The Ocean Farming facility is a new and innovative design, developed to overcome the challenges of more traditional inshore fish farming facilities by being located in deeper waters, further from the coast.

The Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Fisheries has approved Norway’s first development concession enabling Ocean Farming AS, supported by Kongsberg Maritime AS, to build the world’s first automated ‘exposed’ aquaculture facility. Situated outside of Trondheim, this innovative new facility introduces a paradigm shift in salmon farming now, and other fish types in the future and is a significant step in Norway’s efforts to deliver technical solutions to address the impending global food gap challenge.

The Ocean Farming facility is a new and innovative design, developed to overcome the challenges of more traditional inshore fish farming facilities by being located in deeper waters, further from the coast. The submerged, anchored fixed structure will float steady in the exposed ocean and is suitable for water depths of 100 to 300 meters, where the aqua biological conditions are more ideal for aquaculture on ‘the fish’s terms’. The benefits of offshore fish farms are numerous, with conditions more suited to nurturing healthy fish, such as steady currents that limit exposure to sea lice infection. The facility is fully automated with normal operation requiring a crew of just 3 – 4 people. It can also be remotely operated.

Source: Matter of Trust

Windhoek-Governor of Zambezi Region Lawrence Sampofu says the inland fishery resource is under severe pressure from individuals who exploit the resource for financial benefit to the detriment of local communities.

According Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources statistics, an estimated 5,000 metric tonnes of fish is harvested in the Zambezi annually. Local communities in the Zambezi Region depend mainly on fish for their survival and dry and fresh fish forms an integral part of their basic diet.

Fish and fisheries are an integral part of the culture and economy of many rural people in the region, but prices at the Katima Mulilo market of freshwater fish – a delicacy in the Zambezi – are said to have soared due to the current scarcity of fish.

Source: New Era

At least four commercial fishing vessels partially sank in Bristol Bay after boats heavy with salmon had difficulty navigating poor weather in the region.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Bill Colclough said the four vessels were all partially submerged Monday in different parts of Nushagak Bay after they were swamped by waves and began taking on water. He said all of the vessels were commercial salmon fishing.

Colclough said good Samaritan vessels assisted in recovering everyone on board and no one was injured. He did not know Monday how many people were rescued.

He said an investigation into the incidents was ongoing Monday and that a definitive cause of the submersions had not been determined.

Source: ADN

A panel of experts has drafted a national-level action plan for sustainable development of marine fisheries. Aimed at implementing the Sustainable Development Goal-14 (SDG) of the United Nations in India, the experts from marine fisheries, forests, environment, ocean development, industry, fisher associations and coastal zone management also recommended, among others, licencing scheme to fishing gear and boat building yards too, according to a release here.

The action plan was formulated at a national workshop here on SDG-14 organised by Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) and WWF-India as desired by NITI Aayog.

Formation of marine parks, community reserves and no-take zones is one of the major recommendations in the action plan. It also includes proposal to declare ecologically sensitive marine hotspots as biodiversity heritage sites.

Source: The Indian Express

Cooke Aquaculture bought Icicle Seafoods in 2016, and Pal Angell-Hansen, a Cooke executive, took the top position at Icicle back in February. He is touring Icicle facilities in Alaska, including the salmon processing plant in Egegik just ahead of its peak.

Angell-Hansen toured the Icicle processing facility in Egegik for the first time on Saturday 1st of July 2017, five months into his job as the company’s CEO.

Angell-Hansen has experience in the seafood industry as the COO of farming for Cooke Aquaculture, but this is his debut as the head of a company specializing in wild caught salmon.

“People sometimes ask ‘why did Cooke being a farming company get into wild fisheries?’” he says, reflecting on the inherent challenges of processing wild salmon. “Up until the primary processing plant it’s very different—wild fisheries and farmed aquaculture—but after primary processing, whatever you can do with a wild salmon you can do with a farmed, and visa-versa.”

Source: KDLG

Restaurants or marine products processing firms that substitute prized shrimp varieties with inferior quality ones, beware. Fisheries scientists in Tamil Nadu have developed a robust technique that will help regulators detect mislabelling and similar frauds.

Researchers led by Geevaretnam Jeyasekaran at the Fisheries College and Research Institute (FCRI) at Thoothukkudi have developed a sophisticated lab-based PCR test that is capable of differentiating four commercially important shrimp varieties from cheaper copycats.

