The Dutch Postcode Lottery has pledged an annual sum of €500,000 to support the Marine Stewardship Council for a further three years.

With the FAO reporting a further increase in overfished stocks, the drive to move to more sustainable fishing globally is critical. Approximately 60% of wild marine seafood is caught in the global south providing food, income and livelihoods for millions.

“Fishing is an essential source of income and food for hundreds of millions living in communities across the lower income countries, but there is an urgent need to accelerate the spread of sustainable fishing practices if these precious natural resources are to be protected for future generations,” said MSC chief executive, Rupert Howes.

Source: Worldfishing | Read the full article here

The Spanish tuna vessels do not give credit to the facilities of the EU to China. The EU continues to give more options to Chinese tuna loins by giving 35,000 tonnes duty free to send to Europe.

Despite all the work to maintain the social sustainability of the species and the effort made to differentiate itself from other fleets under suspicion, the EU manages to give more permits to Asian tuna loins, caught by boats indicated for illegal fishing and, what is worse , for labor exploitation and for violating human rights.

Source: EuropaAzul | Read the full article here

Sernapesca achieved important triumphs in Courts in defense of the country's fisheries and aquaculture sustainability.

The National Service of Fisheries and Aquaculture in the Biobío region, began at the end of last year, a sanctioning process against a union of artisanal shipowners in the region, for catching sardines and anchovies, despite having been notified in a timely manner of not counting with balance of fishing quota available. The illegal extraction carried out in the second capture period of last year, corresponded to a surplus of 1,406 tons of common sardine, and 530 tons of anchovy.

The union filed an appeal for protection against Sernapesca in the Concepción Court of Appeals, alleging illegal and arbitrary action by the supervisory body.

Source: MundoAcuicola | Read the full article here

The National Fisheries Society of Peru (SNP) reported last Friday, February 5, that anchovy landings in the second fishing season 2020 in the north-central area of the country amounted to 2.45 million metric tons (MT), which is equivalent to 88.2% of the total quota granted by the Ministry of Production (Produce), which was 2.78 million MT.

The second fishing season began on November 12, 2020 and ended on January 25 of this year, after the winter cruise of the Institute of the Sea of Peru (Imarpe) determined the good health of the biomass of the anchovy by establishing that this borders 8.5 million MT. In the second season, 709 industrial vessels participated, of which 304 were from the steel fleet and 405 from the timber fleet.

Source: aqua.cl | Read the full article here

The two main representative organizations of the Dutch fishing fleet have sent separate communications in which they show their rejection of the United Kingdom's plan to veto certain fishing gears, including trawling, in four Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Both the Netherlands Fishermen's Association (Nederlandse Visserbond) and VisNed point out that this decision affects the country's vessels. The project is currently in the process of consultation and the British employers' association, NFFO, has already been against it.

The Dutch Fishermen's Association begins its statement with irony, stating that the British fishing fleet is seeing the birth of "a green spirit" in the Government of Boris Johnson after "a disappointing Brexit". 

Source: Industrias Pesqueras | Read the full article here

Canada’s fish farmers have sent an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stressing the vital role aquaculture is playing in promoting his low carbon economic recovery strategy.

This is the second time in less than a month the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance has written to Trudeau and follows the controversial decision by Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan at the end of last year to order the shutdown of 19 open net fish farms in the Discovery Islands, British Columbia.

Many people within the industry are worried that aquaculture is being unfairly branded by some groups as an environmentally damaging activity

Author: Vince McDonagh / Fish Farmer | Read the full article here

The European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee (PECH Committee) has agreeed on new rules to update the control of fishing activities in the EU and to regulate the use of new technologies, whilst improving traceability and transparency.

• On-board cameras shall be voluntary, with incentives such as additional fishing quotas
• Geolocation and electronic logbook mandatory even for small boats
• Traceability rules throughout the whole chain, also to processed products
• Sanctions for recreational fishermen not complying with EU conservation measures or common fisheries policy’s rules

Source: The Fishing Daily | Read the full article here

Seafood exporters in India are becoming increasingly worried about difficulties shipping to China in advance of the Lunar New Year holiday.

In the latter half of 2020, Chinese authorities reportedly detected coronavirus on the packaging of imported seafood and, in response, imposed bans on a number of exporters and  implemented strict inspection measures on seafood imports. As a result, a huge number of containers of imported frozen seafood have piled up in the Chinese ports of Dalian and Tianjin as local authorities conduct COVID testing, which is now required for all seafood products passing through customs.

Author: Toan Dao / SeafoodSource | Read the full article here

Much of the $200bn Americans used to spend in restaurants each year is now being transferred to the nation’s kitchens, new data from the Norwegian Seafood Council suggests. The trend appears to have favoured whitefish like cod and haddock, at the expense of salmon, although frozen salmon sales have held up.
Anne-Kristine Øen, the Seafood Council’s US envoy, said sales of Norwegian seafood increased by 3% to NOK 7bn in 2020, the first year of the pandemic.
Volumes rose by 7% to 85,000 tonnes. Sales were down by 4% in volume, but the value remained the same at around NOK 5bn.

Author: Vince McDonagh / FishFarmer | Read the full article here

Reduced harvesting activity sends the salmon prices straight up.

“NOK 50+ (EUR 4.9). Ice-cold, postponed harvesting, MAB (maximum allowed biomass) harvesting last week,” said a trader, and added: “And it will crash again if only one of the big ones has some fish.”

“Around 51-53 kroner (EUR 5.0-5.2) at 3-6 kg, but 6+ about 47 kroner (EUR 4.6). Recoil on the decline will probably come, because market prices for finished goods are not a basis of more than 50 kroner (EUR 4.9) for raw materials,” said another trader to SalmonBusiness.

Author: Aslak Berge / SalmonBusiness | Read the full article here