Saving Seafood

Big American PE firm purchases Aker BioMarine’s feed ingredients arm

July 8, 2024 —  Aker BioMarine has sold its feed ingredients subsidiary to U.S. private equity firm American Industrial Partners (AIP) and Aker Capital.

The acquisition agreement for the Lysaker, Norway-based biotech and krill-harvesting company’s feed ingredients unit is based on an enterprise valuation of USD 590 million (EUR 545 million). The acquiring party will be a newly established company – owned 60 percent by AIP and 40 percent by Aker Capital – Aker BioMarine confirmed in a 3 July filing with the Euronext Oslo Stock Exchange.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Environmental NGOs, fishing companies split on health of Antarctic krill fishery

November 15, 2021 — The recent meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) heightened divisions between commercial krill-fishing companies and environmental non-governmental organizations claiming the Antarctic krill population is facing an existential threat.

Oslo, Norway-based Aker Biomarine, the world’s largest krill-fishing and -processing company, said the CCAMLR meeting resulted in the continuance of sustainable management practices for the fishery, pointing to a one-year extension of a krill-conservation instrument, CM 51-07, to allow more time to finalize a comprehensive krill-management strategy.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Seafood processors pay a steep price to keep workers safe from coronavirus

August 13, 2020 — When it comes to COVID-19 hotspots none are hotter than US meat and seafood processing plants, where virus outbreaks are hard to contain in the crowded, largely indoor spaces.

The prolonged close workplace contact among workers, shared work spaces, shared transportation to and from the workplace, congregate housing, and frequent community contact with fellow workers are the “distinctive factors” that have led to the rapid spread of the virus to more than 16,000 meat and poultry plant workers in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The situation for seafood processors in the United States and elsewhere is also challenging, even though the industry is substantially smaller than its meat and poultry counterparts. Nearly 1,300 positive coronavirus cases have been tied to the seafood sector worldwide, with the majority of those occurring in the United States, according to IntraFish data.

Read the full story at IntraFish

Precision fisheries of the future will rely on data and AI to improve profits

January 21, 2020 — The fishing industry is catching up to the data-driven digital revolution already remaking land-based agriculture and other industries.

And the fishing industry doesn’t need to wait for the future to arrive: the technology and advanced analytics that could improve environmental sustainability and increase profitability are available today, a recent report from global consulting and management firm McKinsey & Company concludes.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Majority of krill fishing companies join Greenpeace in protecting Antarctic Ocean

July 12, 2018 –A host of seafood industry representatives and companies have aligned with conservation groups to support the creation of marine protected areas in the Antarctic, according to a roundtable announcement hosted at the Greenpeace-led Antarctic 360° event in Cambridge, United Kingdom this week.

Aker BioMarine (Norway), Pesca Chile (Chile), Insung (South Korea), Rimfrost (Norway), and China National Fisheries Corporation (China) have all agreed to the instatement of a voluntary krill fishery closure along the Antarctic Peninsula, the World Wildlife Foundation explained in a press release. Additionally, Aker BioMarine, the world’s largest krill fishing company, pledged its support to the creation of marine sanctuaries in Antarctica through the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in coming years.

“Safeguarding the Antarctic ecosystem in which we operate is part of who we are. Our ongoing dialogue with ARK members, scientists and the community of environmental NGOs, including Greenpeace, is what makes additional efforts like this possible. We are positive that ARK’s commitment will help ensure krill as a sustainable and stable source of healthy omega-3s for the future,” Aker BioMarine Executive Vice President Kristine Hartmann said. “Through our commitment we are showing that it is possible for no-fish zones and sustainable fisheries to co-exist. Our intention with this commitment is to support CCAMLR’s work on establishing a network of large-scale science-based marine protected areas in the Antarctic.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Antarctic Penguins Find an Unlikely Ally: Fishermen

July 11, 2018 — In the waters off the northern tip of the world’s southernmost continent, one of the most important creatures is also the most profitable: pinky-length Antarctic krill.

These swarming, translucent, shrimp-like creatures are eaten by almost everything here—fish, penguins, seals, and whales. But krill also support a multimillion-dollar global fishing industry. They get sucked into nets and ground into meal to feed aquarium fish or farm-raised salmon and get squeezed for their oil, which is used in pharmaceuticals, including in the United States.

Now, with climate change rearranging life along the western Antarctic Peninsula, scientists and marine advocates have been warning that wildlife—particularly penguins—are under far too much stress. Krill fishing, they say, could be making things worse.

Monday, after years of negotiations, a majority of the fishing industry formally agreed to stop hauling in krill from around the peninsula’s troubled penguin colonies. The industry also committed to helping set up a network of marine protected areas in coming years to better protect marine animals.

Read the full story at National Geographic