• ANACEF requests that access to African fishing grounds for the “sustainable” European fleet be prioritized over Russian or Chinese vessels
• ANACEF highlights the relevance of the current agreements with Mauritania, Gambia, Senegal and Guinea Bissau, as well as the need to renew the agreement with Morocco and expand the network of agreements to countries such as Angola and the Republic of Guinea.

Las Palmas - Juan Carlos Martín Fragueiro, managing director of ANACEF, this morning reviewed the current situation of fishing agreements between the European Union and third countries before the media, which has been the central topic of the fifth organized fishing day annually by this organization in Las Palmas. The event was attended by government representatives from Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and Morocco, with Morocco's intervention carried out electronically by the Secretary General of Fisheries of Morocco, Zaki Adrius.

In his statements, Martín Fragueiro highlighted the importance of analyzing the situation of these agreements "especially in a year in which six agreements signed by the European Union with African countries have expired or are about to expire." To date, he noted, only two of these agreements have been renewed, including Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau. Agreements with Ivory Coast, Gabon, Sautomé and Príncipe and Senegal are still pending renewal.

At the United Nations’ fourth session (INC-4) for the International Legally Binding Instrument (ILBI) on plastic pollution, representatives clashed over how to best tackle the issue, particularly over whether to prioritize reducing primary plastic production or enhancing the recyclability of products.

Several nations at the meeting, which was held in Ottawa, Canada, in April, launched the “Bridge to Busan: Declaration on Primary Plastic Polymers” strategy, emphasizing that reducing primary plastic production is crucial for effectively addressing plastic pollution.

Author: Emma Desrochers / SeafoodSource | Read the full article here

One of the world’s 10 largest salmon farmers, Multi X, is to replace all the bags it uses to package its fresh fillet product with bags made from 100% biodegradable material. This material breaks down in a period of six to 20 months without the need for composting and is consumed by fungi and microorganisms.

More than 18 million bags per year will be produced for Multi X by Bioelements, a Chilean start-up based on biotechnology and the circular economy that began the challenge of generating sustainable bioplastics in 2016.

Source: FishFarmingExpert | Read the full article here

While the weather so far into summer 2024 hasn’t been the greatest for Scotland’s sun-worshippers, the relatively mild temperatures and cloudy skies are what’s best suited for salmon.Back to normal sea temperatures are helping Mowi farmers grow top-quality salmon.

Salmon can live within wide-ranging water temperatures in some regions above 20 degrees, however, it’s the tiny organisms that thrive in warmer waters that can cause challenges to the health and survival of salmon and other fish.

Source: FishFocus | Read the full article here

With the re-election of Roberta Metsola as President of the European Parliament, this institution has begun to work on the configuration of its tenth mandate. This process includes the establishment of the different commissions, which are fundamental for the functioning of the European institution. In total, 20 commissions are created, including the Fisheries Commission, whose number of members decreased slightly, from 28 to 27.

The reorganization of the European Parliament's committees is a crucial phase that determines the effectiveness of legislative and supervisory activities.

Source: EuropaAzul | Read the full article here

The general director of Fisheries Development of the Xunta de Galicia, Marta Villaverde, held a meeting with the shellfish sector affected by the dredging works of the Ría de O Burgo. At the meeting, Villaverde expressed the commitment of the Galician Government to the requests of the sector so that "the State fulfills its duties as promoter of the work." Likewise, the Xunta regrets that representatives of the central government did not attend "despite being summoned by professionals."

Source: Industrias Pesqueras | Read the full article here

The Alfred Wegener Institute is carrying out an expedition in the Arctic on the historic research vessel and icebreaker RV Polarstern.

An employee from MFRI, population geneticist Dr. Áki Jarl Láruson, is participating in the expedition, working on a project called “The impact of climate change on Arctic marine ecosystems”. During this expedition, multiple samples will be taken at several long-term monitoring sites in the Fram Straight between Svalbard and East Greenland.

Dr. Láruson will attempt to isolate DNA from marine invertebrates to examine the links between changing environments and the inheritance of distinct genetic markers. One key goal of this study will be to identify possible bioindicator species in the Arctic.

Source: hafogvatn.is

Since the start of the pelagic fishing season and as of July 16, Russian fishermen have caught 131 thousand tons of sardine, iwashi and mackerel. This is twice as much as on the same date in 2023, the press service of the Federal Agency for Fisheries reports.

The main fishing area for these fish species remains the exclusive economic zone of Russia, where 115.8 thousand tons, or 88% of the total volume, were caught.

The key fishery target is the Iwashi sardine: its catch exceeded 129 thousand tons, including in the Russian EEZ – 114.5 thousand tons or almost 20% of the recommended catch volume in the Far East (579.5 thousand tons). The mackerel catch amounted to 1.9 thousand tons.

According to the Central Fisheries and Oceanography Center, 15 Russian fishing vessels were engaged in pelagic fisheries last week.

Source: Federal Agency for Fisheries

By July 16, the total catch of Pacific salmon in the Far East exceeded 40 thousand tons

The indicator is still behind 2023 and 2022, but the pace of fishing is starting to increase. The progress of the fishing season was discussed at the regular weekly meeting of the headquarters of the Federal Agency for Fisheries.

Fishermen from Kamchatka Krai, who have been the main contributor to the total catch in the Far East in the last decade, have caught 29.5 thousand tons. Second and third place are now occupied by Khabarovsk Krai – 5.7 thousand tons and Magadan Oblast – 2.63 thousand tons.

In the Sakhalin Region, the catch amounted to 1.5 thousand tons, in Primorsky Krai – 1.4 thousand tons, in Chukotka – 195 tons.

In the structure of catches by salmon species, pink salmon came out on top - 32.7 thousand tons (80%) were caught. Next comes sockeye salmon (about 5.3 thousand tons or 13% of catches), chum salmon (2.76 thousand tons or 6.7%), chinook salmon (279 tons or 0.7%). The harvest of masu salmon reached 30 tons, coho salmon - 12 tons.

Fishermen from Khabarovsk Krai, Primorye and Magadan Oblast received an “addition” to the volume of permitted catch of pink salmon due to good approaches and a high level of filling of spawning grounds.

Source: Federal Agency for Fisheries

In June 2024, South Korea imported a total of 1,704 tons of Frozen Atka mackerel, marking a 110% increase from 813 tons in the same period last year. The cumulative import volume for this year stands at 8,134 tons, a 27% increase compared to 6,386 tons during the same period in 2023.

This accounts for 2% of the total seafood import volume of 445,418 tons.

Up to June, the main sources of frozen Atka mackerel imports were Russia and the United States. From Russia, 6,148 tons (76%) were imported, while 1,986 tons were imported from the United States.

The import price per kilogram was USD 2.55 from Russia and USD 2.02 from the United States.

In June 2024, the import value of Atka mackerel was USD 2.84 million, a 40% increase from USD 2.03 million in the same period last year. The cumulative import value is USD 19.68 million, a 33% increase from USD 14.84 million in 2023. The average import price per kilogram was USD 2.42, which is 4% higher than last year's USD 2.32.

This trend is expected to have a positive impact on the domestic Atka mackerel market.

For reference, the domestic wholesale distribution price of frozen Atka mackerel is set at 79,000 KRW for an 18kg,  2L size from Russia, and 77,000 KRW for an 18kg, 2L size from the United States.

Source: Union Forsea Corp.