21 minute read
International News
by Eurofish
Norway: Ultramodern new structure to foster dialogue about seafood sustainability
The Salmon Eye, a futuristic construction that floats on the sea in the Hardangerfjord in Norway was launched early September at a hybrid event featuring viewers from around the world and an audience at the site itself. Eide Fjordbruk, the company behind the Salmon Eye, is a farmed salmon producer that is committed to the sustainability of its activities. The construction itself is expected to contribute to a more sustainable seafood production that does not burden the environment but in fact helps to solve the challenges thrown up by climate change. At the same time it is intended to cement Norway’s position as a leading seafood nation with a farmed fish industry that will play a role in food security for the world’s growing population. Technological development and innovative solutions are the way to meet these objectives and the Salmon Eye, itself a product of technology and vision, has been created to change the way seafood is produced. As climate and environmental regulations become more stringent in the coming years the pressure to produce more sustainably will only increase. Eide Fjordbruk is already looking at new solutions for climate neutral production including for collecting and reusing sludge from sea cages. Initiatives like the Salmon Eye promote an open and transparent dialogue between the stakeholders in the industry where the problems and the potential of aquaculture can be freely discussed with the ultimate goal of strengthening the Norwegian maritime food industry.
The Salmon Eye was created by the company Eide Fjordbruk to change how seafood is produced and to contribute to sustainable food production that meets the UN’s objectives.
USA: Greener Blue starts a repository of fisheries and aquaculture stories
The Lexicon of Sustainability and the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI), with technical support from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) launched the Greener Blue initiative as a part of the FAO International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture. The Greener Blue initiative aims to highlight contributions from artisanal and small-scale fishermen to sustainable food systems and the eradication of poverty. The Greener Blue initiative sought people willing to participate in the project’s “Storytelling Lab” which provided participants with the opportunity to build skills and receive mentorship while acquiring a database of stories from artisanal fishermen. The project gave participants a GoPro camera to keep in return for the fishermen telling their stories. The objective is to celebrate the importance of fishermen and farmers in addressing climate change and protecting ecosystems. Farmers and fishermen have immense firsthand knowledge, and the initiative plans to build a knowledge sharing platform, Seafood MAP, to provide a place for stakeholders to learn, connect, and develop solutions.
Greener blue is a storytelling initiative that is part of the FAO International Year of Artisanal Fisheries.
UK: Researchers identify promising opportunity for sea cucumbers in aquaculture
Researchers from the University of Stirling have identified an exciting potential for integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) using sea cucumbers and farmed fish. The research stems from the European Union’s Horizon 2020-funded project “Tools for Assessment and Planning of Aquaculture Sustainability (TAPAS)” and was carried out with the AquaBiotech Group and the University of Palermo. The study found that sea cucumbers flourish by feeding on organic waste from commercial fish farms. The sea cucumbers consume the fish waste which can effectively mitigate the environmental impacts of organic waste accumulation from fish farming. Using stable isotopes and fatty acid analysis the researchers found that fish waste was the dominant food source for the sea cucumbers contributing to their health and growth. Sea cucumber is a delicacy in parts of Asia. It has nutritional properties and is currently being researched for potential medicinal and other health benefits. The demand for sea cucumber is very high and it
New research suggests that sea cucumbers could be used in multi-tropic aquaculture to mitigate accumulation of organic waste from fish farms.
is being over-fished in regions of the world. Sea cucumber can sell for €30/kg dried and €120/kg as processed product in the market. The IMTA approach could be a profitable and more environmentally beneficial way of producing fish.
France: European Parliament bans demersal seine fishing in French territorial waters
Stakeholders concerned with fishing pressures on the English Channel saw a minor victory when the European Parliament voted to ban demersal seine fishing in parts of the channel. The demersal seine fishing technique, also referred to as fly shooting, has received criticism recently for putting too much pressure on the channel fishery and having significant effects on small scale fishermen. It is estimated that there are around 75 demersal fishing vessels operating in the channel which is significantly higher than the fishery can support. The EU parliament’s vote on the ban of demersal fishing now makes it possible for the European Commission and EU member states to vote on whether the fishing technique should be banned in French territorial waters. This is part of larger concerns between both the UK and the EU about sustainability of the Channel’s fishing stocks. The issue stems as well from the origin of the fishing vessels, which is often not French, and therefore removes economic opportunity from French territorial waters and French coastal communities. The push for increased regulation on these waters should help protect small scale French fishermen.
