Asian cellular agriculture firm Avant is winding down its Singapore research subsidiary, Avant Proteins, but says it remains committed to securing approval for its cultivated seafood in the city-state.

Carrie Chan, Co-Founder, and CEO with Mario Chin, Co-Founder & CSO

Headquartered in Hong Kong, the startup is known for its cultivated fish technology and marine peptide platform, with research operations previously based in Singapore. According to a notice published in the Singapore Government Gazette and reported by The Straits Times, the Singapore entity is being voluntarily wound up.

In a statutory declaration, co-founder and CEO Carrie Chan said the company “cannot, by reason of its liabilities, continue its business.”

The move reflects ongoing consolidation in the cultivated protein sector across Asia. However, Avant stressed it is not shutting down entirely. In a recent LinkedIn post, the company confirmed it is still pursuing regulatory approval in Singapore and plans to take its “next step to support the industry in a different way.”

While its local research arm closes, Avant’s broader ambitions in cultivated seafood remain in focus.

A growing debate has emerged over Iceland’s proposed aquaculture legislation, as nearly 1,000 comments have been submitted on a draft bill introduced by Minister of Fisheries and Industry Hanna Katrín Friðriksson.

Most of the feedback focuses on salmon farming in sea cages, with minimal attention given to land-based aquaculture — a disparity industry leaders say highlights a fundamental issue with the proposed law.

Lárus Ásgeirsson, chairman of Laxey in Vestmannaeyjar and head of the land-based aquaculture division of the Farmers Association of Iceland (BÍ), argues that the two sectors should not be regulated under the same legislation.

“We want to clearly separate land-based aquaculture from sea-cage farming,” Ásgeirsson said in an interview with 200 mílur.

He and other representatives maintain that land-based fish farming, conducted in closed systems on land, more closely resembles livestock agriculture than marine cage operations. Reflecting that view, the land-based aquaculture interest group operates within BÍ, which has formally submitted comments on the bill.

Industry stakeholders now urge lawmakers to introduce a separate bill tailored specifically to land-based aquaculture.

Iceland foods expands ASC-labelled seafood range with new launches. Iceland Foods is strengthening its commitment to responsibly farmed seafood, by expanding its Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) labelled range

Following last year’s progress, which saw the retailer increase its own-label ASC seafood lines and set a target to exceed 25 certified products by the end of 2026, this latest rollout gives customers an even wider choice of sustainable options in-store and online.

The expansion includes several new ASC-certified products, bringing Iceland’s total ASC range to 15 products.

Source: Fish Focus |  Read the full article here

The AKVA aquaculture technology group delivered a 41% plus increase in its fourth quarter revenues, the company said today.

The figure was NOK 1,113 million (£85m) an increase of NOK 321 million (£24m) on a year earlier.

AKVA described the quarter as a period of high revenues and a strong order book.

The land based division chalked up record high quarterly revenues of NOK 422 million (£32m), an increase of NOK 205 million  (almost £16m) or 94% compared to Q4 in 2024.

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

Havforskningsinstituttet: Record increase in Norwegian salmon production in 2025.

Norwegian farmed salmon production rose by 200,000 tonnes between 2024 and 2025, marking the largest year-on-year increase since official statistics began in 1980, according to the Institute of Marine Research’s 2026 risk report.

Total output growth occurred despite a lower average number of fish standing in the sea in 2025 compared with the previous year, suggesting improved utilisation of existing production capacity.

Source: SalmonBusiness |  Read the full article here

Fisheries participating in the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) Improvement Program will now be formally recognised under the Aquaculture Stewardship Council’s (ASC) Feed Standard, creating new incentives for fisheries supplying ingredients to aquaculture.

With the latest development, reduction fisheries producing fishmeal and fish oil for aquaculture feed and engaged in the Improvement Program are now included within ASC’s sustainability ladder for marine ingredients.

Source: Worldfishing | Read the full article here

Salmon producer Scottish Sea Farms has won planning permission for a proposed 6,000-tonne site off the east coast on Mainland, Shetland.

Shetland Island Council gave the go-ahead for the Fish Holm site yesterday.

Approval of SSF’s application had been delayed by an objection from Scottish Government agency NatureScot, which expressed concern that developing the farm would have a significant effect on three bird species: the great northern diver (non-breeding), red-throated diver (breeding), and Slavonian grebe (non-breeding).

Author: Gareth Moore / fishfarmingexpert | Read the full article here