The parent company of recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) firm Pure Salmon has raised USD 358.8 million (EUR 322.6 million) to fund the construction of RAS facilities in Poland, Japan, France, and the United States.

Singapore-based 8F Asset Management, a private equity manager focused on impact investing, said it raised the money from “leading family and institutional investors including several sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, and pension funds from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the United States.”

The project also attracted “substantial investments from the aquaculture industry,” including from AquaMaof Aquaculture Technologies, Pure Salmon’s RAS technology partner, according to a press release.

Additionally, Pure Salmon has opened a new headquarters in the Abu Dhabi Global Market in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, which will include employees working in management, aquaculture technology, sales and marketing, construction planning and execution, and finance and accounting, according to the company. The move “will create a centrally located hub from which the Pure Salmon vision will be realized in local markets around the world,” the company said.

Pure Salmon previously announced plans to build a series of RAS farms around the world, each producing 10,000 to 20,000 tons of salmon annually, with a goal of growing 260,000 tons of salmon per year globally once all of its planned RAS facilities are operational. The new capital gives Pure Salmon the financial means to complete its farms Japan, France, and the U.S. Those three projects, as well as Pure Salmon’s facility in Poland, which is already operations, constitute “phase one” of the company’s development.

Author:Cliff White / SeafoodSource | Read the full article here

Tersan Shipyard has signed a new contract for a second freezer stern trawler with JSC Okeanrybflot Russia.

The vessel will be the sister of NB1096 which is already under construction and will be launched in June 2020.

“We are pleased and proud to sustain our good cooperation with Okeanrybflot by the second vessel,” said Mehmet Gazioglu, managing director of Tersan.

“This order will consolidate our presence in the Russian market where we also have a number of different types of technologically complicated vessels orders. We are highly proud to work with JSC Okeanrybflot who is among the biggest fishier companies of Russia. We are looking for the successful delivery of this trawler, on time and on budget in 2022," he added.

The new vessel will be among the world’s largest purpose-built factory trawlers and will trawl Alaska pollock in the Sea of Okhotsk, as well as herring, mackerel and pollock in the Pacific. The vessel is arranged for pelagic and semi-pelagic trawling, using two main trawl winches working in combination with ice trawl gallows and four large pelagic sweep line drums.

Source: WorldFishing | Read the full article here

Dear Madam/Sir, 

Friend of the Sea would like to invite you to the upcoming free of charge webinar on "Friend of the Sea certification and conservation. An Update"

This webinar can be of interest to ship owners and seafood processing companies, aquaculture companies, fishing industry, retail and catering companies, NGOs, journalists and bloggers.

During this half an hour session, Paolo Bray (Founder and Director at Friend of the Sea and Friend of the Earth) will cover the following subjects:

• The history of Friend of the Sea
• Independence
• National Accreditation
• Certification Procedure
• Benchmarks
• Friend of the Sea compared to other similar standards
• Friend of the Sea new standards: Salt, Seaweeds, Insects, Shipping, Ornamental Fish, Whale and Dolphin Watching, etc
• Conservation Projects and Campaigns  

Sign up to the webinar here

This webinar will take place on Monday 27th of March 2020 at 03:00 pm CET in Milan, (06:00 am in San Francisco; 09:00 am in New York; 02:00 pm in London; 04:00 pm in Johannesburg; 09:00 pm in Bangkok; 10:00 pm in Hong Kong; 01:00 am 28th in Sidney). 

Participation is free of charge. 

Friend of the Sea certificate of attendance will be issued to all participants.  

If you cannot attend the live session, sign up anyway and we will send you a recording. 

You will also have the opportunity to pose questions to the speakers during the webinar. 

Best regards  

Newma Mateus Barbosa - Marketing  

The Mercas Network, as highlighted by Mercasa itself, will be operating and will continue to function normally and the 23 food units are ready to supply municipal markets, retail and supermarkets. In this sense, from this Tuesday, March 17, the norms and recommendations that have been received from the health authorities -only a few hours before-, this type of facilities in order to guarantee the food supply activity as well as preserve the health of all people who carry out activity there reducing the risk of infection by COVID-19. The recommendations received from the health authorities this Monday, March 16, were immediately brought to the attention of business associations and companies installed in these food units.

Thus, and among these measures it is stated that access will only be allowed to people with valid accreditation, which may be claimed at any time during the stay on the premises. Companies must place visible signs in their stalls with prevention measures and all food handlers use nitrile gloves. It is also recommended the existence of hydroalcoholic gels in all the stalls and toilets of its modules.

Users must avoid crowds, respecting the interpersonal distance of 2 meters; manipulation of exposed products is prohibited; and measures are recommended to not simultaneously dispose of all company personnel, ensuring the provision of the service.

Source: IPac.aquicultura | Read the full article here (Spanish)

Kenyan commercial aquaculture fish farmers have established a Commercial Aquaculture Association to cope with the challenges and seize the opportunities presented by the growth of the sector.

