Posts by Robert Outram
Björk pledges song for anti fish farm campaign
More than 2,000 people gathered in the Icelandic capital Reykjavik at the weekend to protest against open pen salmon farming joined by Björk, the country’s internationally renowned singer. Björk and the Spanish singer Rosalía have said they plan to release a song later this supporting the fight against fish farming in Iceland and with the…
Read MoreNorwegian salmon farmers dismayed at Budget
Norway’s salmon industry has poured cold water on the government’s claim that the salmon tax will net NOK five billion (£373m) for the exchequer. Geir Ystmark, CEO of the employer organisation Seafood Norway said: “I don’t believe it – the figure will be higher.” There was general dismay over what Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum…
Read MoreLand farmer Salmon Evolution records all time high biomass
In a positive operational update, Salmon Evolution has announced it is achieving strong biological performance at its land-based farm, with good growth and normal mortality levels across all fish groups. The company’s flow-through farm is located at Indre Harøy on the Norwegian coast. Salmon Evolution has now achieved an all-time high standing biomass of around…
Read MoreCompetition watchdog concern over UK scampi merger
Two of the UK’s principal scampi producers have been given five working days to show that their planned merger will not lead to higher prices. The Yorkshire coast company Whitby Seafood and Kilhorne Bay Seafoods of County Down, Northern Ireland want to come together. But the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has stepped, in expressing…
Read MoreSeafood industry in call to scrap “employer tax”
Norwegian industry organisation Seafood Companies is urging the government to remove the employer tax on the seafood industry so more salmon and other fish can be processed at home. Much of Norway’s salmon, for example, is processed hundreds of miles away in Poland and Denmark. Robert H. Eriksson, managing director of Seafood Companies (“Sjomatbedriftene” in…
Read MoreCermaq deploys laser defence against sea lice
Cermaq Norway is deploying 140 lasers in its fight against salmon lice, the company has announced. It says laser technology has proven to be effective against salmon lice and gentle on the salmon. After extensive evaluation in two locations in Finnmark and at Nordland, the system will be put into use at other suitable facilities…
Read MoreNear 50% drop in Bakkafrost Scotland harvest
The Bakkafrost Scotland third quarter harvest will be down by almost half the total of last year, a trading update from the company has revealed. The total figure is 4,100 tonnes, 2,900 tonnes from Scotland North and 1,200 tonnes from Scotland South. This compared with a total of 8,100 tonnes during Q3 last year. Although…
Read MoreWeak krone drives Q3 salmon export record for Norway
The value of Norway’s salmon exports rose by 13% to NOK 31bn (£2.3bn) during the July to September quarter, the latest figures from the Norwegian Seafood Council show. The volume of 347,000 tonnes was marginally lower (-1%) on Q3 last year. While this represents a third quarter record, once again currency exchange rates played a…
Read MoreScotland’s salmon production fell 18% in 2022
The latest figures from the Scottish Government confirm what the major salmon producers’ reports have already made clear – the biological issues experienced last year resulted in a significant fall in Scotland’s salmon production. The Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2022 shows that production of Atlantic salmon in Scotland was 169,194 tonnes, representing an 18%…
Read MoreSalmon survival rates improve despite warmer seas
Scotland’s salmon farmers have finally had some good news to report on survival rates. Preliminary data for September 2023 indicates that survival was above 96.5%, up on the 95.3% recorded in September 2022. The improvement comes after several mitigation measures were adopted by farmers to further boost animal welfare amid the climate change challenge, including…
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