PEOPLE & 



PLACES 



Barry Nash visited rural Russia 

 last summer, he found an intriguing seafood 

 delicacy — laminaria: seaweed blended with 

 seafood or fruit. 



"Russia has a strong market for seafood," 

 says Nash, North Carolina Sea Grant's seafood 

 technology and marketing specialist at the North 

 Carolina State University Seafood Laboratory. 

 "They eat a lot of smoked fish, herring, and 

 laminaria. The Russian government is pushing 

 laminaria because it is rich in iodine." 



Nash sampled various seafood products at 

 the Rybalkina seafood processing and wholesale 

 business in the Voronezh Region in central 

 Russia. The company produces more than 100 

 different items — from smoked and salty fish, to 

 fish preserves and fish-based convenience foods. 



He also provided advice on improving the 

 quality of the company's products, extending the 

 shelf life of processed seafood and expanding 

 product development. "I was very impressed with 

 the facility and the marketing savvy of the owner 

 and his technologist," Nash says. 



"Because the plant is in a rural area, it has 

 little competition from other seafood businesses," 

 he adds. The Voronezh Region also is home to a 

 number of food-producing plants. 



Agricultural Cooperative Development 

 International (ACDI)/Volunteers in Overseas 

 Cooperative Assistance ( VOCA) sponsored 

 Nash's trip. The private development organization 

 promotes broad-based economic growth and 

 the development of civil society in emerging 

 democracies and developing countries. 



"Barry performed an invaluable service on 

 a volunteer basis to a Russian seafood business," 

 says Henry Garcia, regional ACDI/VOCA 

 recruiter. "He did excellent work for us and 

 hopefully can help us more in the future." 



RUSSIAN SEAFOOD MARKETS 



Russia's strong tradition of fish and seafood 

 production dates back to the Soviet era, when 

 it was one of the world's leading producers/ 

 exporters. The Soviet Union ceased to exist in 

 1991, but Russia is now the eighth largest seafood 



LEFT: The cathedrals of Moscow are about 300 miles from the 

 city of Voronezh. 



26 Coastwatch I Winter 2006 I www.ncseagrant.org 



