News
Volumes down, costs up for MH Scotland
MARINE Harvest Scotland’s harvest volumes in the first quarter of 2017 were down significantly on the same period last year, according to the company’s Q1 report, published yesterday. The first quarter harvest volume was 8,691 tonnes gutted weight, a decrease from the corresponding quarter in 2017 (17,772 tonnes). This was due to a lower opening…
Read MoreMachrihanish milestone as farmed wrasse spawn
A MAJOR milestone in wrasse culture has been reached at the Marine Harvest hatchery in Machrihanish, with the first spawning of farmed fish. Andrew Davie, of the Institute of Aquaculture, who has spearheaded wrasse research in collaboration with the Marine Harvest site, along with the company’s Paul Featherstone and Lindsay Sherriff, said on Twitter yesterday: ‘It has taken…
Read MoreCanadian seafood faces US ban over whaling
EXPORTS of Canadian seafood to the United States could be under threat over Canada’s whaling policy. Eleven Democratic Party senators have called on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the body which governs US fishing policy, to investigate whether Canada is doing enough to protect North Atlantic ‘right’ whales, which are an endangered species. And, if…
Read MoreCod the star of Norwegian exports
COD has become the new star in Norway’s seafood export performance so far this year. During the first four months of 2018, the country exported 927,000 tonnes of seafood of all types, with an export value of 31.5 billion kroners. The volume is the same as last year, but the value is up by two…
Read MoreMinister fights for farmers
SCOTLAND’S rural affairs minister, Fergus Ewing, repeated his determination to see the country’s salmon farming industry meet its growth targets, as he answered questions from MSPs in the final session of their investigation into the sector. Ewing said: ‘I’m a very strong and public advocate for the sector in Scotland,’ acknowledging that it had come…
Read MoreOffshore pen ‘will unlock growth potential’
INVERNESS based Gael Force Group is developing a larger, integrated offshore pen to support a move towards higher energy sites. The company, which acquired a majority stake in Scottish pen manufacturer Fusion Marine last month, announced earlier this year that it is investing £1 million to increase capacity and develop new products and services for…
Read MoreNorway Royal Salmon Q1 earnings down
NORWAY Royal Salmon (NRS) has become the third major aquaculture company in recent days, after Bakkafrost and Lerøy, to report a drop in 2018 first quarter earnings and profits resulting from lower salmon prices. The company announced an operational EBIT (operating profit) of NOK 193 million against NOK 205 million for Q1 2017. The EBIT per kg…
Read MoreLower salmon prices hit Lerøy Q1
THE Lerøy Seafood Group, whose operations include salmon farming, white fish trawling and fish processing today reported a significant drop in both earnings and operating profit for the first quarter of 2018. Revenues for the period totalled NOK 5,000 million, compared with NOK 5,459 million in Q1 2017, while the operating profit before fair value…
Read MoreLidl joins seafood disclosure project
THE retailer Lidl has become the first major discounter to publish a full public profile list of all the sources of its wild caught seafood on the Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP) website. This gives information on fishery management, catch methods, and likely environmental impact. Amali Bunter, responsible sourcing manager at Lidl UK, said: ‘We are extremely proud of…
Read MoreBakkafrost Q1 down, but outlook good
THE Bakkafrost Group, the largest salmon farming company in the Faroe Islands, today unveiled a first quarter operating profit (EBIT) of 268.2 million Danish kroners (£31.7 million) for the first three months of this year. The figure is down on the Q1 performance for same period in 2017 when the EBIT was DKK 335.5 million, but…
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