IN BRIEF - US judge seeks plan to protect humpback whales from fishery
UNITED STATES
Friday, March 17, 2023
A U.S. judge this week ruled that the National Marine Fisheries Service violated the law when it failed to develop a plan to prevent West Coast commercial sablefish fishermen from harming humpback whales.
The Endangered Species Act requires the fisheries service to develop a plan to reduce the number of whales accidentally injured or killed by the fishery, but the agency neither crafted such a plan nor started to create one, the ruling said.
About 150 commercial fishing vessels use traps to capture sablefish in waters off California, Oregon and Washington.
The fisheries service estimates the fishery accidentally injuries or kills an average of one humpback whale per year.
Sablefish dwell on muddy ocean floors deeper than 650 feet. To target the fish, fishermen place multiple heavy pots on the seafloor and link them together with heavy-duty fishing line.
The number of pots ranges from 15 to 50 while the lines can stretch about two miles, according to court documents. The fishery deployed an annual average of 75,000 pots from 2015 to 2019, the document said.
Seeks to Strengthen the Country's Presence in Fishing Grounds and Counterbalance Foreign Fleets
The Argentine Federal Fisheries Council has opened a call for applications to incorporate 18 vessels into the Illex squid fishery. This initiative aims to strengthen the country's presence in Argentine Sea fishing grounds and counterbalance the presence of foreign fleets beyond the 200-mile limit, on the edge of Argentina's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Resolution 6-2026 was approved by a majority vote, with the sole dissenting vote coming from Carlos Liberman, representative of the province of Buenos Aires. It has the support of the National Institute for Fisheries Research and Development (INIDEP).
Author: C. Valdez / La Voz de Galicia | Read the full article here
The Ricardo Fuentes Group has successfully completed another bluefin tuna fishing campaign in Balearic waters. The activity, which began this year on May 19, has been carried out “very positively, without incident and with favorable weather conditions that facilitated the fleet's work,” reports the company, which also highly values ??the earlier start of the campaign, which allowed for the completion of fishing and transfer operations sooner.
The campaign has been a success and has allowed for the location of high-quality, large specimens, a fundamental aspect in this type of fishery, which prioritizes the capture of adult tuna for subsequent transfer and fattening in aquaculture facilities.
Source: iPac.aquacultura | Read the full article here
Cermaq is consolidating its Canadian operations under a newly created company as the salmon farmer continues the integration of the former Grieg Seafood British Columbia business.
Parent company Mitsubishi Corporation said Cermaq’s Canadian subsidiaries will be amalgamated into a new entity, Cermaq British Columbia Ltd., effective June 1. The new company will assume all assets, liabilities, rights and obligations of the existing businesses.
The restructuring follows Cermaq’s acquisition of Grieg Seafood’s operations in British Columbia and Newfoundland last year in a deal valued at approximately NOK 10.2 billion (€946 million).
Source: SalmonBusiness | Read the full article here
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), together with the Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry of Kyrgyzstan and international partners, has launched a new initiative to strengthen the country’s aquaculture sector, bringing together key actors in Bishkek for a high-level inception workshop under the project Sustainable Fish Value Chains for Landlocked Developing Countries (SVC4LLDCs).Funded by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea, the project aims to boost the sustainability, productivity and competitiveness of fish value chains in Kyrgyzstan
SEATTLE, Wash. – More than 100 volunteers from the Wild Alaska Pollock catcher-processor fleet gathered at Terminal 91 for the industry’s annual Net Recycling Day. The hands-on event transformed retired fishing nets into reusable materials, advancing circular solutions and responsible fisheries management.
The initiative united five leading fishing companies—American Seafoods, Arctic Storm Management Group, Coastal Villages Region Fund, Glacier Fish Company, and Trident Seafoods—all members of the At-Sea Processors Association.
Participants worked alongside vessel captains and gear experts to cut and sort retired nets. The recovered material will be sent to specialized facilities to be repurposed into durable products like composite decking, outdoor furniture, and sports equipment.
Now in its second year as a unified initiative, the event builds on individual company efforts. "Net Recycling Day reflects the shared commitment across our fleet to continuously improve how we operate," said Doug Christensen, President/CEO of Arctic Storm Management Group.
Russian crab producers are setting their sights on international end-consumer markets (B2C), shifting focus toward branded retail products.
Industry leaders shared these strategic plans during the first meeting of the Fish Club in Vladivostok, a premier Far Eastern event jointly organized by ExpoSolutions Group and the FishNews media holding to revive regional industry traditions.
The gathering focused heavily on the logistical specifics of seafood transportation and its untapped market potential. Rather than continuing to supply unbranded, raw commodities, crab harvesters are actively exploring ways to capture more value by launching dedicated consumer brands.
"One of our goals is to integrate into the B2C market," announced Alexander Remeta (pictured), CEO of Antey Asset Management. He emphasized that this expansion will target global consumers through branded retail items and international joint products. By moving away from "no-name" packaging, Russian businesses aim to actively promote, differentiate, and capitalize on their premium seafood assets worldwide.
Argentina's shrimp fishing sector consolidated a strong recovery in the first quarter of 2026.
Click on the image to enlarge it
Sales of whole shrimp reached 13,000 tons, an impressive 75.9% increase compared to 2025. This surge generated $79 million in revenue (a 110% increase relative to the January–April period of last year), a rebound largely explained by the fleet's inactivity in 2025. Additionally, the average price rose 19.4%, trading at $6,072 per ton. Spain remained the primary destination, skyrocketing its purchases by 138% with shipments totaling 8,602 tons.
Meanwhile, exports of shrimp tails showed more moderate growth. The exported volume increased by 4%, totaling 28,000 tons, which injected $215.7 million into the economy (an 8.9% increase over the previous year). The declared average price for this value-added product closed upward by 4.6%, reaching $7,699 per ton.
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The Argentine Federal Fisheries Council has opened a call for applications to incorporate 18 vessels into the Illex squid fishery. This initiative aims to strengthen the country's presence in Argentine Sea fishing grounds and counterbalance the presence of foreign fleets beyond the 200-mile limit, on the edge of Argentina's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
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