Opinion
After the split
It was one of my Salmon Scotland colleagues who put it best: “We have no greater access to Europe than a tilapia farmer from Zimbabwe. We are a third country now and we are being treated as such.” That shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, we knew this was going to happen. We were…
Read MoreStability is what we need now
As I was sitting down to write this, it occurred to me just how nice it would be to go back five years; only five years! Why this popped into my mind was not just Omicron and all its concomitant Valkyries. So much is up in the air at the moment. We could talk about…
Read MoreThe message
It has been three years now since the Scottish salmon sector last held a Christmas reception at Holyrood. In December 2018, dozens of MSPs were there. There were at least four cabinet secretaries, a good smattering of junior ministers as well as special advisers, political editors and columnists, all eating, drinking, laughing and appreciating the…
Read MoreNew year, new beginning?
It’s hard to believe that here we are in 2022. Despite the continuing pandemic, the year that has just passed appeared to vanish as quickly as it started. Regardless of ongoing problems, farmed salmon was the year’s star performer in the fresh meat, fish and poultry sector of retail. Trade magazine The Grocer reported that…
Read MoreFestive feasts
Christmas is coming and I have noticed that my local fishmonger is already displaying some whole carp on his fish counter. Traditionally, carp are grown in Europe during the summer months when they benefit from warmer temperatures and faster growth. As winter approaches, they are left to hibernate or are harvested for the festive season.…
Read MoreDreaming of a grey Christmas
It is difficult not to wonder where the spirit of Christmas has gone. The season of “goodwill to all” seems to have bypassed all those involved in the recent fishing dispute between the UK and France. Indeed, it was hard to know what was more depressing: the sight of flag-bedecked French fishing vessels buzzing around…
Read MoreIt’s a wrap!
Nick Joy muses on the links between Christmas, smoked salmon – and packaging. Just lately I have been buying rather a lot of smoked salmon. Having received a lot of packages, I noticed how little these things have changed during my exceedingly long career. I am sure that the plastics used may have changed and…
Read MoreWhat’s in a word
In last month’s edition the definition of sustainable investment for the blue economy was discussed (“A question of definition”, Fish Farmer October 2021). As sustainability is one of my favourite topics I felt that I should add my ha’penny worth! I can hear my children yawning at the very thought. When we first put “sustainability”…
Read MoreChain reaction
The SSPO’s rebrand is more than just a change of name, as Hamish Macdonell reports. “You have to make it relevant to them: how does it affect them in their own constituencies.” That was the assessment of one coastal MSP with salmon farms in her constituency, suggesting ways to get other MSPs and MPs enthused…
Read MoreMeal deals
The ‘value added’ packaged salmon meal was an idea that came and went, as Dr Martin Jaffa reports. I’m in the process of moving office and the move offers the opportunity for a clear-out of files, books and other miscellanea accumulated over 30 years. One of the collections includes several hundred examples of packaging that…
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