The agri benchmark Fish Network

agri benchmark is a network of applied agricultural economic research. The network collects data on production systems worldwide on farm level by using the typical farm approach and supplementary data of food producing sectors. The approach follows in the tradition of information systems like the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) which analyses European agricultural business since 1965. Since 2002 the Thünen-Institute from Germany coordinates the worldwide non-profit agri benchmark network and connect agriculture economists, farmers, their projects and train them how to use the typical farm approach. The decision of doing a pilot study on trout farms in Turkey, Denmark and Germany has been the starting point of the Fish network in 2014. After the successful application of the agri benchmark principles to the fish sector (Lasner et al. 2017) the German Thünen-Institute have developed the Fish network step by step. Studies on alternative fish feed (Behrens et al. 2019) and carp cultures followed (Lasner et al. 2020). Other studies on saithe and shrimp fisheries in the North Sea, pangasius aquaculture in Vietnam and the impact of climate change on aquacultures are already in the publishing process. For agri benchmark Fish, a slow growth of the network means a responsible and healthy growth. A network is only as good as its members. The core of the Fish network consists of experts, which know the production systems of aquaculture and fisheries best. Universities and research institutions are desired contacts. Producer organizations, ministries or advisory companies are considered as valued partners. Today, agri benchmark Fish is represented in various European cii Research projects (e.g. Peck et al. 2020), the Data Collection Framework of the European Union (DCF) and national pilot studies. In future, agri benchmark Fish aims to train national correspondents to use the valuable method of typical farms to monitor aquaculture and fisheries sector independently and simultaneously connected globally. For more information please visit www.agribenchmark.org