Fisheries New Zealand has launched an investigation into potential illegal fish dumping after a spearfisher shared "gut-wrenching" footage of dead fish floating near Great Barrier Island.

The video, posted to social media by veteran spearfisherman Darren Shields, shows a trail of discarded fish on the water’s surface. Shields, who spotted the waste while out on the water, told reporters this is a symptom of a much larger crisis.

A Call for Stricter Limits

Shields highlighted a steady decline in local fish stocks, blaming both commercial and recreational overfishing. "We’ve been allowed to take too much for too long," he said. "The population is growing, more people are on the water, and we need to adjust our limits to allow for that."

He is calling for an end to bottom trawling, arguing that the method is inherently destructive and leads to the capture of undersized or non-quota species that are often discarded.

The Official Response

Fisheries NZ has already identified a commercial vessel operating in the area at the time of the report. Regional Manager Andre Espinoza confirmed that "Illegal discarding is relatively rare due to the prevalence of cameras and real-time tracking," Espinoza stated, "but we take every complaint seriously."

If an offence is proven, the vessel operators could face significant fines or the forfeiture of their vessel.

Cell-cultivated seafood company BlueNalu has raised US $11 million (£8.13m) to advance commercialisation of its bluefin tuna meat grown from fish cells.

San Diego-based BlueNalu said the capital will support it as it prepares for market introduction of cultivated tuna, pending regulatory approval in the US.The money is also expected to advance the company’s scale-up activities, including continued process optimisation and manufacturing readiness for its next-generation production facility, designed to support meaningful commercial production volume.

Source: fishfarmingexpert | Read the full article here

Two of Norway’s largest salmon farmers, the Lerøy Seafood Company and SalMar, have released trading updates for the final three months of last year.

The two companies are co-owners of Scottish Sea Farms, but the SSF figures will not become available until next month.

Lerøy harvested 49,300 tons of salmon and trout compared to 56,800 tons during the same period in 2024.

The harvested volume of salmon and trout for the full year 2025 was 195,600 GWT, compared to 171,200 GWT in 2024.

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

A number of aquaculture entrepreneurs took part in the recent One Ocean Expedition, sparking real aquaculture collaborations and early seaweed initiatives in Baja California Sur.

The voyage took place aboard Norway’s storied tall ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl in the Gulf of California from 16 to 24 November, and the crew included mentors and alumni of the Women in Ocean Food (WIOF) LATAM programme, alongside more than 70 participants from 12 organisations working across the region. Scientists, academics, entrepreneurs, students, coastal community members, storytellers and artists shared the same decks and the same watch rotations

Source: The Fish Site | Read the full article here

• It wants to "learn" from other management models to take advantage of the proliferation of this species on its coasts
• It is already evaluating a quota system

In the English counties of Devon and Cornwall, the octopus is an anecdotal species. On the three occasions when it has not been, when it has proliferated in abundance on their coasts—in 1899, 1950, and 2025—it has been considered a "plague." "In the last two or three months, this coast has been visited by a perfect plague of octopuses. They have practically ruined the industry, and many shipowners have tied up their boats in despair [...] They are the most disgusting beasts," published the local newspaper, the Western Evening Herald, founded four years earlier, on December 18, 1899. Even now, when this cephalopod mollusk is a globally sought-after product, it carries the same stigma in these parts of England.

Optimar has secured a major aquaculture contract to supply harvesting and slaughtering equipment to a new fish farming project in Kazakhstan, marking the company’s first delivery to the country and a significant expansion of its international footprint.

The deal is with Organic Fish, which is developing a modern trout farming operation in the Caspian Sea. The project aims to reach an annual production capacity of around 5,000 tonnes within three to four years. Optimar will deliver a complete harvesting package for offshore operations and a slaughterhouse package for land-based processing.

Source: Worldfishing |  Read the full article here