News
Young\’s owner ‘struggling to attract takeover finance’
THE banks are finding it tough going trying to find support for a £305 million leveraged loan used to finance CapVest’s purchase of Young’s Seafood last summer, according to reports from the City of London. The private equity firm was re-united with Britain’s largest seafood producer in July after a gap of nearly 11 years.…
Read MoreRead all about it! Fish Farmer out now
FISH Farmer travelled far and wide to produce our December magazine, from Fort William to India, bringing news of the latest developments in aquaculture. Our cover story this month features Garware Technical Fibres, the truly pioneering Pune based company that supplies – through Kilbirnie’s W&J Knox – the majority of Scottish salmon farms with anti-predator…
Read MoreNorway’s seafood watchdog facing overhaul
NORWAY’S Food Safety Authority, the body whose responsibilities include regulating health issues on fish farms, is facing major changes following a highly critical report. Following an investigation, the global services and accounting organisation KPMG delivered a potentially crushing verdict last week on the organisation, essentially saying its systems, planning and monitoring supervision practices were not…
Read MoreAnderson leaves SSC in Bakkafrost shake-up
CRAIG Anderson, CEO of the Scottish Salmon Company for the past six years, is to stand down, following Bakkafrost’s recent purchase of the firm. He will be replaced by the managing director of the Faroese producer’s Havsbrun site, Odd Eliasen, effective immediately. Eliasen has broad experience in the fish farming industry and has been active…
Read MoreiFarm launch is ‘best Christmas present’
INDIVIDUALISED fish farming will move a step closer in 2020 as Norwegian producer Cermaq plans a January launch for its iFarm project. The company, which last year won four development licences from the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, said the first transfer of fish to sea is planned for autumn next year. Although the four permits…
Read MoreOral sea lice vaccine feeds hope
AN oral vaccine for sea lice is being developed by a team of Scottish and international aquaculture experts. The aim of the project is to produce a vaccine that can be delivered through feed, following recent advances in the understanding of fish immune systems. With funding provided through the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC), partners…
Read MoreNorwegian farm hit by ISA outbreak
INFECTIOUS Salmon Anaemia (ISA) has been confirmed at a sea based site run by Norway Royal Salmon in the north Norwegian region of Finnmark. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority is reporting the outbreak at Lille Kufjord, some 800 miles north east of Oslo; it is based on the positive analysis of tests taken at the…
Read MoreStirling PhD opportunities for two students
APPLICATIONS are still open for two PhD projects, programmes and scholarships at Stirling University’s Institute of Aquaculture. The first, under the lead supervision of Professor David Little, is: ‘A global assessment of aquaculture products from a food systems and value chain perspective towards the development of a personal environmental/health impact tool.’ In a description of…
Read MoreNorway spells out algae loss recompense
NORWAY’S Directorate of Fisheries has laid out details of the compensation it is planning to give those fish farming companies who lost at least 720 million kroner – or £60 million – in the algae outbreak last May. The attack, the worst for almost 30 years, devastated several fish farms in the Nordland and Troms…
Read MoreScottish salmon in new US tariff threat
SALMON exports to the US face the renewed threat of tariffs in the ongoing trade dispute between America and Europe. Salmon fillets, along with blended Scotch whisky, have been included by US officials on a list of potential targets for an expanded range of goods facing tariffs. The move is in retaliation against EU subsidies…
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