Spike in demand

Sea cucumbers may not look too appetising to the Western consumer, but their potential in the export market is huge, Robert Outram finds In a series of man-made lagoons in the Bahía de Cádiz Natural Park in southern Spain, a species is being farmed that is destined to be consumed on the other side of…

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Stark numbers

Salmon

The latest report from the Norwegian Veterinary Institute indicates that the industry is still failing to get a grip on salmon and trout mortalities. Vince McDonagh reports The figures are stark and speak for themselves – and should worry not just salmon farmers in Norway, but the industry internationally. The Norwegian Veterinary Institute last month…

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Can you fillet?

Processing fish

Norway’s ban on the export of ‘inferior’ quality salmon is being challenged by the countries who want to process it, reports Vince McDonagh Is Norway heading for a potentially damaging dispute with the European Union (EU) over the sale of production fish? Commonly known as prodfish, this term is mainly given to salmon that have…

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EU salmon processors increase prod-fish pressure

Prod fish

European Union salmon processors are demanding that Norway calls an end to the ban on exporting “prod” or damaged fish. The joint call, has come from the EU Salmon Processors Union which includes key countries such as Poland, Denmark and the Netherlands. The Norwegian authorities, and much of its salmon industry, is so far resisting…

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Norwegian salmon prices hit new record

Fresh seafood on crushed ice at fish market. Raw salmon fillet on display counter at store.

Fresh salmon prices hit an all time record in Norway last week, although there are signs the surge could be over. They soared to NOK 123.28 per kilo during week 15, an increase of NOK 3.34 per kilo or 2.2% on the previous week. The official figures from Statistics Norway are generally an average so…

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European Parliament changes smoked salmon rules despite protests

THE European Parliament has decided to press ahead with a potentially controversial change to the regulations around smoked salmon processing. Objections had been raised by the processing sector but they were rejected by the Strasbourg based parliament last week. The new regulations centre around part of the production system known as the “stiffening process” The…

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Safe to eat

The latest round of testing shows that Norway’s farmed fish are still safe for consumers, as Vince McDonagh reports Farmed fish is free of illegal substances and safe to eat, research by the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research has found. The organisation carried out the work, which mostly took place in 2022, on behalf of…

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What shall I talk about?

Salmon fillets with Nick Joy cartoon logo

There’s hardly been any news about farming, so what on earth can I talk about? With French farmers dumping God knows what on their parliament and Brussels trying to fend them off the EU, there’s hardly anything interesting going on. Yet the media are finding it hard to cover. Occasionally they mention the green agenda…

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Nordic Aqua on track for first Chinese harvest

Norwegian company Nordic Aqua Partners, which is developing a land based facility in China, has reported a good operational performance in the fourth quarter of last year with construction works for Stage One completed on time and on budget. The biological performance was good for all batches – with strong growth, a mortality rate below…

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New for the fish farming market – the SpinTouch FX Water Analyser

SpinTouch FX device by LaMotte

Using proven photometric technology that has been game-changing in global water testing applications, the SpinTouch FX tests eight parameters, including ammonia, nitrate and nitrite with one water sample, simultaneously, within two minutes. The genius lies in the disc, which uses precisely measured reagents, meaning results are easy to obtain, accurate and repeatable. Portable, rugged and…

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