The Ministry of Fisheries received three new patrol boats funded by the World Bank under the Tongafish Pathway to Sustainable Fisheries Project. The handover ceremony took place last Friday at the Ministry’s headquarters in Sopu.

Representing the World Bank, CEO of the Ministry of Finance, Ms. Kilisitina Tuaimei’api, handed over the patrol boats to Lord Fohe, the Acting Minister for Fisheries.

“These vessels will significantly bolster our efforts to ensure compliance with maritime laws and protect our marine environment,” said Lord Fohe during his keynote address.

The patrol boats are equipped with advanced technology to combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, support maritime safety, and conduct environmental assessments. The boats will be deployed across Tongatapu, Vava’u, and Ha’apai, enhancing Tonga’s maritime enforcement capabilities and contributing to regional marine conservation.

This year, the second edition of the Aquaculture 4.0 Forum will discuss trends and opportunities in digital and precision aquaculture, also aimed at family farming and startups, with the participation of speakers from Chile and Canada.

The event, organized by Embrapa Digital Agriculture and Embrapa Fisheries and Aquaculture, will be held on September 25 as part of the International Fish Congress (IFC) and Expo Brasil 2024, held in Foz do Iguaçu/PR, from September 24 to 26.

The Forum begins on the second day of the congress, at 8:30 a.m., with the main plenary session that will feature the presence of Clênio Pillon, director of Research and Innovation at Embrapa, addressing digital transformation in the field, agro 4.0 and its impact on aquaculture. Aquabyte representative Gabriel de Moura will talk about the importance of artificial intelligence in aquaculture, and Adolfo Alvial, executive director of the Aquaculture Innovation Club and Orbe XXI, will talk about technological developments in aquaculture in Chile.

The event will feature a presentation of development experience in municipalities reached by actions of the Center of Sciences for Development in Digital Agriculture, Semear Digital, led by Embrapa Digital Agriculture and funded by the São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Fapesp).

Source: Embrapa Advisory

The energy transition in the fisheries sector is not just about reducing emissions and fighting climate change—it's about ensuring the sector remains competitive on the global stage and stays resilient in the long-term.

The sector’s reliance on fossil fuels threatens the viability of the industry, making the shift to low-impact, low-carbon practices essential for both economic and environmental sustainability. By accelerating this transition, the EU can enhance the global competitiveness of its fisheries sector while also ensuring a fair social transition for fishers and communities. 

Organised by ClientEarth, Oceana and Seas at Risk, this event is part of the larger Ocean Week in Brussels—a critical moment for advancing ocean sustainability in EU policy discussions.

Speakers will include MEP Caroline Roose, scientific experts Didier Gascuel, and Frederieke Ziegler, who will share their insights on sustainable fishing and the sector's transition. 

Read more here on the Ocean Week website

Register/RSVP here

Seafood New Zealand and Aquaculture New Zealand have been collaborating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) to address concerns that New Zealand's seafood exporters might not be fully utilizing the tariff reductions or eliminations available under various free trade agreements (FTAs).

In a recent press release, Seafood New Zealand stated:

"We have conducted a thorough review of trade data and are pleased to report that any issues in this area are relatively minor. In fact, it appears that the majority of our seafood exports are successfully entering their markets with the benefits provided by FTAs."

There are a few exceptions in certain specialized product lines (such as extracts and powders) and niche markets where preferential tariff treatment has not always been claimed. Seafood New Zealand and Aquaculture New Zealand are now ensuring that relevant exporters have the necessary information to enable their importers to fully utilize the available preferential tariff treatments.

It is important to note that it is the importer, not the exporter, who claims these benefits. However, New Zealand exporters may be able to negotiate better prices with their importing agents by leveraging the tariff-free status that the FTAs provide.

Representatives from the Association of Purse Seine Owners of Galicia (Acerga), Stolt Sea Farm, Cassua, Pescados Vixa, Fesba and Porto-Muíños went to a place as far away as Singapore to try to conquer oriental palates with their products. These were the Galician organisations and companies that travelled to the Asian country to participate in the Seafood Asia Expo, a fair that brought together more than 4,370 professionals from 77 countries and which hosted more than 360 exhibitors from 41 countries.

