Archive for June 2022
France to receive €567m funding for aquaculture and seafood
France is set to receive more than half a billion euros to help develop its aquaculture and seafood sector. The money is part of a five year €18.4bn (£15.8bn) investment strategy from the European Commission. Included in the package is around €567m (£487.3m) from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFAF) to help facilitate the…
Read MoreTrade travails
The final leg of their journey was undertaken in a pair of six-seater taxis from Edinburgh but, given the distances they had travelled just to get to that point, they probably would have travelled by horse-drawn trap had that been the only means available. These were vets, customs officials and government employees from Mongolia. They…
Read MoreThe big picture
Online meetings may have kept the shellfish industry in touch over the past two years, but it was a relief to everyone to be able to attend the 52nd Annual Conference of the Shellfish Association of Great Britain (SAGB) in person this year. The conference covered both farmed and fished shellfish. This report does not…
Read MoreNorway plans new rules for offshore farms
The Norwegian government is preparing to set out its future regulatory proposals for offshore salmon farming. The rules proposed for farming further out to sea are different from those imposed by the “traffic light” scheme which governs coastal aquaculture in Norway. Fisheries Minister Bjørnar Skjæran said the goal was to be at the forefront of developing…
Read MoreO’Hara set to take over at Crown Estate Scotland
Crown Estate Scotland, the body that manages key coastal and rural assets, has appointed Ronan O’Hara as its Chief Executive. He will take over in September, following the retirement this August of the present incumbent, Simon Hodge. Ronan O’Hara is currently Head of Asset Management at the University of Cambridge and was previously Strategic Advisor…
Read MoreEating salmon ‘helps boost immune system’
Vitamin D from fish and other animal sources is better at boosting the body’s immune system than its plant-based equivalent, according to a UK study. In a research article published in the academic journal Frontiers in Immunology, the scientists involved in the project say Vitamin D3 – found in oily fish and other animal sources…
Read MoreRecycling scheme is far from potty
Off-cuts from the production of mooring ropes are finding a new lease of life as the raw material for plant pots. The recycling initiative is the result of a joint venture between marine equipment and technology supplier Gael Force and Ocean Plastic Pots, a Glasgow-based business set up by a former commercial diver, Ally Mitchell.…
Read MoreFirst woman deckhand for Mowi Scotland
Salmon farmer Mowi Scotland has appointed its first full-time female deckhand. Eleanor Lawrie joined as a farm technician but is now part of a workboat crew, operating along the west coast. Lawrie said: “It wasn’t easy breaking into the boating side of fish farming but from the first time I was sent to cover a…
Read MoreScottish Sea Farms takes delivery of semi-hybrid workboat
Scottish Sea Farms has taken delivery of a new semi-hybrid powered workboat specially designed to service larger pens and nets at its marine farms around Scotland’s west coast. The Geraldine Mary, on long-term contract from Mull-based Inverlussa Marine Services, was designed and built in Scotland by Macduff Shipyards and will have a full-time crew of…
Read MoreUK, Norway trade ministers meet
Bjørnar Skjaeran, Norway’s Fisheries and Seafood Minister flew to London earlier this week for talks with a senior UK trade minister. He discussed a wide range of seafood and fishery related issues with Victoria Prentis, Minister of State at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. After a difficult start following Brexit, the…
Read More