By 23 votes in favor, none against and 1 abstention, the MEPs of the Fisheries Committee of the European Parliament have approved an update of the control measures of the ICCAT area and the multiannual management plan for bluefin tuna in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

The agreement also refers to capacity limitations. The Fisheries Commission reports that each EU country should have its annual plan by January 31, managing the capacity of its longline and purse seine fleet and taking into account the limits to catch tropical tunas.

Source: Industrias Pesqueras | Read the full article here

Yesterday a Virgin Atlantic plane carried out the first transatlantic flight fuelled entirely by sustainable aviation fuel – and it was carrying a cargo of salmon from the Faroe Islands.

The consignment of fresh salmon came from Faroese producer Bakkafrost, which said its participation in the flight was part of the company’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint. The trial flight was carried out in collaboration with Virgin Atlantic and distributors Kuehne + Nagel.

Source: FishFarmer | read the full article here

Måsøval has confirmed it is reorganizing and has begun a process to streamline its management and public reporting processes, which will result in different parts of the business splitting into separate legal entities.

As of 1 January 2024, Måsøval will become a holding company, and all the group’s licenses will be merged into one company: Måsøval Lisens. The group’s farming operations will be a part of Måsøval Drift, the company stated in its Q3 2023 financial report.

Author: Jason Holland / SeafoodSource | read the full article here

Five counties in Norway account for almost 90% of all value creation in the Norwegian seafood industry, with Nordland County as number one, generating over 20 billion in value creation and ripple effects, followed by Vestland, Troms og Finnmark, Møre og Romsdal and Trøndelag.

Last week, Nofima launched their annual report on the positive impacts of the seafood industry. Value creation in the seafood industry increased by 36% last year, amounting to NOK 71 billion. If the ripple effects from the industry are taken into account, the total value creation was NOK 109 billion. 

Source: FishFocus | read the full article here

By the end of October 2023, Vietnam's squid and octopus exports continued to decline. By the end of October 2023, Vietnam's squid and octopus exports reached 537 million USD, down 15% over the same period. Exports to major markets have yet to show signs of recovery.

EXPORT TURNOVER 537 million USD↓ 15%

Consto and Grieg Seafood Finnmark have signed a contract for the construction of a smolt plant in Lebesby municipality in Finnmark.

Consto has been awarded the overall contract for the project and will be responsible for the construction technical delivery as well as the coordination of all performing professional groups. Included in the assignment is the construction of a quay adjacent to the new facility. In the project, Consto will collaborate with Pure Salmon Technology, which has been given responsibility for the process engineering facility.

"We are sincerely grateful that Grieg Seafood has chosen us as a partner in this exciting and forward-looking project. We look forward to a good collaboration with Grieg Seafood and Pure Salmon Technology", says project owner and general manager of Consto Anlegg Nord, Fredrik Alver Okkenhaug.

Consto has very successfully completed several large industrial projects in recent years, and this collaboration with Grieg Seafood marks a natural continuation of the ongoing investment within the industrial segment.

The start of construction is set for April 2024, and the construction period is two years.[...]

Source: Consto PR

Nanban shrimp successfully transported using a drone

A drone carrying about 2.2 kilograms of fresh Nanbang shrimp landed at a depth of about 400 meters off the coast of Niigata and Sado Island was airlifted between the Etsusa Strait in the Sea of ??Japan (a distance of about 56 kilometers), and then transported by Shinkansen to the Tokyo metropolitan area. A logistics demonstration test approved by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism for delivery to restaurants was conducted on the 22nd. The four parties involved were Sado City and Niigata City, JR East Niigata City Create Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Niigata City, president: Hiroyuki Kotake), and drone operator AIR WINGS LLC (Edogawa Ward, Tokyo, president: Kenta Hayashi). The public and private sectors are working together to aim for commercialization in 2026.

The drone used was a fixed-wing airplane type (manufactured by Kukaikai Co., Ltd.), weighing approximately 12.5 kg, width approximately 3.5 meters, length approximately 2.4 meters, and height approximately 0.95 meters. . It is equipped with an obstacle avoidance function, and if a flight route is set in advance, it can fly autonomously while maintaining a stable altitude of approximately 120 meters.[...]

Source:  The Suizan-Keizai Daily News (translated from original in japanese)

Another Ghanaian fisheries observer has disappeared again. Samuel Abayitey was aboard a tuna vessel, 'Marine 707'. 

His work was part of a government effort to regulate over-fishing and other illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices by some trawlers, which has driven small pelagic fish, the staple diet of the coastal region, to the verge of collapse.

Since his disappearance about two weeks ago, there hasn’t been any information from the crew manager, the Fisheries Commission, the vessel owners, or other relevant stakeholders.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development has confirmed the incident to JoyNews. The Deputy Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Moses Annim, says the ministry is investigating the matter.

“It has come to our attention, and we have launched an investigation into the matter. We will get to the bottom of the matter,” he stated.[...]

Source: The Herald Ghana

Characterized by a strong dispersion of actors involved in production, valorization and marketing, the Normandy algae industry wishes to become more structured, with a real stake in upstream volumes.

Smel (Syndicat Mer Énergie et Littoral) has been carrying out this desire since 2019. “But to network businesses, public authorities, professional organizations and research centers, there is work!" deplores Sébastien Pien, project manager at Smel. "Everyone has better things to do than develop this sector, it's a shame. We transmitted the mission of structuring the actors to Bioeconomy for Change, a competitiveness cluster".

The first tool that was put in place is a collaborative platform, open to all, which allows the different stakeholders to indicate their needs in expertise and equipment or, conversely, to display their partnership offers. For example, a need for dryers was identified, which allowed an algae producer to meet a start-up with a view to carrying out tests from 2024.

More generally, Normandy has strong potential: an extensive coastline rich in algae, notably ulva and sargassum (unfit for human consumption), a political will demonstrated by the Aquaculture for the Future plan supported by the State and a will of businesses in the territory.[...]

Author/Source: Vincent Schumeng/PDM (translated from original in french)

The Council of the European Union approved on Monday 27 November the regulation on autonomous tariff quotas – which make it possible to suspend customs duties – for fishery products for the years 2024, 2025 and 2026. Russia will not be able to benefit from them

The objective of this regulation is to ensure the competitiveness of the European Union (EU) fish processing sector. Tariff quotas are exceptions to the customs tariff which make it possible to totally or partially eliminate customs duties on a type of goods, for a specific period and a given quantity. They were put in place by the EU to safeguard its production and maintain a constant supply for the processing industries.

Although the new regulation, which will apply for the period 2024-2026, has not yet been published, the EU Council announced that Russian products had been excluded.  Taking into account the deterioration of relations between the EU and Russia and in order to ensure consistency with the EU's position in the framework of external action, the Council decided not to allow fishery products from Russia to benefit from exemption from duties or most favored nation treatment  , its press release indicates.[...]

Author/Source: Mélanie Chartier/Le Marin (translated from original in french)