Other Media | SeafoodSource:Hamachi, kampachi, hiramasa still popular in Japan
JAPAN
Friday, March 27, 2020
Yellowtail – known as “buri” or “hamachi” in Japanese – is Japan’s top farmed finfish export by value at USD 137 million (EUR 122.9 million, JPY 14.7 billion), and as such, is displayed at most seafood shows in Japan.
At the Seafood Show Osaka 2020 in February - one of the last seafood trade shows to take place before the onset of the COVID-19 crisis shut down large public industry gatherings, hamachi and its close relatives in the genus, kampachi and hiramasa, took center stage.
Both buri (Seriola quinqueradiata), as well as kampachi (Seriola dumerili) and hiramasa (Seriola lalandi) were featured by numerous companies farming them in Japan. Typically, hiramasa’s taste and texture are similar to kampachi, and compared with the buttery fatness of farmed buri, both are springier and have a cleaner taste.
The Nagasaki Fisheries Cooperative Association prominently featured hiramasa at the event, the rarest and most expensive of Japan’s three farmed seriola species. The association’s subsection chief, sales section, Daisuke Yamasaki said that hiramasa tracks with kampachi on price, but not with buri, which is cheaper. The price of farmed hiramasa is not strongly affected by wild-catch quantities, as producers can adjust feeding to bring the farmed fish on faster or slower to avoid timing harvests when wild catches are strong, Yamasaki added.
At the show, the association displayed a 1.5-kilogram hiramasa fillet. Yamasaki said that this product runs in the range of JPY 2,500 to JPY 3,500 per kilogram (USD 23.42 to USD 32.78, EUR 20.93 to EUR 29.30). This year prices are at the higher end of the range. The main determinant of price is the farmed production quantity, which in turn is mostly a function of water temperature – the fish fatten faster when the water is warm. Production is mainly in southern Japan, around Kagoshima or Nagasaki, as the species is sensitive to cold.
Author: Chris Loew / SeafoodSource | Read the complete articlehere
According to data compiled by the Miyagi Prefecture Fisheries Co-operative, market values for farmed coho salmon (gin-zake) are currently facing a downward trend. As of May 20, average cumulative prices have dropped by 8%, hitting a low of $5.11 per kilogram (812 Yen).
The recent figures show a clear decline compared to the much higher price ranges recorded during the exact same period in the previous year. Landings are still progressing across key distribution hubs, with the underlying data originating from the combined market locations of Onagawa, Ishinomaki markets, and the Shizugawa operations office.
Industry experts note that all listed unit prices are calculated excluding consumption tax. Despite steady shifting market values, overall aquaculture revenues in Miyagi Prefecture are experiencing pressure due to this ongoing price slump.
At the 33rd annual meeting in Vancouver, Canada, Vladimir Belyaev, Advisor to the Director of the Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO), was elected President of the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC). This appointment underscores the authority of Russian fisheries science and strengthens the country's role in managing transboundary marine resources.
The NPAFC, comprising five member countries, has established critical objectives for the upcoming term. Key priorities include tracking the migration, abundance, and survival of Pacific salmon. Following below-average catch volumes in 2025, the commission will focus on developing data-driven recommendations to protect vulnerable populations. Additionally, member states will coordinate strict measures to combat illegal fishing across the high seas.
"Conserving salmon stocks cannot tolerate disunity," stated Belyaev. "Sustainability depends on honest cooperation to forecast population dynamics and ensure protection in the convention area."
The measure, approved under the new temporary framework for the Middle East crisis, will cover costs for April and May 2026 and will be open until the end of the year.
The European Commission has approved a French state aid scheme worth €13 million for fishing companies affected by rising fuel prices resulting from the crisis in the Middle East. The decision falls under the temporary state aid mechanism adopted by Brussels on April 29, 2026.
According to information released by the Commission, the French program will cover costs corresponding to April and May 2026 and can be implemented until December 31 of this year.
