Tag Archives: aquaculture industry
Opposition grows to expanding fin fish farming
The Trump administration and the aquaculture industry said the order, which is being implemented now, represents common sense steps to ease the burden of rules on fish farmers. “They’re trying to somehow connect open-water aquaculture with the need for domestic food. But it just doesn’t make sense,” said Marianne Cufone, executive director of the Recirculating Farms Coalition,,, Some fishing groups have also come out in support of the order. Scot Mackey, director of government affairs for the Garden State Seafood Association, which advocates for fishermen as well as farmers, said the order “will help the industry weather the current crisis and come back stronger.” Neville Crabbe, spokesman for the Atlantic Salmon Federation, a conservation group, said the federal permitting process should be creating land-based aquaculture rather than fish farms in the ocean, let alone offshore. >click to read< 18:13
Coronavirus: Rhode Island’s commercial fishery and aquaculture industry hit hard
Until the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rhode Island aquaculture industry had been expanding. In 2019, the the total value of shellfish crops was $5.8 million and the industry employed about 200 people. Coastal Resources Management Council Aquaculture and Fisheries Coordinator David Beutel said the consequences of the evaporation of the major markets for shellfish are now being felt at all levels of the industry. “They can’t sell product because most of it goes to restaurants,” he said. The fin fishery is also suffering. Christopher Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island Commercial Fishermen’s Association, said the impact varied according to vessel size and catch. Social distancing is difficult, if not impossible, on a boat. >click to read< 10:17
B.C. is well positioned to become a world leader in land-based salmon farming, By Eric Hobson
I am writing to applaud the Liberal party’s recent commitment to transition the open net-pen salmon farming industry to closed containment by 2025. The Liberal party platform recognizes that, around the world, open net-pen salmon farming is a sunset industry, and the time has come to support movement to closed containment in B.C. to protect our wild Pacific salmon and revitalize our aquaculture industry, ensuring we preserve jobs in both aquaculture and the wild salmon economy. >click to read< 21:35
Parasitic sea lice plagues global farmed salmon industry
A surge of parasitic sea lice is disrupting salmon farms around the world. The tiny lice attach themselves to salmon and feed on them, killing or rendering them unsuitable for dinner tables. The lice are actually tiny crustaceans that have infested salmon farms in the U.S., Canada, Scotland, Norway and Chile, major suppliers of the high-protein, heart-healthy fish. Scientists and fish farmers are working on new ways to control the pests, which Fish Farmer Magazine stated last year costs the global aquaculture industry about $1 billion annually. click here to read the story 20:26
Six pilot studies test sea urchin farming in Canada
Federal scientists and others are exploring the possibility of sea urchin farming in Canada, with at least six pilot studies using Norwegian technology that proponents hope will turn “zombie” urchins which can denude kelp beds into profitable seafood. The first of the studies, conducted by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, is expected to start next week in waters off Vancouver Island, with others planned for Newfoundland, Quebec and Nova Scotia. Wild urchins are harvested in B.C. and elsewhere, but aren’t farmed commercially anywhere in Canada — yet. But the efforts to birth a new aquaculture industry are already running into questions about the ecological cost. Read the story here 09:11
World’s Biggest Salmon Producer Wants to Farm Fish Inside a Cargo Ship
The world’s biggest Atlantic salmon producer wants to start farming fish inside a ship rather than the sea. Building traditional fish farms on the open water in Norway has become almost impossible because of state rules intended to curb outbreaks of sea lice, a parasite that can kill young fish. So raising salmon inside an unwanted cargo ship is one of a few options proposed by Marine Harvest ASA, which is trying to boost production at a time when prices are near a record high. Output in Norway, the top producer, is falling just as supply declines from the rest of the world. Employing a Panamax vessel better suited to carrying coal or steel was one of the responses to a Norwegian government program seeking ways to solve the parasite problem and stop farmed fish from escaping into the open sea. Winning proposals will get coveted farming licenses at reduced prices. Read the rest here 14:09
Fish farm madness: Harper proposes lax regulations for fish-farm industry
In its proposed regulatory changes to the Fisheries Act, the Harper government is not only catering to the Norwegian-based multinational fish-farm industry in Canada, it is also collaborating with the U.S. government in little-known efforts to “harmonize” regulations across many sectors, including the aquaculture industry. The results could have devastating impacts on Canada’s ocean environment, wild fish, and our fishing industries. Read the rest here 09:41
Shea extols trade agreement with EU at P.E.I. oyster conference
WOODSTOCK – Federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea told an oyster conference Friday that Canada has some of the most rigorous standards in the world to ensure that its aquaculture industry is safe, healthy and sustainable. more@theguardian 14:26
