IN BRIEF - Okhotsk Sea: Bad Weather Can't Stop the Herring Boom!
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Thursday, February 06, 2025
Severe weather hampered fishing operations in the Far East last week, with a large cyclone impacting all regions, particularly the Shelikhov Gulf and the Kamchatka-Kuril and North Kuril subzones. Many vessels endured storms for three to four days.
Despite the challenging conditions, Far Eastern fishermen have achieved strong results in some fisheries. As of February 2, 2025, the pollock catch reached 269,000 tons, with 55 vessels actively fishing, according to the Federal Fisheries Agency's monitoring system.
Pacific herring has seen a particularly successful season, with a catch of nearly 110,000 tons, exceeding 2024 levels by over 115%. Ten vessels participated in the herring fishery.
Cod catches in the Far Eastern basin reached 14,500 tons, matching the 2024 level.
The Ministry of Agriculture of Russia has implemented fishing restrictions in the West Bering Sea and Karaginsky subzones. Order No. 29, dated January 21, 2025, prohibits longline fishing until March 31, 2025, and bottom trawling and seine netting until April 15, 2025 (excluding scientific research and control catches).
In Primorsky Krai, refrigerator occupancy for fish product storage was 39% as of February 2. Thirty-one vessels carrying over 26,000 tons of fish products were en route to port.
ForoAcui (Forum on Marine Resources and Aquaculture of the Galician Rías) reaches its 28th edition this year, having established itself as the premier gathering for discussing the challenges facing Galician aquaculture and shellfish harvesting. The event, scheduled for October 1 and 2 in O Grove (Pontevedra), expects to bring together between 200 and 250 participants—including researchers, business representatives, government officials, industry professionals, and students—to focus on four major discussion panels: research; shellfish harvesting and inshore fishing; aquaculture; and business and marine resource management. These details were shared by the event organizers during a meeting with the Xunta de Galicia’s Director General for Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Technological Innovation.
Source: Industrias Pesqueras | Read the full article here
The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2026-2035 report was presented in Rome a few days ago; this document serves as an international benchmark for assessing the medium-term evolution of agricultural, fisheries, and aquaculture markets at national, regional, and global levels. Among other aspects, it analyzes consumption, exports, and prices of aquatic products over the coming decade.
According to the report, global consumption of aquatic animal products for food is expected to rise faster than consumption for other uses by 2035, driven primarily by Asia, while consumption in Europe is projected to see a slight decline.
Source: iPac.acuicultura | Read the full article here
The Research LK 62 has just completed three trips for MSC certified North Sea herring and encountered good marks of fish, which were landed into Peterhead.
Skippered by Gary Williamson, the 79m vessel left Lerwick on 12 July for her first trip and completed three tows for a total of 180 tonnes on grounds 45 miles south-east of Fair Isle, with the fish averaging a decent 190g in weight. The herring was landed into the Lunar processing facility at Peterhead.
Heading straight back to sea after landing, the Research then ventured to a fishing area slightly closer to Fair Isle, achieving 470 tonnes for three tows.
Thailand has become the latest Asian country to consider launching its own salmon farming industry.
The country has been a major buyer of salmon and trout, mostly from Norway, for several years.
With imports running at up to 50,000 metric tons a year and worth £180m, Thailand is now the second largest importer of Atlantic salmon in Asia, after China.
Thailand’s climate and coastal structure does not permit sea pen aquaculture, so any development will be centred around recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS).
Author: Vince McDonagh / Fish Farmer | Read the full article here
The European Union Seafood Alliance (EUSeA) is calling on Brussels to give aquatic foods a central role in Europe’s evolving protein strategy, arguing that fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing are essential to achieving food security, strategic autonomy and sustainable food systems.
The appeal follows the publication of the European Commission’s Action Plan for the resilience, strategic autonomy and sustainability of the EU protein system and the new EU Strategy on Livestock.While welcoming the renewed focus on strengthening Europe’s food resilience and reducing strategic dependencies, the Alliance says the initiatives overlook one of the continent’s most important sources of high-quality, sustainable protein.
