IN BRIEF - Company announcement: Death of Gifford Cooke
CANADA
Monday, March 04, 2024
St. George, New Brunswick – The Cooke family is deeply saddened to announce the death on March 3, 2024, of Gifford Cooke, co-founder with his sons Glenn and Michael Cooke in 1985 of Cooke Aquaculture Inc.
“On behalf of the Cooke family and our employees, I would like to express our gratitude for the immense contributions Gifford has made to rural coastal communities in Eastern Charlotte, New Brunswick, and throughout Atlantic Canada and the globe,”commented Joel Richardson, Vice President of Public Relations.“Over the decades, Gifford and his children, Glenn, Michael and Debbie built a local family company into a global seafood leader with fully integrated facilities, product lines and distribution networks. Cooke provides careers to nearly 13,000 employees in 15 countries and is passionate about supporting community and conservation projects.”
Gifford was a marine mechanic for much of his career in Blacks Harbour. At Cooke Aquaculture, he worked alongside the employees to modernize the company’s freshwater salmon hatcheries, vessel fleet, and led countless construction projects.
Gifford’s outgoing personality, robust work ethic, friendly sense of humour and steadfast faith will leave a void not easily filled. The global Cooke family will miss him greatly. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Marjorie, family, and his many friends.
The Seagriculture EU 2025 conference, one of the leading conferences for the seaweed industry, is heading to Rotterdam, The Netherlands from 17-19 June 2025.
Under the theme “Seaweed 2.0: Today’s Scaling for Tomorrow’s Needs”, this year’s conference will focus on scaling up and professionalizing the seaweed sector to meet the growing global demand for sustainable solutions.
With an emphasis on collaboration across the value chain, Seagriculture EU 2025 will gather seaweed farmers, processors and distributors, buyers, equipment providers, researchers, investors, and policymakers, to drive synergy and build a resilient, future-proof seaweed industry.
The recommendation includes annexes from the sector and the industry. The former agree with the objective of maintaining the industry's competitiveness, but not at the expense of their interests. Processors, for their part, demand that the EU recognize the importance of tariff-rate quotas (TAQs).
When the European Commission has just opened a consultation process to assess the possibility of strengthening sustainability criteria in the future renewal of the tariff-rate quota (TAQ) regulation for seafood products, the Market Advisory Council (MAC) has adopted a recommendation aligned with these principles
Source: Industrias Pesqueras | Read the full article here
Samherji Fish Farming ehf., a subsidiary of Samherji hf., has successfully secured financing for the first phase of Eldisgarður, a new land-based fish farm located at the Reykjanes Power Plant.
The financing, which combines new share capital issuance and a syndicated loan, totals EUR 235 million (approximately ISK 34 billion). The project is expected to create 100 new jobs directly at the site, with an equal number of additional indirect jobs.
Basque fishermen expressed their satisfaction with the week's anchovy harvest, having been able to unload large anchovies weighing 28 to 31 grains per kilo, with average prices of 4 to 5 euros per kilo. "It was the cannery fishermen who caught this anchovy. It was an opportunity they couldn't pass up, and that's why it has yielded good prices," said Emeterio Urreisti, president of the Getsaria Association.
On the other hand, the 2025 season for mackerel and anchovy in the Cantabrian Sea is marked by significant challenges, affecting both the Basque and Cantabrian fleets.
The mackerel season began with a 22% reduction in the quota for smaller-scale fishing vessels compared to the previous year.
Japan-based technology startup Sonofai has launched a new frozen tuna inspection device which can determine the fat content of frozen albacore tuna without cutting into the fish’s flesh, which lowers its value.
In a release about the news, Sonofai and Fujitsu, the company behind the technology the device uses, said that they had partnered with Ishida Tec Co. and Tokai University to launch the device, which will be brought to the Japanese market first.
Author: Erin Spampinato / SeafoodSource l Read the full article here
Barramundi Group Ltd. (“the Company”) (EURONEXT: BARRA) – Reference is made to the stock exchange notice dated 19 February 2025 regarding the grant of an extension of the Moratorium Order.
The Company is pleased to announce that an agreement has been reached with the Company’s principal secured creditor, United Overseas Bank Limited (“UOB”), on the main terms of a proposed restructuring of the Company’s debt with UOB.
The details of the arrangement are currently being documented in a proposed Pre-packaged Scheme of Arrangement (the “Scheme”), the implementation of which is subject to approval of the High Court of Singapore (the “Court”) pursuant to section 71 (1) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018.
As part of the process, the Company has today filed an application to the Court for an extension of the moratorium, till 11 July 2025, which will otherwise expire on 11 May 2025.
Further updates will be provided as the restructuring process progresses.
