FISHupdate briefing
CHINA TOLD NORWAY WHOLE SALMON ‘PERFECTLY SAFE‘
THE Norwegian Seafood Council has challenged mainland China’s ban on imported whole salmon from Norway, maintaining the fish was safe to eat.
The seafood council received further backing from Zhou Zhuocheng, a fisheries expert at the China Fisheries Association, who has suggested the ban introduced earlier this week was an overreaction.
The South China Morning Post reported that China would not import whole salmon until Norwegian exporters could certify that the fish were from waters free of anaemia, a disease of Atlantic salmon that can progress slowly and lead to massive farmed fish deaths.
Partially processed salmon, including fish without heads, gills or entrails, are allowed into the country, according to the report.
The seafood council said on Thursday the disease could not be transmitted to humans or make them ill. Only superior quality fish could be exported from the country.
Mr Zhou Zhuocheng said chances of introducing a virus into China were very slim. Norway’s salmon farmers are looking to China to boost exports following the Russian ban so this latest development will be seen as a further blow to the industry.
£2.8m BOOST FOR UK SEAFOOD SUPPLIER
A LEADING UK seafood business is poised to expand thanks to a £2.8 million cash injection from Barclays Bank.
Unique Seafood Ltd, which has three locations – at Thamesmead in London, Mildenhall in Suffolk and at Cricklade in Wiltshire – is less than 20 years old and already has an annual turnover of £25 million.
The company employs around 60 people and supplies its UK customers with fresh sustainable fish direct from its own vessels.
The Barclays finance package, which includes a structured trade loan, will allow the business to increase the level of seafood it purchases and consequently grow sales.
It has grown to become one of the UK’s main players in the seafood industry, supplying the wholesale, industrial and food service sectors, in addition to supplying over 2,500 fish and chip shops and restaurants across Britain.
ICELAND TRAWLER VENTURES INTO RUSSIAN WATERS
AN Icelandic fishing expedition into Russian waters has got off to a good start. The HB Grandi owned freezer trawler, Therney RE, is now fishing in Russian sector of the Barents Sea and according to boat’s skipper, Ægir Franzsson, catches were excellent to start with before the fishing dropped away.
The last few days have been a search for good cod marks over a very large area. There are three Russian and one Faroese trawler also searching alongside Therney.
Iceland is not on Russia’s food ban hit list. Skipper Franzsson said: ‘We were east of Novaya Zemlya and the fishing was very good there, with two or more tonnes of good-quality cod per towing hour, which is just what the factory deck needs.
‘There were ten days of good fishing, but then something changed and we dropped down to half a tonne per towing hour in the last few hauls.’
ANCHOVIES TOP FOOD HATE LIST
BRITAIN is a nation of food fussies, according to a survey by leading frozen fish and food producer Birds Eye.
And top of the list of foods Brits love to hate is the anchovy fish. The survey says that one in five Brits (20 per cent) will go to extreme lengths to avoid eating foods they don’t like; 53 per cent admit to picking food they don’t like out of their meal and 22 per cent secretly feeding the offending food to their dog.
Two-thirds of Brits (66 per cent) are adventurous enough to try any type of food once, whilst one in five (21 per cent) admit to having over seven foods on their hate list.
The Birds Eye research shows that several everyday ingredients can ruin meals shared amongst family and friends and reveals the top ten list of foods.
About 44 per cent of the population hate anchovies but no other fish is on the ‘hate’ list. Surprisingly olives and mushrooms come well up.