IN BRIEF - Spanish Sardine Fishing Ends with Highest Catch in Recent Years
SPAIN
Monday, December 04, 2023
The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food has announced the closure of the sardine fishing campaign, effective from 00:00, Friday 01 December 2023, for the purse seine fleet in the Gulf of Cadiz and the Northwest Cantabrian fleets using highly selective sardine-directed gear, such as “racú” and “piobardeira.” The campaign concludes with a final quota of 22,582 tonnes, the highest in recent years.
Utilising, for the first time, an optimisation mechanism, the fleet was allowed to fish until the last authorised day. The Xeito fleet can continue fishing against its quota until exhaustion, following the provisions of Order APM/605/2018, of June 1, which establishes a management and recovery plan for sardines in the Iberian waters (8c and 9a) of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.
The entire sardine-dedicated fleet successfully completed the authorised fishing period, thanks to the optimisation mechanism implemented since October 15. This mechanism maximised efficiency in quota utilisation by distributing the remaining unconsumed quotas to the entire fleet.[...]
Uganda has activated its new Fisheries and Aquaculture Act, paving the way for the landlocked nation to implement measures that will help increase its annual fish output to 1.7 million metric tons (MT).
Uganda State Minister for Fisheries Robert Ndugwa said the new law outlines several measures the government plans to take in tackling impediments to sector growth, such as declining fish stocks attributable to illegal fishing practices and the lack of a streamlined process for issuing fishing permits.
Under the new law, Uganda has established a Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance Unit to strengthen fisheries enforcement.
Author: Shem Oirere / SeafoodSource | Read the full article here
Europêche is calling on the EU to reject another tuna-loin tariff quota rollover amid expanding preferential trade access
Europêche has called on the European Council to reject the rollover of the bloc’s 35,000-tonne autonomous tariff quota (ATQ) for tuna loins and eliminate the system from 2027.
The fishing industry association argues that successive trade agreements have significantly expanded preferential access to the EU market, making an additional global zero-duty quota increasingly disconnected from market conditions. Countries including Indonesia, Mexico, India and Vietnam already benefit or will benefit from preferential access, while negotiations continue with Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia.
A new push is being made to encourage salmon farmers and other aquaculture companies to join efforts to reduce the sector’s carbon footprint.
The Aquaculture Action Alliance was formed in 2021 and intially concentrated on developing an environmental footprint tool to ensure consistent results and simplify the process of data collection and results calculations.
Now the Alliance is putting a stronger emphasis on coordinated action, broader participation, and measurable actions after the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) jointly took on the role of interim secretariat and re-launched the initiative.
Source: fishfarmingexpert | Read the full article here
Clean Hardangerfjord has removed 80 tonnes of plastic since 2022
Norway’s seafood sector joins Clean Hardangerfjord on September 17, mobilising thousands of volunteers along 180 km of fjord. The campaign has removed 80 tonnes of plastic in four years, while nationwide cleanups cleared 164,253 kg of marine litter in 2025.
Two Argentine lawyers, José Lucas Magioncalda and Juan Martín Fazio, have filed a criminal complaint with the Economic Penal Court against seven Galician fishing companies that operate in the archipelago's waters under Falklands licenses. This smuggling complaint is driven by the renewed sovereignty push of Argentine President Javier Milei, who announced tougher penalties for companies exploiting natural resources from the British-held islands.
The Argentine government is working on reforming Law 26.659 to introduce sanctions for fishing in the Falklands—territory under UK administration—with the bill set to be presented to the Chamber of Deputies in the coming days.
Author: C. Valdez / La Voz de Galicia | Read the full article here
The European aquaculture sector is calling for greater clarity regarding the country of production, while Brussels faces pressure to extend mandatory labeling requirements to processed goods, canned products, and the foodservice sector.
Caviar from non-EU countries has become a key example cited by the European aquaculture industry in its call for Brussels to ensure greater transparency regarding product origins. The Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP) warns that processing or repackaging within the European Union can make it difficult for consumers to immediately identify where the food was actually produced—an issue that extends beyond caviar to the entire market for processed fishery and aquaculture products.
