Better Fish, Better Lives

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AVRAMAR brings the Mediterranean to tables around the world

The waters of the Mediterranean Sea have fed coastal communities since time immemorial. Ushering in a new era in aquaculture, AVRAMAR strives to bring that freshness and quality to your table. AVRAMAR’s worldwide network of vendors and suppliers has the company – which in 2019-20 united four independent Greek and Spanish outfits – poised to be a sustainability leader in the space.

Sustainable Aquaculture

Much like agriculture domesticated wild plant and animals species, allowing farmers to better control production and yields, aquaculture does that for fish cultivation. A safeguard against overfishing, aquaculture raises fish in contained areas in their natural environments. AVRAMAR is the world’s leading producer of Mediterranean fish, particularly renowned for its sea bass, stone bass, sea bream, and pagrus.

As tastes change, AVRAMAR is providing hungry customers with high-quality, sustainably raised proteins that are packed with nutrients, a terrific alternative for those looking to give up or cut back on their meat consumption but not quite ready to go full vegetarian or vegan.

“The future of the industry is ours to shape,” the company declares on its website. “We must lead by example and do the right thing to enrich the lives of as many people as possible. Caring is at the heart of our culture. We believe we are nothing without our people, our partners, and our planet.”

By combining Andromeda Group, Nireus Aquaculture, Selonda Aquaculture, and feed producer Perseus, AVRAMAR has built a vertically integrated system of hatcheries, sea farm sites, feed plants, and packaging and processing facilities.

The company’s operations include cage farm sites in the Aegean and Ionian seas around Greece, as well as waters off the Spanish mainland and Canary Islands. With sites as far as 12 miles offshore, security from poachers and stray boats that can damage cages is essential. With that in mind, AVRAMAR (the name combines the Greek word for “breeze” with the Spanish word for “sea”) enlisted the services of Greek security firm G4S. It’s an important job given that AVRAMAR produces more than 70,000 metric tons of fish annually.

Thor Talseth took over as CEO in 2022 after serving as the chair of what became AVRAMAR’s board since 2016.

“I am honored and excited to have the opportunity to lead AVRAMAR into the next chapter of its evolution and am grateful for the trust that the owners have placed in me,” he said at the time. “My new role will enable me to harness the momentum that has been generated and to accelerate our pace towards new opportunities for innovation, expansion, and growth.”

With so much of the world’s surface covered by water, “We are only scratching the surface for food production,” Talseth told BOSS.

Blue Transformation

AVRAMAR’s business is split evenly between restaurants/food service and retail, which made the COVID pandemic such a shock, with retail business taking a big hit. A lack of workforce on fish counters made selling there a tough proposition. But as the situation stabilized, AVRAMAR adapted to service retailers better, with more convenient options such as grab-and-go meals. The quick-thinking led to year-over-year drop of only about 5% volume in 2020, and the trials and tribulations strengthened long-lasting, deeper partnerships with all stakeholders, including the communities where AVRAMAR operates.

“We believe strong relationships are key to success,” the company states. “That’s why we’re transparent and honest with ourselves, our suppliers, and our customers, and continuously work to keep and enhance one another’s trust.”

Beyond its traditional markets in Greece and Spain, AVRAMAR has identified France and Italy as areas of potential growth in Europe, as well as making inroads to the lucrative markets of North America and the Middle East as the gospel of the Mediterranean diet spreads worldwide.

“By 2050, we need to increase food production by 60 to 70% to meet future demand,” AVRAMAR sustainability committee member Andrea Viken said at the “Tomorrow Tastes Mediterranean” conference in Barcelona last year. “At the same time, the oceans are underdeveloped as a food source.”

Humans get only 7% of the protein in the diets from seafood, she said, yet oceans take up a huge percentage of the earth’s surface, aquaculture can be much more sustainable than agriculture, and fish are both a nutritious and delicious source of protein. The World Research Institute estimates that the volume of ocean-produced food can grow by six times, she said.

“What we need is a blue transformation,” she said, “a vision to expand aquatic food systems and increase their contribution to feeding the world’s growing population.”

As that blue transformation takes shape, look for AVRAMAR to lead the way, bringing the bounty of the Mediterranean to diners across the globe.