Posts by Vince McDonagh
Arctic salmon company making “strong progress”
The north Norwegian fish farmer Andfjord Salmon Group AS, has reported solid progress with its build-out at its Arctic location at Kvalnes in Andøya.
Read MoreNorwegian seafood exports hit August record
Seafood exports from Norway achieved the highest August result yet last month, totalling NOK 12.6bn – or just over £1bn in sterling terms.
Despite lower prices, once again salmon was at the forefront, with overseas sales totalling NOK 10.8bn or £770m.
Farmed cod may be reclassified as ‘white salmon’, says company
Norwegian farmed cod may be repositioned as “white salmon” if a new marketing experiment takes off.
Norcod, one of the country’s largest producers, says there has been a gradual increase in average sales prices with a few fluctuations along the way.
The company said: “Commercially, Norcod has stepped up its efforts to develop the market and position our product in a premium niche category, with corresponding sales prices and contracts. This is our main task at hand going forward.
“To position our farmed at a more premium position than the wild-caught cod market level, we have launched the Snow Cod product brand in selected markets.
“We are now working with the Norwegian Seafood Council and industry players to leverage this brand position and develop a premium, differentiated brand worldwide.”
Read MoreMajor salmon farm planned close to Iceland’s capital
Icelandic aquaculture business Aurora fiskeldi ehf is looking to build a large land-based salmon farm just north of the capital, Reykjavik.
Aurora, a relatively new company, eventually hopes to produce 14,000 tonnes of fish per year at Katanesi in Grundartanga.
Read MoreSting operation
Two projects are looking to unravel the secrets of the string jellyfish, as Vince McDonagh reports.
Read MoreWoman convicted of salmon smuggling ‘seriously ill’ in Chinese jail
A woman who had business links with salmon producer SalMar is reported to be seriously ill with paralysis and other major problems in a Chinese jail, where she is serving a sentence for smuggling seafood.
Her family fear that she could die in prison unless she receives proper treatment.
In 2022 Yimin Dong, a former Chinese national who is now a Norwegian citizen, was sentenced to 14 years, later reduced to 13 years, after being convicted of smuggling salmon into China through Vietnam, at a time when China had barred fish imports from Norway.
SalMar has always insisted she was acting privately and was never directly employed by the company.
Read MoreMowi threatened with heavy fines over lice numbers
Mowi has become the latest large Norwegian salmon company to face the possibility of a large daily fine over high lice numbers.
Last week it was revealed that SalMar had been threatened with a penalty of more than half a million kroner a day (around £40,000 a day) over the issue.
Now the Norwegian Food Safety Authority has told Mowi it could incur a penalty of just over NOK 465,000 a day (around £33,000).
Read MoreHigh salmon prices hit Icelandic supplier’s sales
Seafood supplier Iceland Seafood International (ISI) has reported a positive turnaround during the first six months of this year, but high salmon prices early on in the period have continued to affect sales.
The group, which sold its Grimsby operation more than a year ago, reported revenues totalling €98.2m (£82m) which were only marginally down on the previous period in 2023.
Read MoreFormer Salmon Evolution chief joins Iceland’s GeoSalmo
Icelandic land-based salmon farmer GeoSalmo has appointed former Salmon Evolution chief Håkon André Berg as its new Executive Chairman.
Read MoreSalmon prices on floor – but worst may be over
Fresh salmon prices slumped to the lowest level of the year in Norway last week, according to the latest data.
Statistics Norway, which monitors prices on a weekly basis, says they fell to NOK 76.82 per kilo, the lowest figure for almost 12 months when they bottomed at NOK 75.15 per kilo.
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