Saving Seafood

US resumes bilateral mollusk trade with EU after 10-year ban

February 4, 2022 — The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced on 4 February that the U.S. and European Union will resume bilateral trade of live, raw, and processed bivalve molluscan shellfish.

The negotiated agreement marks the first time bilateral trade of mollusks between the E.U. and U.S. will be allowed since 2011. The new agreement will allow producers in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Washington to send mollusks to the E.U., and will allow producers in Spain and the Netherlands to send products to the U.S.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global Rescheduled for 26-28 April 2022

May 26, 2021 — The following was released by Diversified Communications:

Keeping our customers’ best interest in mind is our top priority. After evaluation of suppliers and buyers’ concerns around the continued uncertainties caused by the on-going COVID-19 situation worldwide, it became evident that 2021 would still be too soon to host an international event that would provide the global experience the seafood community would find valuable. The 28th edition of Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global will now take place 26-28 April 2022.

Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global is the world’s largest and most diverse seafood trade event bringing together more than 29,000 industry professionals from around the globe. More than 158 countries are represented at the event and each country’s complex COVID-19 regulations and governmental restrictions make it impossible to hold a large-scale global event in September 2021.

We are committed to Barcelona and will continue working with Fira de Barcelona and the city to host a valuable in-person event at the Gran Via venue in 2022. We have received strong participation interest from all sectors of the global seafood industry and look forward to having the most successful first edition in the beautiful city of Barcelona, Spain.

We understand the need for our customers to meet with industry buyers during these challenging times. Until we can meet again face to face in Barcelona, we will be looking at online event opportunities to connect suppliers and buyers and keep the seafood community informed on the latest topics in the industry.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info-global@seafoodexpo.comor visit our website at www.seafoodexpo.com/global for additional information.

We can’t wait to see you all in Barcelona on 26-28 April 2022!

COVID-19 delays inaugural Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global in Barcelona

May 26, 2021 — The first edition of Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global to take place in Barcelona has been pushed back due to COVID-19.

The 28th edition of the world’s largest seafood expo, which was scheduled to take place in Barcelona, Spain from 7 to 9 September, 2021, will now take place 26 to 28 April, 2022, Portland, Maine, U.S.A.-based organizer Diversified Communications announced on Wednesday, 26 May. 

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Sea bass bad, scallops super: charity updates sustainable fish guide

October 7, 2020 — Consumers are being urged to steer clear of wild-caught sea bass fished from French and Spanish waters, but to eat farmed king and queen scallops to alleviate pressure on threatened fish stocks.

Sea bass caught in the southern Bay of Biscay and Atlantic Iberian waters have been rated red in the Marine Conservation Society’s updated 2020 Good Fish Guide – joining its “fish to avoid” list – because of serious risk to local dolphin and porpoise populations.

The charity warns the use of trawling and static nets in these areas has led to dolphins and porpoises increasingly being caught as bycatch; a problem now so severe that they could disappear. Consumers are instead advised to opt for certified farmed or line-caught sea bass.

Read the full story at The Guardian

Satlink leading shift from human fishery observers to land-based electronic monitoring

August 11, 2020 — Madrid, Spain-based Satlink, which specializes in technological solutions and developments based on satellite communications, has launched a program designed to train on-board human fishery observers to perform fishery monitoring through video data and satellite imaging.

The program will give regional fishery management organizations (RFMOs), governments, and fishing companies a method of observational compliance that sidesteps complications regarding placing observers on-board vessels during the coronavirus pandemic.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Cooke eyes deal for fast-growing Argentinian shrimp firm with Spanish plant

February 20, 2020 — Acquisitive Canadian seafood giant Cooke is eyeing a deal for Grupo Cabo Virgenes, an Argentina-based fishing and processing firm with a plant in Spain, reports Alimarket.

According to the website’s sources, Cooke is looking at buying all Cabo Virgenes’ assets, which include nine vessels and a plant in Argentina, and the value-added factory in Spain, but the talks are in the early stages and a deal is not imminent. Cooke is already operating in Spain, with seabass and seabream farmer Culmarex.

Cabo Virgenes and Cooke were not immediately available for comment to Undercurrent News. 

An Undercurrent source confirmed he’d also heard of the talks. “Cooke needs to enter the Spanish [shrimp] market and Cabo Virgenes is a good operation for starting with wild shrimp in Argentina,” he said.

Cooke has already started to expand in the Argentinian shrimp sector and Glenn Cooke, co-founder and CEO, told Undercurrent last year the company plans more deals. Cooke was previously being linked to a deal for vessels owned by Grupo Conarpesa Continental Armadores de Pesca (Conarpesa), but nothing materialized. The company has also snapped up two Central American shrimp farmers, Seajoy Group and Farallon Aquaculture de Nicaragua.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Bigeye tuna get ‘modest’ reprieve as fishing nations cut quotas

November 27, 2019 — The world’s major fishing nations have agreed “modest” quota cuts for the under-pressure Atlantic Bigeye tuna but critics say more should be done to protect an important food resource.

Scientists warn that unless the catch is reduced, stocks of Thunnus obesus—especially prized for sashimi in Japan and canned worldwide—could collapse within years.

A scientific report prepared for last year’s failed meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) showed numbers had plummeted to less than 20 percent of historic levels.

This is only about half what is needed to support a “maximum sustainable yield”—the largest catch that can be taken without compromising the long-term stability of a species.

Going into the meeting in Majorca, Spain, ICCAT had a headline  of 65,000 tonnes, allocated to the seven groups, including Japan and the EU, with the largest catch.

When smaller members were included, this rose to around 77,000 tonnes, pushing the Bigeye further into the , according to NGOs.

Read the full story at PHYS.org

Short film competition highlights women in seafood

September 13, 2019 — Women from Spain, India, and Peru have won the top three prizes in the International Association for Women in the Seafood Industry’s (WSI) annual short film competition, run for the third time this year.

The competition brief asked women to document their observations and experiences in the industry, and offered a cash prize of EUR 1,000 (USD 1,108) for the winner and EUR 500 (USD 554) for two runners up.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Interatlantic exec: China remains a processing powerhouse

September 4, 2019 — Economists have been predicting the decline of China’s seafood processing sector for years, but that prediction may not be correct, Jesús Martínez, Asia managing director at Interatlantic, a Vigo, Spain-based seafood trading firm, told SeafoodSource recently. Founded in 1989, Interatlantic has an office in Dalian, China, and has increasingly turned to China and its booming seafood market for a bigger share of its revenue.

Statistics do show a decline in the Chinese processing sector – the number of Chinese aquatic product processing enterprises dropped from 9,674 in 2017 to 9,336 in 2018, according to the Chinese Agriculture Ministry, and the country’s processing capacity of aquatic products processing enterprises fell from 29,262,300 tons per year in 2017 to 28,920,600 tons per year in 2018. Additionally, actual processing volume of aquatic products in China decreased by 1.79 percent compared with 2017, to 21.56,850 tons. Freshwater processing products and seawater processing totaled 3.883 million tons and 17.75 million tons respectively.

Read the full story at Seafood Source