In what has been described by Commonwealth fishing operators as “..a shock move..”, the NSW Minister for Primary Industries the Hon.

Katrina Hodgkinson signed a notice removing commercial catch limits for many fish species in NSW, including flathead. This means that state licensed vessels can now take unlimited amounts of flathead, while the same fish are regulated and catch limits imposed on NSW recreational anglers along the coastline of NSW, and that limits remain on Commonwealth commercial fishers in waters outside 3 miles off the NSW coastline.

It also means that NSW commercial fishing licenses that are currently not used may now become active, as unscrupulous operators seek to maximise the loophole created by these legislative changes.

One of the world's largest fish farm companies, Marine Harvest, has voluntarily agreed to much tougher limits on its pesticides use and seal killing by joining a strict new environment scheme.

Marine Harvest will join the Aquaculture Stewardship council, a new accreditation scheme championed by WWF, after coming under repeated attack for heavy use of toxic chemicals, seal-killing and major outbreaks of sea lice and salmon diseases.

The Norwegian-owned company, which grows 25 per cent of all Scotland's farmed salmon, has promised to put all its UK fish farms through ASC accreditation by the end of this decade in what supporters of the scheme believes could transform the environmental sustainability of salmon farming.

Source: Severin Carrell / The Guardian

May has been a busy month for Seafood Scotland, Scottish Development International and the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation, with their collaborative sponsorship of the World Association of Chefs Societies’ (WACS) Global Chefs Challenge and the Hans Bueschkens Young Chefs Challenge regional semi-finals.

Three of the seven semi-finals took place this month, in Asia, Africa and Scandinavia, and at each one, the world’s leading chefs used Scottish langoustine and salmon in their menu.

Marine Harvest ASA is pleased to confirm that, subject to the Copeinca transaction being voted down in 21 May's Annual General Meeting of Cermaq ASA, will launch an offer for all outstanding shares of Cermaq of minimum NOK 105 per share (including the proposed NOK 1 dividend).

Marine Harvest further confirms that we could be prepared to improve both the price and composition of our offer in order to find an amicable solution acceptable to all parties. Such a decision is taken based on the positive development in the salmon market as well as the improvement in MHG share price.

The main condition for the offer, however, remains; namely that the Annual General Meeting of Cermaq first turns down the Copeinca transaction.

The federal government says a New York City company has been processing fish under unsanitary conditions.

The accusation was made in a lawsuit filed on Friday 17 May against N.Y. Fish Inc.

The suit alleges that the makers of smoked salmon and mackerel failed to take steps to minimize contamination by potentially life-threatening bacteria.

Source: NBC New York

Seaweed producers, government officers and aquaculture stakeholders in Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands are part of the International Seaweed Symposium in Bali, Indonesia.

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community, through the European Union-funded increasing agricultural commodity trade (IACT) project, has been working with seaweed farming communities in the Pacific to identify new export markets for their products.

Source: Ropate Valemei / The Fiji Times

A new study published in PNAS argues that for fisheries policies to be effective they must take in to account not just fish stock conservation and environmental issues, but also research data on the patterns and dynamics of fish trade, markets and user consumption.

Securing the critical contribution of wild fish stocks to food and nutrition security in the developing world depends on better governance and management of the fisheries sector.

Source: Phys

Provincial Fisheries Minister Derek Dalley says inland fish farming is not economically viable. Dalley was responding to the recent discovery of farmed Atlantic Salmon in rivers on the Burin Peninsula. While still under investigation, it appears as though the fish may have escaped from local fish farms, probably as the result of winter storms. Opposition Fisheries Jim Bennett called for government to look into the viability of farming fish in inland tanks, as opposed to nets in the open ocean, after recent outbreaks of infectious salmon anaemia. There is no indication that the fish found recently were sick in any way. Dalley says inland fish farms are simply not an option.

Source: VOCM

Cawthron Institute has boosted its science and aquaculture capability with the appointment of senior scientist Dr Jacquie Reed as its new head of aquaculture.

"We are excited to further strengthen our science leadership team with this new appointment," Cawthron Institute Chief Executive Professor Charles Eason says.

"Dr Reed is an accomplished scientist with extensive, proven scientific expertise and specialist knowledge of the commercial aquaculture sector. She will complement and enhance our existing research, while bringing a fresh approach, new energy and drive to this important role."

Source Voxy

A Maltese tuna rancher can continue legal action against marine conservation group Sea Shepherd in the UK, a high court has ruled.
The company claimed it incurred EUR 1 million in damages

Fish and Fish won an appeal after a UK court last year threw out a lawsuit against Sea Shepherd in which the Maltese company sought damages for an incident that happened in 2010.

Source: Kurt Sansone / Times of Malta