IN BRIEF - Thistle Seafoods looks to the future thanks to longstanding partnership with Aldi
UNITED KINGDOM
Friday, December 08, 2023
One of Scotland’s largest family-owned manufacturers of quality seafood products is marking 20 years of partnership with Aldi.
The fifth-generation family business was established in 1947 in Boddam and has grown from strength to strength in recent years – a success owners credit to their long-standing relationship with Aldi and as a result of their innovative product offering.
Stephen Main, Commercial Director and Ryan Scatterty, CEO, with the Aldi team.
Thistle Seafoods started out supplying Scottish Aldi stores with just two products in 2003.
Today, their expanded product offering is available in every UK Aldi store with 39 different products including fresh Melt in the Middle Fishcakes, frozen Breaded and Battered Fish, and speciality lines for the festive season including Salmon Wellingtons and Luxury Fish Pies.
Headquartered in Peterhead, Thistle acquired a second site in 2022 in Uddingston as part of its strategy to develop a ‘sea-to-plate’ seafood processing business.[...]
International Commission Approves Increased Catch Limits
The annual catch quota for Atlantic bluefin tuna is set to increase by 14% to 4,321 tonnes per year for the period between 2026 and 2028, according to an announcement made by the Fisheries Agency on the 25th. The increase, which amounts to an additional 543 tonnes compared to the 2025 quota, is a direct response to the recovering status of the bluefin tuna stocks.
The decision was finalized at the annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The meeting took place in Spain from the 17th to the 24th of this month. Atlantic bluefin tuna is a highly valued species, popular as an ingredient for sashimi and sushi, and it accounts for roughly 30% of Japan's total bluefin tuna catch.
The quota increase is applied across the two main fishing zones:
Eastern Waters (European and African side): Japan's quota will see a 14% increase (445 tonnes) to 3,559 tonnes.
Western Waters (North and South American side): Japan's quota will rise by approximately 15% (97 tonnes) to 762 tonnes.
ICCAT is composed of 55 member countries and regions, including key players like Japan, the United States, and the European Union. The next annual meeting is scheduled to be held in November 2026 in Portugal.
Russian fishing vessels are actively harvesting masaba mackerel within Japanese waters, operating under pre-approved intergovernmental quotas.
Last week, five Russian vessels were recorded fishing off the coast of Iwaki Prefecture. The fleet's average daily catch was 63 tons, totaling 2,141 tons of mackerel for the week.
According to the Pacific branch of VNIRO, the total Russian harvest this season, as of November 23, includes 52,283 tons of washi sardine and 3,542 tons of mackerel. Scientists note that unique oceanographic conditions near the Kuril Islands have limited the amount of washi sardine entering Russia's economic zone this year.
Meanwhile, the exchange quota allowing Japanese vessels to fish for saury in Russia's exclusive economic zone concluded on October 31. The broader open-water saury fishing season saw a total catch of 123,300 tons by November 8, with Russia's share at 725 tons. Reports also indicate that between 50 and 80 foreign vessels, believed to be Chinese-flagged, are actively fishing for various pelagic species in international open waters.
The “Top-Quality Fish. Let’s Eat Europe!” campaign has deployed a comprehensive outdoor, online, and radio advertising strategy, with a particular focus on Vigo and its metropolitan area.
Vigo, Galicia – The Vigo Port Fresh Fish Producers Organization (OPPF-4) has launched a comprehensive media plan in the province of Pontevedra to promote its “Top-Quality Fish: Let’s Eat Europe!” campaign, part of its Fresh&Wild brand, encourage fish consumption, and reinforce the importance of healthy lifestyles. The campaign, which began in mid-October, targets the general public, with a specific focus on those responsible for household shopping.
The campaign's focus these days is on the streets, with a highly visible presence in Vigo: city buses on lines 10 and 16 are displaying the Fresco&Salvaje (Fresh & Wild) campaign image, along with 15 bus shelter ads and 20 billboards located in high-traffic areas throughout the city and its metropolitan area. The campaign is also complemented by advertising in digital media and on the radio, allowing the message to reach a wider audience across the province.
Through these initiatives, Pescados de Primera. ¡A comernos Europa! (First-Class Fish. Let's Eat Europe!) highlights the benefits of fresh, wild-caught fish and reinforces the visibility of its quality seal.
Alén Space is once again making waves in the burgeoning European aerospace industry. The Nigrán-based company has delivered a satellite to South Korea designed to revolutionize maritime networks from space. The Asian country has already received this advanced system, developed in Porto do Molle for the public technology research institution ETRI. Its launch into space is scheduled for "the coming days" aboard the Nuri (KSLV-II) rocket.