Norway: Salmon producers implement salmon feed with plankton as a key ingredient
The use of plankton in salmon feed is an innovative step in ensuring sustainable salmon aquaculture and the most efficient aquaculture production. Since plankton is a natural prey for salmon, the use of it in aquaculture can help optimize the salmon’s nutrition. For this reason, the Norwegian salmon producer Andfjord has entered into an agreement with Skretting and Zooca to develop a fish food tailored for their on-land flow through salmon production. Skretting is a feed producer and Zooca will source the plankton. Skretting has developed a fish feed using algae oil instead of marine fish oil and Calanus finmarchicus zooplankton. This feed can contribute to optimal water quality, fish welfare, and fish growth. Additionally, Calanus finmarchicus is a sustainable source to base the feed on because it has an exceptionally high production capacity of 300 million tonnes annually. It is one of the
Innovating with plankton as a salmon feed ingredient hopes to improve the quality, taste, and efficiency of aquaculture salmon.
most numerous animal species available and Zooca extraction of Calanus is only 0.0005 of total annual volume. Therefore, its use in feed will not put pressure on the Calanus populations.
The International Cold Water Prawn Forum will hold its biennial conference on 17 November 2022 in Tromsø, Norway. The event will provide participants with the status of the cold water prawn sector in terms of resources, production, trade, and markets. The range of speakers will offer a wide international perspective on developments in the industry enumerating the latest challenges and opportunities. Like all such events the key objectives are to inform and to enable participants to network with their
The cold water prawn (Pandalus borealis) industry will meet for the biennial meeting of the International Cold Water Prawn Forum on 17 November 2022 in Tromsø, Norway.
colleagues from countries across the globe. The event was last held face to face in 2019 so for many attendees it will be an opportunity to catch up with their peers after a gap that has been longer than the usual two years.
The cold water prawn (Pandalus borealis) is the most commercially important crustacean in the North Atlantic with total annual landings of 250,000 to 400,000 tonnes, according to the Norwegian institute of Marine Research. P. borealis is distributed in the North Sea, along the Norwegian coast, and in the Barents Sea, as well as around Iceland, along Greenland and the Canadian coast, among other areas. Greenland, Canada, and Norway dominate landings of this species. It grows to a maximum size of 20 g and 16 cm and is found at depths of 70 m and below. The cold water prawn is caught and often cooked on board. In supermarkets they are available frozen, but also fresh or cooked and peeled. They have a high nutritional value and are the source of a valuable oil and an enzyme used in laboratories.
For more information about the conference visit www.icpwf.com where it is also possible to register.
Cryopreservation planned for farmed aquaculture species research in the Netherlands
Researchers from the Centre for Genetic Resources in the Netherlands are to monitor the genetic diversity of wild and cultured aquatic species and then cryopreserve (freeze in nitrogen) samples of the species. Since aquaculture stocks typically originate from wild populations there is a varied genetic diversity for potential initial stocks. Monitoring differences between wild and aquaculture populations is important for the sustainable use of aquatic resources. This project aims to understanding the genetic makeup of these farmed and wild fish stocks. The research is part of the Netherlands’ commitment to the FAO global action plan for conservation and sustainable use of aquatic genetic resources. The cryopreservation of the material is intended to help ensure the long-term genetic diversity of the selected species. The project will monitor Crassostrea gigas (Pacific oyster), Ostrea edulis (flat oyster), Mytilus edulis (mussel), Anguilla anguilla (European eel), Scopthalmus maximus (Psetta maxima) (turbot), Sander lucioperca (pike perch), Saccharina latissima (sugar kelp), Ulva spp. (sea lettuce), Laminaria digitata (oarweed), and Undaria pinnatifida (wakame, an exotic species, which has permanently established itself in the Netherlands). When applicable, the
Turbot is one of the species that will be genetically studied and cryopreserved in this Dutch study.
project hopes to cooperate with commercial aquaculture companies, however, the monitoring and sampling will differ depending on the species and access to samples.
