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

Norwegian land-based salmon farmer Salmon Evolution announced in its Q3 2023 report that it lost NOK 36.5 million (USD 3.4 million, EUR 3.1 million) before taxes, but that it also experienced strong biological performance throughout the period, ending with its best-standing biomass to date at its Indre Harøy facility, which attained Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification in late October.

The company’s standing biomass on 30 September totaled 2,100 metric tons (MT), doubling the 1,047 MT recorded on 30 June this year for all of H1 2023.

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

According to data from Vietnam Customs, as of October 15, 2023, the EU market imported more than 134 million USD of Vietnam’s pangasius, down 19% compared to the same period in 2022.

After many months of decline, in September 2023, Vietnam’s pangasius exports to the EU recorded positive growth again with a value of more than 14 million USD, up 11% over the same period last year. In QIII/2023, the EU bought 50 million USD of Vietnam’s pangasius, down 17% compared to the same period last year. 

Source: FishFocus | read the full article here

Crucial step towards building a culture of compliance 

Split - NGOs today commended the decision by Mediterranean states to create a sanction system that will empower the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) to take action against countries which continue overfishing or illegal fishing, calling it “a crucial step towards building a culture of compliance, which is essential to start rebuilding Mediterranean fish populations”.

The binding recommendation adopted by the GFCM during this week’s meeting in Croatia (GFCM 46) will finally allow the organisation to act against member states who fail to adhere to its conservation measures, using a system that will go into force in 2025 [1]. Together, the 22 GFCM member states (plus the EU) can now take action if a member fails to stop its trawl fleet from fishing in no-trawl areas, or if a member does not respect GFCM rules on fishing gear or catch restrictions. 

Measures that can be taken by GFCM will include, for example, a restriction of fishing authorisations or a reduction of the allowed fishing days at sea.[...] 

Source: Med Sea Alliance

Calls for a last-minute moratorium are intensifying as the start of Pacific herring season in the Straight of Georgia approaches on Nov.24.

Concerns are resurfacing among some citizens as they fear the potential impact of these fisheries on the province’s herring stock.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) 2023/2024 Integrated Fisheries Management Plan draft forecasted median spawning biomass of 80,288 tons in 2023 and 80,882 tons in 2024. This year’s harvest target may reach a maximum of 10 per cent of this said biomass, allowing fishermen to catch roughly 8,000 tons of herring. The Food and Bait, and Special Use fisheries, will be authorized to catch about 3,000 tons, while the remaining 5,000 tons will go to roe fisheries in early spring of next year.

According to Jim Shortreed, a Victoria-based herring enhancement volunteer, these numbers are unsustainable.

After noticing the disappearance of numerous herring spawns south of Nanaimo, causing DFO to close several tidal areas to commercial fisheries, the herring advocate called for an indefinite moratorium to help these fish repopulate their former ground.

Using the analogy of the canary in the coal mine, Shortreed warned communities north of Nanaimo of a plight potentially creeping northward, slowly making its way to the shores of the Comox Valley, recognized as B.C.’s Pacific herring stronghold.

Source: Today in BC

The Contentious Administrative and Civil Court of the Treasury of Costa Rica declared a precautionary measure presented by the MarViva Foundation against the Costa Rican Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Incopesca) and ordered the suspension of the new studies on trawling that are being carried out. in Costa Rican waters.

The Foundation pointed out that the approval of the measure responds to the series of irregularities and shortcomings that directly contravene the regulatory provisions issued by the Constitutional Chamber on the subject; the lack of technical solidity of the project, the defects in its development and the impact on the environment that could cause irreparable damage and would violate the constitutional right enshrined in article 50 of the Constitution, which indicates the right to a healthy and ecologically balanced environment that all people possess.

In resolution No. 2023005361, the judging body recognized that trawling is an issue about which there has been much controversy in recent years and that the Constitutional Chamber has maintained a clear line in favor of the environment and the protection of resources. marine.

The Court suspended the fishing operations that are currently being carried out and, in addition, any other related act carried out by Incopesca that enables the execution of the study, including new fishing permits and the agreements of the Board of Directors that endorsed the initiative. The measures are taken until the lawsuit filed by MarViva last May, which seeks the annulment of the entire study, is resolved on the merits.

Source: DELFINO

St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador - With the longest coastline in the world, Canada’s coastal communities rely on the fish and seafood industry as an integral contributor to local and regional economies. This is why the Government of Canada and the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador today announced funding support for 147 projects through the Atlantic Fisheries Fund (AFF).

The funding—a total contribution of $25,327,448—will help modernize equipment and improve quality, productivity, and sustainability in the Newfoundland and Labrador fish and seafood sector.

Harvesting – 116 projects supporting new equipment and innovative technologies that will advance onboard handling techniques and improve productivity, product quality, and sustainability

Processing – 22 projects targeting advancements in processing technologies and product quality enhancements to improve competitiveness and add value for the industry

Aquaculture – Five projects enabling adoption of new technology and processes to support sustainable development of oyster and salmon

Indigenous partnerships – Four projects supporting sustainability and the modernization of equipment used in the seafood sector

Source: canada.ca