New approaches to land-based aquaculture include farming unusual species and implementing new sanitary regimes

As a rapidly expanding sector in the global food industry, aquaculture stands out for its diverse range of species. Diversification can improve the resilience of the global food system or facilitate the growth of aquaculture through multiple mechanisms.

With obstacles to overcome, such as technical difficulties and limited markets, cultivating species diversity is no simple task, but a team of researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Plymouth in the UK is taking on the challenge. In November 2023, they published a study in the scientific journal Nature on the potential of farming a new marine species.

Shipworms (teredinids) are bivalves that live in wood and feed on it, converting it into essential proteins and nutrients. Historically, they were considered marine pests because they would bore into any wood left in seawater, such as ships, docks and piers. However, the research team has now rebranded them as “naked clams” and they could play a role as an eco-friendly superfood.

Author/Source: Bonnie Waycott / globalseafood

Torben Hald Christensen fishes with RS 194 Stisholm for spiny lobster in the Kattegat, which he subsequently unloads at Anholt. The fisherman experiences that there is a great demand for his lobster from both tourists and locals, therefore he also has difficulty recognizing the image of his fishing that is painted in the media, on political platforms and social media.

This is written by TV2 Østjylland.

This debate is taking up a lot of space in our industry right now, but I can  guarantee that our bottom trawl does not destroy the seabed. Why should we destroy our own profession and livelihood? It makes no sense at all, and it is far-fetched, says Torben Hald Christensen to TV2 Østjylland .

The fisherman says that tools develop over time, and that you therefore cannot compare trawls from the 1980s with those used in lobster fishing today. Because modern tools have been developed to be gentler on the marine environment.

In his interview with TV2 Østjylland, Torben Hald Christensen does away with the assumption that trawlers "plow up" the seabed when they fish. Because, as he explains to the local media, the net is hardly in contact with the seabed when the fishermen fish with the gear. Because if the trawl has to be lifted over the seabed in the way that people assume the gear is used, it will destroy the gear.

Author: Louise Svane Pedersen / /fiskeritidende

The company recorded revenues of NOK 934 million in Q2 2024, up from NOK 804 million in the same quarter last year. While market prices for salmon fluctuated significantly throughout the period, Måsøval achieved an average price NOK 8 higher per kilo compared to Q2 2023.

Salmon prices were a rollercoaster this quarter, commented Helge Kvalvik, CEO of Måsøval. 

However, our strategic harvesting approach allowed us to capitalize on favorable market conditions and ultimately achieve higher prices compared to last year, he added.

Author:Ole Andreas Drønen / fishfarmingexpert | Read the full article here

Female seaweed farmers operating in the Western Indian Ocean will have access to private-sector financing through a new project that will support them in introducing farming technology, both boosting the resilience of their enterprises against the adverse impacts of climate change and increasing production of high-quality seaweed.

At least 25,000 female seaweed farmers in Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique will have access to the financing between 2024 and 2028 under the Africa Fair Seaweed Finance Facility (AFSFF) project

Author: Shem Oirere / SeafoodSource | Read the full article here

Seafish campaign invites industry to tell its positive and inspiring stories

The UK seafood industry is being encouraged to share positive and uplifting stories to support a new campaign aimed at improving the public’s perceptions of seafood and its production.

Seafish, the public body that supports the UK seafood industry to thrive, is this week launching Seafood for Life, an initiative that aims to help businesses or individuals in the sector share good news stories 

Source: FishFocus | Read the full article here

With directed fishing for mackerel banned for the second consecutive year from the north of Fisterra to the mouth of the Bidasoa, the anchovy is closed in the entire northwest. The impossibility of reaching an agreement with the Portuguese shipowners caused the distribution of quotas between both countries to fail. With only the horse mackerel open, everything seems to indicate that we will have to tie up until February. Half a year of stoppage, a disaster, only avoidable with an agreement with another country, on the campaign.

Source: EuropaAzul | Read the full article here

The Andalusian Government Council has given the green light to the decrees that modify the structures of ten of the ministries of the Andalusian Government, including those of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development; and that of Sustainability and Environment.

The decree that modifies the organic structure of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development redistributes some of its powers after having assumed, at the end of last July, those of use, management and sustainable conservation of marine resources.

Source: IndustriasPesqueras | Read the full article here

Japanese land-based salmon producer Proximar Seafood will be testing nanobubbles to alleviate water turbidity at its RAS system facility near Mount Fuji. The problem has not had a direct impact on fish health or performance.

“Recently, Proximar has been experiencing an increasing amount of total suspended solids (TSS) in the production tanks at the grow-out facility. This has led to turbidity and limited visibility, both for the fish and for the collaborators monitoring them on site,” the company wrote in a Q2/H1 2024 report.

“As a short-term measure, feeding has been reduced. To solve the long-term problem, Proximar is currently installing ozone treatment equipment, in addition to nanobubble technology which will also be tested in the coming weeks,” they detailed.

Quality customer

Proximar will begin its first commercial harvest in September and already has a first sales agreement with a “quality customer.”

According to the company, the deal confirms Proximar's price expectations and a significant cost advantage of local production in Japan.

Author/Source: Pål Mugaas Jensen / SalmonExpert

China had introduced a ban on Japanese seafood following Tokyo's go-ahead to releasing treated nuclear water from the Fukushima plant into the Pacific Ocean.

Japan’s prime minister said that his government will support the fishery industry, which has been hit by a Chinese ban on Japanese seafood imports.

Fumio Kishida’s announcement on Saturday came during a visit to a fish market in the city of Iwaki in the Fukushima province to commemorate one year since Tokyo began releasing treated nuclear water.

"The government needs to take all possible measures to mitigate the impact of the import ban that China introduced in response to the water discharge, and that ministers concerned will hold a meeting next week to present the outline," NHK quoted Kishida as saying

He added that government will take full responsibility for the discharge from a crippled nuclear plant, a process which could take decades to finish.

Saying China’s ban lacks scientific basis, he urged Beijing to scrap the measure.

Source: trtworld

Cepesca, fishing associations and CTAG will reuse nets for the automotive and aeronautical industries. These entities have launched: “Nets of Spain”, which seeks to create a certification for the management of gear that has reached the end of its useful life “promoting its return to the circular economy”

The Spanish Fisheries Confederation (Cepesca) will develop and implement a national certification to manage and recycle fishing gear and nets through innovative processes for their return to the circular economy. The Redes de España project, advanced by Cepesca, seeks to comply with the European framework on single-use plastics “through the establishment of a system for the collection, transport and valorisation of discarded fishing gear that guarantees the entities producing the waste its traceability and reintroduction to the market”, achieving the goal of zero waste.

The project seeks to raise awareness about the problem of single-use plastics, the care of marine habitats and the circular economy "incorporating gender approaches and the inclusion of disadvantaged groups through communication and dissemination actions to society."

Source: EuropaAzul