Sonapesca analysis shows that, although there are products that have had an increase in sales abroad, there are other markets in which there is a decrease due to the consequences of Covid-19.

After the close of 2020, industrial fishing managed to achieve a positive result in terms of exports, this because an analysis carried out by the National Fisheries Society (Sonapesca FG) reflected that last year, sales abroad registered US $ 1,763 million, 7.8% more if compared to 2019 and 17.7% higher in terms of tons exported (875,013).

Source: MundoAcuicola | Read the full article here

European fishing industry body Europêche sees the amendments voted on by the European Parliament Committee on Fisheries to revise the Union Fisheries Control System as a step in the right direction.

‘Crucial decisions have been taken to make decisive progress towards a new EU control system,’ Europêche stated.

‘The European Parliament has enhanced traceability of seafood products, digitised tracking and catch reporting across the value chain and harmonised sanctions and enforcement measures across Member States. 

Author: Quentin Bates / FiskerForum | Read the full article here

Mara Media, the organiser of Irish Skipper Expo 2021 in Limerick and Scottish Skipper Expo 2021 in Aberdeen, has decided to postpone this year’s fishing shows and carry them forward to 2022, given the continuing uncertainty over Covid-19.  

Hugh Bonner, managing director, said: “We are extremely disappointed at having to make this difficult decision, but there are still too many issues surrounding mass gatherings and travel. The safety of exhibitors, visitors and the wider public is our first priority.


 

A new £7.75 million funding package will offer support to fishermen, seafood businesses and ports and harbours threatened by the ongoing effects of coronavirus (COVID-19) and EU Exit.

The package includes:

£6.45 million for the Seafood Producers Resilience Fund which will provide support to eligible shellfish catchers and producers, in addition to trout farmers who have faced issues exporting to the EU and have lost access to domestic food markets as a result of COVID-19;
£1 million to be made available to support the investment plans of ports and harbours faced with a loss of income through landing fees;
up to £300,000 to assist the welfare and emergency support activities of the Fishermen’s Mission in recognition of the hardship facing people working in the sector at this time.

Source: The Fishing Daily | Read the full article here

The value of Norwegian seafood exports dropped by 16% last month, with salmon taking the biggest hit.

Figures from the Norwegian Seafood Council show that the country’s fish farmers and fishing vessel owners earned NOK 8.1bn (£689m) during January.
Salmon exports totalled 95,600 tonnes, a volume increase of 11 %, but the revenue was down by 23 per cent or NOK 1.5bn to NOK 5.2bn (£442m).

Tom-Jorgen Gangs, director of market insight at the Seafood Council, said the overall decline was primarily due to a significant drop in the export value of salmon

Author: Vince McDonagh / Fish Farmer | Read the full article here

Bakkafrost and MEST Shipyard have signed a contract on the construction of a fully electric workboat. The contract was signed at Bakkafrost’ s headquarters at Glyvrar.

The workboat is solely based on electric power from batteries and will be charged during hours with maximal “green” power production.

Regin Jacobsen, CEO at Bakkafrost, is pleased with the signing of the contract.

“At Bakkafrost we have a goal to reduce our GHG-emissions by 50% by 2030. We continuously set ourselves ambitious goals regarding our environmental impact, and thus we are continuously looking for visionary projects that contribute to the green transition.

With innovation and technological development as its flag, Grupo Eurored develops comprehensive solutions of a sustainable nature aimed at the aquaculture industry backed by the highest standards of safety and aquaculture quality. Recently, and with more than 45 years of experience in fishing and aquaculture behind it, the Group has started in its new facilities in Redondela (Pontevedra) a series of very significant construction improvements in anchoring and mooring systems for offshore aquaculture, " capable of withstanding the scourge of storms with full guarantee ”.

To offer these guarantees of anchoring and frameworks in offshore conditions and with the purpose of determining the loads and safety factors of the physical means, as explained by Eurored "mechanical tensile tests are periodically carried out on certified test benches".

Source: iPac.acuicultura | Read the full article here

COVID-19 and its “serious” effects on the fisheries and aquaculture sector are to a large extent centering the debates taking place in the framework of the 34th meeting of COFI, the FAO Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture, which runs until Friday. The delegations addressed a new report on the impact of the pandemic on fishing from which it can be inferred that, once the official statistics are closed, a decrease in fisheries and aquaculture production will be certified.

At the outset, the report indicates that "fish supply, consumption and commercial revenues for 2020 are expected to have decreased due to restrictions.

Source: Industrias Pesqueras | Read the full article here

Subway is vigorously defending the tuna is uses in its sandwiches and wraps after a class action lawsuit filed in late January claimed that the massive sandwich chain’s sandwiches do not contain any of the fish.

Subway’s tuna products contain “a mixture of various concoctions that do not constitute tuna, [which] have been blended together by (Subway) to imitate the appearance of tuna,” according to the lawsuit, which was filed on 21 January in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Legal Newsline reported.

Plaintiffs Karen Dhanowa and Nilima Amin do not specify what the mystery meat contains, if not tuna.

Author: Christine Blank / SeafoodSource | Read the full article here

Investment planned in Murmansk region.

In a press release on Monday, Russia Prime Minister Mikhail Misjustin has signed a decree related to the plans for six large state-backed projects in the Russian Arctic. One of these projects is a salmon and trout breeding facility in the Murmansk region.

According to the government, the state subsidy for each of the projects will be up to 20 per-cent. One of the prerequisites is that the project in question costs at least 300 million rubles, which is around EUR 3.2 million.

Author: Stian Olsen / SalmonBusiness | Read the full article here