Iceland aquaculture income up 34 per cent

ICELAND’S fish farmers are celebrating a significant cent increase in earnings, reflecting the increasing pace of the country’s aquaculture sector. Their operating income rose by 34 per cent in 2017 and comes on top of a sizeable rise in 2016, reports the government information organisation Statistics Iceland. It means that earnings have more than doubled…

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Vietnam facing China farm threat

VIETNAM’S fish farmers and seafood exporters have been warned they face a growing competitive threat from near neighbours China. The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said some Chinese enterprises are now investing heavily in pangasius farming, which until recently had been considered as a largely Vietnamese domain. The association said the development…

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Fish Update Briefing, Friday, January 11

NOW ‘FISH’ FINGERS GO VEGAN THE UK retailer Waitrose is launching its own brand of vegan ‘fishless’ fingers to meet the growing demand for vegan products. They are said to have a subtle fish taste and are made from tofu, with a crispy coating. The supermarket chain says it is also suitable for making a…

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Salmon firms moving into white fish

MORE aquaculture companies are predicted to expand into the cod and haddock business over the next year or two, following a major purchase by a Norwegian salmon business trio this week. The consortium was led by Coast Seafood, one of the world’s largest independent salmon and trout sales firms, and joined by Brødrene Karlsen and…

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Scotland invests £3.5m in gill health

A £3.5 million research initiative has been launched in Scotland to improve the health of farmed salmon, it was announced today. Two Scottish consortiums, backed by the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC), are embarking on projects to improve gill health and resilience in salmon. The first study will explore the factors that can cause gill…

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Promotion for BioMar’s UK boss

DANISH feed group BioMar has appointed Paddy Campbell, the head of its UK based business, as vice president of its salmon division. At the same time, Håvard Jørgensen, will be promoted from global R&D director to managing director in Norway. BioMar said in a press release this morning that both men, who will assume their…

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Iceland farm row firms ASC approved

TWO Icelandic fish farming companies at the centre of a national row, which saw their applications for expansion suddenly withdrawn four months ago, have received Aquaculture Stewardship Council environmental certification for their production techniques. Both SalMar backed Arnarlax and Arctic Sea Farms received the green light from Iceland’s Food Administration last year to expand their…

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Japanese plan land based farm sales

AT least two Japanese seafood companies have unveiled plans to start commercial shipments of farmed fish from closed containment facilities later this year. The processors are Maruha Nichiro and Nippon Suisan Kaisha or Nissui, which owns the Waitrose supplier Caistor Seafoods, near Grimsby. Although Japan buys huge amounts of farmed fish, including salmon from Scotland…

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EU fish farm profits double

EUROPEAN fish farming companies have seen their profits double between 2014 and 2016, according to the latest EU economic report on the aquaculture sector. And Britain remains one of the largest players in the business. In 2016, the EU aquaculture sector produced and sold 1.4 million tonnes of seafood, worth almost €5 billion. Employment figures…

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Process more, earn more – seafood chief

THE head of Norway’s Seafood Council has said the industry could hugely increase its wealth and job creation if more of the fish it sold abroad was processed before it left the country. Presenting the 2018 exports figures yesterday, chief executive Renate Larsen pointed out that 84 per cent of the salmon went out unprocessed.…

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