IN BRIEF - China Bans Imports of Fishery Products from Japan
CHINA
Friday, August 25, 2023
Beijing (Jiji Press)--Chinese customs authorities Thursday announced a full-scale ban on imports of fishery products from Japan, effective from the same day.
Beijing took the action in response to Japan's release of treated water into the Pacific Ocean from the disaster-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, which began on Thursday afternoon.
China decided to stop importing fishery products from all 47 prefectures of Japan, expanding its ban that had affected products from 10 prefectures, including Miyagi and Fukushima, which hosts the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. plant.
The expanded ban is a measure accepted under World Trade Organization rules, the authorities said, stressing that China is strongly concerned about the risk of radioactive contamination of Japanese food products.
China, which has repeatedly opposed the water release plan, describes the water from the northeastern Japan plant, treated through equipment to remove most radioactive substances, as "nuclear-contaminated water."
TAC for chub and spotted mackerel stocks in Tsushima Warm Current remains consistent with previous year's proposal.
The Fisheries Agency has proposed a total allowable catch (TAC) of 210,000 tons for the Tsushima Warm Current stocks of chub mackerel and spotted mackerel for the 2025 management year (July 2025 to June 2026).
This proposal was presented at a meeting held in Fukuoka City on the 17th, jointly organized by the Fisheries Agency and the Fisheries Research and Education Agency. The meeting served as a platform for exchanging opinions on setting the TACs for these key stocks.
The Tsushima Warm Current group on the right overlaps with the fishing grounds of Korea and China
During the meeting, it was reported that the combined proposed TAC for both chub mackerel and spotted mackerel stocks for the 2025 management year would be 208,700 tons. Of this total, 28,300 tons are proposed to be reserved as a national allocation. Following this presentation, discussions were held with representatives from the relevant prefectures and fishermen to gather their input.
Notably, the proposed combined TAC of 208,700 tons for the 2025 management year is consistent with the TAC proposed for the same management year in 2024.
This digital tool provides fish farmers, entrepreneurs, and professionals with an interactive map to explore production centers, locate suppliers of seeds and inputs, access transportation services and specialized technical assistance, and locate processing plants and commercialization centers.
In addition to geographic and contact information, "ADA Perú" offers predefined business plans, ideal for those looking to start or strengthen their aquaculture ventures. The app also includes detailed information sheets on priority species for aquaculture in Peru, such as rainbow trout, tilapia, scallops, paiche, various algae, gamitana, Malaysian giant prawn, and sábalo, among others.
"ADA Perú" is presented as an innovative digital ecosystem that materializes the potential of technology in service of productive development. The application not only connects relevant data from the sector but also seeks to generate investment opportunities, foster the growth of aquaculture businesses, and promote collaboration among the various actors in the value chain.
RFC shares successful retailer-fisherman collaboration as industry stakeholders convene to discuss transparency, information sharing, and consumer trends.
Moscow hosted the inaugural meeting of the Fish Club on April 11th, an event supported by the Russian Fishery Company (RFC). At the gathering, RFC shared its positive experiences in fostering direct collaboration between retail chains and fishermen.
The Fish Club's core objective is to establish an open forum for the exchange of business perspectives and the exploration of innovative ideas and their practical application within the fisheries sector. The first meeting attracted approximately 100 participants representing diverse segments of the fish market. Attendees included fishermen, logistics specialists, traders, importers, processors, retailers, online merchants, as well as marketing professionals, analysts, and other industry experts. This broad participation underscored the market's significant interest in facilitating direct dialogue across the supply chain.
A key highlight of the meeting was a presentation by RFC CEO Savelii Karpukhin, who showcased a unique and successful project. In 2023, the Perekrestok retail chain entered into a direct supply agreement with RFC and Agama Istra for pollock sourced directly from the Bering and Okhotsk Seas.
This agreement marked Perekrestok as the first retailer to directly charter large volumes of Far Eastern fish, including pollock.
A portion of the tuna caught at this almadraba will be used for aquaculture.
Ricardo Fuentes Group launched its wild bluefin tuna harvest at Barbate almadraba on Monday with the traditional first "levantá" (lifting). The activity, managed through Pesquerías de Almadraba, has begun, according to the Group, "with more personnel and improvements in equipment and infrastructure."
The Barbate almadraba, the same sources explain, "has been preparing in recent weeks to face a harvest for which its staff has been reinforced both on land and at sea, reaching a total of 77 people."