Estonian fishermen observe fewer vendace in Lake Peipus
Lake Peipus is located on the border between Estonia and Russia and is the site for a vendace fishery in both countries. Vendace is a small freshwater whitefish. The Estonian Russian fisheries commission has agreed on a split quota for vendace with quotas for 2022 at 50 tons per country. The vendace season begins on July 1 and by July 10 the Estonian Minister of Rural Affairs halted Estonia vendace fishing as 90 of the quota had already been caught. Estonian fishermen have expressed concern that Russian fishermen may not be fairly following their allocated quotas. They have identified that while their season is quicky over the Russian fishermen are continuing to catch vendace. The fishermen point to customs data which reveals Vendace being sold from Russia to Estonia. They also pointed to the decrease in the quota from 80 tons last year to 50 tons this year in response to the
Estonian fishermen fear that vendace is being overfished in Lake Peipus.
depleted fish stocks. The stocks will continue to be depleted if the exploitation of the quotas is not managed. However, given political conflicts and difficulties in proving these accusations, this will be a difficult issue that no one will want to address.
Norway cooperates with Global Fishing Watch to boost fishing transparency
One of the keys to transparency in the global fisheries supply chain is data transparency. Norway has agreed to share their Vessel Monitoring System with the non-profit, Global Fishing Watch. Global Fishing Watch uses satellite tracking data to map commercial fishing vessels and fishing activity. The agreement with Norway will add the location of around 600 vessels to the Global Fishing Watch database. Accurate fishing vessel tracking is a necessary component in mitigating and minimizing illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. Norway’s agreement to share their vessel monitoring data with GFW is a big step in documenting the environmental footprint of the fishing industry and offers the opportunity to establish worldwide data to understand the full scale of impact of the fishing industry. In addition to the agreement, Norway has expanded their vessel monitoring systems to include all commercial fishing vessels and has increased the frequency that vessels must report their location. The agreement has raised concerns as to why the EU has yet to cooperate and share their fishery data to the same extent. EU spokespeople have responded by identifying EU privacy regulations make contributing
Norwegian fishing vessels now share their location data with Global Fishing Watch.
the Global Fishing Watch difficult and highlighted the EU’s existing electronic logbook processes for all EU vessels. Regardless, this agreement reminds all fishery professionals that reporting, and transparency can always be improved and increased.
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Spain: Fishing Sector Report 2022 shows growth in fish production value
The Spanish Fisheries Confederation (CEPESCA) has released its report on the Spanish fish sector for the 2020-2021 period. Total production value was 2,043 million euros which was a 10 growth from 2019. The report identified that Spain accounts for 28 of the total value of EU fishing. The Spanish fishing industry generated 31,093 direct jobs and 150,000 indirect jobs in 2020. There was an increase in imports and exports from 2020-2021. This growth reveals the resilience of the Spanish fishing sector in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and maintaining successful health and safety measures on fishing vessels. The report recognizes Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a new crisis for the industry to manage and identifies increased challenges resulting from new EU environmental policies, regulations, and objectives. These new policies include a potential reform of the Common Fisheries Policies and the Law on Sustainable Fisheries and Fisheries Research. The closure of
The Spanish Fisheries Confederation report on the Spanish fish sector gave an overview of the industry in the 2020-2021 period.
87 vulnerable marine zones from deep sea fishing will also have an unknown socio-economic impact on the Spanish fishing industry. The report identified the importance of strong industry leadership as increases in prices of fishing oil and diesel will make profitability more difficult.
Norway: Sea lice traps are a promising technology for sea lice monitoring
Sea lice are one of the primary challenges in salmon aquaculture. Sea lice put fish health, the economic viability of the product, and wild salmon populations at risk. Monitoring sea lice in aquaculture facilities is a necessary but expensive measure for aquaculture companies. Researchers at NINA, the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, and NTNU, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, have developed an innovative new lice trap system for monitoring sea lice. Norwegian aquaculture operates on a “traffic light” system where the infection pressure from sea lice on salmonids is monitored to determine if salmon production can be increased or needs to be decreased. The current system relies on significant statistical modeling as well as manual counts. This can be an expensive and time intensive processes. The new sea lice trap technology filters seawater but traps plankton which can be analysed in the lab using DNA based methods to calculate the number of sea lice larvae. In the current early development stages, results from this technology are being compared with results from current monitoring to calibrate the models
Sea lice are a major challenge for the salmon farming industry. A new lice trap technology will help monitor them.
and ensure accuracy. In the early stages of research and development, this method presents a cost effective and easily scalable solution to monitoring sea lice levels.
