The Nueva Pescanova Group has been ranked as the first fishing company in the world and second overall in the global seafood sector for its contribution to a sustainable and responsible seafood industry, according to the Seafood Stewardship Index 2023. It is the only Spanish company to be included in this ranking, produced by the non-profit organisation World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), which measures the contribution of the 30 most influential companies in the seafood sector to a more sustainable future.

Source: Fish Focus l Read the full article here

The Bering Sea pollock fleet has been at the center of the western Alaska salmon crisis.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which manages federal fisheries in Alaska, will continue to explore options for how to manage chum salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery.

The council, facing rising pressure from western Alaska communities who depend on chum as a cornerstone of subsistence, released a statement Wednesday summarizing their decision from their April meeting.

Dismal western Alaska salmon returns have reached crisis levels. And while the council listened to scores of harrowing testimonies recalling empty rivers and vacant fish camps, the council was also presented with research that suggested bycatch limits wouldn’t do much to help the crisis.

“Available science indicates recent declines in chum salmon populations across many regions of the North Pacific, including Canada, Japan, Russia, Korea, and the U.S., appear to be driven by warmer water temperatures in both the marine and freshwater environments,” the council said in the statement.

The importance of climate change isn’t lost on those advocating for bycatch limits. But climate solutions are far away and abstract, while controlling how many salmon are scooped up by trawlers seems a simpler problem to solve.[continues...]

Author/Source: Theo Greenly | kyuk.org

With the supporting of the Fisheries Administration, the Wild Earth Allies (WEA), in collaboration with the Coastal Fisheries Administration, has inspired residents to release sea crab eggs, according to the Fisheries Administration posted on Facebook.

It added that today, this activity is revitalizing for the purpose of maintaining stocks to ensure the sustainability of sea crab production.

“In a sea crab, there are about 1 million eggs, so if we release the sea crab that sees the eggs outside the manger into the sea or live in the net until it is hatched and then sold, it will help maintain crab stocks and ensure sustainable use,” said Fisheries Administration.

“Come on, we say no and release the crab eggs outside the manger, the merit is preserved for all of us,”

Vietnam’s fishery industry has overcome numerous challenges over the past 65 years to record remarkable progress and become a vital economic sector, making significant contributions to the stabilisation and growth of the national socio-economic landscape.

Review in photos:

A high-tech shrimp farming model associated with environmental protection at the Bac Lieu high-tech agricultural park.

Tra/Basa/Panga fish farming in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang. The model is a collaborative effort between local farmers and businesses.

Vietnamese aquatic products have gained a firm foothold in international markets, and are now exported to 170 countries and territories. In the photo: The processing of shrimp by the Minh Phu Seafood Corp, destined for the US and Japanese markets.

The steel-hulled fishing vessel QNg 94359TS has a capacity of 811 CV. It was the first of its kind built with preferential loans from the Quang Ngai fishermen support fund to exploit seafood in the East Sea fishing grounds, in 2015.(left below)

Fish-raising cages in Gia Luan-Cat Ba Bay, which attract a host of visitors.(Top right)

Photos: VNA

Silver Bay Seafoods will acquire the Peter Pan Seafoods plant in Valdez, and operate Peter Pan plants in Port Moller and Dillingham for the 2024 salmon season, the two companies announced today.

The deal with Peter Pan is the second major acquisition Silver Bay has announced in recent days. The company announced its purchase of Trident Seafood’s Ketchikan processing plant in March.

A joint news release by SBS and Peter Pan said, “Shifting operations of the two facilities to SBS is a component of a larger restructuring, still being finalized, in which Silver Bay would acquire Peter Pan’s Port Moller and Dillingham facilities for the 2024 season, and then acquire them after the season ends"

Their transaction is “still being finalized,” but that they “have been exploring ways to unify the operations, and what started as a possible joint venture in early 2023 has resulted in a mutually beneficial transaction involving a transfer of the facility assets and licensing for the iconic Demmings, Humpty Dumpty and Double Q canned salmon brands.”

