Thailand has proposed a reversal of a series of fisheries reforms it implemented over the past eight years.

The move has ignited concern among NGOs and international representatives who fear the lawlessness and lack of oversight that once defined the country’s fishing sector may return. In a letter issued in October 2023, a coalition of 84 civil society organizations, including the Environmental Justice Foundation, Greenpeace, Conservation International, Oxfam, and Oceana collectively urged Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin to oppose any rollback.

Author: Toan Dao / SeafoodSource | read the full article here

Five new chip shops in the UK are proving they’re worth their salt by making the shortlist for the Newcomer of the Year category at the National Fish and Chip Awards 2024.

The businesses, which all opened their doors on or after 1 January 2022, have been assessed against a tough set of criteria by trade ‘o-fish-ials’ to determine their level of industry knowledge

Source: FishFocus | read the full article here

Protein Industries Canada announces a significant investment in the advancement of novel food options for Canadian consumers, marking the inaugural project investment within its second mandate.

The initiative will combine the expertize of New School Foods, Liven Proteins, and NuWave Research to commercialize a plant-based whole-muscle salmon product, and notably, the announcement shortly follows the formation of the world’s first alternative seafood association, Future Ocean Foods.

The three companies will work together to bring to market a whole-muscle cut of plant-based salmon “that transforms from raw to cooked” (no further information is given as to the manner of the “transformation”). Described as a category first, the media release states that the salmon product will offer the same taste and texture as conventional salmon.[...]

Source: vegconomist

According to the experts, a majority of farmers in the coastal delta region feed farm fish conventionally.

MAYILADUTHURAI: Experts from Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) in Nagapattinam are promoting floating fish feed for aquatic species raised under aquaculture in the coastal delta region as they reason that it improves nutritional intake and digestion.

A KVK expert distributing floatable feed near Mayiladuthurai | Express -->

According to the experts, a majority of farmers in the coastal delta region feed farm fish conventionally. While the growth of the fish cultured is majorly dependent on the feed provided, the groundnut oil cake mixed with rice bran used as feed sediments under water, becoming largely avoided by the aquatic organisms. This also affects water quality, the experts added. Against this backdrop, experts said the nutritional composition of floating fish feed is planned and prepared to suit the requirements of the fish being cultured.

The feed in floatable form comprises ingredients like groundnut, gingelly oil cake, rice bran, fish meal, fish oil, wheat meal, soybean meal, peanut meal, rapeseed meal, yeast powder, and rice straw powder.[...]

Source: The New Indian Express

Nofima today releases the annual report on the significance of the seafood industry.

Morgan Lillegård writes in an  article  on Nofima's website that the counties of Nordland, Vestland, Troms, Finnmark, Møre and Romsdal and Trøndelag have had a direct value creation of between NOK 11 (U$D 1 billion) and 16 billion (U$D 1.46 billion). Nordland reigns supreme in terms of value creation, just ahead of Vestland, with around NOK 20 billion (U$D 1.8 billion) each. 

The seafood industry has always been important to Norway, and in the last twenty years this industry has become more important for value creation in the country.

Including spin-offs, the seafood industry employed 86,000 people in 2022, and the total value creation was NOK 109 billion, writes Nofima in its annual report. Of this, value creation in the seafood industry's core activities amounted to NOK 71 billion (U$D 6.5 billion) in 2022, while NOK 38 billion (U$D 3.48billion) were spin-off effects. 

According to the report, both the pelagic fisheries and the bottom fisheries have seen value growth in landings over the past 20 years, as shown in the graph below. In 2022, for example, over NOK 11 billion worth of pelagic fish was landed.

Author/ Source:  Anette Uddén / Norges Sildesalgslag (translated from original in norwegian)

TAHOLAH, Wash. — The Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) has sent a second letter to the Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to close fall Coho salmon fisheries in Grays Harbor and the Queets River due to “alarmingly low returns” of wild adult Coho salmon.

The letter sent to the WDFW stated:

“We are disappointed at WDFW’s ‘wait and see’ attitude and reluctance to take precautionary actions to protect the resources entrusted to our stewardship in the face of uncertainty.” -QIN

Quinault Indian Nation President Guy Capoeman had sent an earlier letter dated October 30, 2023, asking WDFW to close the hatcheries immediately. In that letter, QIN urged WDFW to close Coho fisheries under its jurisdiction early in the Queets River and Grays Harbor.[...]

Source: Cox Media Group / KIRO 7 News

BEIJING – China's imports of fish and shellfish from Japan in October dropped 99% from a year earlier to $332,000, Chinese customs authorities said Saturday.

The plunge, which reflected a blanket ban on Japanese fishery products imposed by China in late August, came after the imports fell to zero in September. It was not clear why the small amount was imported in October.

A cook prepares sashimi in China's Shandong Province in August. | AP / VIA KYODO

Beijing fiercely opposed Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' release into the sea of tritium-containing treated water from its disaster-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. China fully banning imports of fishery products from Japan from Aug. 24 when the water discharge started.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has consistently voiced opposition to the treated water's release.

Meanwhile, China's overall imports of fishery products in October fell around 15% after declining 10% in September. Demand for fishery products diminished in China after the the government said the treated water was "nuclear contaminated."

Source: The Japan Times

The importance of aquaculture and seafood to Norway’s public finances and local economies has been highlighted in a new edition of an annual report.

Value creation in the seafood industry increased by 36% last year to NOK 71 billion (£5.28bn), reported research institute Nofima. If the ripple effects are taken into account, the total value creation was NOK 109bn.

The industry’s value creation amounted to 2.3% of mainland Norway’s GDP (gross domestic product) in 2022, up from 1.5% in the early 2010s.

Source: Fishfarmingexpert | Read the full article here

85% of global tuna catches come from stocks at healthy levels and the status of stocks has not changed since the March 2023 report

The stability of the stock status underlines the importance of rigorous scientific monitoring to support decision-making.

Of the total commercial catches of tuna worldwide, 85% come from stocks with "healthy" levels of abundance, according to the latest report from the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) on the status of stocks.

Source: EuropaAzul | Read the full article here

Eva Novoa, general director of Soermar, Society for the Study of Maritime Resources, has demanded to increase company-university cooperation to attract talent for the naval and maritime sector, as indicated in her participation as moderator in the round table 'The university as pillar of talent and technology for the naval and maritime sector' at the Maritime Blue Growth International Blue Circular Economy Congress, held at the Euskalduna Palace in Bilbao.

Source: IndustriasPesqueras | Read the full article here