France: Virtual reality available to simulate marine emergencies
A project consortium of six partners from five countries has developed an innovative device for safety training for crews on fishing vessels. The technology is a virtual reality simulator that educates fishermen on hazards and safety procedures, exposes them to hazardous scenarios, and walks them through the safety procedures and how to execute them. This is an important technology for the fishing industry because most fatal accidents that occur on fishing vessels are the result of a lack of knowledge of emergency procedure and how to execute appropriate emergency procedure. Often, there is a general lack of compliance by crewmembers on periodic training and safety exercise requirements. This VR technology hopes to combat this issue to emphasise the importance of safety in fisheries. The technology was introduced by the European Parliament at an event hosted by MEP Gabriel Mato and EU fisheries experts. The event was attended by fisheries stakeholders, including representatives of EU Institutions, industry and civil society that saw the need for this innovative tool.
The new VR safety exercises can help mitigate safety risks on large fishing vessels.
The University of Splits octopus restocking research hopes to help octopuses’ populations in Croatia to rebound.
Thanks to EU protection, Hungarian fish products from Lake Balaton will receive a special label identifying them as Hungarian. For products from Lake Balaton, the fish will have a Balaton Fish Brand Label.
Croatia: Research into restoring octopus populations begins
Hungary: Balaton fish brand will be available in Hungarian restaurants after receiving EU protection
Octopus populations in Croatia have been affected by overfishing and hunting by recreational and professional fishermen. Octopus is primarily used for food in Croatia. As octopus stocks have decreased in recent years, they continue to be overfished as their perceived rarity has increased the product value. Researchers at the University of Split are now exploring the viability and potential for octopus restocking. This research has involved the release of hundreds of thousands of octopus larvae into the sea. The researchers will then track the integration of the octopus into the ecosystem and the wild population. The hope is to develop optimal conditions for octopuses’ survival to help the populations rebound. Currently, only 1 of octopus survive the larval stage and increasing this percentage is imperative for successful restoration. To monitor the success of the released larvae, the scientists are manually tracking the octopus larvae using genetic samples, and they have asked fishermen to contribute to data collection by providing samples for DNA analysis when they catch an octopus.
The Hungarian fishing industry is poised to benefit from the EU’s recent protection of the Balaton fish brand in restaurants. The Balaton fish brand labels indigenous Hungarian fish that have been produced in Lake Balaton, a large freshwater lake in western Hungary. The protection of the Balaton fish label will help ensure high quality, carefully controlled, and locally produced fish. This will benefit fishermen, restore the status of fish from Lake Balaton as a high-quality product, build awareness of indigenous and nonindigenous species among local people and tourists, and give gastronomic recognition to fish from Lake Balaton. This is an exciting
milestone for a region that has historically struggled with overfishing and low fish stocks. It is estimated that 800,000 people work in the Hungarian fishing industry. Lake Balaton produces 500-600 tonnes of wild, and 150-200 tonnes of farmed fish annually. If all goes well with the Balaton brand implementation in restaurants, it will hopefully be integrated into the retail sector soon.
Greece: Global warming identified by stakeholders as a key challenge to fishing industry
The EU funded project EcoScope aims to identify the key challenges facing the fishing industry and develop electronic and digital tools for mitigating the challenges. The goal is to help implement ecosystem-based fisheries management that can fine tune the accuracy of marine policy scenarios, spatial planning systems, and other models. This hopefully will help mitigate some of the human impacts and ecosystem degradation in European seas. The project began with a survey of fisheries industry stakeholders to understand their needs, industry challenges, and the potential future obstacles. The survey revealed that 72.2 of respondents believe that global warming is a major threat to fisheries. Secondly, by-catch, increased protection areas, and fisheries restricted areas are the next biggest concern with 50 of respondents identifying each of those factors as a concern. Other notable risks were biodiversity reduction and marine and coastal area user conflicts, and species distribution.
less stringent regulation and therefore the Spanish and French fleets face disproportionate economic challenges. The tuna organizations request that the regulation be modified so the 10 rule applies to the entire fleet rather than each species. Currently, the sanctions are so detrimental to the fleets than an independent economic analysis found that if nothing changes by 2026, the ship owners will need to shut down. This would represent a loss of 1,600 French jobs and 2,500 Spanish jobs.
