Young’s fined £787,500 for safety breach

BRITAIN’S largest seafood company has been fined more than three quarters of a million pounds after a worker was trapped by a mixing machine at one of its Grimsby sites. Young’s, a major supplier of salmon and whitefish to retail and foodservice, pleaded guilty at Grimsby Crown Court to breaching Section 2 (1) of the…

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Mairi Gougeon takes on Rural Affairs role

Scotland has a new Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, following First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s post-election reshuffle. Mairi Gougeon takes on the brief, which includes responsibility for aquaculture, succeeding long-serving Secretary Fergus Ewing, who is stepping down from the Cabinet. Mairi Gougeon is MSP for Angus North and Mearns. She has been a member…

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RSPCA Assured lifts Loch Spelve suspension

Animal welfare certification body RSPCA Assured has lifted its suspension of the Loch Spelve site operated by Scottish Sea Farms, following an investigation of complaints brought by activists. The site’s certification had been suspended following a complaint made to regulators over fish welfare by anti-fish farming group Scottish Salmon Watch, and the release of a…

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Undercover video claims are disputed

Fish wounds filmed by an animal rights activist were caused by seal attacks, according to the welfare chief at Scottish Sea Farms, which operates the site in question. The salmon farmer was responding to a complaint brought by Scottish Salmon Watch, which has published covertly filmed video and still images which appear to show fin…

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Party pledges

Back in the early days of the Scottish Parliament, manifesto launches were a big deal. They signalled the kick-off of the campaign. They set the tone and they were important; indeed, parties that got them wrong could see their whole strategy thrown off course. Political hacks like me used to scour each one for stories…

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Ace Aquatec expands North America division

Aquaculture technology group Ace Aquatec has made two senior hires for its North America division, based in Canada. The North America division will be led by Ace Aquatec Regional Manager, Sam Bowman, who previously held senior management positions at two of the world’s largest salmon aquaculture producers, Mowi and Cermaq. He joins Dr Jenny Bouwsema…

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SalMar’s Q1 figures show strong performance

Scottish Sea Farms generated higher revenues and turned loss into profit for the Norwegian salmon giant SalMar during the first quarter of this year, figures show today. SalMar, which announced outstanding group-wide Q1 results, shares ownership of Scottish Sea Farms (which it calls Norskott Havbruk) with Lerøy Seafood. It previously told Fish Farmer magazine (see report, May…

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Bakkafrost delivers higher than predicted operating profit

The Bakkafrost group, owners of the Scottish Salmon Company, delivered a total operating EBIT or profit of 223.5m Danish kroner (£26m) during first three months of this year, higher than some analysts were suggesting. The group harvested 21,000 tonnes gutted weight, with 7,000 tonnes coming from its Scottish operations. The combined farming and Value Added…

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Seafood Forum announces leading line-up of CEOs

The North Atlantic Seafood Forum, Scandinavia’s main industry showcase, will be fielding the largest group of top aquaculture company executives yet – but  they will all be staying in their offices. Coronavirus means this prestigious event has been moved to the summer, and it is going digital this year. Last year the Forum was held…

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Fish Vet group rebrands as PHARMAQ Analytic

Fish Vet Group is changing its name to PHARMAQ Analytic, following the company’s acquisition by PHARMAQ’s parent company, Zoetis, in July last year. The group, which provides fish veterinary, diagnostic and environmental testing services, is now the world leader in aquaculture diagnostics for salmonids, the company says. PHARMAQ Analytic operates in Norway, Scotland, Ireland and…

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