The open ocean is calling to aquaculture as a new frontier, and scientists are optimistic for the future of the industry.

Cawthron Institute aquaculture scientist Kevin Heasman said open or "exposed" ocean aquaculture, which Cawthron had been studying since 2003, had "huge potential" for existing industry organisations and for newcomers who didn't have access to sheltered coastal areas.

Open ocean farming had the potential to turn vast swathes of the ocean into productive space with minimal negative impact on the environment, and potentially provide greater resilience in the face of climate change, Heasman said.

Source: Stuff

Maine’s lobster fishermen will be able to use a new species of bait fish to try to get through a herring shortage that has troubled the industry in recent years.

Lobstermen typically bait traps with Atlantic herring, but federal fishery regulators have enacted dramatic cutbacks to the catch quotas for that fish. The Maine Department of Marine Resources said Thursday it has approved the blackbelly rosefish as a new species that can be sold and used as lobster bait in the state.

The blackbelly rosefish is an abundant species that ranges from Canada to South America. Cooke Aquaculture, a New Brunswick, Canada-based company, requested Maine’s approval to sell rosefish as bait, and the company announced plans to harvest the fish off Uruguay.

Source: Central Maine

KOTA KINABALU - Demand for fish caught using explosives is among the reasons behind the rampant incidents of fish bombing in Sabah, said the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).

Sabah MMEA director Kamaruszaman Abu Hassan noted that syndicates are more than keen to meet this demand, cashing in on people’s desire to acquire a food item at a lower price.

It is understood that fish caught using explosives are sold for much less in the market.

This was based on information from surveillance and operations statewide, particularly during a raid in the rural district of Kota Belud yesterday, Kamaruszaman said.

Source: Free Malaysia Today

HÀ N?I – The domestic shrimp industry considers the EU-Vi?t Nam free trade agreement (EVFTA) a good chance to boost exports to the EU market, according to the Vi?t Nam Association Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Especially, tariffs on frozen prawn exported from Vi?t Nam to the EU will fall from 20 per cent at present to zero as soon as the agreement comes into effect.

The tariffs for other shrimp products are reduced according to the 3-5 year roadmap, while processed shrimp products will have a seven-year tariff reduction schedule, excluding canned tuna and fish balls with a tariff quota of 11,500 tonnes each, VASEP said.

Source: Viet Nam News

BÌNH THU?N The south-central province of Bình Thu?n has caught and bred more than 100,000 tonnes of fish and other aquatic species in the first half of the year, up 2.02 per cent against the same period last year.

Favourable weather and the appearance of a large quantity of pelagic fish in waters offshore contributed to the increase.

Fishermen in the province, one of the country's largest fishing grounds, caught 93,000 tonnes of aquatic species in the period, up 2 per cent against the same period last year. 

Source: Viet Nam News

GEORGE TOWN - The Penang government has given its assurance that the welfare of fishermen would not be marginalised when the sea reclamation project in the southern waters of Penang is implemented.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said fishermen could still go to sea when the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project is carried out and the fishermen and their families would be given employment opportunities in the project.

“I believe the process of gathering views and objections had taken place several years earlier as the Environmental Impact Assessment report has been approved and the next phase would be on how to implement the project.

Source: Bernama

ANKARA - Most of the Filipinos want their government to assert a right on the islands in the West Philippine Sea, Anadolu Agency reported, citing a survey revealed Friday 12ve of July 2019.

The survey by Social Weather Stations, a Philippines-based advocacy group, said that 87 per cent of adult population of the country agreed that Manila "should assert its right to the islands in the West Philippine Sea as stipulated in the 2016 decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.”

The body of water is commonly referred as South China Sea, where China is accused of expanding its military dominance. The countries surrounding the sea are often engaged in maritime dispute with Beijing.

Spread over 3.5 million square kilometers (1.35 million sq miles), the South China Sea is one of the world’s busiest shipping routes and covers a vast reserve of gas and oil.

Source: Bernama

Wild caught salmon is a well-known source of protein, healthy omega-3 fatty acids, and nutrients including selenium, vitamin B12, and potassium.  Compared to their farm-raised cousins, salmon caught in the wild are also generally lower in contaminants.  But, now, GMO salmon presents a whole new set of concerns for health-conscious consumers.

Obviously, wild caught fish tends to be more expensive –  which is why restaurant owners (and grocery stores) find ‘farm-raised’ or GMO salmon to be so attractive.  But, do most people fully understand the health impact of this change in our food supply?

Source: Before its News

In total, Russia’s largest aquaculture company harvested 17,032 tonnes of salmon and trout.

Russian Aquaculture harvested 10,067 tonnes of salmon and 7,864 tonnes of trout between August 2018 and June 2019, the company reported on its site.

The company farms salmon in the Barents Sea in the Murmansk region, while its trout operations are in lakes of the Republic of Karelia. Both regions are in the northwest of Russia. Among the owners of the company are Maksim Vorobyov, the brother of the governor of Moscow.

The total is up from 2017’s 12,500 tonnes of fish.

Source: Salmon Business

Upper Cook Inlet salmon fisheries are now in full swing, with promising sockeye returns finally showing up.

East Side setnetters in the sections north of Kasilof opened for their first period July 8, and the personal-use dipnet fishery on the Kenai River opened July 10 2019. They join the drift gillnet fleet and other Upper Cook Inlet setnetters as well as the inriver sportfishery and the Kasilof River personal-use fishery.

As of July 8, nearly 80,000 sockeye salmon had passed the sonar in the Kenai River. That’s more than double the number that had passed through on the previous date in 2018, when only 37,513 had passed, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The Kasilof River sonar has registered about 98,635 sockeye, ahead of the 81,076 counted in 2018. Both rivers saw an uptick in daily passage on July 8 compared to July 7.

Source: Alaska Journal