The European Commission's closure of 87 Atlantic areas where there are—or are believed to be—vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) has been ongoing for two and a half years, affecting both the trawler and bottom-sea longline fleets. Although the European Commission does not see it this way, as Charlina Vitcheva, head of the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG Mare), demonstrated to the sector this week during her visit to Vigo, the effects of longline vessels on the seabed are very limited. This is also the view of the Secretary-General for Fisheries, Isabel Artime.
Author: Adrian Amoedo / Faro de Vigo l Read the full article here
Grieg Seafood fined for plastic spill in northern Norway.
Grieg Seafood has been fined NOK 450,000 ($43,000) for a 2023 plastic pellet spill in Laksefjorden, Finnmark, after releasing an estimated 35 million pellets into the environment. The company is now under formal order to conduct a clean-up later this year.
The incident was first discovered in June 2023 by the environmental group In The Same Boat, which traced the pellets to Grieg Seafood’s nearby smolt facility, according to NRK. Employees at the plant confirmed the source of the discharge, and the company subsequently reported the matter to the County Governor.
Source: SalmonBusiness l Read the full article here
All fresh and frozen salmon and fish products sold under Finnish retail cooperative S Group’s own label are now certified by the Aquaculture StewardshipCouncil (ASC), the accreditation organisation said today.
S Group is a customer-owned Finnish network of companies in the retail and service sectors, with approximately 2,000 outlets in Finland.
'We are pleased to see a major retailer like S Group taking such decisive action to promote sustainable aquaculture'
Source: fishfarmingexpert l Read the full article here
Aquafuture Spain will be held in Vigo, Spain over 20-22 May 2025.
Taking part in the launch presentation were: Patricia García, Director General of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Innovation, David Regades; Secretary of State for the Vigo Free Trade Zone, Luisa Sanchez; Vice President of the Pontevedra Provincial Council, Arsenio Prieto; Director of the IFEVI Trade Fair Center, Javier Fraga; Director of Abanca Mar; and Juan Lijó, Director of Aquafuture Spain.
The 3rd edition of Aquafuture Spain will feature 210 companies from 26 different countries, representing a 50% increase compared to the previous edition. Significant growth in international companies is highlighted, particularly by the 12 Chinese companies participating in the event for the first time.
Russian Fishermen Haul in Over 1.7 Million Tons Year-to-Date Russia Fed.
Strong Far East Catches Drive Significant Volume, While Other Basins Show Varied Performance Compared to 2024.
Russia's total catch of aquatic bioresources has surpassed 1.7 million tons since th...
Copyright 1995 - 2025 Seafood Media Group Ltd.| All Rights Reserved. DISCLAIMER
CANADA
NETHERLANDS
The Seagriculture EU 2025 conference, one of the leading conferences for the seaweed industry, is heading to Rotterdam, The Netherlands from 17-19 June 2025. 
EUROPEAN UNION
The recommendation includes annexes from the sector and the industry. The former agree with the objective of maintaining the industry's competitiveness, but not at the expense of their interests. Processors, for their part, demand that the EU recognize the importance of tariff-rate quotas (TAQs).
ICELAND
Samherji Fish Farming ehf., a subsidiary of 
SPAIN
Basque fishermen expressed their satisfaction with the week's anchovy harvest, having been able to unload large anchovies weighing 28 to 31 grains per kilo, with average prices of 4 to 5 euros per kilo. "It was the cannery fishermen who caught this anchovy. It was an opportunity they couldn't pass up, and that's why it has yielded good prices," said Emeterio Urreisti, president of the Getsaria Association.
JAPAN
Japan-based technology startup Sonofai has launched a new frozen tuna inspection device which can determine the fat content of frozen albacore tuna without cutting into the fish’s flesh, which lowers its value.
SINGAPORE
The Company is pleased to announce that an agreement has been reached with the Company’s principal secured creditor, United Overseas Bank Limited (“UOB”), on the main terms of a proposed restructuring of the Company’s debt with UOB.
The European Commission's closure of 87 Atlantic areas where there are—or are believed to be—vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) has been ongoing for two and a half years, affecting both the trawler and bottom-sea longline fleets. Although the European Commission does not see it this way, as Charlina Vitcheva, head of the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG Mare), demonstrated to the sector this week during her visit to Vigo, the effects of longline vessels on the seabed are very limited. This is also the view of the Secretary-General for Fisheries, Isabel Artime.
NORWAY
Grieg Seafood fined for plastic spill in northern Norway.
FINLAND
All fresh and frozen salmon and fish products sold under Finnish retail cooperative S Group’s own label are now certified by the .png)
Taking part in the launch presentation were: Patricia García, Director General of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Innovation, David Regades; Secretary of State for the Vigo Free Trade Zone, Luisa Sanchez; Vice President of the Pontevedra Provincial Council, Arsenio Prieto; Director of the IFEVI Trade Fair Center, Javier Fraga; Director of Abanca Mar; and Juan Lijó, Director of Aquafuture Spain.