Source: iPac.acuicultura | Read the full article here
As part of the Apromex project, the Marine Technology Center (Cetmar) of the Galician Regional Government (Xunta de Galicia) has developed a new web viewer for monitoring mussel larval density. The platform, which was presented by the Galician Regional Ministry of the Sea to the Galician Regional Government, allows users to view larval analysis data, focusing on mussel larvae, through interactive dashboards that are updated weekly. The platform also provides relevant information, such as the location of sampling stations and their evolution over time in 2023, 2024, and 2025. It also includes a diagram of the mussel larval cycle and observations on the evolution of the larvae at each sampling station.
Source: Industrias Pesqueras | Read the full article here
In March 2025, Korea’s imports of chilled salmon totalled 1,137 tons, representing a 16% decrease compared to the same period in 2024 (1,357 tons).
According to the data, cumulative imports of chilled salmon from January to March 2025 amounted to 3,217 tons a 22.5% decline from the 4,154 tons recorded in the same period of 2024.This accounts for approximately 1.4% of the total seafood import volume of 234,669 tons
Nissui has named organization veteran Teru Tanaka as its new CEO, effective May 2025.
The appointment is intended to facilitate the swift implementation of its FY 2025 mid-year business plan, entitled “Good Foods Recipe 2, the company said in a release. Current President and CEO Shingo Hamada will become chairman of the board of directors.
Tenaka has been with the company since 1988 and has held a number of leadership roles, including in Nissui’s Japanese sales division, its aquaculture business, and its marine products business, of which he is currently director and executive officer.
Author: Erin Spampinato / SeafoodSource l Read the full article here
New standard aims to reduce plastic waste from fisheries and aquaculture.
A new set of standards has been introduced to support the fisheries and aquaculture industries in designing equipment that can be reused, repaired, and recycled, according to a press release from Standard Norge.
The series, designated NS-EN 17988, provides a comprehensive framework for circular design in fishery and aquaculture equipment, covering the full product lifecycle. It includes six parts addressing requirements for design, labelling, circular business models, and digital tracking of components.
Source: SalmonBusiness l Read the full article here
Researchers receive cutting-edge ZooSCAN and methane sensor to enhance plankton studies, climate change indicators, and investigation of mass strandings along the Chilean coast.
This includes a ZooSCAN, which enables the digitalization of historical zooplankton samples, giving new value to organisms collected over 40 years ago. This will facilitate new studies as well as the generation of climate indicators that represent changes in planktonic ecosystems along the Chilean coast over the last half-century. This equipment is integrated into the Digital Library of Marine Plankton project funded by CORFO (Chilean Economic Development Agency).
Furthermore, the Department of Oceanography and Environment (DOMA) also incorporated a methane gas sensor, a major greenhouse gas and a cause of significant mass strandings on the coast of Africa. This gas apparently influences the massive strandings occurring between the Gulf of Arauco and the Chacao Channel, impacting the natural mortality rate of important fisheries resources such as anchovy and common sardine.
Compatibility with CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, Depth) instruments and the rosette samplers on the research vessels Abate Molina and Dr. Barbieri allows for flexible mobility suitable for deep measurements along the entire coast of Chile. This will enable the monitoring of the presence of this gas in the water column as a result of climate change.
Focusing on genetics, management, and sustainability, Embrapa will launch a digital platform to empower family fish farming at IFC Amazônia.
Embrapa will actively participate in the International Fish Congress & Fish Expo Brazil (IFC Amazônia), held from April 23 to 25 in Belém, Pará. Researchers from four of Embrapa's specialized units will present their latest findings and innovations across various aquaculture domains. A key highlight will be the launch of a new digital platform specifically designed for rural extension agents, with the aim of strengthening family-based fish farming practices.
Researchers Fernanda O'Sullivan and Flávia Tavares, from Embrapa Fisheries and Aquaculture (Palmas-TO), will lead discussions on the production of native fish species in net cages, emphasizing the benefits of utilizing monosex female populations. Dr. O'Sullivan, who specializes in genome editing, explains that “monosex populations offer significant economic advantages in aquaculture due to the common occurrence of sexual dimorphism, where distinct technical differences exist between males and females. Cultivating the superior gender leads to accelerated yields. One effective method for obtaining monosex populations in fish is through the sexual reversal of the fry.”
Their presentation will highlight the case of tambaqui, a native fish extensively studied at Embrapa, where females exhibit significantly greater weight and, consequently, higher productivity compared to males.