Peter Pan Seafoods COO Travis Roenfanz said Peter Pan is committed to closing out remaining business pertaining to its 2023 operations, including sales and accounting functions. Peter Pan has faced a series of claims filed by Alaska fishermen and companies for unpaid deliveries of seafood and it has also dealt with the departure of several key executives.

The Scottish Pelagic Industry-Science Data Collection Programme (SPISDCP) is a collaboration between the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association, UHI Shetland and the Marine Directorate of the Scottish government.

Within the programme, crews onboard Scottish pelagic fishing vessels undertake sampling of their catches in two ways: self-sampling, whereby vessel crews measure the length and weight of a sample of fish in the catch; and co-sampling, whereby crews collect frozen samples of fish for scientists onshore to carry out biological sampling of length, sex, maturity and ageing.

The data collected provide valuable biological information for each of the targeted species, highlighting patterns and changes in distribution and size of fish in the catch. In January 2022 the co-sampling scheme was adopted under Scotland’s national sampling programme to become the main mechanism for collecting biological data on the catches of pelagic fish to be used in stock assessments.

The annual report provides a summary of the data collected across the herring, mackerel and blue whiting fisheries, from the start of data collection in July 2018, up to the latest collation of data in September 2023, and is intended as an overview of the current dataset to date.

The report can be viewed HERE

Starting in April, the US Coast Guard and the Argentine Navy will begin conducting joint exercises aimed at combating illegal Chinese fishing in the Atlantic Ocean.

Argentina, Chile and Peru have criticized Chinese vessels for large-scale invasive fishing in their territorial waters without regulation, which the South American countries say is depleting fish stocks and damaging the natural biodiversity of the southwest Atlantic. This is a key nesting area for seabirds and feeding areas for marine mammals.

The US Coast Guard will send its destroyer USS James to collaborate with Argentine vessels to stop these fishing practices.

According to data from the non-governmental organization Global Fishing Watch, nearly 3,000 deep-sea fishing vessels operate under Chinese flags around the world, including about 400 in the southwest Atlantic, often targeting squid and toothfish. The NGO states that the activity of Chinese vessels in the southwest Atlantic increased from 61,727 hours per 500 square kilometers in 2013 to 384,046 hours in 2023.

Since 1986, Argentine authorities have seized 80 foreign-flagged vessels fishing in its waters, including the sinking of Chinese and Taiwanese vessels.

The upcoming joint deployment of the United States and Argentina to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, primarily by Chinese fishing vessels, is part of an ongoing global effort to strengthen maritime security partnerships.

Source: VOICE OF AMERICA / dialogo-americas.com

A salmon sector initiative seeking new solutions to prevent bacterial diseases and reduce the use of antibiotics in Chile has received backing from state fisheries and aquaculture agency, Sernapesca.

Eleven companies which together produce nearly 90% of Chile’s farmed salmon are involved in Project Yelcho, which started last year. The Salmon Council, and SalmonChile’s Salmon Technological Institute (Intesal), are also collaborating, and the project - which has not been publicised until now - is supported by data analytics provider Aquabench.

Source: fishfarmingexpert l Read the full article here

Fripozo, a company specialized in frozen solutions, managed, at the end of 2023, to exceed its forecasts, registering revenues of €180.3 M, which represented an increase of 13.2% compared to its previous year. The Murcian company had forecast revenues of around 177 million, according to data collected by Alimarket in the latest Report on Frozen Solutions, which will be updated next June.

According to the company, this increase is driven by the brand's significant commitment to the innovation of differentiating proposals, such as its new range of 'Stir-fried with more proteins'.

Source: Alimarket l Read the full article here

Korea has recently made serious progress to improve conditions for migrant crew on its distant-water fleet, starting to close deep inequalities and remove loopholes that allow crew to be abused at sea. But while these are commendable steps, they must be built on to achieve the full systemic progress needed, according to the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF).

Source: Worldfishing l Read the full article here