The rocket, equipped with Galician technology and carrying a dozen other satellites, will launch from South Jeolla Province. The goal of the Korean center ETRI is "the in-orbit demonstration of communication systems."
Source: La Voz de Galicia | Read the full article here
The European Commission has updated its proposal for fishing opportunities in the Mediterranean and Black Seas for 2026. The goal, Brussels emphasizes, is to continue the recovery of fish stocks within the framework of the multiannual management plan for the Western Mediterranean, maintaining fishing days at 2024 levels. In the case of Spain, the fleet fished for approximately 143 days in 2024.
Although it acknowledges encouraging scientific data in the Western Mediterranean indicating positive trends, such as the recovery of fish stock biomass and the decrease in fishing mortality, it maintains that "most fish stocks remain overexploited."
Source: Industrias Pesqueras | Read the full article here
Bluefront combines feed technology holdings in Piscada Aqua and Spillfree merger.
Seafood investor Bluefront Equity is merging two of its Trondheim-based portfolio companies, Piscada Aqua and Spillfree Analytics, in a move aimed at strengthening software support for feeding operations in aquaculture.
Spillfree Analytics, which supports fish farmers with analysing and improving feeding processes, will be merged into software company Piscada Aqua, which provides process control and analysis tools for aquaculture production.
Source: SalmonBusiness | Read the full article here
Maritime communities, environmental groups, and the lawmakers who represent them have stepped forward to criticize the Trump administration’s proposal to license new oil drilling operations off the coastlines of Florida and California.
The announcement came on 20 November from the Department of Interior, which called the program an “expansive 11th national offshore leasing program to advance U.S. energy dominance.”
The U.S. government has not allowed new drilling in federal waters off either of the states' coasts for years – leasing in California federal waters has been reduced since the 1980s and drilling off the coast of Florida has been restricted since 1995 due concerns about oil spills.
Author: Erin Spampinato / SeafoodSource | Read the full article here
Russia's total fish catch this year has reached 4,241,100 tons, with pollock cementing its position as the industry's main component.
According to the Center for Ecology and Evaluation of the Russian Agricultural Bank, pollock accounts for an impressive 46.7% of the total catch, representing a 6.8% increase over the previous year.
The overall fishing industry shows improvement, though sector performance is mixed:
Herring saw the second-largest share at 13.2%, up by a substantial 31.4% year-on-year.
Salmon is in third place, accounting for 7.9%, following a significant 42.6% increase.
In contrast, cod catches declined by 19.1% compared to 2024, now making up just 6% of the total.
Mackerel saw a slight increase of 3.1%.
Oleg Knyazkov, Deputy Head of the Center for Ecological Expertise at the Russian Agricultural Bank, noted that while the industry is improving, restrictions on cod fishing remain, with a final resolution expected soon. Conditions are anticipated to improve significantly in the next fishing season.
Detailed analytical data on the fishing industry will be presented at the 11th International Conference "Fish. Full Cycle: Aquaculture, Processing, and Utilization," scheduled for February 18–20, 2026, in St. Petersburg.
A £1.7 million research project into farmed Scottish salmon smolts revealed clear physiological differences between fish reared in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) and those raised in loch systems.
Among other things, RAS-reared fish displayed altered osmoregulatory markers, including ATPase (energy converting enzymes) and chloride levels, as well as changes in blood biochemistry, the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) reports in a case study about the Robust Smolt project.
Source: fishfarmingexpert | Raed the full article here
UNITED KINGDOM
WORLDWIDE
JAPAN
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SOUTH KOREA
Alén Space is once again making waves in the burgeoning European aerospace industry. The Nigrán-based company has delivered a satellite to South Korea designed to revolutionize maritime networks from space. The Asian country has already received this advanced system, developed in Porto do Molle for the public technology research institution ETRI. Its launch into space is scheduled for "the coming days" aboard the Nuri (KSLV-II) rocket.
EUROPEAN UNION
The European Commission has updated its proposal for fishing opportunities in the Mediterranean and Black Seas for 2026. The goal, Brussels emphasizes, is to continue the recovery of fish stocks within the framework of the multiannual management plan for the Western Mediterranean, maintaining fishing days at 2024 levels. In the case of Spain, the fleet fished for approximately 143 days in 2024.
NORWAY
Bluefront combines feed technology holdings in Piscada Aqua and Spillfree merger.
The price of fresh salmon in Norway rose to its highest level for almost seven months, according to the monitoring organisation Statistics Norway.
UNITED STATES
Maritime communities, environmental groups, and the lawmakers who represent them have stepped forward to criticize the Trump administration’s proposal to license new oil drilling operations off the coastlines of Florida and California. 
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
A £1.7 million research project into farmed Scottish salmon smolts revealed clear physiological differences between fish reared in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) and those raised in loch systems.