“When you go to a restaurant and order a pan-cooked tiger shrimp curry, there is a possibility that what you get may not have tiger shrimp but contains a cheaper cousin, say Pacific white shrimp,” said Jeyasekaran, an FCRI scientist, who led the study. This is because once the head and tail are removed, different species of shrimps look similar and their distinct odour and taste are often masked by pungent spices,” he said.

Source: The Hindu Business Line

LONDON - Stolt-Nielsen Limited (Oslo Børs: SNI) reported on July the 6th of 2017 unaudited results for the second quarter ended May 31, 2017. Net profit attributable to shareholders in the second quarter was USD 15.6 million, with revenue of USD 500.8 million, compared with a net profit of USD 15.2 million, with revenue of USD 475.7 million, in the first quarter of 2017. Net profit attributable to shareholders for the first six months was USD 30.8 million, with revenue of USD 976.5 million, compared with USD 68.2 million, with revenue of USD 942.8 million, in the first half of 2016.

Highlights for the second quarter of 2017, compared with the first quarter of 2017, were:

·    Stolt Tankers reported an operating profit of USD 27.6 million, compared with USD 28.5 million, reflecting continued softness in the chemical tanker market, as rates overall edged lower and bunker prices continued to rise. 
·    The Stolt Tankers Joint Service Sailed-in Time-Charter Index was 0.67, versus 0.68.
·    Stolthaven Terminals reported an operating profit of USD 16.1 million, down from USD 16.7 million, primarily reflecting lower utilisation at the Singapore terminal. 

Source: Slotl Nielsen

When Biomarine Ingredients Ireland (BII) chief executive Jason Whooley finally held up a jar of white powder in front of his shareholders he knew it had been all worthwhile.

The endless commuting from West Cork to Dublin, Donegal and Monaghan. The long hours spent away from his four small children. The risk of quitting a safe pensionable job at the top of a state agency. The stress over planning delays. The raising of tens of millions of euro. It had all been worthwhile.

The protein powder in the jar was produced in BII's new Monaghan factory from fish caught off the west coast. For Whooley, the former head of Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), it was a very visible sign that BII was closer to its goal of finding lucrative markets for a plentiful local supply of blue whiting and boarfish.

Source: Business Irish

The Strategy:

Outlines that national commitment and consideration are required to ensure that adequate funding and support is provided toinstitutions in charge of gathering information on the fisheries and aquaculture sector.
Promotes the integration of fisheries data into the National Statistical Systems and the National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) to increase the role of fisheries in the agriculture framework.
Urges Member States and stakeholders to use modern technology in data collection, analysis and dissemination - include Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Personal Digital Assistants, smartphones, tablets, etc.;
Encourages Member States to give consideration to the development of capacity for all stakeholders in data collection.

To provide countries with the necessary framework and methodology, a “Pan-African Strategy on improvement of fisheries and aquaculture data collection, analyses and dissemination“ has been developed collaboratively by the NEPAD Agency and the Inter African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) of the African Union. The Strategy: Outlines that national commitment and consideration are required to ensure that adequate funding and support is provided toinstitutions in charge of gathering information on the fisheries and aquaculture sector. Promotes the integration of fisheries data into the National Statistical Systems and the National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) to increase the role of fisheries in the agriculture framework. Urges Member States and stakeholders to use modern technology in data collection, analysis and dissemination - include Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Personal Digital Assistants, smartphones, tablets, etc.; Encourages Member States to give consideration to the development of capacity for all stakeholders in data collection.

Source:

A report released today by the European Commission paints a misleadingly positive impression of progress towards sustainable fishing, by glossing over the fact that progress has slowed or reversed in recent years.

Instead, the Commission focuses on long-term trends between 2003 and 2015, which have indeed been largely positive, with fishing pressure decreasing and fish stocks increasing in most areas, while the economic performance of the EU fishing fleet has improved significantly.

However, many stocks are still overfished and the already dire situation in the Mediterranean continues to deteriorate, while the legal 2020 deadline set for sustainable fishing levels in the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is fast approaching.

ClientEarth scientist Jenni Grossmann said: “A report which focuses on fewer than 70 out of 180-plus stocks is a weak basis for improving EU fisheries. Without reliable data on all the species which must be fished sustainably by 2020, we can neither assess whether we are on the right track, nor make sure we get there on time. The Commission’s failure to address the recent slowing down and reversal of progress conceals the clear message that at the current pace, we are sure to miss the deadline.

Read full story here