UK and Norwegian ministers meet at Aqua Nor

Trade in seafood was on the agenda when leading politicians and industry leaders from Norway and the UK met at Aqua Nor today. The event, held in Trondheim, is one of the aquaculture industry’s biggest trade shows, and this week it provided the venue for Norway’s Fisheries Minister Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen to meet with the…

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Bakkafrost unveils big Q2 profits rise

Bakkafrost more than doubled its operating profit in the second quarter of this year, the Faroe Islands and Scotland fish farmer announced today. The profit or EBIT came out at 407.5m Danish kroner (DKK) (£47m), compared to DKK 181.9m (£21m) during the same period last year. Revenues totalled DKK 1.6bn (£182m) , against DKK 1.1bn…

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SSPO reacts to SNP-Green deal

The Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation has cautiously welcomed the joint policy programme published as part of the SNP/Scottish Greens power-sharing agreement. The SSPO says the programme is “a constructive starting point”. Following the Scottish parliamentary elections earlier this year, the SNP is the largest party in Holyrood, but its numbers are short of an outright…

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SNP-Green deal includes curbs on fish farming

The power-sharing agreement agreed today between Scotland’s SNP Government and the Scottish Greens includes a commitment to ban all fisheries and aquaculture from at least 10% of Scottish waters. The deal, which follows weeks of negotiations between the two parties, falls short of a full coalition although two Green MSPs will be given junior ministerial…

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Diagnostic tool could help spot heart trouble in fish

Researchers in Scotland are working on a project which, they hope, will mean that a range of heart conditions in fish could be detected through a simple blood test. The diagnostic tool, based on similar breakthroughs that are already in use to monitor the health of terrestrial animals such as cattle, is aimed at early…

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SSC brings in Nofitech for hatchery project

Recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) technology company Nofitech has won a contract with The Scottish Salmon Company (SSC) to help redevelop SSC’s hatchery at Applecross site in Wester Ross. The agreement is part of a £49m investment to create a state of the art RAS unit at the Applecross site. RAS technology, SSC said, will allow…

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AquaGen hires Butler for hatchery role

Aquaculture breeding and genetics specialist AquaGen Scotland has appointed Steven Butler as Development Manager for its Holywood Hatchery, near Dumfries. Butler, from Errol near Perth, comes to AquaGen with a strong background in aquaculture engineering project and hatchery management, having worked for several of the major salmon producers over the past thirty years. He has…

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Cleaner fish feed that works

VAF Feed Blocks can save fish farms valuable time and money World Feeds’ VAF Feed Blocks are becoming well established as the go-to solution to sea lice and cleaner fish management. Their complete, balanced feed block diets are tailored to wrasse and lumpfish, with extensive studies recording considerable improvements to general health and welfare while…

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All eyes on Glasgow

You have to go back 16 years to find the last time Scotland hosted an event with as much global significance and profile as the COP26 summit, due to be held in Glasgow this November. In 2005, it was the G8 at Gleneagles. I remember it well as I was part of the media swarm…

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NZ mussel farms count cost of storm damage

Many of New Zealand’s mussel farms are cleaning up after huge storms wreaked havoc across the South Island. The cost of the damage is reported to run into millions of dollars and the weather has left a trail of devastation that could take weeks to clear. Extreme bad weather poses one of the biggest threats…

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