The country’s aquaculture industry is still at an early stage of development, but Dr William Nyakwada, the interim chairperson of the association, believes that the time is right to ensure that the future growth of the sector takes place in a sustainable manner.

Dr Nyakwada began farming off Mfangano Island in Lake Victoria in 2017, having previously worked for the Kenyan Government and the World Meteorological Organization.

He established a company called The Strategist Kenya Limited and currently operates 13 cages, each producing around 17,000 tilapia per cycle. Since he started in 2017 the number of tilapia producers on the island has increased from two to five and he sees scope to grow the company, and the industry in general, substantially. However, he also notes that the impact of the industry’s growth on water quality needs to be monitored.

“The capacity of the lake is very high – there’s plenty of space, the water quality is excellent, and the water temperature is relatively stable. But Lake Victoria should also be viewed as one giant pond. It’s important that we share ideas and share best practices, to ensure that the industry can grow without suffering from fish health issues. At the moment we are very fortunate because in Lake Victoria there have been so few health issues to date: no medicinal intervention is required, only the occasional use of salt. Some gill health issues are occasionally experienced, but these clear up if we stop feeding for a few days,” he reflects.

Author: Rob Fletcher / The Fish Site | Read the full article here

The corona virus creates challenges for flight cargo for salmon.

The airline industry is shaken by the corona crisis. As of Monday, SAS will cancel most of its operations. Norwegian cancels 4,000 flights and lets off around 5,000 employees. Finnair has also warned that the outbreak of the virus will have consequences for the company’s operations.

Recently, US President Donald Trump stopped all flights from Europe in an attempt to curb the coronation center. When the president announced the entry ban, he said it should not apply to Britain. But a recent press release states that the UK and Ireland are now also subject to travel restrictions in the US.

Stein Arve W. Sørensen is chairman of both Gardermoen Perishable Center and Quality Transport. He says many internal measures must be implemented because of the corona situation, but at the same time adds that the biggest problem is lack of access to enough air cargo capacity. According to mtlogistikk.no, 65 percent of the cargo capacity of the United States from Europe is based on passenger aircraft.

“Large parts of Norwegian fish exports dependent entirely on the cargo capacity of passenger aircraft. This capacity is now drastically reduced, not least by the shutdown of US traffic,” Sørensen told the website.

Source: Editorial staff - SalmonBusiness | Read the full article here

Russia’s Ministry for Development of the Far East is working out incentive measures to boost aquaculture in the Russian north, claiming it is one of its greatest priorities.

The ministry was created to help bring investments to the Russian Far East, which has been lacking labor and financial resources for years. With positive results achieved through the establishment of a free economic zone and other steps, the ministry’s functions have been extended to the Arctic zone, which Russia sees as ripe for economic growth.

Abundant in natural resources like gas, the Arctic is also a part of the country’s growing national fishery catch.

At a meeting with officials of the Arctic regions, Russian Deputy Minister for Development of the Far East Alexander Krutikov claimed that the ministry is going to pay special attention to aquaculture in the region in 2020. Positive experiences gained from the development of mariculture in the Russian Far East will be used as a model for an incentive framework for the Arctic.

Between 2017-2019, Krutikov added, authorities implemented incentives that made it possible to increase the total square-footage of aquaculture facilities fourfold. Aquaculture production volumes subsequently increased fivefold year-on-year in 2019.

For the last one-and-a-half years, aquaculture businesses acquired 14,600 hectares for potential development, two times more than over the last two decades.

Author: Ivan Stupachenko / SeafoodSource |  Read the full article here

The World Aquaculture Society (WAS), Aquaculture Association of Canada (AAC) and Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association (NAIA) are excited to co-host this world class, international event; surely to be the largest aquaculture conference and trade show in Canadian history.

he conference will feature hundreds of world-class speakers and delegates from around the globe on the science, technology, business and social aspects of aquaculture. St. John’s is located on the most eastern edge of North America, is Canada's oldest European settlement, and the region is home to some of the most ecologically interesting areas in the World. This city, famous for its hospitality, music and culinary experiences is a quick trip across the Atlantic from Europe, and easily accessible from all other parts of North America, and the globe, by air. St. John’s is also home to internationally recognized centres in aquaculture and fisheries science, with Memorial University's Fisheries and Marine Institute and Faculty of Science leading the way.

The program committee is building an extensive technical program featuring special sessions, various symposia and workshops on all of the species and issues facing aquaculturists around the world. ABSTRACTS DEADLINE IS MARCH 18TH, 2020.

Chinese logistics, which has been confused by the pandemic of the new coronavirus, is recovering. Taken together, representatives from local logistics companies in Japan say that traffic regulations are being relaxed and drivers are returning to work, and there are currently no major obstacles to domestic transportation except in some parts of Hubei Province.

Imports have already increased in international logistics, and exports are likely to begin full-scale this week. However, concerns remain about tight supply and demand for air transport and rising freight rates. Some people are worried about stagnant production and logistics on the Japanese side.

Source: The Japan Marine Daily | Read full story here (Japanese)