On November the 2nd 2019's week, in a quiet street in the Norwegian harbour town of Bergen, officials from EU member states and Norway will hole up in the Fiskeridirektoratet, or Fisheries Directorate, to decide the size of the fish pie to get divided out between them from so-called “shared stocks.” This “consultation,” as it is known, happens away from public scrutiny. Yet, fishing industry lobbyists are allowed in where they get to cosy up to delegates, while civil society representatives are - quite literally - left out in the cold. These annual gatherings are even more secretive than the EU AGRIFISH council meetings, which were recently investigated by the EU Ombudsman and found to be lacking in transparency.

EU-Norway consultations consistently result in agreements to continue overfishing. This is in no small part due to a bewilderingly flawed approach: by assuming the scientific advice for maximum sustainable catches as a starting point and then negotiating upwards. The EU committed to phase out overfishing under the reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) by 2015 or, at the absolute latest, by 2020. Yet while the act of catching too many fish occurs at sea, it is inside meetings like this where overfishing is shamelessly agreed upon and approved.

On 16 December 2019 in Brussels, EU fisheries ministers will follow up on the Norway “consultations” at the annual AGRIFISH Council meeting, where quotas for the North East Atlantic will be fought over into the wee hours of the night. According to all the signs, this year they will again agree to overfish several key stocks.

Source: Euronews

The initiative includes the launch of a national brand, simply called Russian Fish, which will be launched on to the international market.

Both the industry and the Russian government say they are working together on the project, which will include a high profile presence at various global seafood fairs and exhibitions.

The Russian Fish plan was presented during the recent China Fisheries and Seafood Expo 2019, Asia’s largest industry exhibition.

Some 30 Russian fishing, processing, trading and aquaculture enterprises were at the Expo as part of the Russian national pavilion.

Source: Fish Farmer Magazine

Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash announced today a public consultation on proposed changes to strengthen the allocation and transfer process in the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act 2004.

"Some of the current requirements are preventing several iwi from accessing and developing their aquaculture settlement assets and the proposal outlines options to strengthen processes," says Stuart Nash.

"Tangata whenua have expressed that they would like to see better access for iwi to develop their aquaculture settlement assets.

"Iwi have an important role in New Zealand's sustainable and innovative aquaculture sector as they continue to acquire and develop their interests in the industry, and improvements need to be made to support this development."

Source: Fisheries New Zealand

Lucy Hughes, 24, a graduate in product design from the University of Sussex, has been awarded the prestigious James Dyson award for her biodegradable and compostable material known as MarinaTex.

The annual award scheme is run by the James Dyson Foundation, and is an international design award, that “inspires, encourages and celebrates budding inventors’ new, problem-solving ideas – and provides a platform to launch them.”

Sir James Dyson said in regards to this year’s winner: “Young engineers have the passion, awareness and intelligence to solve some of the world’s biggest problems. MarinaTex elegantly solves two problems: the ubiquity of single-use plastic and fish waste.”

Source: Euro Weekly News

The Research Insights declares another expansion of factual information titled as, Fish Market. This enlightening information has been examined by utilizing successful exploratory strategies, for example, essential and optional research. The worldwide Market is a significant wellspring of shrewd information, which is valuable to settle on educational choices in the organizations. The significant key columns.

The global Fish Market is driven by rise in population, rise in nonrefundable income of consumers, and development of high end. In addition, surge in consumption of fish as one of the premium food products is probable to augment the petition for seafood across the globe. However, depletion of wild fish stocks is likely to hamper the market growth during the prediction period. Conversely, increase in collaborations between manufacturers and foodservice providers is projected to provide new openings in the global market.

Source: Market Report Gazette

A new international marine co-operative is building its headquarters in the tiny Lower North Shore village of St. Paul's River, where it hopes to bring jobs as it seeks to make the fishing industry more sustainable.  

The International Blue Co-operative was founded earlier this month, and is made up of community leaders, researchers, policy makers and businesses from around the world, including Mexico, France and Australia.

Its goal is to promote sustainable marine practices, especially in remote communities. "We could be the hub of this and lead it," said president Kimberly Buffett.

Source: CBC

In 2018, Norway initiated a political declaration against fish crime. On Monday, Scotland’s Fisheries Minister Fergus Ewing signed the declaration. A total of 26 countries have joined Norway’s initiative, according to Kyst og Fjord.

- We know that there, regrettably, is some serious crime in the fish industry. If we are to fight fish crime, we have to stand united. That is why I am glad that Scotland is now onboard, says Norwegian Fisheries and Seafood Minister Harald T. Nesvik.

Norway is working towards having the UN General Assembly recognise fish crime as a problem, however, the efforts have been unsuccessful so far. The international declaration is thus the only international political declaration in its area, which makes it important.

Source: High North News

JAKARTA - Indonesia’s new fisheries minister looks set to unwind hard-fought reforms implemented by his predecessor, in a series of moves critics say will favor large-scale fishing companies over small fishers.

Edhy Prabowo, who took office in October, previously said he would review the regulations put in place by the former minister, Susi Pudjiastuti, including bans on the use of trawl and seine nets, known locally as cantrang, and the sinking of foreign fishing vessels seized in Indonesian waters.

“For cantrang, some have asked me to allow it, while others have asked to ban it because it damages the environment,” Edhy told reporters in Jakarta on Nov. 8. “I’m going to evaluate it. I promise I will have a dialog with the people.”

Source: Mongabay

A decision on whether to add four pens to an existing salmon farm in the Marlborough Sounds has faced strong opposition.

Hearings were held in front of a commissioner in Blenheim this week, to determine whether New Zealand King Salmon could add the net pens, along with anchors and surface floats, to the Waitata Reach salmon farm in the outer Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere.

Community groups raised concerns about the effects on the seabed and king shag seabirds. They also wanted more information about how many fish had been dying at the farm.

Source: Stuff

In recent weeks, repeated episodes of bad weather have swept across Italy and its islands, causing serious damage to its fishing industry.

From an initial survey of the fishing fleets affected, it is estimated that the losses in just one week - between lost earnings and problems affecting fishing and aquaculture facilities - amount to EUR 60 million. The figure could increase if account is taken of the number of fishing days lost (1 fishing boat out of 3 had to remain in port), the silted up ports and damage to boat hulls.

It is small-scale fishing that has borne the brunt of the damage, especially on the north Adriatic coast, where clam fishing has also been heavily damaged.

Source: European Parliament