The Seafood Task Force - a trade association seeking to increase supply chain transparency in the global seafood industry - has announced the appointment of two new Co-Chairs as it looks to expand the reach of its operations.

The Seafood Task Force (STF) was established in 2014 to restore global industry confidence, following concerns about social and environmental abuse in global tuna and shrimp supply chains. It is made up of over 40 commercial members across the seafood supply chain, including retailers, brands, food service companies and their partners.

Source: The Fish Site l Read the full article here

Norway proposes surcharge on ASC-certified salmon.

Norway is considering a surcharge of NOK 2 per kilogram on farmed salmon certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), as part of a broader revision of the country’s aquaculture tax framework. The proposal, which does not extend to other certification schemes, could affect more than 40% of Norwegian salmon farms.

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Norwegian salmon farmers who deny price fixing allegations have asked the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal to throw out claims by several UK supermarkets for £675 million in damages, arguing it does not have jurisdiction to hear the case, Global Competition Review (GCR) has reported.

The lawsuits, filed in March last year by Asda, Iceland, Marks and Spencer, Ocado, Morrison’s, Aldi and Co-op, are based on an ongoing European Commission investigation.

Source: fishfarmingexpert l Read the full article here

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.

The pelagic fishing vessels Polar Ammassak and Aðalsteinn Jónsson have, in cooperation with the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute (MFRI), been conducting capelin surveys southeast and east of Iceland from Monday to Friday this week.

The aim was to repeat the measurements of the main capelin migration in that area to compare to the measurements from the week before. Both vessels covered the entire area along different routes and therefore these are two independent measurements of the abundance there.

The preliminary results of the measurements indicate a slightly lower estimate of the fishable biomass than in the week before. It is therefore clear that the results will lead to an unchanged advice of no capelin fishing for the fishing season 2024/25. MFRI plans to go on RV Árni Friðriksson to search for capelin north of Iceland around next weekend.

The figure to left shows the tracks of Aðalsteinn Jónsson (blue) and Polar Ammassak (pink) 27-31 January 2025, where the perpendicularly lines with the tracks represents capelin density. The figure to right indicate with colour-scale the capelin density.

Source: Marine and Freshwater Research Institute (Iceland)

Despite winning a reprieve on US tariffs, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government have come under strong attack from the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA).

The Alliance has accused Trudeau of significantly weakening the sector and says the situation is getting worse.

In the face of US tariff threats, the industry body says, it is now more important than ever that the government is stopped from inflicting more damage. Canadians go to the polls later this year.

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