Seafood contributes to Scotland’s food and drink export growth

Scotland’s economic recovery has largely been driven by strong growth in exports of drinks and seafood products, which together accounted for £5.2bn of total Scottish exports. The figures come from a report by the Food and Drink Federation, which also found that Scotland’s total food and drink exports in 2021 were up 15% on the…

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Bleikers Smoke House under investigation

The National Food Crime Unit is investigating Bleikers, one of the UK’s leading salmon smoke houses, which has gone into administration after losing a major supermarket contract. The North Yorkshire based company was a supplier to the Aldi group which abruptly pulled its business from the North Yorkshire seafood supplier earlier this year. Gavan Wafer,…

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Traffic light dispute goes to Norway’s Supreme Court

A group of salmon farmers on Norway’s south west coast are to continue their fight against the government’s controversial traffic light control scheme. Last week a special court of appeal upheld a decision by Oslo’s Ministry of Trade and Industry to place the area known as production zone 04 into the red category which will…

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AquaBounty says its GE production is on track

AquaBounty Technologies, the US firm producing genetically-modified salmon, has reported an increased financial loss for Q1 of this year, but says its drive to increase production is on track. AquaBounty said the company made a net loss of US $5.1m (£4.1m)in the last quarter, compared with a loss of $4.2m (£3.4m) in the same period…

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Iceland fish farm merger nears completion

A merger between two of Iceland’s leading fish farming companies has moved into its final phase. The board of Ice Fish Farm has approved a draft agreement to take over Laxar Fiskeldi. Both companies are majority owned by Måsøval of Norway. They already cooperate in a number of areas but by coming together, the companies…

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Aquaculture award winners celebrate

Kames Fish Farming has been named Best Aquaculture Company award in the 2022 Aquaculture Awards. The event took place on Day 2 of the Aquaculture UK conference and trade show at Aviemore, Scotland. Kames is a family company and aquaculture pioneer that has been farming steelhead trout for 50 years and has recently embarked on…

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Green light for Grieg Newfoundland expansion

Grieg Seafood has been given the go-ahead for further salmon farming expansion in Newfoundland, Canada. The news comes just a couple of weeks after the company officially opened a new hatchery and smolt facility in Placentia Bay in the province. Provincial Fisheries and Agriculture Minister Derrick Bragg announced that Grieg Seafood Newfoundland is the successful…

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Salmon prices shoot past NOK 100 (£8.50) a kilo

Salmon prices hit their highest level on record last week (Week 17) , according to the latest data from Statistics Norway. In spite of disruption from war in Ukraine and challenging air transport logistics, the export price soared to NOK 107.75 (£9.17) a kilo, an increase of 8.9% on Week 16. This means that salmon…

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April salmon exports hit new heights

Soaring salmon prices sent the value of Norwegian seafood exports to new heights last month. The country’s fishermen and fish farmers sold fish and shellfish of all types worth NOK 11.3 billion (£964m) during April – 33% higher than the same month last year. Although most fish species have risen in price over the past year,…

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Minister promises action on reforming aquaculture regime

Rural Affairs Minister Mairi Gougeon has promised to personally oversee the drafting of a new regulatory regime for aquaculture in Scotland. Speaking at the opening of the Aquaculture UK trade show in Aviemore, in the Scottish Highlands, she announced that a Ministerial Aquaculture Strategy Forum will deliver the recommendations made by Professor Russell Griggs OBE…

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