in its urban location and its mission to promote agri-businesses and start-up food companies. He has published more than ninety-five articles in food safety, seafood health risk-benefits, quality, product development, fish species identification and by-product utilization. He has been invited as a scientific lecturer by Fundacion-Chile, the National Fisheries Institute of Peru, the Japanese Society of Fisheries Science, and other countries and served as a member of the external Advisory Board for SEAFOODplus, a multi-disciplinary project involving 17 European countries. Dr. Morrissey has received the OSU Oldfield-Jackman Team Award (1996) for Pacific whiting research, the Earl P. McPhee Award (1999) for his contributions to seafood science and the Briskey Award for Faculty Excellence from the College of Agricultural Sciences at OSU (2004). He was elected an Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Fellow in (2003).

09h25 to 09h45:

“R&D&Marketing in fish products: a success case” Carlos Luna, Managing Director Angulas Aguinaga

Compared to the major product innovation development that has taken place in other sectors, such as the meat or dairy industries, the consumption of fish products remains very traditional. In this situation, ANGULAS AGUINAGA sees great potential based on the launch of fish products that meet the demands of a new type of consumer – people who do not have much time to go shopping or cook, but who are increasingly aware of the importance of fish in their diet. New products are therefore required, which are easy to use, pre-cooked, fresh-cut, in individual portions, with a use-by date, sustainable, in environmentally-friendly packs, etc. That is, a range of "convenience" products that meet new needs. In this new scenario we must increase cooperation between the primary, transformation and distribution sectors, in order to address this challenge successfully. Over the last few years, ANGULAS AGUINAGA has extended its range of products. Although surimi-based products are its main market today, in the last five years it has included more products using prawns, salmon, octopus, mussels, etc. while promoting quality and innovation. Information on AA: Turnover €90 million. 300 employees. 


Carlos Luna (La Garriga, Barcelona, 1960), economist and MBA from ESADE Business School, is currently the Managing Director of Angulas Aguinaga. He started his professional career in the Marketing Department at Cinzano, and then went on to work as Sales Director for Ceys and Porcelanas Bidasoa.

In 1994 he joined Angulas Aguinaga, a Gipuzkoa-based company working in the fishing industry, which has always believed in promoting innovation. It includes brands such as La Gula del Norte, Krissia and Angulas Aguinaga, and is currently carrying out an ambitious plan to make investments, launch new products and enter new markets. Its portfolio includes products made with Surimi, Salmon, Prawns, Octopus, Mussels, etc.

Day 3. Friday 17th: 09h00 to 09h45

“Climate change, the environment and sustainable aquaculture developments”. Professor Anil Markandya, Executive Director, the Basque Climate Change Research Centre.

This presentation will look at the opportunities and challenges of climate change scenarios on primary food production, with a focus on European aquaculture. Production activity of aquatic species (aquaculture) depends on factors such as water temperature and currents, energy consumption, carbon footprint, regulating prices and ultimately the competitiveness of each sector and country. This presentation will look to contextualize these issues within internationally accepted climate change scenarios.

Professor Markandya is a resource economist who has worked in this field for over thirty years and is acknowledged as one of the leading authorities. He graduated from the London School of Economics with a Master of Science in Econometrics in 1968 and was awarded his Ph.D. on the Economics of the Environment in 1975. Since then he has divided his time between academic and advisory work.

On the academic side he has published widely in the areas of climate change, environmental valuation, environmental policy, energy and environment, green accounting, macroeconomics and trade. Some of his best-known works include, ´Blueprint for a Green Economy’, ´Green Accounting in Europe’, ´Reconciling Trade and Development’ and ´Cleaning the Ganges’. He has held academic positions at the universities of Princeton, Berkeley and Harvard in the US and at University College London and Bath University in the UK. 

He was a lead author for Chapters of the 3rd and 4th IPCC Assessment Reports on Climate Change and was one of the core team that drafted the IPCC 4th Assessment that was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. Recently he was author of a paper on climate regulation that was awarded 2nd Prize at the World Energy Council in Rome in November 2007. In 2008 he was nominated by Cambridge University as one of the 50 most influential thinkers on sustainability in the world.

In 2012 he was made President Elect of the European Association of Environmental & Resource Economists (EAERE), his two year term as President beginning January 2014. Professor Markandya has also been an advisor to many national and international organizations, including all the international development banks, UNDP, the EU and the governments of India and the UK. At the World Bank he was a Lead Advisor and worked closely on energy and environmental issues with many governments in Asia, Central Europe and the Former Soviet Union.