The domestically produced longline processor Marlin, built at the USC Severnaya Verf shipyard in St. Petersburg, has set sail for its home port of Murmansk. It will undergo fishing trials in the Barents Sea before loading gear to begin commercial operations.
Constructed under the state investment quota program ("keel quotas") for the company Globus—founded by a collective farm partnership in the Arkhangelsk region—the vessel will target cod (Gadus morhua), haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), halibut, and wolffish across the Barents, Norwegian, and North Seas. Longlining provides an environmentally friendly harvesting method that preserves seabed habitats.
The Marlin can catch up to 25 tons of fish per day, featuring a freezer hold capacity of 600 tons of finished products. Equipped with an automated, full-cycle factory for deep processing, freezing, and storage, the vessel has already successfully completed all factory, mooring, and sea trials.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) fisheries panels adopted a resolution on Thursday urging the Japanese government to continue negotiations for an expanded Pacific bluefin tuna catch quota.
The LDP's Fisheries Division and Research Commission on Fishery Policies acted after recent international talks failed to reach an agreement on Japan's proposal, primarily due to opposition from Mexico.
Arata Takebe, chairman of the commission, delivered the resolution to Fisheries Minister Norikazu Suzuki, emphasizing the need to coordinate with the Fisheries Agency and the Foreign Ministry to secure a deal.
Minister Suzuki pledged to move with urgency to resolve the stalemate. He noted that the ministry is evaluating sending a state minister and senior officials to Mexico to analyze why the nation reversed its stance and determine how to advance future negotiations.
The Chinese group has completed its operational and industrial transition, explaining the definitive departure of the founding family
Conservas Albo has just concluded the first of two major eras defining the history of one of the oldest companies in its sector—spanning over 155 years since its founding in Cantabria. This milestone is marked by the departure of Jesús Albo Durán from the company's management team, ten years after the Chinese fishing giant Shanghai Kaichuang Marine International acquired 100% of Conservas Albo’s shares for nearly 61 million euros, according to the Pontevedra Mercantile Registry.
Source: La Voz de Galicia | read the full article here
The company has withdrawn its application for the proposed commercial-scale facility, citing changes to the project’s regulatory and administrative requirements
Nueva Pescanova has withdrawn its application to develop a commercial octopus farm at the Port of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria. According to La Voz Canaria, the group communicated its withdrawal for a concession at the Esfinge dock in Las Palmas via a letter to the Port Authority. Among the reasons cited by the group for this decision are the "significant extension of administrative deadlines" and uncertainty regarding the "completion of environmental and sectoral procedures."
Source: The Fish Site | Read the full article here
European salmon processors could gain a tariff advantage in the US market after Washington imposed higher duties on products originating in Norway and Chile than on goods of EU origin.
Norwegian and Chilean goods are now subject to an additional 12.5% tariff. For EU products, the new duty is calculated so that the combined existing and Section 301 tariff does not exceed 10%.
For salmon products that previously entered duty-free, this creates a 2.5-percentage-point advantage for EU-origin goods.
Source: SalmonBusiness | Read the full article here
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RUSSIAN FEDERATION
SPAIN
WORLDWIDE.png)
The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2026-2035 report was presented in Rome a few days ago; this document serves as an international benchmark for assessing the medium-term evolution of agricultural, fisheries, and aquaculture markets at national, regional, and global levels. Among other aspects, it analyzes consumption, exports, and prices of aquatic products over the coming decade.
UNITED KINGDOM.png)
The Research LK 62 has just completed three trips for
THAILAND
Thailand has become the latest Asian country to consider launching its own salmon farming industry.
EUROPEAN UNION
The European Union Seafood Alliance (EUSeA) is calling on Brussels to give aquatic foods a central role in Europe’s evolving protein strategy, arguing that fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing are essential to achieving food security, strategic autonomy and sustainable food systems.
JAPAN
CHINA.png)
The Chinese group has completed its operational and industrial transition, explaining the definitive departure of the founding family.png)
The company has withdrawn its application for the proposed commercial-scale facility, citing changes to the project’s regulatory and administrative requirements
European salmon processors could gain a tariff advantage in the US market after Washington imposed higher duties on products originating in Norway and Chile than on goods of EU origin.
