COPENHAGEN — Fisheries Minister Jacob Jensen (V) is moving to accelerate a long-awaited scrapping scheme for fishermen affected by fishing closures in the Baltic Sea and Kattegat, potentially allowing applications years earlier than previously planned as reported by fiskeritidende.

Until now, fishermen were told they would not be able to apply for scrapping compensation in the Baltic Sea and Kattegat before 2028. However, Jensen now says he is working to make the scheme available as early as 2026, and possibly already this year for parts of inland Danish waters.

In a letter to Læsø fisherman Klaus Rosenfeldt, the minister confirmed that efforts are underway to bring the timeline forward. The Danish Fisheries Association has been pressing for faster action amid mounting financial pressure on vessel owners.

“I agree that the support for scrapping must be implemented as soon as possible, and work is therefore being done to advance the schedule with a view to establishing a scrapping scheme before the end of 2026,” Jensen wrote in response to Rosenfeldt, who contacted the minister in December outlining the financial and health consequences of the current situation.

Jensen acknowledged that restructuring will not be economically viable for all fishermen. He stressed that implementation in 2026 depends on approval from the EU Commission.

Nichirei Foods Corporation (President and CEO: Masahiko Takenaga) established Nichirei BizNext Corporation, a sales and logistics management subsidiary, with the aim of consolidating and enhancing the functions that support the Nichirei Foods Group's business operations across the board. The subsidiary is scheduled to begin operations on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.

Background and purpose of establishment

In recent years, management issues facing companies have become increasingly complex and sophisticated, including legal compliance and governance, changes in the food logistics environment, a declining workforce and securing human resources, and promoting women's participation in the workplace. By consolidating management functions that were previously dispersed across each base and department into the new company and increasing expertise and productivity, the company will convert problem-solving itself into value and build a system that will contribute to the sustainable growth of the group.

BRIDGEWATER, N.S. – Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd. welcomed a decision by the Nova Scotia Aquaculture Review Board (ARB) approving a lease boundary amendment and expansion of salmon farm AQ#1205, located offshore from Coffin Island in Liverpool Bay.

Operating since 2011 under the province’s Environmental Monitoring Program, the site will now be permitted to add 6 new cages for Atlantic salmon, increasing the total from 14 to 20 cages.

The approval follows a week-long public hearing in October, where multiple stakeholders and intervenors presented submissions and raised questions about environmental oversight and farming practices.

“We appreciate that the Board allowed the time necessary for everyone to present and better understand our aquaculture operations,” said Joel Richardson, Vice President of Public Relations at Cooke Aquaculture Inc., the parent company of Kelly Cove.

Company representatives also presented a video outlining operations in Liverpool Bay during the hearing.

The agriculture and environment sector is advancing new opportunities to sustain growth and achieve its target of $73–74 billion in exports of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products by 2026, amid a slow global economic recovery and increasingly stringent market regulations.

According to leaders from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, in January 2026 alone, total sector exports reached $6.51 billion, marking an increase of nearly 30% year-on-year.

Key measures include market diversification, expanding into the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia, while maximizing the benefits of free trade agreements. The sector is also prioritizing deep processing, the application of science and technology, supply chain digitalization, and stronger traceability systems—all considered crucial to enhancing added value, boosting competitiveness, and ensuring sustainable development.

As part of their ongoing lawsuit to block Spain’s allowance of bottom trawling in marine protected areas, conservation NGOs Oceana and ClientEarth presented their evidence about the practice before Spain’s National High Court 19 February.

The two groups sued the Spanish government in 2024, alleging that the nation was systematically allowing commercial fishers to conduct bottom trawling in marine protected areas (MPA), which they argue is prohibited under European Union law.

Spain is legally obliged to safeguard its marine protected areas, which is incompatible with allowing destructive fishing gear within their boundaries

Author: Nathan Strout / SeafoodSource | Read the full article here

Norwegian salmon farmer Grieg Seafood, which sold its farms in Canada and in Finnmark, Norway, to Cermaq for £738 million in December, made an operating profit of NOK 152.8m from its remaining farming operation in Rogaland in Q4 2025.

The result was a 34% increase compared to the NOK 114.2m made in Q4 2024, Grieg wrote in its Q4 2025 report.

Operational EBIT per kilo increased by 47% to NOK 20.7 (Q4 2024: NOK 14.1) for the farming operation, and by 135% to NOK 19.4 (NOK 8.3) for the Grieg Seafood Group. Average harvest weight increased to 4.8 kilos

Source: fishfarmingexpert | Read the full article here

Downsizing leads to a 10% drop in market price

The peak fishing season for chub mackerel (over 250 grams per fish) in the waters off Kyushu by the West Japan Purse Seiner fleet (large and medium-sized) is drawing to an end. This month's (1st to 18th) catches were as good as the same period last year, but the fat content has dropped slightly. Sources in the fishing area say, "We're finally nearing the end of the fishing season. From March, we expect to shift to focusing on yellowtail."

This month's combined catch of the fish in Nagasaki City, Matsuura City in Nagasaki Prefecture, Karatsu City in Saga Prefecture, and Fukuoka City was approximately 44,000 boxes (each box weighing approximately 16 kg), a good catch on par with the same period last year. Source: Minato-Yamaguchi