IN BRIEF - Okhotsk Sea fishing season is gaining momentum: Pacific herring fishing is ahead of last year's figures
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Friday, January 24, 2025
In the Far East, the Okhotsk Sea fishing season "A" has been underway since January, ending in April. During this period, the main pollock catch is made - up to 80% of the annual volume.
The progress of the fishery is under the control of the Headquarters of the Federal Agency for Fisheries on issues of organizing and conducting the Okhotsk Sea fishing season "A" 2025.
According to the industry monitoring system of the Federal Agency for Fisheries (Federal Service for Fisheries Monitoring) as of January 19, 2025, the pollock catch totaled more than 135 thousand tons, of which 92 thousand tons were caught in the Sea of ??Okhotsk. 64 vessels were involved in the pollock expedition.
In the Sea of ??Okhotsk, 20 vessels were fishing for herring. Since the beginning of the year, Far Eastern fishermen have caught 80.3 thousand tons of Pacific herring (152.4% of the 2024 level), including 74.9 thousand tons in the North Okhotsk subzone (159% of the 2024 level).
The cod catch in the Far Eastern basin amounted to 8.5 thousand tons, including 4.5 thousand tons in the Sea of ??Okhotsk, where 19 vessels worked.
As of January 19, the total occupancy rate of refrigerators for storing fish products in Primorsky Krai was 49%. There were 28 vessels approaching ports with more than 39,846 tons of fish products on board.
A recent Rosselkhoznadzor inspection (October 20 – November 24, 2025) uncovered serious safety violations in four imported shrimp samples. FSBI VGNKI specialists conducted the monitoring in accordance with the relevant technical regulations for fish and food safety.
Key findings include:
Arsenic Overload: Two samples of frozen-cooked northern shrimp showed dangerously high levels of arsenic, a toxic substance. One sample exceeded the permissible limit by more than four times, and the other by almost three times.
Microbial Contamination: Two samples of Vannamei shrimp showed elevated total microorganism counts. This suggests potential breaches of sanitary standards during production or failures in storage and transportation protocols.
The detected violations have been reported to the Northwestern Interregional Office of Rosselkhoznadzor for immediate action and logged into the Vesta automated system.
International Commission Approves Increased Catch Limits
The annual catch quota for Atlantic bluefin tuna is set to increase by 14% to 4,321 tonnes per year for the period between 2026 and 2028, according to an announcement made by the Fisheries Agency on the 25th. The increase, which amounts to an additional 543 tonnes compared to the 2025 quota, is a direct response to the recovering status of the bluefin tuna stocks.
The decision was finalized at the annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The meeting took place in Spain from the 17th to the 24th of this month. Atlantic bluefin tuna is a highly valued species, popular as an ingredient for sashimi and sushi, and it accounts for roughly 30% of Japan's total bluefin tuna catch.
The quota increase is applied across the two main fishing zones:
Eastern Waters (European and African side): Japan's quota will see a 14% increase (445 tonnes) to 3,559 tonnes.
Western Waters (North and South American side): Japan's quota will rise by approximately 15% (97 tonnes) to 762 tonnes.
ICCAT is composed of 55 member countries and regions, including key players like Japan, the United States, and the European Union. The next annual meeting is scheduled to be held in November 2026 in Portugal.
Fishing nations agree to protect basking and white sharks, cut mako quotas, and improve compliance process.
After a record number of proposals focused on sharks, this year’s meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) ended with new protections for basking and white sharks, reduced catch limits for South Atlantic shortfin makos, and procedural advances for enforcing shark measures. For the seventeenth year, efforts to strengthen ICCAT’s shark finning ban were thwarted.
The update features a purely visual change to the pet food bags, maintaining the same product quality.
Skretting has unveiled a refreshed design for its pet food bags, in line with its recent brand update.
"At Skretting, we are constantly working to deliver excellent products to continue feeding the future, together with our customers. Therefore, as part of our recent brand update, we are also changing the design of our pet food bags," the company stated.
The Burgos-based seafood processing plant enters a new phase after the sale to the Diosmar Group fell through and a new partner, who bought the Rincón family's stake, precipitated Luis Comella's departure from the board.
The battle for control of Pescafacil, one of Spain's leading seafood processing plants, has taken a decisive turn. A major Ecuadorian shrimp exporter has agreed to purchase a majority stake in the Burgos-based company, a deal that marks the definitive exit of the Venezuelan Lamar Group—controlled by the Rincón family—
NTT Green & Food, a subsidiary of the Japanese telecoms giant NTT Communications Corp is to build a land-based coho salmon and trout farm.
The company said that it hopes to start work on the project, which it is carrying out in collaboration with the Malta-based AquaBioTech group (ABTG), early next year. ABTG is, NTT said, a global leader in aquaculture technologies and services headquartered in Malta, but operating internationally.