The project by Itsas Balfegó, a company founded in 2022 by the Catalan firm Balfegó and the research center AZTI, to develop an open-sea aquaculture facility for fattening bluefin tuna in two 50-meter submersible tanks off the coast of Getaria, was officially presented in September 2024, marking the start of its testing phase. This followed a rigorous administrative and scientific evaluation. The initiative involved installing two submersible aquaculture structures 3.69 miles from the port of Getaria (Gipuzkoa), which would be tested during the autumn and winter months before the pilot test for fattening this species began in the summer of 2025. It was already being suggested at the time that if the experience proved positive, they would seek to move to the commercial phase.
Source: iPac.acuicultura | Read the full article here
Peruvian marine ingredients, including fishmeal and fish oil, have reached a new sustainability milestone after Austral Group became the first producer in the country to register the life cycle assessment (LCA) of its products as Branded Data within the Global Feed LCA Institute (GFLI) database.
The international platform compiles environmental information on feed ingredients used in animal production, enabling customers, feed manufacturers and aquaculture companies to access accurate, verifiable and globally comparable data based on primary information rather than sector averages.
Salmon farmer Mowi Scotland is helping a remote Hebridean community to replace a statue of the saint that gave their island its name.
The island of Barra, in the Outer Hebrides, is named after the Irish saint, Barr (also known as Finbar). The statue of St Barr, installed in the 1970s, is now crumbling and needs extensive restoration.
Mowi provided both a vessel and crew to facilitate the removal of the existing statue from the island and supplied concrete to upgrade the plinth for the new statue, which is scheduled to arrive later this year.
Author: Robert Outram / Fish Farmer | Read the full article here
Salmon stolen from a processing facility in Norway has been found in a stolen articulated lorry trailer parked up at a petrol station.
Processor 1814 Salmon reported that 18 tonnes of salmon worth around NOK 1.4 million (£112,000) had been stolen from its facility in Dal, close to Oslo Airport, in a burglary at the weekend.
Late on Sunday, police received a report of the theft of two articulated lorry trailers that had been stolen from nearby Skarnes during the night. At least one of them was observed at a service station in Vestby, around 110 kilometres southwest of Skarnes, and a patrol was dispatched to the scene.
Source: fishfarmingexpert | Read the full article here
Atlantic Sapphire has entered into a restructuring agreement with a group of major shareholders and convertible loan holders aimed at securing long-term financing, reducing debt, and taking the land-based salmon farmer private.
The investor group includes Nordlaks Holding, Condire Management, Nokomis Capital, Strawberry Capital, and Joh. Johannsson Eiendom. Together, the group represents around 63% of Atlantic Sapphire’s shares and 93% of its outstanding convertible loan.
The transaction includes a voluntary offer of NOK 0.80 (€0.07) per share, followed by a planned squeeze-out of minority shareholders and a delisting from Euronext Oslo Børs.
Source: SalmonBusiness | Read the full article here
JAPAN.jpg)
Both buri (Seriola quinqueradiata), as well as kampachi (Seriola dumerili) and hiramasa (Seriola lalandi) were featured by numerous companies farming them in Japan. Typically, hiramasa’s taste and texture are similar to kampachi, and compared with the buttery fatness of farmed buri, both are springier and have a cleaner taste.
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RUSSIAN FEDERATION
FRANCE
The measure, approved under the new temporary framework for the Middle East crisis, will cover costs for April and May 2026 and will be open until the end of the year.
SPAIN
The project by Itsas Balfegó, a company founded in 2022 by the Catalan firm
PERU.png)
Peruvian marine ingredients, including fishmeal and fish oil, have reached a new sustainability milestone after 
UNITED KINGDOM
Salmon farmer Mowi Scotland is helping a remote Hebridean community to replace a statue of the saint that gave their island its name.
NORWAY
Man arrested after being found asleep in cab
Atlantic Sapphire 
