In its December edition, 60 Millions de Consommateurs tested 20 smoked salmon and 10 smoked trout, tasted blind. 

On the salmon side, two references obtained the best score of the test tied (18/20). This is the U Flavors Label Rouge smoked salmon raised in Scotland (U System), on par with the Bio Village reference brand Repère (E.Leclerc). Labeyrie comes 3 rd , with his smoked salmon Le Norway. The magazine advises to opt for the most expensive products, " which guarantee a certain quality ". It is indeed three smoked salmon first prize – respectively from Intermarché, U and E.Leclerc – which close the ranking, described as “ big disappointmentswith below average ratings. 

Their taste was judged to be too salty, due to the use of brine rather than dry salt and their “coarse” dressing. The rating differences are less significant for smoked trout (between 10.5 and 15.5/20). U Saveurs comes first with a reference of trout raised in Aquitaine (15.5/20), followed by a Guyader trout from the Pyrenees (14.5/20) and a Landvika trout (14.5/20).

Author/Source: Fanny ROUSSELIN-ROUSVOAL/ Produit de la Mer (trnaslated from original in French)

On the 22nd, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced the results of the 2022 "Survey on the Distribution of MArine Products from Fukushima Prefecture."

The survey, which began in fiscal 2017 with the aim of clarifying the actual situation and causes of sluggish sales of Fukushima products, is the sixth. After the end of March 2009, the test fishing off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture was completed. It was shown that each fishery cooperative has different intentions for increasing the catch, and that communication between fishermen and intermediate distributors is inadequate.

The survey was conducted on all kinds of marine products, mainly flounder, flatfish, bonito, conger eel, and whitebait. They compiled 14 cases of interviews with vendors.

According to it, the fisheries cooperatives were divided into those whose catches were increasing after the end of the trial fishing operations and those whose catches were not increasing. The number of fisheries cooperatives, which are increasing, has increased the number of middlemen due to the consolidation and restoration of fish markets, and the narrowing down of fish with high prices based on size and species has led to higher beach prices. [...]

Source: The Suisan Keizai (only available in japanese)

The three Bulgarian fishing vessels that were apprehended by the Romanian Coast Guard on March 24 were not sailing in Romanian waters, the Director of the Executive Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture Associate Professor Vanya Stamatova said for the BNR.

"We have no information that the Bulgarian seaman who were detained in Constanta (Romania) did anything illegal", Bulgaria’s Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Yavor Gechev said for bTV. In his words, the Bulgarian seamen were detained in international waters in the Black Sea, not in Romanian territorial waters. According to Minister Gechev, shark fishing is allowed in Bulgaria. “Nor is there any EU ban on shark fishing”, said Yavor Gechev. “There is a partial ban imposed by Romania on the Romanian fishermen and water areas. Bulgaria will protect its interest and the interests of its citizens”, Minister Yavor Gechev went on to say. The seamen will receive legal aid in order to regain possession of their fishing vessels that were apprehended in Constanta.

Source: radiobulgaria

The owner and master of the fishing vessel Felir was brought into Plymouth waters after being boarded by officers from the British fishing watchdog

The owner and master of a French fishing vessel brought into Cattedown harbour after being boarded by British fishing watchdogs has been left tens of thousands out of pocket after a Plymouth court hearing.

French-registered fishing vessel the Felir was boarded and inspected by officers from the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) - which licenses, regulates and plans marine activities in the seas around England - on September 12, 2020. The Felir was intercepted by the Ocean Osprey, which carries out fisheries patrol work in the North Sea for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, at around 4pm on that day, and it was accompanied into Plymouth's waters.

Appearing at Plymouth Magistrates' Court on March 20 this year, the vessel’s owner Felir SAS and master Ludovic Fourgault admitted using fishing gear in British waters to which was "attached a device, namely a piece of diamond shaped mesh placed over the square mesh panel, that obstructed or otherwise diminished the mesh size of part of the towed gear."

Source: plymouthherald

A marinated smoked cod

Martiko, a company from Navarre dedicated to the production of products derived from duck and smoked fish, presents a new recipe for its marinated smoked cod. This new formula incorporates different spices that provide an additional nuance of flavor to the beech wood smoke, so characteristic of the brand.