Among the showcases that were on display at the twelfth edition of the event was that of the Consellería do Mar, which set up a pavilion to promote Galician fish, shellfish and canned goods in the Asian market and which gave shelter to six companies from the community.

Source: LaVozdeGalicia

A team of researchers from the Hassan II University of Casablanca, Morocco, and the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, has characterized in an article published in the journal Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology eight marine bacteria isolated in the deep Atlantic of Morocco, which have proven to be a source of natural bioactive compounds useful in aquaculture.

These bacteria are Alteromonas hispánica, Vibrio sp, Pseudoalteromonas sp, Cobetia marina, Staphylococcus haemolyticus, Planococcus maritimus, Idiomarina sp, Pseudoalteromonas issachenkonii. The most promising, according to the researchers, is Alteromonas hispánica (strain B-35) since it was the one that showed the strongest antibacterial activity against the five aquaculture pathogens evaluated in the study: Vibrio angularum, Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae, Aeromonas salmonicida, Edwarsiella tarda, Lactococcus garvieae.

These pathogens, as explained in the article, are related to serious diseases in fish such as hemorrhagic septicemia, necrosis and organ damage, which can lead to high mortality rates in fish species.

Source: MisPeces

The Norges Sildesalgslag Association set a record on Monday with a daily turnover of NOK 333.3 million (U$D 30,8M), mainly driven by mackerel fishing in the NØS.

On Monday 9 September, a new turnover record was set at Sildelaget, with NOK 333.3 million turnover in one day. Mainly driven by mackerel fishing in the Norwegian economic zone. 

It is also important to note that it is very positive that the fishing takes place in the Norwegian economic zone.

Photo: Eivind Sævik/EMSPhoto

The forecasts for mackerel fishing thus look promising, with 121,000 tonnes already fished out of this year's quota of 237,907 tonnes. This is significantly more than at the same time last year, when only 61,000 tonnes of mackerel had been fished as of 10 September, of which 59,000 tonnes in the NØS. The fishing in NØS in 2024 as of 10 September is therefore double what it was in 2023.

There are now around 116,600 tonnes left before this year's quota is filled. In the UK zone, Norwegian vessels can fish up to 123,000 tonnes in 2024, but this fishing has not yet started. 

Norway's Norges Sildesalgslag  Association would otherwise like to praise both the fishermen and the buyers for the solid effort put in so far in the mackerel season.

Source: Norges Sildesalgslag (translated from original in Norwegian)

“It’s not just one bad farm—this is a widespread issue,” say activists following release of covert footage of salmon farms in Scotland. 

Three Scottish salmon farming sites, operated by Mowi, Bakkafrost, and Scottish Sea Farms, have been suspended from the RSPCA Assured certification scheme following the release of covert video footage by animal rights group Animal Equality UK.

The footage, taken earlier this year, reportedly depicts several breaches of animal welfare regulations at these farms

Source: SalmonBusiness | Read the full article here

China grew its mariculture output in the first seven months of 2024, according to ministerial data, thanks to concerted efforts made by the country’s government to grow the practice.

Output from seawater-based aquaculture rose 5.2 percent year over year between January and July of this year, resulting in 13 million metric tons (MT) of production in the period, according to data published by the fisheries bureau at the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

China’s overall seafood output rose by 4 percent in the same period, with output from aquaculture and mariculture together rising to 58.1 million MT.

Author: Mark Godfrey / SeafoodSource | Read the full article here

Cermaq, Mowi and Salmones Austral are using this non-pharmacological alternative as part of health strategies to control Caligus infestation in their operations.

Caligus is a significant challenge for the salmon industry, since it impacts the health status of the fish, stressing them and violating the mucus and skin, their first immune barrier. Due to the generation of resistance to antiparasitic products, it is relevant to complement control strategies with non-pharmacological methods.

Source: FishFocus | Read the full article here