Scotland’s salmon farmers have called for the UK and Scottish governments to help them reach export markets blocked by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Official figures this week showed that the amount of salmon exported in the first quarter of this year fell by 40% compared to Q1 2019, from 22,500 tonnes to 13,600 tonnes.

The value of the exports fell by 34%, from £151 million in Q1 2019 to £100m this year, according to the statistics from Her Majesty’s Customs and Revenue (HMRC).

Source. fishfarmingexpert | Read the full article here 

‘This relief package will support America’s fishermen and our seafood sector’s recovery,’ said US Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, announcing allocation of $300 million in fisheries assistance funding provided by Sec. 12005 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also called the CARES Act, to states, Tribes, and territories with coastal and marine fishery participants who have been negatively affected by COVID–19.

As a next step, NOAA Fisheries will use these allocations to make awards to partners: the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.?They will disburse the funds to address direct or indirect fishery-related losses as well as subsistence, cultural, or ceremonial impacts related to COVID-19.

Author:Quentin Bates / FiskerForum| Read the full article here

NORWAY’S fish farmers are facing the prospect of a new production tax from next year.

The government has announced proposals for a tax of NOK O.40 (40 øre or cents) per kilogramme on salmon, trout and rainbow trout which is expected to produce revenues of NOK 500 million for local and regional municipalities, mostly in fish farming areas.

The new tax will replace contributions from the current Aquaculture Fund and shoves into touch controversial proposals for a 40 per cent flat rate tax proposed by a special committee last November. The industry said this tax, if implemented, would drive investment out of Norway to rival countries such as Scotland, Iceland and Canada. It also sharply divided political opinion in the country.

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

Ms. Sunneva Ósk Gudmundsdóttir has been appointed quality manager for land-based fish processing at Samherji. She replaces Mr. Elvar Thorarensen, who is retiring for health reasons. Ms. Gudmundsdóttir has a degree in fisheries science from the University of Akureyri and has worked on quality control at Samherji for the past three years. She lives in Akureyri with Mr. Omar Thorri Gunnlaugsson, and they have two children. Quality manager for 25 years Mr. Thorarensen has worked at Samherji throughout his career. He began in human resources but was then appointed quality manager and held that position for 25 years.

Importer and distributor Stavis Seafoods has been a player in the U.S. seafood industry for more than 85 years.

Stavis Seafood Vice President David Lancaster told SalmonBusiness that shifting the focus on moving at speed to the new landscape has been key to success.

With a huge catalogue of fish, fresh and frozen, from around the world, Grupo Profand-owned Stavis sells tuna loins, snow crab and even alligator meat. Based in blue collar Boston, the backdrop to films such as the Fighter, The BoonDock Saints and the Departed, the town is known for its tough guys who know how to handle even tougher times.

Author: Owen Evans/ SalmonBusiness | Read the full article here

The Valencia Port Authority (APV) has already paid around 10 million euros as urgent and compensatory measures to mitigate the economic effects of COVID-19.

The Port has reported that since these measures were implemented, the APV has streamlined the payment of 7.33 million euros to a total of 250 supplier companies to provide liquidity to companies that carry out work for the ports of Gandia, Sagunto and Valencia. The APV plans to continue these measures, and estimates that during 2020 it will advance payments to its suppliers worth 51 million euros. The objective of this initiative is to make weekly payments until the end of the State of Alarm in order to minimize the treasury difficulties that the providers or service providers of the APV may have.

Source: Fishing Industries | Read the full article here

“No major salmon production area has tougher market conditions than Chile,” says Mowi CEO Ivan Vindheim.

“Chile mainly produces fillets for the US market sold through traditional fish dishes, which have been shut down in addition to the Horeca segment( hospitality sector: restaurants and hotels) In other words, Chile has lost their most important customer, does not have processing capacity, and as a result has had to put the fish on frozen stock,” says Vindheim to TDN Finans.

To move the stock from ocean to land is no long term solution.

“Of course, when you store the fish, no money comes in. So it is also very challenging financially for the companies in Chile,” he says.

Source: SalmonBusiness | Read the full article here

A Hong Kong-based single-cell protein (SCP) specialist is seeking to raise US $50 million to expand into aquaculture in Scandinavia, Europe, North and South America and West Africa.

The company, iCell Sustainable Co., has appointed aquaculture fundraising specialist Lighthouse Finance to help it find the money and pursue business development opportunities. Proceeds will be used for working capital and investment in joint ventures and water treatment facilities.

ICell produces protein rich by-products for use in aquatic and terrestrial feed products through the conversion of nutrient process waters from the food industry.

Source: fishfarmingexpert | Read the full article here

The scallop market in the U.S. has largely mirrored the trends seen in virtually every other seafood category, according to information shared by Bristol Seafood.

The information came via an industry webinar the company hosted in order to provide an update on how scallops have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Bristol regularly releases a “factbook” covering what to expect in the coming year, but the pandemic had understandably rendered a portion of that information obsolete.

On the supply side, the volume of scallops that the U.S. fishery is expected to catch in 2020 is expected to come in at roughly 10 million pounds lower than it was in 2019 – down from 62 million pounds to 52 million pounds – largely due to changes in how many trips are being allowed into closed fishing areas. 

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

The largest operator in the Russian Far East crab sector, the Russian Crab Company’s fleet of 19 vessels has delivered more than 2000 tonnes of crab so far this year, accounting for 21% of the region’s total 9500 tonne 2020 catches.

The company has 12,970 tonnes of crab quota at its disposal, making it the largest operator in the sector, as well as the only Russian supplier of live Hair crab to the Japanese market and a major supplier to Chinese crab processors.

Russian Crab has declared that so far this year its vessels have caught their entire quotas for opilio crab in the West Bering Sea and Karaginsky subzone, golden king crab in West Kamchatka subzone, blue king crab in the West Kamchatka and West Bering Sea subzones as well as opilio crab in Karaginsky subzone. 

Author: Quentin Bates / FiskerForum | Read the full article here