The highly anticipated delivery of premium mackerel from Norway coincides with Norway Seafood Festival in Tokyo. This year, Norwegian herring also made an appearance for the first time.
September 2026, marked the arrival in Japan of the ‘Saba Nouveau’ mackerel, flown in fresh from Norway to celebrate the first catch of the season.
Now in its sixth year, the arrival has become a highly anticipated autumn tradition and tells a lesser-known story of how a seasonal fish from Norway’s cold waters has travelled to the other side of the world and earned a distinctive place within Japanese food culture.
Australia's first offshore Atlantic salmon trial could be expanded to 55,000 fish in a single pen after its initial crop grew faster than expected in the exposed waters of Bass Strait.
The Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre has applied for federal approval for a second salmon stocking at its research site 12.5 kilometres off Burnie, Tasmania, increasing numbers from the 15,000 fish used during the first year to a near-commercial stocking density of 55,000.
The proposed new stocking would begin in November and run until 2028
Source: SalmonBusiness | Read the full article here
The cod farmer Ode is introducing its fish across more than 200 stores in Norway this week as part of a new commercial drive.
The move is intended to establish the Ode brand firmly in the minds of the consumer and means that shoppers can buy fresh cod all the year round.
Ode is now not only Norway’s leading cod farmer, but now the world leader in this fast growing branch of aquaculture.It also marks the beginning of a new commercial phase for farmed cod in Norway and includes the introduction of Ode as a brand targeted direct to the consumer.
With this launch, Ode says it is bringing its ultra-fresh supply chain it built for export customers into the Norwegian domestic market
Author: Vince McDonagh / Fish Farmer | Read the full article here
New transparency standard will open fisheries data to public scrutiny
Fiji became the first Pacific Island nation to commit to the FiTI Standard. Minister Alitia Bainivalu signed an MoU with FiTI to improve access to verified data on vessels, permits, catches and revenues, strengthening fisheries management and the fight against IUU fishing.
Norway Pelagic Fisheries Report, Week 37 Norway
Slower Mackerel Fishing in the Norwegian Sea, Fine North Sea Herring Caught in EEZ, and Large NVG Herring on the Trøndelag Coast
Weekly Report on Norwegian Pelagic Catch Volumes, Economic Zone...
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Utilising, for the first time, an optimisation mechanism, the fleet was allowed to fish until the last authorised day. The Xeito fleet can continue fishing against its quota until exhaustion, following the provisions of Order APM/605/2018, of June 1, which establishes a management and recovery plan for sardines in the Iberian waters (8c and 9a) of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.
UGANDA
Uganda has activated its new Fisheries and Aquaculture Act, paving the way for the landlocked nation to implement measures that will help increase its annual fish output to 1.7 million metric tons (MT).
BELGIUM
WORLDWIDE.png)
The Aquaculture Action Alliance was formed in 2021 and intially concentrated on developing an environmental footprint tool to ensure consistent results and simplify the process of data collection and results calculations.
NORWAY
FALKLAND ISLANDS
Two Argentine lawyers, José Lucas Magioncalda and Juan Martín Fazio, have filed a criminal complaint with the Economic Penal Court against seven Galician fishing companies that operate in the archipelago's waters under Falklands licenses. This smuggling complaint is driven by the renewed sovereignty push of Argentine President Javier Milei, who announced tougher penalties for companies exploiting natural resources from the British-held islands.
EUROPEAN UNION.png)
The European aquaculture sector is calling for greater clarity regarding the country of production, while Brussels faces pressure to extend mandatory labeling requirements to processed goods, canned products, and the foodservice sector.
JAPAN
September 2026, marked the arrival in Japan of the ‘Saba Nouveau’ mackerel, flown in fresh from Norway to celebrate the first catch of the season.
AUSTRALIA
Australia's first offshore Atlantic salmon trial could be expanded to 55,000 fish in a single pen after its initial crop grew faster than expected in the exposed waters of Bass Strait..png)
The move is intended to establish the
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