News
Record contract for boat builder
APPLECROSS based firm Northwind Engineering has begun work on its largest contract to date, to build a new state-of-the-art landing craft worth £700,000. Not only is the landing craft – for Scottish Sea Farms – the engineering firm’s biggest project in terms of value, it’s also its biggest in terms of physical size too, measuring…
Read MoreEU and Norway embroiled in crab row
A POTENTIALLY serious row has broken out between the European parliament and Norway over crab fishing rights in a remote area of the Barents Sea. The accusations come mainly from Polish fishermen who have moved to the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard to fish for snow crabs. They claim they are being harassed by the Norwegian authorities, who administer Svalbard under international treaty. A…
Read MoreStrong start for Norwegian exports
NORWAY\’S seafood sector has got off to a sound start at the beginning of 2018 with January export figures up in both volume and value. Sales last month totalled 198,000 tonnes, an increase of 23,000 tonnes or 13 per cent, while the overall valued rose by two per cent or 143 million kroners to NOK…
Read MoreSalmon farmer’s £100m boost for Scotland
SCOTTISH Sea Farms announced today that it spent more than £100 million buying goods and services from local businesses in 2017. This was up £13.9 million on 2016 and is driven by a long standing company policy to ‘buy Scottish’ wherever possible. The £100 million represents 85 per cent of Scottish Sea Farms’ total spend…
Read MoreFish Update Briefing, Friday, February 2
FISH FINGER AD PULLED OVER SAFETY CONCERNS BIRDS EYE has withdrawn a TV advert for fish fingers following safety concerns. It showed a man and boy leaping into the sea with a voiceover saying: ‘Captain Birds Eye loves the simple things, like jumping into cold water on a hot day with his grandson.’ But following the death of…
Read MoreIceland and Faroes settle dispute
ICELAND has reached agreement with the Faroe Islands over reciprocal fishing rights. A dispute flared up a month ago when Reykjavik unexpectedly banned all Faroese vessels from fishing inside its territorial waters after the two countries failed to strike a deal. A number of problems arose over mutual herring rights during talks shortly before Christmas.…
Read MoreScotch boss takes on top salmon role
A FORMER chief of the Scotch Whisky Association has been appointed to represent the interests of Scottish salmon farmers. Julie Hesketh-Laird is to take over as chief executive of the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation (SSPO) following the retirement of Scott Landsburgh, who has held the position for nearly 10 years. Hesketh-Laird (pictured) was most recently…
Read MoreSalMar creates aquaculture professorship
THE salmon farming giant SalMar is working with Norway\’s University of Science and Technology (NTNU) to create a new professorship in the field of aquaculture. The project is being driven by the huge technological surge within the industry which both the company and the university believe will lead to major changes in how the sector…
Read MoreBenchmark seeks new chairman
BENCHMARK chairman Alex Hambro is to retire from the board to focus on his other business interests, the company announced today. The board of the aquaculture health, nutrition and genetics business is now looking for his successor and said it will plan for an orderly handover once an individual is identified. In a press release…
Read MoreNow UK joins live lobster ban lobby
A GROUP of campaigners in the UK has joined growing demands to prohibit the live boiling of lobsters and other crustaceans. Earlier this month, as part of a general reform of animal practices, the Swiss government made it illegal to throw live lobsters into the pot, a move which did not go down well with some of…
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