Land-based salmon-farming company Laxey has signed an agreement with Marel for processing equipment and software at its planned salmon slaughterhouse – the third agreement the company has made in as many months.

Earlier in January, Laxey selected the AKVA Group to provide equipment for its planned land-based salmon farm in Iceland. Laxey – originally called Icelandic Land Farmed Salmon – was initially planning a 10,000-metric-ton (MT) salmon farm but has since upgraded those plans to a 32,000-MT facility. 

The AKVA Group contract was itself just two months after it announced an agreement with BAADER for processing equipment.

Author: Chris Chase / SeafoodSource l Read the full article here

Norwegian salmon producers Bue Salmon and Bolaks Group have announced a new strategic partnership to optimise the efficiency of operations for both companies.

The three-year agreement entails Bue Salmon receiving smolt from Sævareid Fiskeanlegg, where Bolaks is the majority shareholder. The smolt will be reared to post-smolt at Bue Salmon’s land-based facility in Bulandet before being delivered to Bolaks’ sea sites for grow-out.

Through the agreement, Bue and Bolak hope to establish a predictable and efficient value chain with short production cycles, strengthening the operations of both companies.

Source: The Fish Site l Read the full article here

Drop in air freight market pushes salmon prices further down.

The Chinese New Year celebration is reducing demand for large salmon.

“It has dropped significantly in recent weeks. The biggest fall has been for 5+ kg salmon, as the market for air-shipped fish has shrunk. Next week, Monday packing is the key—if you miss that, you’re too late for Chinese New Year. You need delivery to Oslo no later than Wednesday to make it''

Author: Aslak Berge / SalmonBusiness l Read the full article here

Satellites provide scientists important data they use to manage and protect fisheries and marine mammals.

A view from a satellite over Earth’s ocean and an aerial view of a blue whale.

NOAA’s use of satellite data to predict the weather is well known. Now, we are using satellites to track how the ocean is changing over time, and how that will impact fisheries and marine life. We can monitor the ocean’s temperature, salinity, currents, and even microscopic organisms in the water. 

Satellites can give us insights into these oceanographic drivers and processes much faster than traditional methods like ship surveys. They can help us develop models to predict where and when marine animals will be in the ocean. In fact, satellite images are so detailed, we can actually see and count individual whales from space! This information can help us better manage those species.

In this week’s podcast, we hear from Ryan Vandermeulen, NOAA Fisheries satellite remote sensing coordinator. He’s passionate about satellites and making satellite data more accessible to the average citizen. Listen to him talk about what’s in store for the next generation of satellite technology, and hear the music he created based on satellite images of phytoplankton blooms.

Source: NOAA

Committee says regulators should have option to halt production at sites with persistant problems

The Scottish Government should provide powers to regulators to limit or halt production at fish farms which record persistent high mortality rates, a committee of MSPs has said.

The suggestion is the stand-out recommendation in a newly published report by the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs and Islands Committee (RAIC) that results from an inquiry into Scotland’s salmon farming sector last year.

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

Indonesia has taken a ground-breaking step by upgrading its national seafood traceability system, Stelina, to be compatible with the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST) Standard. This makes Indonesia, one of the largest global seafood exporters, the first country to align a government-led system with international standards that ensure its seafood products meet the highest global traceability and sustainability requirements.

Source: Fish Focus l Read the full article here