Hima Seafood completes RAS trout facility.

Hima Seafood has confirmed that its land-based recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility in Rjukan, Norway, is now fully operational.

The project, first announced in 2020, has been described as one of the largest land-based trout farms in the world. Construction began in 2022, with the first roe stocked in 2023.

The company reported steady growth through the smolt phase and is preparing for its first commercial harvest.

Source: SalmonBusiness | Read the full article here

Fresh salmon prices in Norway were up again last week, but the optimism may be drawing to a close.

Forward reports suggest that prices are starting to fall back after the bounce of the past month.

The monitoring organisation Statistics Norway said that between September 22 and 28 (week 39 ) the export price was NOK 79.91 per kilo, a rise of 3.2% over the previous week.

The last time they were around this level was in late May and that was just briefly. Fresh salmon prices have been on the slide throughout most of the summer, only starting to perk up at the start of September.

Author: Vince McDonagh / Fish Farmer | Read the full article here

Murman SeaFood and Norebo Sanctioned Without Warning; Moscow Responds with a Protest Note and Threatens to Close Its Economic Zone

OSLO/MURMANSK — Norway has imposed sanctions on two major Russian fishing companies, Murman SeaFood and Norebo, restricting their activities in Norwegian waters and seriously jeopardizing the bilateral fisheries management relations that date back to 1975.

The ban was implemented without prior notice or consultation with the Russian side. Norwegian authorities justified the move by citing "aggressive actions by Russia" without providing specific evidence. This unilateral action threatens to disrupt the joint management system for marine resources in the Barents Sea, which is crucial for the cod stock.

Russia has already expressed its deep displeasure, issuing a protest note and threatening to close its Exclusive Economic Zone to Norwegian vessels if the restrictions are not lifted.

Experts and fishermen from both countries warn that the conflict could lead to a "cod war" with a negative impact on both sides, as they have historically relied on cooperation for the sustainable exploitation of shared resources.

A sudden surge of juvenile Indian Oil sardines along Kerala’s coast in 2024 was driven by climate-induced monsoon trends according to a new study by the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI).

Published in the journal Current Science, the study links the unprecedented influx of juvenile sardines to monsoon rainfall and nutrient-rich upwelling, which spurred a bloom of microplankton, the primary food source for sardine larvae. The result was a spike in larval survival and a surge in sardine recruitment.

The study emphasised that ecosystem productivity, particularly microplankton-linked chlorophyll-a levels, had a greater influence on sardine recruitment than traditional spawning stock biomass measures.

Source: Worldfishing | Read the full article here

Leading seaweed scientists from Malaysia and the UK and officials from the Department of Fisheries Sabah are meeting with more than 50 stakeholders this week to propose a new Progressive Management Pathway for Improving Biosecurity in the Seaweed Industry (PMP/AB-Seaweed).

Seaweeds are a vital part of the ocean ecosystem and support more than six million farmers in 56 countries worldwide, but the industry is facing increasing pressure from climate change.

The 2.5 day workshop in Sabah, Malaysia focused on the main commercially grown seaweed species in Malaysia

Source: Fish Focus | Read the full article here

Aldi USA has announced all of its private-label brands, including its Fremont Fish Market line of products, will soon carry the Aldi name on their packaging

In its largest packaging refresh to date, the Batavia, Illinois, U.S.A.-based operator of more than 2,500 stores is putting its name on every product exclusive to Aldi and launching its first-ever namesake brand “to make its trusted private labels even more recognizable for shoppers

More than 90 percent of Aldi products are private label, and as part of the shift, several brands will be replaced solely with the Aldi name

Author: Christine Blank / SeafodoSource | Read the full article here

Voluntary Restrictions and Fewer Fish Trigger a Serious Decline in Coastal Catches

SAPPORO — The autumn salmon catch in the coastal waters of Hokkaido has dropped drastically, marking a worrying outlook for the season. The Hokkaido Joint Sea Area Fisheries Adjustment Committee announced that, as of September 20, the total salmon catch was 1,537,182 fish, representing an 18% drop compared to the same period last year.

The total value of the catches was also affected, falling by 12% to 5,480,070,000 yen ($37,138,160.39 USD).

The severe scarcity of catches has led to the implementation of voluntary restrictions in several areas. With a deficit of parent fish expected for hatchery release across the prefecture, fishermen in areas like Hidaka (where the fishing ban was lifted on September 1) have opted for drastic measures. These include postponing net setting and removing some fixed nets to encourage the fish to swim upstream, which has prevented the resumption of large-scale landings until the third week of September.