Farmed shellfish production in Scotland fell during 2020

Shellfish farming in Scotland was badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic during 2020, according to the latest figures from Marine Scotland Science. The Scottish Shellfish Farm Production Survey 2020 shows that table production tonnage of mussels decreased by 15% from 6,699 tonnes in 2019 to 5,661 tonnes in 2020. Table production of Pacific oyster shells…

Read More

Scottish Sea Farms nets Grieg’s Shetland assets

Scottish Sea Farms is to become the new owner of Grieg Seafood’s Shetland operations, it was confirmed last night. The sale is worth NOK 1.9 billion or £164m, appreciably higher than the £140m figure predicted earlier in the year. The news will be seen as a tremendous lift for the 200 or so people who…

Read More

Gill Health Conference returns as online event

The Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) has announced the return of the International Gill Health Conference, which will see the aquaculture sector combine its expertise and knowledge to tackle one of the sector’s biggest challenges. Having been postponed during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the two-day conference will now take place online…

Read More

Heated argument

An intense debate is currently underway in Norway over the practice of using warm water to remove salmon lice. Pitching environmentalists on one side and the industry on the other, it is an argument that could eventually impact on all northern hemisphere aquaculture businesses. In recent years, hot water treatment – sometimes described as thermal…

Read More

Havfarm refusal ‘a surprise’ says Nordlaks chief

Salmon farmer Nordlaks said last night there was no justification for the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries rejecting its application to convert development permits for the giant offshore platform Havfarm 1. Announcing that it planned to appeal the decision, Nordlaks said the announcement came as a surprise, adding that it disagreed with the Directorate’s verdict. The…

Read More

Grieg confirms Shetland sale talks are ‘ongoing’

Grieg Seafood has confirmed that it is in talks with a third party to sell its Shetland business. The company ended months of speculation in an Oslo Stock Exchange announcement last night. Grieg said talks were ongoing – with an undisclosed company – adding that it would not comment further until a final agreement for…

Read More

Data centre set to heat world’s largest RAS trout farm

Waste heat from a data centre in Norway will be used to help power what will be the world’s largest land-based trout farm. Hima Seafood has struck a deal with Green Mountain, the Norwegian colocation company which runs the centre, which will significantly reduce the farm’s carbon footprint. “Colocation” centres provide a secure site and…

Read More

Shock as giant Havfarm project is refused permanent licences

The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries has turned down an application for 13 development permits to be converted into permanent licences for Nordlaks’ offshore salmon farm platform, Havfarm 1. The Directorate cited welfare issues as the reason. Nordlaks has said it will appeal the decision, adding it had met all the criteria set for the project. The…

Read More

New SalmoNor CEO pledges growth path

Vibecke Bondø is to lead the newly merged fish farming business between Midt-Norsk Havbruk (MNH) and SalmoNor. She is currently General Manager of SalmoNor. The two companies came together three weeks ago following a bidding war which is thought to have included giants such as SalMar and Mowi.The new company retains the SalmoNor name. The…

Read More

Seafarms to raise £49m for major prawn farm project

SEAFARMS, the Australian shrimp farming group, is planning to raise AUS $90m (£49m) to fund its Project Sea Dragon project in the north of the country. Project Sea Dragon is a large scale, integrated land-based prawn aquaculture development designed to produce year round high quality prawn volumes for the export market. The group says funds…

Read More