IN BRIEF - Massive Growth: Norwegian Seafood Imports to South Korea
SOUTH KOREA
Friday, March 14, 2025
South Korea experienced a significant 63% surge in Norwegian seafood imports in February compared to the previous year.
February 2025 imports reached 10,107 tons, up from 6,207 tons in February 2024. Total imports for January and February rose by 42% to 25,069 tons, compared to 17,674 tons in the same period of 2024. Norwegian seafood now represents 16% of South Korea's total seafood imports, which reached 152,793 tons.
[Import Trends by Product]
Norwegian seafood import values also increased, with February 2025 reaching USD 55.4 million, a 14% rise from USD 48.76 million in February 2024. The cumulative value for January and February increased by 30% to USD 139.4 million, compared to USD 107.31 million in 2024. However, the average import price decreased by 8% to USD 5.56/kg, down from USD 6.07/kg the previous year. The increased demand for Norwegian seafood in South Korea is evident, particularly for frozen mackerel and salmon fillets.
New players from the financial, technology, and science sectors are joining the Sustainable Shrimp Partnership (SSP) to strengthen innovation and sustainability in aquaculture.
The Sustainable Shrimp Partnership (SSP), a pre-competitive ecosystem committed to raising sustainability standards in the shrimp industry, announces the addition of three new associate members: Banco Guayaquil, Kampi, and Kemin AquaScience.
Through working groups, collaborative projects, and the continuous exchange of technical and operational knowledge, SSP members—companies from across the value chain—work together to identify common challenges, develop shared solutions, and enhance performance across the shrimp industry.
NASF to launch new sustainability award as Pareto strengthens role in Bergen.
The North Atlantic Seafood Forum (NASF) has announced the launch of a new North Atlantic Sustainability Award, marking a significant expansion of the conference’s emphasis on long-term environmental and social performance across the seafood sector.
The award is designed to showcase standout efforts within the North Atlantic at a time when sustainability expectations, regulatory requirements and investor scrutiny are converging more sharply than ever.
Source: SalmonBusiness | Read the full article here
New Zealand King Salmon, one of the southern hemisphere’s major fish farmers, has reported a loss over the past few months due to biological challenges, including high mortality and low fish weights, which have affected harvest volumes and led to a drop in revenues.
The loss in the eight months to 30 September was NZ $6.3 million (£2.7m) versus a profit of NZ $13.4 million (£5.8m) for the 12 months ended 31 January 2025.The results are the company’s first under a revised 30 September balance date, reflecting a shortened eight-month reporting period.
Author: Vince McDonagh / Fish Farmer | Read the full article here
The Technological Center of the Sea – Cetmar Foundation, within the framework of the Galician Cooperation policy of the Xunta de Galicia (Regional Government of Galicia), is promoting the MAR de Piura project in Peru. This international cooperation initiative aims to increase the sustainability of the value chain associated with the fishing and aquaculture sector in the Piura region.
As the first operational milestone of this intervention, an intensive training course will be held from December 1st to 5th for technicians from the Social Organizations of Fishermen and Aquaculture Farmers (OSPAS). The course will cover protocols for maintenance, cleaning, and optimization of the scallop production cycle during the hatchery and pre-fattening phases.
Source: iPac.aquacultura | Read the full article here
Mowi has issued NOK 4,500 million ($441 million) in new senior unsecured green bonds across two tranches, following its stock exchange notice
The company placed NOK 3,500 million ($343 million) in five-year floating-rate notes at 3-month Nibor plus 1.10 percent, and NOK 1,000 million ($98 million) in five-year fixed-rate notes at 4.95 percent. The full amount, including coupons, will be swapped into floating-rate euro exposure. Mowi said the transaction was well oversubscribed.
Source: SalmonBusiness | Read the full article here
Blumar reported its consolidated financial results for the third quarter of 2025, a period marked by the recovery from events that occurred in 2024, such as the algal bloom, the fire at the salmon processing plant in Magallanes, and the delayed sardine and anchovy season. These effects explain the significant year-on-year variations in revenue, EBITDA, and accumulated profits at the consolidated level.
As of September 30, 2025, consolidated revenue reached US$568.7 million, representing a 30% increase compared to the same period of the previous year. Pre-fair value EBITDA totaled US$82.2 million, 22% higher than the accumulated figure for 2024.
Source: MundoAcuicola | Read the full article here
China imported 742,758 tonnes of shrimp in the first 10 months of 2025, with the total representing a 1% decrease on the corresponding period of last year – largely due to a sharp contraction in January, confirms new industry analysis from Shrimp Insights.
The organisation notes the volume slump was gradually offset by steady growth from February through August. Monthly imports peaked in July at 90,683 tonnes (+10% year-on-year) before easing to +1% in September and flattening completely in October.
With wild stocks under pressure from trade and habitat loss, Ecomare’s seahorse project in Portugal is testing how controlled aquaculture can meet demand and protect fragile populations.
Seahorses are fish, yet they look nothing like conventional ones – being upright, horse-headed and equipped with curling tails, it’s little wonder that the Japanese call them “children of the dragon”.
They have also developed commercial value as traditional Chinese medicine, curio objects and aquarium favourites. When seahorses became the first marine fish protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 2004, attention shifted to aquaculture as an alternative to meet global demand.
Author: Emma Barbier / The Fish Site| Read the full article here
A recent Rosselkhoznadzor inspection (October 20 – November 24, 2025) uncovered serious safety violations in four imported shrimp samples. FSBI VGNKI specialists conducted the monitoring in accordance with the relevant technical regulations for fish and food safety.
Key findings include:
Arsenic Overload: Two samples of frozen-cooked northern shrimp showed dangerously high levels of arsenic, a toxic substance. One sample exceeded the permissible limit by more than four times, and the other by almost three times.
Microbial Contamination: Two samples of Vannamei shrimp showed elevated total microorganism counts. This suggests potential breaches of sanitary standards during production or failures in storage and transportation protocols.
The detected violations have been reported to the Northwestern Interregional Office of Rosselkhoznadzor for immediate action and logged into the Vesta automated system.
International Commission Approves Increased Catch Limits
The annual catch quota for Atlantic bluefin tuna is set to increase by 14% to 4,321 tonnes per year for the period between 2026 and 2028, according to an announcement made by the Fisheries Agency on the 25th. The increase, which amounts to an additional 543 tonnes compared to the 2025 quota, is a direct response to the recovering status of the bluefin tuna stocks.
The decision was finalized at the annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The meeting took place in Spain from the 17th to the 24th of this month. Atlantic bluefin tuna is a highly valued species, popular as an ingredient for sashimi and sushi, and it accounts for roughly 30% of Japan's total bluefin tuna catch.
The quota increase is applied across the two main fishing zones:
Eastern Waters (European and African side): Japan's quota will see a 14% increase (445 tonnes) to 3,559 tonnes.
Western Waters (North and South American side): Japan's quota will rise by approximately 15% (97 tonnes) to 762 tonnes.
ICCAT is composed of 55 member countries and regions, including key players like Japan, the United States, and the European Union. The next annual meeting is scheduled to be held in November 2026 in Portugal.
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