This novelty is made through a slow maturation process with aromatic herbs and selected spices that impregnate the fish fibers with flavor. In addition, Martiko's smoked cod exclusively uses raw material from MSC-certified sustainable fishing, which guarantees and controls the proper use of marine biodiversity. The innovation is already on sale at the Martiko online store and at the company's usual points of sale.

Source: revistainforetail

Marine and Freshwater Research Institute advises that the total catch of female lumpfish for the fishing year 2022/2023 should be no more than 4?411 tonnes. That is a 37% decrease in the advice compared to last year. The advice is primarily based on the biomass index from the Icelandic groundfish survey (IS-SMB) in March 2023, which was below the long term mean and lowest for ten years.

The biomass index fluctuates between years, partly reflecting uncertainty in the measurements. 

Source: hafogvatn

Trawlers divert bycatch reduction discussions to 'genetic origins' of salmon. Do those going without care where the fish originate?

Seattle-based trawlers claim they are partners in Alaska’s fisheries. But they are unwilling to make any sacrifices to protect Alaska’s fishery resources. They are threatening a lawsuit against a new plan that imposes a floating cap to reduce Bering Sea halibut bycatch based on the abundance of the stock…they opposed a six month emergency moratorium on trawling in the Bristol Bay red king crab savings zone to protect mating/molting crab…the impacts of trawl bycatch are completely omitted from the NPFMC 10-year snow crab rebuilding plan…they refute findings that “mid-water” trawl gear is sometimes on the bottom more than 80% of the time, calling it “unscientific”…trawlers in the Gulf of Alaska oppose the call for more observer coverages of their catches…and now, as the write up below by Intrafish shows, they claim a chum cap will put them out of business.

The motto of the Seattle-based trawlers – who take 80% of the value of ALL groundfish from the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska – should be “conservation is everyone else’s problem.”

Author: Laine Welch / AlaskaFish.News

PASIR PUTEH: The Kelantan Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has seized four boats and arrested 31 Vietnamese fishermen for illegally fishing in Malaysian waters.

Its director Maritime Captain Syed Nor Adli Syed Ab Rahman (pix) said they were arrested during two operations conducted on Monday (March 20) and Wednesday (March 22)

“During the first operation, two boats were detained at 3.45 pm and 4 pm, respectively, about 64 nautical miles off the Tok Bali estuary.

“The first boat was manned by five crew members including the skipper while the second boat was operated by two crewmen,” he said at Kelantan MMEA headquarters at Tok Bali today.

Syed Nor Adli said on Wednesday, MMEA’s patrol ship KM Jujur intercepted two more Vietnamese fishing boats as a result of information channelled by a Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) maritime patrol aircraft team.

According to him, the first boat was detained at 8.45 am some 180 nautical miles off the Tok Bali estuary while the second boat was detained at 10.57 am, about 170 nautical miles from the same estuary.

He said the boats and 18 Vietnamese nationals were then taken to the Kelantan Maritime jetty.

Syed Nor Adli said all 31 crew members detained, aged between 14 and 64, also failed to produce valid identification documents and inspections found that the four boats did not have permits to carry out fishing activities under the Fisheries Act 1985.

A new international standard for handling waste on fishing vessels has now been launched. The purpose is to establish good routines for waste.

How should waste on fishing vessels be handled to reduce littering of the sea and the amount of waste?

In a collaboration between Fiskarlaget, Handelens Miljøfond and Standard Norge, the standard NS-ISO 5020 has now been launched. The new standard shows how good waste management can reduce the waste problem.

The cooperating parties have pointed out that littering of seas and fresh water threatens the possibilities of future conservation and utilization of marine resources. There are a number of sources of this littering, and authorities and businesses have a responsibility to reverse the trend nationally and globally.

The aim of the new standard, NS-ISO 5020 Waste reduction and handling on fishing vessels, is therefore to reduce littering from the fishing industry.

This involves, among other things, reduced macro- and microplastics in water and a reduction in littering of the beach zone.

In addition, the standard will be an important contribution to avoiding ghost fishing.

Source: Norges Fiskarlag - The Norwegian Fishermen Association (translated from original in norwegian)