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Partnership is key for Aquaculture Africa
Collaboration and partnerships are set to take centre stage at the upcoming Aquaculture Africa 2024 Conference in Tunisia, 19-22 November 2024. Aquaculture Africa 2024 Conference (AFRAQ24) takes place this November in Hammamet, Tunisia, with collaboration and partnership at the heart of the three-day event. The great strength of AFRAQ is the bringing together of the…
Read MoreFresh farmed cod outstrips trawler catch in Norway exports
For the first time, more than half the fresh cod exported from Norway last month was farmed, the latest statistics show. Two months ago the ratio was a third, which demonstrates the impressive growth in this still relatively young branch of aquaculture. The total September fresh cod export figure was 1,500 tonnes and worth NOK…
Read MoreUS dockers suspend strike threat
Dockers in the United States have agreed to suspend their strike until the New Year so that negotiations can continue.
Earlier this week there were fears that the dispute could seriously impact on seafood shipments from Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
Salmon exports would have been the most seriously affected. But last night the union representing the dock workers agreed to suspend the strike.
Read MoreNorway continues record seafood export run
Norwegian salmon exports continued their record run last month, totalling NOK 11.6bn (£828m) – an increase of 6% by value on September last year.
The volume, at 141,600 tonnes, represents a rise of 9%.
It was also a strong quarter (July to September) for salmon, which now accounts for 70% of all seafood sold, with 372,442 tonnes sold at a value of NOK 31.8bn (almost £2.3 bn).
Read MoreOslo pleads for ‘salmon queen’ jail transfer
Oslo is asking for the Chinese government to transfer Yimin Dong, the woman jailed for salmon smuggling two years ago, to a Norwegian jail.
The family’s plea was sent to the Norwegian government, which has decided to ask the Chinese authorities for Dong to be moved to Norway to serve out her sentence.
The issue is also thought to have been raised when the Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Støre visited China on a seafood mission a couple of weeks ago.
Read MoreBakkafrost announces higher Q3 harvests for Faroes and Scotland
Faroese fish farmer Bakkafrost today reported a significantly higher third quarter harvest, with its Scotland arm showing a marked improvement.
The Faroe Islands produced 21,600 tonnes, a rise of 4,800 tonnes on the same period 12 months ago.
The harvest in Bakkafrost Scotland, which is now recovering from various biological issues, totalled 5,400 tonnes against 4,100 tonnes in Q3 2023. All harvest volumes are provided in head-on gutted (HOG) equivalents.
Read More‘No cover up’, Holyrood committee is told
A hearing held as part of the Scottish Parliament’s inquiry into the salmon farming industry yesterday was dominated by arguments over an alleged “cover-up” ahead of the MSPs’ visit to a fish farm on 23 September.
The Rural Affairs and Islands Committee of the Scottish Parliament is following up on a previous report, in 2008, on the salmon industry. As part of the inquiry, members of the committee visited a Scottish Sea Farms site at Dunstaffnage, near Oban on Scotland’s west coast, on 23 September.
Later that week, campaigning group Animal Equality UK released video footage which, it said, showed dead fish being removed from the pen in the early morning, ahead of the MSPs’ visit. Animal Equality UK Executive Director Abigail Penny said the removal of dead fish – “morts” – indicated that the salmon industry wants to “hide the truth” about mortality in farms.
She argued: “We urge the committee to see the industry for what it truly is: deceptive and deadly.”
At yesterday’s committee hearing, MSPs quizzed representatives of the salmon industry about the issue.
Dr Ralph Bickerdike, Head of Fish Health at Scottish Sea Farms, stressed that the morts removal that had been filmed was a routine exercise carried out at pens regardless of whether any external visitors were expected.
Read MoreBetter news for Atlantic Sapphire as Q3 harvest jumps
Florida-based salmon farmer Atlantic Sapphire has reported a much brighter picture for production during the third quarter of this year.
The company processed 1,300 tonnes against 365 tonnes during the July to September period 12 months ago when temperature-related challenges resulted in slower growth.
Read MoreMowi’s first post smolts transferred from Loch Etive
Salmon producer Mowi Scotland has transferred the first of its post smolts from Loch Etive to the company’s farm off the isle of Muck, on Scotland’s west coast.
Mowi said the move was a “significant milestone”. The Loch Etive sites were acquired by Mowi as part of its purchase of the fish farming assets of Dawnfresh in 2023. They had previously been used to grow trout, but Mowi has repurposed them to grow post smolt salmon in conditions that, the company hopes, will make the transition from fresh to salt water more sustainable for the fish.
Read MoreA model for growth
Anton Immink and Tim Messeder explain Rural Aquaculture Development’s award-winning approach to empowering Ugandan fish farmers.
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