From April 18 to 21 of this year, Panama City will host the Latin American and Caribbean Aquaculture event (Lacqua 23).

It is the Latin American conclave, belonging to the World Aquaculture Society. It is an annual conference, recognized among the most relevant, due to the exchange of knowledge, technology and innovation, as well as the formation of networks of aquaculture professionals in the continent.

The president of the Panamanian Association of Aquaculture Farmers (Aspac), Roberto Chamorro, highlighted the importance of holding this event in our country, where, in addition to Latin American experts, aquaculture farmers from Asia and Europe will be present, since issues related to the application of high technology in the sector, in addition to encouraging marketing and own businesses, as well as those derived from the activity.

According to Chamorro, during this event, there will be academic and technical sessions on topics such as aquaculture health, nutrition and food, genetics, production systems and innovation, as well as sessions focused on the cultivation of species such as shrimp, tilapia and marine fish, through the use of artificial intelligence, among others.

Source: panamaamerica

Norwegian aquaculture company Nordlaks intends to provide recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) know-how to Atlantic Sapphire.

Nordlaks became an owner of Atlantic Sapphire in 2022 and this week invested US$10 million in the Miami-based Atlantic salmon producer. On March 16, Atlantic Sapphire also reported that it raised $55 million through a private placement at the Oslo Stock Exchange.

Ç

Three other companies had pre-committed to subscribe for offer shares in the private placement:

Strawberry Equities AS for the NOK equivalent of $6.5 million;

Blue Future Holding AS owned by EW Group, a leading global provider of animal genetics, nutrition and health products, for NOK 50m ($6.3 million); and

Joh Johannson Eiendom AS, also for NOK 50 million (US$6.3 million)

Prior to the issue, Nordlaks held 4.8 per cent of shares in Atlantic Sapphire. Now,  Nordlaks has become a major shareholder of Atlantic Sapphire holding 10.6 per cent of the company and will implement a cooperation agreement with the Miami-based firm within the first quarter of 2023.

Author/Source: Nestor Arellano/Rastech

The Norwegian Seafood Council is reporting that an unusual PR strategy has brought major success from its recent campaigns in two key Asian countries.

The main goal for South Korea was to get people to eat salmon more often, on more different occasions and in more varieties than classic sushi.

It was also an important aim in Thailand, in addition to raising awareness that the salmon is Norwegian, and not from Japan.

Author: Vince McDonagh / FishFarmer | read the full article here

ADEC Innovations, a recognised global leader in designing and delivering sustainable development solutions that drive organisational value and impact, has completed its acquisition of Kedge Proprietary Limited (“Kedge”) and Southern Ocean Carbon Company (“SOCC”). Kedge and SOCC are recognized Blue Economy leaders within Australasia and Oceania for vessel, mooring, aquaculture, marine systems procurement and commissioning, environmental protection, design assurance, and regulatory compliance.

Source: FishFocus | read the full article here

...Says department lacks staff, technical and financial capacity

Kaieteur News – The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) in a summary report titled, “The seabob (Xiphopenaeus kroyeri) value chain in Guyana” disclosed that while the country has existing fisheries management policies, their implementation is “weak.”

The FAO’s report was published in January 2023 and is based on “FISH4ACP” which is an initiative of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) to support sustainable fisheries and aquaculture development. The five-year value chain (VC) development programme (2020 to 2025) is implemented by FAO with funding from the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

According to the report, the seabob shrimp value chain in Guyana is one of 12 value chains competitively selected from over 70 proposals worldwide for support from the FISH4ACP programme.

It was explained that the summary report presents the outputs of design work completed during 2021 and early 2022 to conclude a functional analysis of the value chain, assess its sustainability and resilience, develop an upgrading strategy to which the FISH4ACP programme will contribute, and plan for full implementation from mid 2022.

HONOLULU -  The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) discussed the draft National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) biological opinions (BiOps) released last week for the Hawai‘i deep-set longline and American Samoa longline fisheries.

The draft BiOps concluded the two fisheries are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of Endangered Species Act-listed species that may be accidentally hooked or entangled during fishing operations. The SSC found the no-jeopardy conclusion is well supported by the scientific information used in the analysis.

In the four years leading up to these draft BiOps, the SSC reviewed statistical models evaluating population-level effects of the Hawai‘i deep-set longline and American Samoa longline fisheries on loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles. The SSC this week heard an update on the assessment that evaluated the effect of the Hawai‘i deep-set fishery on the leatherback turtle population. The committee determined that the updated analysis represents the best scientific information available. The models show the two fisheries have no discernable impact on the population projections when comparing scenarios with and without fishery impacts.

The SSC adopted the findings of a working group formed to provide a detailed review of the draft BiOps. The Council will consider the outcomes at its meeting to be held during the week of March 27 in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands and Guam.

P.E.I. fishermen are worried they won't be able to fish mackerel to use for bait this spring.

Last March, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans put a moratorium on commercial fishing for mackerel across the East Coast. At the time, DFO said mackerel stocks were low and needed time to recover.

Some fishermen say it's iSome fishermen say it's impacting landings, and that not being able to fish their own mackerel for bait is hurting business.

"With the U.S. fishing, I mean, they already issued their quota for the year and here we are not knowing yet, but you know, what we don't catch they're gonna catch and it's actually worse for the fishery," said Trevor Barlow, lobster fisherman and co-chair of the mackerel committee with the P.E.I. Fishermen's Association.

P.E.I. fishers seek province's help in wake of herring, mackerel moratorium

P.E.I. fishermen will have bait despite moratorium, says minister

Source: cbc.ca 

Two school leavers have kick-started their careers in aquaculture, joining Australia’s Oyster Coast (AOC) farmers at Narooma for the next 12 months.

With recent extreme weather events affecting the oyster industry’s ability to harvest, AOC CEO Devin Watson said safeguarding the industry’s future by attracting and developing current and future generations of oyster farmers was more important than ever.

Skyla Robinson McEvoy and Lily Smith have joined the South Coast team as part of the National Farmers’ Federation AgCAREERSTART gap-year program that helps school leavers gain hands-on experience in the agriculture or aquaculture industries.

Skyla, from Greenleigh in NSW, and Lily, from Brighton, Queensland, have relocated to the coast and will spend the year working as oyster farmers at the Narooma farm. If they choose to stay in the industry, they will be offered permanent jobs with AOC that include gaining formal aquaculture qualifications.

Both girls are new to farming and are keen to see whether an aquaculture career is for them.

Source: aboutregional

A Coruña, Spain-based Abanca, the owner of vertically integrated seafood firm Nueva Pescanova, is actively seeking a partner in the business, or potentially a sale of the company.

On 26 February, Cooke Inc. was reported to be in negotiations to buy a majority stake in Nueva Pescanova, which is headquartered Redondela, Pontevedra, Spain, but which has operations in 17 countries on five continents and sells its seafood products in more than 80 countries globally.

Author: Cliff White / SeafoodSource | read the full article here

As part of the 194th meeting of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, a fishers forum will be held from 6-9 p.m. March 30 at the Guam Museum.

The council, along with eight other regional fishery management councils, was established to combat overfishing, reduce bycatch and safeguard fish populations and habitats by the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976.

The Pacific Council headquarters is stationed in Hawaii, but also oversees fisheries within American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as eight other remote islands.

Source: postguam