Thai Union has opened an innovation hub facility in Wageningen, the Netherlands, further expanding the company’s investments in research and development.

Thai Union said the hub will focus on product and packaging developments for its ambient seafood brands. According to the company, around 40 product, process, and packaging developers, along with nutritionists, sensory, and consumer scientists will be working at or for the new facility and will collaborate with Thai Union’s Global Innovation Center (GIC) in Bangkok, Thailand. 

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

Leading Japanese processor Oji Salmon Co. has announced its move to steelhead trout production, (often referred to as “salmon” in Japanese), in response to rising global seafood prices and supply challenges.

Previously reliant on imports from Norway and Chile, the company is now farming trout at its facility in Kamikawa Town, Hokkaido.

This move is designed to ensure a stable supply of fish while enhancing product quality, according to a press release from the company.

Source: SalmonBusiness l Read the full article here

High Liner Foods, a North American value-added frozen seafood company, is celebrating its landmark 125th anniversary this year.

In honour of the company’s deep ties to the community, the town of Lunenburg in Nova Scotia, Canada has officially declared December 12, 2024, as ’High Liner Foods Day’.

“High Liner has quite a storied history, all of which started in Lunenburg and we are deeply honoured that the community has recognised us by declaring our anniversary High Liner Foods Day,”

Source: Worldfishing l Read the full article here

Salmon producer Scottish Sea Farms made a group operating loss of £15.6 million last year – a £30.4m turnaround compared to a £14.8m operating profit in 2022 - its newly published annual report shows. The 2023 loss includes losses made its subsidiary, SSF Shetland Ltd, reported last week.

Group turnover in 2023 was £197m, a decrease of £66m compared to 2022, on a reduced harvest of 27,061 gutted weight tonnes (2022: 35,900 gwt). Profit margin was -15.8% (2022: +3%).

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

The United States government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has handed over vehicles, office equipment, and motorcycles to Malawi’s Department of Fisheries through the Refresh Project.

The donation is part of the project’s aim to restore fisheries for sustainable livelihoods in Lake Malawi.

Speaking during the handover ceremony, Refresh Project Country Representative Dr. Dan Jamu said the initiative addresses key issues affecting Malawians’ economic wellbeing, food security and livelihoods.

“We identified gaps in regulatory frameworks and fisheries policies, which have since been addressed and modernized,” Dr. Jamu explained.

Department of Fisheries Director Dr. Hastings Zidana praised the Refresh Project’s five-year contributions, highlighting the significant impact on local resource management.

“These vehicles and equipment will enhance our capacity to manage fisheries resources effectively,” Dr. Zidana said.

The Refresh Project aims to conserve Lake Malawi’s biodiversity, improve capture fisheries management, and promote alternative livelihoods for lakeshore communities.

US support is crucial for Malawi’s fisheries industry, which faces challenges such as overfishing and environmental degradation.

With this donation, Malawi’s Department of Fisheries is better equipped to ensure sustainable fisheries management and improved livelihoods for its people.

Colombo - The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 17 Indian fishermen and seized their trawlers for allegedly poaching in its territorial waters, taking the number of Indian nationals apprehended this year by the island nation in such incidents to 413, an official statement said.

The fishermen were arrested, and their two trawlers were seized north of Mannar on Sunday, the Sri Lanka Navy said in a press release.

The navy conducted the "special operation" leading to the apprehension of the Indian fishermen, it said.

The 17 apprehended fishermen were escorted to the Talaimannar Pier and will be handed over to the Mannar Fisheries Inspector for further action, it said.

The Sri Lankan Navy has "held 55 Indian fishing boats and 413 Indian fishermen in island waters thus far in 2024 and handed them over to authorities for legal action," the statement said.

The fishermen issue is a contentious one in the ties between India and Sri Lanka, with Lankan Navy personnel even firing at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait and seizing their boats in several alleged incidents of illegally entering Sri Lankan territorial waters.

The Palk Strait, a narrow strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from both countries.

ANN/VIETNAM NEWS – Vietnam’s agricultural, forestry, and fishery trade turnover reached approximately USD69.84 billion from the start of the year to mid-September, according to the General Department of Customs.

The country currently enjoys a trade surplus of nearly USD12.4 billion in these sectors. In the first half of September 2024, trade turnover for key agricultural, forestry, and fishery products was estimated at USD1.48 billion, with exports hitting USD1.03 billion and imports totalling USD448 million.

From January to September 15, export turnover in these sectors stood at about USD41.11 billion, while imports reached USD28.72 billion. Data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shows that by the end of August 2024, export turnover for these products had grown 18.6 per cent year-on-year, with import turnover increasing by 5.6 per cent.

Leading exports were wood and forest products at USD10.9 billion, followed by seafood at USD6.68 billion.

On the imports, the largest were animal feed and raw materials at USD3.45 billion and about USD1.75 billion on seafood imports.

The Commission for the Regulation of Anadromous Fish Production in Khabarovsk Krai has determined the deadline for completing the production of pink salmon, chum salmon and char in the Tuguro-Chumikansky District and the waters of the Sakhalin Gulf adjacent to the Nikolaevsky District.

According to the decision of the regional commission, the catching of chum salmon, pink salmon and char in the North-Okhotsk Sea subzone in the Tuguro-Chumikansky Bay and the waters of the Sakhalin Bay adjacent to the Nikolaevsky district is prohibited from October 1, reports a Fishnews correspondent.

This period is provided for industrial fishing, organization of amateur fishing and traditional fishing.

Conxemar and FAO are once again making Vigo the epicentre of the international fisheries debate with the 12th edition of the Conxemar-FAO International Congress, which is being held today as a prelude to the Conxemar Fair. On this occasion, the forum will bring together 24 experts from around the world at the Afundación headquarters in the Galician city - including ministers from Namibia and India, as well as representatives from the governments of Argentina and Iceland - to analyse the present and future sustainability of fishing. Throughout the day, which will be opened by the Minister of the Sea of ??the Xunta, Alfonso Villares, and closed by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, the key points of the latest Sofia report (State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture) of the FAO, the focus of this year's congress, will be addressed.

Source: Industrias Pesqueras l Read the full article here

Spain has obtained 2,700 tons of sardines after an exchange —or swap— carried out with Portugal. In exchange for this quantity of pelagic fish, the Spanish Ministry of Fisheries has had to give the Portuguese 50 tons of sea bream —a species that does not have an established individual distribution—, 300 tons of monkfish —which the Administration will deduct from the quota that remains available after applying the optimization mechanism— and 150 tons of Mediterranean swordfish.

Source: EuropaAzul l Read the full article here