Other Media | Fish Farmer: Iceland’s Kaldvik signs major finance agreement
ICELAND
Tuesday, June 03, 2025
Icelandic salmon farmer Kaldvik has just agreed a deal to refinance the company through a new debt package. The financing arrangement, with its existing lenders, is worth some €230m (£193m).
The company said that in connection with the financing, it is a condition for the new deal that the company raises a net cash amount of €45m (£37.8m) in new equity. This is currently underway, with support from the company’s majority shareholder, Austur Holding AS.
Kaldvik operates two farming facilities in Iceland—one on the south coast and another on the north coast.
Meanwhile, the company has released a first quarter financial update which shows that revenues increased significantly from the same quarter last year, reaching €48.3m (£40.5)m. A year ago revenues were €31.1m (£26m).
Author: Vince McDonagh / Fish Farmer l Read the full article here
Patagonia Fishing S.A.'s "Lu Qing Yuan Yu 280" records the highest volume of Illex squid landed so far this year, solidifying Mar del Plata as a key port for the species.
MAR DEL PLATA – A jigger vessel operated by a Chinese company sailing under the Argentine flag has achieved the largest Illex squid catch to date in the 2025 season. According to the official INIDEP Technical Report, the "Lu Qing Yuan Yu 280", belonging to Patagonia Fishing S.A. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of China's Shandong Bodelong Group), stands as the vessel with the highest quantity of squid caught and landed so far.
The vessel, which began its season in late December, has recorded approximately 3,600 tonnes of frozen Illex squid on board across six fishing trips, with average daily catches reaching up to 28 tonnes.
This significant volume contributes to the Port of Mar del Plata surpassing 80,000 tonnes of frozen squid landed, positioning it as the number one port compared to other Patagonian terminals. Operations in Mar del Plata accelerated notably once the squid fishery shifted north of the 44th parallel.
Although the final figures for the season are not yet closed, projections suggest that the total Illex squid catch within Argentina's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) will exceed 180,000 tonnes in 2025.
Greenpeace's iconic vessel Arctic Sunrise will not be allowed to enter the port of Nice during the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC), scheduled for June 9-13. The ban, officially announced by the Nice City Council and the Prefecture, comes days after NGO activists threw rocks into a marine protected area in the Gulf of Lion to block bottom trawling.
The vessel was to join a fleet of more than thirty scientific and environmental vessels invited to the city to bring marine science and conservation to the general public.
Europe is further tightening its zero-tolerance policy against illegal fishing—especially against neighboring coastal states—by establishing new criteria to determine when a third country is considered "non-cooperative" in the fight against IUU fishing. From now on, "undue" delays in responding to requests for information, failure to respond to consultation processes, failure to implement previously agreed conservation or control measures, as well as failure to manage stocks of common interest, including in the context of RFOs, will be considered factors to be taken into account when designating a country as a candidate for a red card, which would imply the closure of the Community market.
Source: Industrias Pesqueras | Read the full article here
Company calls for value chain support to secure future growth.
Veramaris increased its algae oil production by 61% in 2024 while reducing its absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 5.6% compared to its 2021 baseline, according to its newly released Sustainable Development Report.
The company, which produces ASC-MSC-certified microalgae oil for fish and shrimp feed, said it operated at full capacity for the first time in 2024. CEO Gertjan de Koning said this milestone demonstrated that aquaculture can scale responsibly without further dependence on wild fish stocks for essential Omega-3s.
Source: SalmonBusiness l Read the full article here
The Chinese government has agreed on the technical requirements for resuming seafood imports from Japan, according to the Japanese government.
China’s ban was implemented in August 2023 after Japanese authorities approved the release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into Japan’s waters. Although the International Atomic Energy Agency determined that the plan would cause negligible impact on the environment or health, multiple neighboring governments announced that they would ban Japanese seafood imports – at least in part.
Author: Nathan Strout / seafoodSource l Read the full article here
Four Spanish chefs are already finalists; the European phase will be decided in Paris before the Grand Final in Madrid.
MADRID – Balfegó has announced the international expansion of its VIII professional gastronomy competition, Chef Balfegó 2025, opening it to chefs from across Europe. The Grand Final will be held on October 27 at Le Cordon Bleu in Madrid, solidifying the event's international reach.
Four talented Spanish chefs have already been selected for the final: Guillermo Chávez (Amelia**, San Sebastián), Angelo Duarte (Brugarol, Barcelona), Riccardo Radice (Fishølogy*, Barcelona), and Piero Aponte (El Molino de Urdániz**, Navarra).
Their European rivals will be determined in a semifinal on September 8 at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, where 16 candidates from across the continent will compete. The deadline to apply for this European semifinal is June 30. In total, 12 finalists will compete in Madrid, preparing two red tuna recipes.
The judging panel will be presided over by Martín Berasategui (eight Michelin Stars). The winner will receive 6,000 euros and a trip to Japan, along with a set of specialized Japanese knives. The second and third-place finishers will receive 3,000 and 1,000 euros, respectively.
Chef Balfegó has established itself as a launching pad for young talents. With this European edition, Balfegó reinforces its commitment to haute cuisine and its dedication to red tuna as an international culinary benchmark.
A notable shift is underway in the global cod trade as Russia, a major fishing nation, increasingly looks to partner with China to develop its burgeoning domestic market for the whitefish.
