Water quality remains a problem at Mt Fuji salmon farm

Proximar Seafood, the Norwegian owned company with a large new salmon farm near Mount Fuji in Japan, has said it is still taking action to counter turbidity in its growth phase.

Turbidity – murky water – has a direct effect on the amount of sunlight available to aquatic plants and high levels of suspended materials can clog fish gills.

It affects fish health, but not the quality of the fish and just over a week ago Proximar announced it had sold the first with 100% superior quality commercial salmon to supermarkets in the greater Tokyo area .

Nevertheless, turbidity continues to cause a few problems. The company said in a trading update this week: “As communicated in the Q2 report in August, Proximar has experienced turbidity issues in the grow out stage.

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Cooke Scotland reports revenue up but profits under pressure

Cooke Scotland saw its sales rise by 17% last year, but any hope of improved profits from that were cancelled out by higher production costs.

These included increased material and labour costs, which were the main challenges in what was an exceptionally inflationary year.

The company said turnover last year totalled £217m, but pointed out that the volumes sold were relatively flat, with the higher revenues mainly due to record salmon prices last year.

While sales were up by 17%, the cost of producing those sales rose by 25% to £165m.

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Stirling awarded grant for Vietnam vaccine project

Pangasius catfish in hand in banana leaf

Scientists at the University of Stirling have been awarded more than £770,000 to support the roll out of a new vaccine that could deliver major benefits to the aquaculture industry in Vietnam. The new project – led by the University’s world-leading Institute of Aquaculture – will build on a previous study that developed an innovative…

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ASC Feed certification for BioMar Ecuador

A large shrimp pr prawn held in a farmer's hand

The Ecuador site of aquafeed group BioMar has achieved certification under the Aquaculture Stewardship Council’s new international Feed Standard.

The ASC said: “This is another significant milestone in the journey towards ensuring more responsible production of feed, a key component of responsible seafood farming globally. The ASC Feed Certification helps Ecuadorian shrimp farms meet the growing demand for more responsible seafood.”

Located in Guayaquil, BioMar’s facility produces high-quality shrimp feed. The company said that achieving ASC Feed certification is a key part of BioMar’s broader strategy of sustainable innovation and strengthens its role as a trusted provider of ASC compliant feed.

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SalMar harvest down, Grieg up for Q3

SalMar farm, Mefjord, northern Norway

SalMar, Norway’s second largest salmon farmer, has reported a sharp fall in its third quarter output. In contrast, its competitor Grieg reported an improved harvest.

The July to September harvest for SalMar was 60,300 tonnes against 78,100 tonnes a year earlier – a drop of 17,800 tonnes.

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Norwegian salmon prices down to lowest level for two years

Fresh salmon prices fell to their lowest level for two years in Norway last week. More importantly, they were close to production costs, suggesting there is currently little or no profit from output.

According to Statistics Norway, which monitors prices on a weekly basis the average price for week 40 was NOK 66.70 per kilo (£4.74). The figures also include fish sold under contract and all weight classes. 

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Return visit booked for Team Scotland at Aqua Nor

Scotland’s presence at the world’s biggest aquaculture trade show was confirmed yesterday, when it was announced that Highlands and Islands Enterprise has secured funding for a Scottish Pavilion at Aqua Nor 2025.

The award of up to £178,000 for Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) to support the Pavilion comes from the Scottish Government’s Marine Scotland Fund.

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Funding secured for eDNA lab in Scotland

DNA spirals underwater

A project is under way in Argyll to create Scotland’s first commercial laboratory for the detailed analysis of marine environmental DNA (eDNA).

Underwater ecological survey company Ocean Ecology is developing the state-of-the-art lab in its existing facilities at the European Marine Science Park (EMSP) near Oban, on Scotland’s west coast.

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