Posts by Vince McDonagh
Arctic char farm wins government support
A fish farm looks set to be built in the heart of Canada – with official help and approval.
The Manitoba provincial government has promised support for the Sapphire Springs Inc Arctic Char aquaculture and processing facility near RockWood Municipality, north of Winnipeg.
Sapphire Springs, which is just four years old, says the CA $145m (£80.5m) project will create at least 100 jobs plus 120 indirect jobs and would help boost the local economy.
Read MoreNorwegian anglers face new restrictions
The Norwegian Environment Agency is to limit recreational salmon fishing next year, as fears about wild stocks continue. From next year, the directorate will plan for a more cautious start to salmon fishing, where more locations can be opened up for fishing later if enough salmon arrive in the rivers.
Read MoreSalmon industry embroiled in asthma row
A dispute has broken out between Norway’s salmon industry and the national broadcaster NRK over claims that some of its employees are developing asthma through their work.
NRK has highlighted research findings from a study carried out on workers at St Olav’s Hospital in Trondheim
The broadcaster said reports from the hospital showed that a number of people, some of them immigrant workers, were suffering from “salmon asthma”.
Read MoreCooke 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.
Read MoreSalMar harvest down, Grieg up for Q3
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.
Read MoreNorwegian 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.
Read MoreSeafood sector unhappy with Norwegian government budget
The Norwegian government’s budget, which was announced yesterday, has done little for the seafood industry or for the country. So says the employers’ organisation Seafood Norway, which represents both aquaculture and fishing. Seafood Norway chief executive Geir Ove Ystmark said the industry had hoped for a tighter budget, but there was still too much dependence…
Read MoreLerøy saw a reduced harvest during the summer
The Lerøy Seafood Group harvested less salmon between July and September this year compared with the same period last year.
In its Q3 trading update the company reports that it produced 51,400 tonnes of salmon and trout against 53,900 tonnes 12 months ago.
Read MoreFresh farmed cod outstrips trawler catch in Norway exports
For the first time, more than half the fresh cod exported from Norway last month was farmed, the latest statistics show. Two months ago the ratio was a third, which demonstrates the impressive growth in this still relatively young branch of aquaculture. The total September fresh cod export figure was 1,500 tonnes and worth NOK…
Read MoreUS dockers suspend strike threat
Dockers in the United States have agreed to suspend their strike until the New Year so that negotiations can continue.
Earlier this week there were fears that the dispute could seriously impact on seafood shipments from Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
Salmon exports would have been the most seriously affected. But last night the union representing the dock workers agreed to suspend the strike.
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