It is not unusual for a large Japanese industrial corporation to become involved in activities that are a long way from their core business.
Author: Vince McDonagh / Fish Farmer | Read the full article here
Seaweed is strong candidate to help agriculture sector reduce use of conventional fertilisers
Researchers working on a collaborative project exploring how kelp extracts can enhance nutrient management in farming, have reported promising results from a controlled glasshouse experiment that aimed to determine whether the extracts could improve nutrient uptake under fertiliser-limited conditions.
The trial by the Scotland-based James Hutton Institute focused on mitigations against the effects of nitrogen limitation in barley and phosphorus limitation in beans.
Source: fishfarmingexpert | Read the full article here
Russian fishing vessels are actively harvesting masaba mackerel within Japanese waters, operating under pre-approved intergovernmental quotas.
Last week, five Russian vessels were recorded fishing off the coast of Iwaki Prefecture. The fleet's average daily catch was 63 tons, totaling 2,141 tons of mackerel for the week.
According to the Pacific branch of VNIRO, the total Russian harvest this season, as of November 23, includes 52,283 tons of washi sardine and 3,542 tons of mackerel. Scientists note that unique oceanographic conditions near the Kuril Islands have limited the amount of washi sardine entering Russia's economic zone this year.
Meanwhile, the exchange quota allowing Japanese vessels to fish for saury in Russia's exclusive economic zone concluded on October 31. The broader open-water saury fishing season saw a total catch of 123,300 tons by November 8, with Russia's share at 725 tons. Reports also indicate that between 50 and 80 foreign vessels, believed to be Chinese-flagged, are actively fishing for various pelagic species in international open waters.
The “Top-Quality Fish. Let’s Eat Europe!” campaign has deployed a comprehensive outdoor, online, and radio advertising strategy, with a particular focus on Vigo and its metropolitan area.
Vigo, Galicia – The Vigo Port Fresh Fish Producers Organization (OPPF-4) has launched a comprehensive media plan in the province of Pontevedra to promote its “Top-Quality Fish: Let’s Eat Europe!” campaign, part of its Fresh&Wild brand, encourage fish consumption, and reinforce the importance of healthy lifestyles. The campaign, which began in mid-October, targets the general public, with a specific focus on those responsible for household shopping.
The campaign's focus these days is on the streets, with a highly visible presence in Vigo: city buses on lines 10 and 16 are displaying the Fresco&Salvaje (Fresh & Wild) campaign image, along with 15 bus shelter ads and 20 billboards located in high-traffic areas throughout the city and its metropolitan area. The campaign is also complemented by advertising in digital media and on the radio, allowing the message to reach a wider audience across the province.
Through these initiatives, Pescados de Primera. ¡A comernos Europa! (First-Class Fish. Let's Eat Europe!) highlights the benefits of fresh, wild-caught fish and reinforces the visibility of its quality seal.
Alén Space is once again making waves in the burgeoning European aerospace industry. The Nigrán-based company has delivered a satellite to South Korea designed to revolutionize maritime networks from space. The Asian country has already received this advanced system, developed in Porto do Molle for the public technology research institution ETRI. Its launch into space is scheduled for "the coming days" aboard the Nuri (KSLV-II) rocket.
The rocket, equipped with Galician technology and carrying a dozen other satellites, will launch from South Jeolla Province. The goal of the Korean center ETRI is "the in-orbit demonstration of communication systems."
Source: La Voz de Galicia | Read the full article here
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
The progress of the fishery is under the control of the Headquarters of the Federal Agency for Fisheries on issues of organizing and conducting the Okhotsk Sea fishing season "A" 2025.
WORLDWIDE
Fishing nations agree to protect basking and white sharks, cut mako quotas, and improve compliance process.
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Skretting
ECUADOR
The Burgos-based seafood processing plant enters a new phase after the sale to the Diosmar Group fell through and a new partner, who bought the Rincón family's stake, precipitated Luis Comella's departure from the board.
JAPAN
NTT Green & Food, a subsidiary of the Japanese telecoms giant 
UNITED KINGDOM
Researchers working on a collaborative project exploring how kelp extracts can enhance nutrient management in farming, have reported promising results from a controlled glasshouse experiment that aimed to determine whether the extracts could improve nutrient uptake under fertiliser-limited conditions.
SPAIN.png)
SOUTH KOREA
Alén Space is once again making waves in the burgeoning European aerospace industry. The Nigrán-based company has delivered a satellite to South Korea designed to revolutionize maritime networks from space. The Asian country has already received this advanced system, developed in Porto do Molle for the public technology research institution ETRI. Its launch into space is scheduled for "the coming days" aboard the Nuri (KSLV-II) rocket.