Small scale artisanal fishermen will be among the most affected by global warming.
France and Spain: EU control regulation challenges tropical tuna fleets
The French and Spanish tropical tuna fleets are currently being undermined by EU margin of tolerance control rules. Stakeholders argue that the regulations that specify the degree of variability between catch estimates and actual catch landing that make it impossible for the tropical tuna fleets to be economically profitable. The regulation identifies that there must be a difference of no more than 10 per species between catch estimates on board and the landed catches. The issue with this regulation is that when the temperatures on the boat are high (above 30 degrees Celsius) the fishermen only have a few minutes to sort and freeze the catch before it becomes unsafe for human consumption. Tuna fisheries organizations argue that differentiating between different species in this short time frame is very difficult and leads to incorrect catch estimates. Consequently, the fleets receive heavy sanctions. Fleets from other countries face
European tropical tuna fleets request reform to regulations that disadvantage them compared to tropical tuna fishermen from other regions.
Romania to receive 31.5 billion euros as part of EU cohesion policy
The EU Cohesion policy which allocates funds to support the social, economic, territorial cohesion, competitiveness, green and digital transition for EU countries has allocated 31.5 billion euros to Romania. Of this sum, 162.5 million will be from the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund to be invested in sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, conservation of aquatic biological resources in the Black Sea, fisheries control, sustainable aquaculture, processing, diversity in local fisheries and aquaculture communities, and in supporting modernisation of fishing infrastructure in the Black Sea. Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans, and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevicius, stated that the Partnership Agreement will allow Romania to build innovative, low-carbon and sustainable fisheries, aquaculture and processing sectors while also reinforcing the economic and social vitality of coastal communities. It will also support the resilience of sectors faced with exceptional events that lead to serious disruption of markets.” This partnership should be valuable for the Romanian fisheries sector’s continued growth and will help mitigate economic challenges resulting from Covid-19, high fuel prices, supply chain disruptions, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Romanian aquaculture should see significant benefits from support allocated by the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture fund as part of the EU’s cohesion policy.
Norway: Fall in price of salmon breaks months of record highs
In a year that has been rocked by inflation, salmon consumers are finally starting to see some price relief. After consistently high prices for the first half of 2022, salmon prices are beginning to fall. Salmon prices peaked in May of 2022 with a maximum price of EUR 10.57 per kg of fresh salmon. The prices stayed high for a large portion of June, however, the NASDAQ salmon index 12-week average indicates that there has been a 12 decline in prices with the price currently around EUR8.82 per kg of fresh salmon. Experts from FishPool, a marketplace for salmon financial contracts, predict that the price will fall to 8.69 EUR. This fall in prices would be in line with normal salmon price trends. Demand tends to decrease during the summer holiday while people travel while supply continuously increases. Annual price lows are typically seen in the second half of the year as the supply is consistently higher, but demand either decreases or is stagnant.
Salmon prices see their first decline in 2022.
Croatia MEP asks EU to pay more attention to Adriatic Sea protection
At the plenary on the EU’s biodiversity protection ambitions, the Croatian MEP Valter Flego requested that the EU pay more attention to the protection of the Adriatic Sea. He said that while soil, forests, and air protection remain at the forefront of EU biodiversity protection ambitions, the sea seems overlooked. He emphasised that for people living in the Mediterranean and relying on the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas for food, recreation, tourism, and other uses, the sea was just as necessary to protect and maintain as the land or air. He called for further discussion of the preservation of the sea at the COP 15 summit (the UN Biodiversity Conference). The management and protection of the Adriatic Sea is an important issue because the detrimental effects of climate change are rapidly beginning to be seen. The sea is changing, and the water temperature is increasing which helps invasive species establish and kills native species. This puts a significant number of economic sources such as fisheries and tourism at risk for Croatia and other Mediterranean countries.