BEIJING – For nearly two decades, China has served as a central processing hub for approximately 40% of the world's cod, despite a recent decline in volume. While cod has traditionally been a staple in European and American diets, its consumption patterns are undergoing a profound transformation. With the entry of Western retail giants into major Chinese cities, frozen cod fillets are becoming more accessible and are finding a niche among Chinese consumers, particularly for baby food and in response to fast-paced urban lifestyles.
Recognizing this potential, some Russian seafood companies are now forging alliances with Chinese counterparts specifically to cultivate China's high-end cod market. Simultaneously, Chinese seafood processors, facing their own export challenges, are beginning to test domestic sales of cod products.
This pivot by Russia reflects a dual strategy: enhance its own processing capabilities while actively seeking to leverage China's emerging consumer base. With the global cod catch stabilizing around 7.5 million tonnes, the rise in Chinese demand could significantly impact the long-standing "cod safety" of traditional European and American markets.
Seafood continues to consolidate its position as one of the productive pillars of the Los Lagos Region and one of the main sources of exports nationwide. Between January and April, shipments from the fishing and aquaculture sector totaled US$3.321 billion nationwide, representing an 11.9% increase compared to the same period last year, according to ProChile's latest Non-Copper – Non-Lithium Export Report.
At the national level, the subsectors leading this growth were salmon and trout (US$2.403 billion, up 6.6%), followed by horse mackerel (US$207 million, up 36.8%), mussels (cholgas, mussels, and choros) with US$127 million (up 42.2%), and cuttlefish, which registered a significant increase of 375.4%, reaching US$151 million.
The Asian giant's fleet has once again increased its catches, exceeding 10.3 million tons, despite the announced capacity limitations.
Galicia has never caught so little.
In December 2017, at a World Trade Organization (WTO) summit held in Argentina, the Chinese government pledged to limit the number of fishing vessels in its long-distance fishing fleet to 3,000 by 2020. It asserted at the time that, in doing so, it would return to the same level of deep-sea capacity as in 2016. The problem is twofold. First, and above all, there are estimates that raise the actual number of this fleet afloat to 19,966 vessels, as stated in a report (A9-0282/2023) by the European Parliament; And second, the expansion of China's fishing industry to various African and Oceanian countries is leading to the creation of subsidiaries and the use of flags of convenience—such as Cameroon and Vanuatu—
Author: Lara Graña / Faro de Vigo l Read the full article here
A new training programme designed to help tackle the challenges of harmful algal blooms (HABs) through standardised operating procedures has just launched.
Delivered by Lantra – the training and skills body for the land-based and environmental sectors – the online course is now open to anyone working in the aquaculture sector.
The bespoke training programme will help producers mitigate the challenges associated with HABs, which are caused by rising water temperatures, among other factors, and can lead to significant health and welfare issues for farmed fish
ICELAND
The company said that in connection with the financing, it is a condition for the new deal that the company raises a net cash amount of €45m (£37.8m) in new equity. This is currently underway, with support from the company’s majority shareholder, Austur Holding AS.
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Greenpeace
EUROPEAN UNION
Europe is further tightening its zero-tolerance policy against illegal fishing—especially against neighboring coastal states—by establishing new criteria to determine when a third country is considered "non-cooperative" in the fight against IUU fishing. From now on, "undue" delays in responding to requests for information, failure to respond to consultation processes, failure to implement previously agreed conservation or control measures, as well as failure to manage stocks of common interest, including in the context of RFOs, will be considered factors to be taken into account when designating a country as a candidate for a red card, which would imply the closure of the Community market.
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CHINA
The Chinese government has agreed on the technical requirements for resuming seafood imports from Japan, according to the Japanese government.
SPAIN.png)
BEIJING – For nearly two decades, China has served as a central processing hub for approximately 40% of the world's cod, despite a recent decline in volume. While cod has traditionally been a staple in European and American diets, its consumption patterns are undergoing a profound transformation. With the entry of Western retail giants into major Chinese cities, frozen cod fillets are becoming more accessible and are finding a niche among Chinese consumers, particularly for baby food and in response to fast-paced urban lifestyles.
CHILE
Seafood continues to consolidate its position as one of the productive pillars of the Los Lagos Region and one of the main sources of exports nationwide. Between January and April, shipments from the fishing and aquaculture sector totaled US$3.321 billion nationwide, representing an 11.9% increase compared to the same period last year, according to ProChile's latest Non-Copper – Non-Lithium Export Report..png)
In December 2017, at a World Trade Organization (WTO) summit held in Argentina, the Chinese government pledged to limit the number of fishing vessels in its long-distance fishing fleet to 3,000 by 2020. It asserted at the time that, in doing so, it would return to the same level of deep-sea capacity as in 2016. The problem is twofold. First, and above all, there are estimates that raise the actual number of this fleet afloat to 19,966 vessels, as stated in a report (A9-0282/2023) by the European Parliament; And second, the expansion of China's fishing industry to various African and Oceanian countries is leading to the creation of subsidiaries and the use of flags of convenience—such as Cameroon and Vanuatu—
UNITED KINGDOM
A new training programme designed to help tackle the challenges of harmful algal blooms (HABs) through standardised operating procedures has just launched.
