During the recent O!Mega Taste festival, pollock roe became a highlight of Maslenitsa week at the Moscow on the Wave markets, featuring tastings, a cook-off, and a master class.

From February 24 to March 2, visitors to the Moscow on the Wave fish markets enjoyed pollock roe as part of the Moscow Maslenitsa celebrations. Over 650 people sampled blini with pollock roe, with 90% praising its taste and texture and sharing their ideas for dishes featuring pollock roe.

On the final day of Maslenitsa, Oleg Koroban, chef at the Culinary Studio, member of the International Alliance of Culinary Professionals, and Speaker of the Siberian Chefs Guild, along with Alexander Meshkov from Battle of the Chefs (Season 4), held a pollock cook-off. They amazed guests with their elegant crepes, garnished with cream and pepper sauce, pollock roe, and fresh pollock, plus fritters with pollock liver, beetroot hummus, and crispy pollock-shaped chips. Celebrity guest Serge Gorely from TNT Channel's Comedy Club was impressed by these fresh takes on the familiar wild white fish. Meanwhile, at a dedicated master class, guests learned to prepare pollock dishes themselves, with the new culinary creations delighting both adults and children.

Source: Russian Fishery

Tunisia's aquaculture sector experienced significant investment growth in 2024, with approved projects valued at US$8.4 million, a sevenfold increase from 2023's US$1.8 million.

This growth reflects a rising interest in aquaculture, despite its limited contribution to local fish supply. In 2022, aquaculture accounted for only 13% (21,000 tons) of Tunisia's total fish production (158,500 tons). The government aims to increase aquaculture's contribution to 30% by 2030.

Marine fish farming is the dominant aquaculture activity. However, aquaculture remains one of the least invested sectors in agriculture. In 2024, private investments in agriculture totaled US$144 million, with aquaculture representing only 5.8%. Agriculture received the majority of investments (58.7%), followed by agriculture/maritime fishing services (21.2%) and maritime fishing (11.5%).

Tunisia has significant aquaculture potential due to its 1,350-kilometer coastline, extensive maritime zone (over 80,000 sq km), and lagoons (100,000 hectares). The country has 25 marine aquaculture farms, producing 400-3,500 tons annually, mainly seabass and seabream. In 2021, aquaculture accounted for 16% of Tunisia’s aquatic product output and employed over 2,000 people.

On March 11, 2025, the China Fisheries Association and Beijing Huasilian Certification Center signed a strategic cooperation agreement. This agreement marks the beginning of a collaborative effort in fishery certification.

This cooperation is occurring at a critical time, as the fishery industry is transitioning towards high-quality development. Promoting healthy and ecological breeding models, enhancing the quality and safety of fishery products, and protecting consumer rights are key concerns. To address these concerns, the China Fisheries Association and Huasilian Certification Center are strategically focusing on developing a fishery industry certification system with Chinese characteristics. They also aim to actively promote the mutual recognition and integration of Chinese certification standards with relevant international systems, a goal of significant importance.

Huasilian Certification Center is a third-party certification body approved by the National Certification and Accreditation Administration of China.

Four men arrested at sea as they tried to smuggle cocaine with an estimated street value of about £100m into the UK on a fishing boat have been convicted.

The men were found with more than a tonne of the drug on board the Lily Lola, off the coast of Newquay, Cornwall, in September last year.

Michael Kelly and Jake Marchant pleaded guilty before trial, with a jury also finding Jon Williams and Patrick Godfrey guilty at Truro Crown Court on Wednesday.

All four were convicted of conspiring to smuggle a tonne of cocaine.

Source: BBC l Read the full article here

Industry body Seafood Scotland is calling for industry partners to back the creation of an innovative Scottish “ocean cluster”, which it says could unlock three times more value from by-products in Scotland’s seafood industry.

Seafood Scotland CEO Donna Fordyce officially announced the establishment of the group at the prestigious Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) Conference – a focal event for the industrial biotechnology community in Scotland - calling on organisations across Scotland’s seafood industry to get behind the initiative as it seeks to secure funding.

Author: Robert Outram / Fish Farmer l Read the full article here

SSP, an initiative that brings together Ecuadorian producers committed to the highest sustainability standards, celebrates its seventh anniversary as a global benchmark in responsible shrimp production.

This year also marks the first anniversary of the Scale Up program for shrimp hatcheries, a pioneering initiative that promotes sustainability and strengthens responsible production from the very start of the supply chain.

Source: Fish Focus l Read the full article here

The 31st edition of Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global has garnered exhibitors from 79 countries so far and is still growing, according to event organizer Diversified.

The event, taking place from 6 to 8 May at the Gran Via venue of the Fira de Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain, is currently at 50,918 net square meters of exhibition space sold. According to Diversified, the trade event will feature 63 national and regional pavilions, a conference program, and is still growing.

Source: SeafoodSource l Read the full article here

Fisheries cooperation fees to be reduced, with operations expected to proceed ahead of schedule

Negotiations between Japan and Russia regarding salmon and trout fishing are currently underway. These talks, conducted via web conference from March 10 to 13, aim to establish the operational terms for small salmon and trout drift net fishing within 200 nautical miles of Japan.

The discussions focus on fishing conditions within 200 nautical miles of each country, based on the suspended Japan-Russia Offshore Fisheries Agreement. The negotiations also involve intergovernmental consultations concerning Russian salmon and trout.

Japanese fishing gillnetters await the salmon trout season in Russian waters

Japan is represented by Hiromichi Takahashi, Director of the Fisheries Agency's Aquaculture Promotion Department, as the government’s lead representative, alongside officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Fisheries Agency, the Hokkaido government, and fishing organizations. The Russian side is led by AV Yakovlev, Deputy Director General of the Federal Fisheries Agency, and includes representatives from the Federal Fisheries Agency, the Border Guard Agency, and other relevant authorities.

According to the Pacific Small Salmon and Trout Fisheries Association, chaired by Oda Tsukasa, last year 20 vessels under 14 tons went out to sea, catching only around 400 tons of chum and pink salmon—just 20% of the allocated fishing quota of 2,050 tons.