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

The number of eels caught in Japan rose sharply in the most recent fishing season, covering the period from November 2019 to the end of April 2020, according to a Fisheries Agency report.

Glass eels, or elvers, are juvenile eels that are caught and raised to full size in grow-out ponds located in 19 prefectures across Japan. The top prefectures in terms of stocking amount of elvers are Kagoshima, Aichi, Miyazaki, and Shizuoka.

A new report from Japan’s Fisheries Agency titled, “The Situation and Measures Regarding Eels,” reveals that even though Japan’s domestic catch has improved after years of declines, the market for eel has fallen drastically as Japan’s restaurants have been forced to curtail service as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

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

The Government of Portugal has confirmed through its publication in the Diário da República that aid for the temporary cessation of fishing will cover the maximum period authorized by the EU: until December 31. The Ministry of the Sea has published the “Portarias” that regulate the granting of aid within the FEMP for multi-purpose vessels, purse seine and coastal trawling. In all three cases, temporary stoppages will be financed from March 18 to the end of the year.

Following the criteria established by Brussels, it is fixed as a basic condition that the eligible ships have operated at least 120 days in the two years. In order to stimulate the delay of stops and thus guarantee the supply of the food chain, the stoppage of vessels can be carried out in a single period or in interpolated periods, provided that, cumulatively, they do not exceed a maximum 60 days.

Source:Industrias Pesqueras | Read the full article here