The shrimp farm in Shirahama City, Wakayama Prefecture, will close at the end of March. Demand dropped dramatically due to the coronavirus.

The aquaculture business started in the city in April 2016. A total of approximately 4 tons was shipped annually to markets and suppliers across the country, but the impact of COVID since last spring had a direct impact. The more that was shipped, the more the deficit increased, so it was decided to close it.

Due to the closure, live shrimp will be sold at a bargain price starting March 1. One kilogram (about 100 animals) costs 6,000 yen and 500 grams costs 3,000 yen. The size of each animal is around 15 cm. Until the 6th, but it will end as soon as it runs out.

Source: AGARA (translated from original in Japanese)

We are so proud of our colleague Sanna Matsson who is now ready to defend her dissertation for the degree of Philosophiae doctor (PhD) at UiT Norway's Arctic University. The date for the dissertation and trial lecture is Thursday 4 March. Both trial lectures and disputations are conducted digitally and streamed so that the audience can follow the events.

The theme of Sanna's dissertation is kelp cultivation with a special focus on sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima). This species is considered the most suitable kelp species for farming along the Norwegian coast. A challenge related to kelp farming is that kelp hosts various growth organisms and this degrades the quality of kelp. To assist kelp growers in identifying the optimal time for sowing and harvesting, Matsson has investigated growth at different latitudes, seasons and sea depths as well as related to kelp's age and nutrient content. The work is part of the MACROSEA project led by SINTEF Ocean

Prøveforelesning kl. 10:15 – 11:00

Scottish Sea Farms enjoyed a far better year in 2020, producing an operating profit of NOK 308m (£26m), up from NOK 292m (£24.6m) in 2019, the company’s accounts show.

Revenues totalled NOK 1,699bn (£143.5m) against 1,834bn in Q4 2019, producing an EBIT per kg of NOK 12.9 (NOK 11.4).
The company is jointly owned by SalMar and the Lerøy Seafood Group, and is known in Norway as Norskott Havbruk.

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

As fishing businesses in the UK struggle to survive the combined effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the pst-Brexit fallout, according to the NFFO, things for the sector are getting worse rather than better.

The NFFO has again written to Secretary of State George Eustice and Fisheries Minister Victoria Prentis, seeking a second round of support for struggling fishing businesses.

‘I wrote to you on 1st February, 2021, making the case for a further tranche of financial support for the fleets in England who are facing multiple challenges. 

I am writing again to press you on this matter because things in our sector are getting worse rather than better,’ reads the letter signed by NFFO chief executive Barrie Deas.

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

A verdict in the case between the Norwegian state and a group of salmonid farmers challenging an order to reduce production will be delivered on or around March 17.

Proceedings in Sogn og Fjordane District Court finished yesterday after nine days of testimony from expert witnesses and presentations and questions from lawyers.

The case centres around Norway’s “traffic light” system, which divides the country’s coast into 13 defined areas, from area 1 in the south to area 13 in the far north.

Source: fishfarmingexpert | Read the full article here

On Sunday 10 January, AKVA Group was the victim of a ransomware attack that took down several of its systems. The company gave no comment on the ransom amount, or whether or not they paid.

These cyber-attacks are happening more frequently in Norway, hitting both the public and private sectors. A ransomware attack halted production at Norsk Hydro in 2019. Akva Group’s competitor Steinsvik (ScaleAQ) was attacked last April. This past December, the cruise line Hurtigruten and the Østre Toten municipality were both hit by significant ransomware attacks.

As ransomware attacks become larger, more frequent, and more sophisticated, all companies need to reexamine their strategies. Too often, “data security” is no more than a marketing tagline.

Author: John Costantino, Co-Founder and CTO at Manolin / SalmonBusiness | Read the full article here

Thai Union has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with two community groups in Songkhla in southern Thailand to provide them with a solar-powered fish-house dryer that will double the amount of fish they can sell.

The agreement with the Ban Na Thap Women’s Group Seafood Processing in Songkla Province and the Thai Sea Watch Association also aims to improve food safety standards, develop knowledge about seafood processing techniques and conserve community coastal resources and aquatic management.

Source: WorldFishing | Read the full article here

The AE2020 ONLINE Programme Grid has now been published:

The Programme Grid (links to https://www.aquaeas.eu/images/stories/Meetings/AE2020/AE2020_ProgrammeGrid.pdf) of our AE2020 ONLINE event from April 12-15 is now online. The Grid provides an overview of the sessions over the 3 conference days and the RAS programme (link to https://aquaeas.org/_pdf/AE2020_RAS@EAS_Programe.pdf ) on the 12th. A more detailed programme with individual presentation titles will be published just before the event.

AE2020 ONLINE will have parallel sessions covering most aspects of European aquaculture, and therefore a great update on research. The parallel sessions will be made up of pre-recorded video presentations of the oral presentations and with time allocated to review Eposters and for Q&A.

The event will also feature an e-Market, where vendors and media partners will have a dedicated place online to present their products, link to their website and have a chat-box to interact with attendees and set up meetings.

The European Union and the Republic of Gabon have established a new fisheries agreement that allows EU vessels to access Gabonese waters for a period of 5 years, thus contributing to the development of the Gabonese fishing sector.

This new Protocol guarantees compliance with the fundamental values of the Common Fisheries Policy of the EU, which is based on the sustainable management of resources, better governance of fisheries and transparency. 

Source: EuropaAzul | Read the full article here

The state of hake in Chile is one of the thermometers of resource management and the well-being of its ecosystems, and it shows alarming figures.

“The hake is gone, or is too far away. Sometimes I think that these could be the last ones left, ”laments Omar Méndez, a fifth generation of fishermen in Tomé, Biobío region. In 20 years of work, he saw the croakers, tilefish, snook and other species that accompanied the common hake, the only one they continue to extract, disappear from their nets. 

Source: aqua.cl | Read the full article here