Sandberg in political row over Iran visit

NORWAY’S combative Fisheries Minister Per Sandberg  has run into a political row at home over a private holiday visit to Iran  with a 27-year-old  former Iranian beauty queen who is now in business as a seafood exporter. Torgeir Fylkesnes from the Socialist Left VG Party has put down a parliamentary question asking the Minister to explain…

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Grieg to scrutinise plastic use

GRIEG Seafood has teamed up with the Bellona Environmental Foundation to find ways of cutting down on plastic consumption in the fish farming industry. The nature of aquaculture production  means it is a large scale user of plastic  with Norway alone generating almost 30,000 tons of waste each year. The Bellona Environmental Foundation is an…

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Trump urged to help US fishermen caught in trade war

DEMOCRATS in the US Congress are urging  President Donald Trump to pay compensation to  fishermen affected by the trade war with China. The tariff dispute is already badly  affecting fishermen in Alaska where China is one of their biggest overseas markets, but there are also reports that the Maine lobster industry is starting to suffer.…

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FishUpdate Briefing Friday July 27th

RARE WHALE SPOTTED NEAR REYKJAVIK A  North-Atlantic Right Whale, one of the most endangered of all large sea mammals,  was seen off  Reykjavík harbour for the first time this week.   The female North-Atlantic right whale can reach  up to 18 metres in length while the males tend to be smaller, stretching  to  13 metres. …

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Scottish Government urged to take on Pinneys factory

THE Scottish Government is being urged to buy the Young’s Seafood Pinneys factory in Annan which faces closure within a few months with the loss of more than 400 jobs. The demand came from two Conservatives,  MP David Mundell and his son MSP Oliver Mundell, who have also urged Young’s to release the site at…

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Industry mourns AKVA man

AKVA Group Scotland said its UK and Ireland sales manager, Derek Smith, who died last week aged 52 after a short illness, was an AKVA man through and through. Diagnosed with an aggressive form of pancreatic and liver cancer less than a month ago, Smith remained optimistic and positive to the end, said the company.…

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Norwegian young more upbeat about fish farming

YOUNG  people in Norway are considerably more positive about fish farming than the older population, a survey carried out recently  by the national broadcaster NRK has shown. The survey was conducted in the Troms and Finnmark regions which are both heavily involved in aquaculture. Just over 67 per cent of those question  in the 18…

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EU pledges €6bn to help aquaculture and fishing

THE European Union has set aside more than six billion euros (£5.3 billion) to help fishing and aquaculture businesses move towards a more sustainable future. A total of  €6.14 billion  will be spread over six years and channelled through a new look European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). But  for the first time  UK businesses…

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Norway to spend £12m on marine pollution fight

NORWAY is to  provide 130 million kroners (almost £12-million sterling) to help fight marine pollution from discarded plastic which is affecting fishing grounds and coastal areas. . The  Minister of International Development Nikolai Astrup, said: “Unless the world changes course, there is a risk that there will be more plastic than fish in the sea…

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Devon chippy pair star on US TV

AN award winning UK fish and chip shop has featured before more than a million viewers on US television. Craig Maw  and  Nikki Mutton, owners of the  Kingfisher Fish & Chips in Plympton, Devon,  who won the takeaway sector at the  2017 National Fish and Chip Contest, made their debut as the stars of a…

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