February 12, 2021 — Trondheim, Norway-based Norcod, the Norwegian cod-farming venture, has announced a doubling of production volume.
Norcod CEO Christian Riber said the company had achieved “a new milestone”
MAINE: Local fisherman tests the waters with oyster venture
February 10, 2021 — Chris Kane’s small oyster farm in Western Bay is off to a successful start. A local lobster fisherman for the last 15 years, Kane was recently granted a limited purpose aquaculture license to try his hand at growing the tasty bivalve.
Farming oysters not only can help supply fresh products to meet market demand but can also help keep the waters and the surrounding environment clean. Oysters eat naturally occurring plankton and algae and an adult oyster can also filter as much as 50 gallons of water a day.
“Since people started farming oysters, I have heard that there are now wild growing populations of oysters, which is good,” said Kane.
Last year, Kane applied for a limited purpose aquaculture (LPA) license from the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) to grow oysters. LPAs differ from a standard aquaculture lease in that their term is only for one year and the cultivation space is limited to up to 400 square feet. It didn’t take long for the DMR to approve Kane for a LPA license.
“You have to do the paperwork and you can’t just apply to put one anywhere,” said Kane, adding that “it took me a while to really pick a good site out.”
$400K in federal funds may help open new markets for Maine aquaculture
February 9, 2021 — A research project looking at new and underserved markets for Maine’s aquaculture industry has been awarded $400,499 in federal funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant program.
The award, announced Friday, will go to the Maine Sea Grant, according to a news release.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has had a tremendous negative impact on all seafood producers,” said Sebastian Belle, the association’s executive director. “The work that will be done in this project will be critical in helping our members adapt to and recover from the challenges they are facing.”
The award will support the research of potential new and underserved markets for Maine-grown aquaculture products, and will fund efforts to seek partnerships between aquaculture and wild capture supply chains.
“Maine’s aquaculture industry has undergone significant growth and diversification in recent years, creating new jobs and economic opportunities in our state,” U.S. Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a joint statement.
Friend of the Sea calls on COFI to address regulation of sustainable seafood claims
February 9, 2021 — The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations’ Committee on Fisheries (COFI) met this month for its 34th session, covering topics relating to the state of the world’s sustainable fisheries and aquaculture operations.
A subsidiary body of the FAO, COFI is the only inter-governmental forum where FAO members convene to review and consider the global issues and challenges related to fisheries and aquaculture, according to the body’s website. The collective provides periodic global recommendations and policy advice, such as its Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
New seafood task force to tackle UK export problems
February 8, 2021 — A new task force has been set up by the government of the United Kingdom to help resolve export issues that have disrupted Scotland’s seafood sector following the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December, 2020.
The Scottish Seafood Exports Task Force will meet every two weeks with representatives from the U.K. government and the catching, processing, and aquaculture sectors, starting this week.
Foodservice giants reject AquaBounty’s genetically engineered salmon
February 5, 2021 — Foodservice supplier Aramark this week confirmed its boycott of AquaBounty’s genetically engineered AquAdvantage salmon.
Citing the company’s Sustainable Sourcing Policy, Aramark joins ranks with other foodservice leaders Compass Group and Sodexo, as well as a growing list of domestic retailers, seafood companies and restaurants.
“Reiterating our previously stated opposition to genetically engineered (GE) salmon, we will not purchase it should it come to market. Avoiding potential impacts to wild salmon populations and indigenous communities, whose livelihoods are deeply connected to and often dependent upon this vital resource, is core to our company’s commitment to making a positive impact on people and the planet,” Aramark’s policy states.
AquaBounty, a Massachusetts-based biotech firm, prepares to bring its gene-spliced salmon to market from its only U.S. farm in Albany, Ind., in a shifting domestic market that increasingly values origin, health and sustainability, and wild over farmed seafood.
CARES Act money to be disbursed to N.J.’s fishing and aquaculture industry
February 5, 2021 — As of Thursday morning Capt. Rich Issaken, owner of the Isaetta commercial boat at the Belford co-operative dock, was still waiting for word on whether his application for CARES Act grant money was approved.
This is the week that New Jersey’s fishing sector is to begin receiving disbursements of CARES Act money from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection.
The state was awarded $11 million from the initial federal pandemic relief package that was passed by Congress last March. The DEP said it would start notifying fishermen the week of Feb. 1.
“We applied. Haven’t heard anything yet,” Issaken said.
Most of the grant funds, $6.1 million to be exact, are earmarked for the state’s commercial and aquaculture sector. The recreational fishing industry sector was allocated $1.1 million while the remaining $3.8 million was awarded to the dealer and processor sector.
FAO: Aquaculture and Fisheries Can Expect Further Disruption in 2021 Due to COVID-19
February 4, 2021 — The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) latest report has warned that fisheries and aquaculture can expect further disruptions in 2021, as the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to affect supply and demand.
Global aquaculture is expected to fall by 1.3% in the first annual decline for many years, as fish supply, consumption and revenues are all hit by the pandemic.
MAINE: Salmon farm sparks opposition
February 4, 2021 — Opposition is mounting to a large-scale salmon farm in Frenchman Bay before the project’s backers have formally submitted an application to locate roughly 30 net pens at two sites north of Bald Rock and the Hop islands.
In a related move, a citizens group is calling for the Maine Department of Marine Resources to toughen its rules regarding aquaculture leases that range widely from mussel to oyster cultivation in coastal Maine. Applications for these enterprises have jumped threefold in just five years.
Early this week, American Aquafarms’ President and CEO Mikael Roenes still had not filed a DMR application for his company’s proposed ocean farm to raise Atlantic salmon and possibly cod in the northern-northwestern section of Frenchman Bay.
From Norway’s southern coastal town of Grimstad, Roenes early last fall outlined his plan to raise the fish in floating net pens, fitted with polymer-membrane cloth sacks in which fish waste (feces and feed) collects at the bottom. The waste is pumped to and passes through an attached filtration unit before being discharged at sufficient depth into the sea.
Northeast seaweed: Maine production continues to climb; doubling projected by 2025
January 29, 2021 — Seaweed continues to be a promising industry in coastal communities along the U.S. East and West coasts. Globally, the industry is valued at $12 billion, but commercial growth could be boosted by improved processing infrastructure and expanded markets.
While 95 percent of edible seaweed products in the United States are imported, there is a wild and growing cultivated harvest in the Northeast. A March 2020 study published by the Island Institute, titled “Edible Seaweed Market Analysis,” looked at growth potential in Maine’s edible seaweed markets over the next 15 years. The report found that production in Maine will grow about 12 to 15 percent annually over the next decade and is expected to more than double seaweed production by 2025.
Sugar kelp and alaria aquaculture are low-barrier and relatively affordable. They provide value-added opportunities for commercial fishermen and local economies, particularly where wild fisheries have declined. Maine Department of Maine Resources data on farm raised seaweed indicates that in 2018, 53,564 wet pounds valued at $37,897 were landed. In 2019, 280,612 wet pounds valued at $176,132 were landed.
Atlantic Sea Farms, a large commercial seaweed farm in Maine with 24 partner farmers, grew 30,000 pounds of seaweed in 2018. This year, the company planted enough for 800,000 pounds. The crop Atlantic Sea Farms cultivates ends up in products including fresh and frozen seaweed in pureed cubes and ready-to-eat and fermented products.
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