THE Hoganess Salmon sites in Shetland that are currently under investigation following the death of up to 6,000 farmed salmon last week have been suspended from existing certification schemes operated by the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation (SSPO), Scottish Quality Salmon and Shetland Aquaculture.

A NEW series of online modules to educate young people about the aquaculture industry has been launched by animal health and nutrition company Alltech and the Irish agri-food educational body, Agri Aware.

THE Scottish SPCA is investigating the death of up to 6,000 farmed salmon at a fish farm in Shetland, according to a report by Shetland Marine News.

The ex-farm value of the Shetland salmon sector is to top £145million in 2010, an increase of 15% from the previous year (£126m in 2009), according to Shetland Aquaculture. 

FOLLOWING Norway's recent announcement of record seafood  exports, it has now emerged that Norwegian fish is taking over the seafood market in the United States. Sales of Norwegian salmon to the US in particular have rocketed since the Chile salmon disease outbreak 18 months ago. But it also being helped by the oil crisis in the Gulf where large areas of water have been clsoed off to fishing, leading to a seafood shortage in some areas.

THE Shetland based seafood company Isle of Shuna has been placed in administration, along with its subsidiary Demlane Ltd.

Marine Harvest ASA has appointed Ola Brattvoll (born 1968) as Group Director for the new Business Unit Global Sales & Distribution. The new Business Unit will be in operation from 1. January 2011.

Changes to the audit process for BC salmon farms' fish health management plans were made this spring to ensure consistency during the regulatory transition from provincial to federal governments.

Putting Scotland’s £400 million salmon farming industry, and the rest of the industry worldwide, on a more sustainable footing is the aim of new draft global standards published yesterday.

THE Irish Sea Fisheries Board, BIM, has opened applications for The Commercial Aquaculture Development Scheme.

TESTING of a new bleeding method in combination with superchilling has shown very promising results for pre-rigor filleted farmed cod.

ANIMAL nutrition and fish feed giant Nutreco has recorded “excellent” revenues of €2.25 billion (£1.88 billion) for the first half of 2010. Pre-tax profits were €84 million and an interim dividend of €0.50 in cash or shares was declared.

WASHINGTON, DC: Draft standards that will help minimize the potential negative impact freshwater trout aquaculture can have on the environment and society were released today for the first of two public comment periods. The freshwater trout aquaculture industry is responsible for producing most of the freshwater trout eaten worldwide.

On 22 July, Blueshell Mussels Ltd, a family owned company based in Brae, Shetland, signed a deal with two other mussel businesses - Demlane Ltd and SI Seafarms Ltd - that should protect and develop the long term mussel farming industry in the Shetland Islands.

MARINE Harvest today confirmed plans for an extraordinary general meeting on August 23, following yesterday’s announcement of the company’s performance in the first half of this year.

The Scottish Salmon Company has acquired the shares in West Minch Salmon Limited, a leading independent salmon farming company based in the Outer Hebrides.

SALMON companies should start to think outside the box when it comes to marketing their products, the Humber Seafood Summit was told.

FISH farming remains a small part of Iceland's overall fishing industry, but it is set to grow, says the Islandsbanki seafood report.

IN CONNECTION with the presentation of its Q1 2010 results, Marine Harvest released a statement saying it guided a total harvest volume of 68,000 tonnes of “head on gutted equivalents” for Q2 2010. The figures include salmonid species only.

THE salmon farming company Lighthouse Caldeonia is to be  officially rebranded, it was announced yesterday.

The supply situation for oysters in the UK market will remain difficult for at least the rest of the year.

A WAR of words has opened up between France and Norway over the quality of Norwegian farmed salmon.

THE Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has helped fishermen at Selsey on the English south coast to publicise a problem they are having with non-native American lobsters.

SCOTTISH Sea Farms Ltd, sole supplier of Lochmuir™ Salmon to Marks & Spencer was given double recognition  in M&S’ annual Plan A awards ceremony which took place at the Royal Highland Show in June.

NORWEGIAN aquaculture research organisation Nofima says its attempts to overcome the lice problems that have plagued the country’s salmon industry are “in full swing”.

THE rise in wholesale  salmon prices is showing no signs of a let-up.This week they averaged 40 Norwegian kroners a kilo - just over £4.20p sterling.

LAST week, Lord Steel presented a 17,000 signature salmon farming petition to the Scottish Parliament.

AN American company has developed a genetically modified salmon that can grow to maturity in half the normal time.

FISH farming must play a significant role in future food security.

SEVERAL Euro MPS have called for a strengthening of the aquaculture sector throughout Europe in order to take the  pressure off wild fish stocks.

SNP MEP and Party President Ian Hudghton has called on the EU to avoid red tape and centralisation which would be damaging for Scotland’s aquaculture production as plans were discussed in Strasbourg for an EU Aquaculture Strategy.

FISH feed company Skretting has announced it has developed a feed concept for bluefin tuna that brings ever closer the goal of breeding and rearing this much sought-after fish in captivity.

The Aquaculture Communications Group (ACG) is currently planning an Aquaculture Investment Mission/Tour in conjunction with Aqua Sur 2010 October 20-23 in Puerto Montt, Chile. Here is your opportunity to experience the premiere Chilean aquaculture industry event, with about 300+ stands representing more than 900 companies from over 40 countries looking to do business in Chile.

SNP MEP and Party President Ian Hudghton has called on the EU to avoid red tape and centralisation which would be damaging for Scotland's aquaculture production as plans were discussed in Strasbourg for an EU Aquaculture Strategy.

ON THE final day of the AquaVision conference in Stavanger, Norway, Professor Frank Asche said he expected aquaculture to become the dominant seafood supplier within a decade or two.

Expert professor judges aquaculture the winning food producer, and a new net cleaning device wins the AquaVision Innovation Award on the last day of the AquaVision conference in Stavanger, Norway.

Aquaculture needs to invest more in its reputation. That was the conclusion of an instant poll during the aquaculture conference AquaVision in Stavanger, Norway, on Tuesday 8 June. Voting in the audience were the top leaders of the world’s main fish farming companies and aquaculture stakeholders.

BC Salmon Farmers Association Executive Director Mary Ellen Walling has been honoured by her local business community with the non-profit business leader of the year award, granted this weekend.

Aquaculture UK 2010 at Aviemore succeeded as a place to do business, to network and to catch up with all the latest developments.

SCOTTISH manufacturer Fusion Marine has won an order to supply aquaculture equipment for a new tilapia farm in Ghana in the first modernisation project of this type for the West African country.

DUE to an increased use of the delousing agents diflubenzuron and teflubenzuron in fish farming in 2009, the National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research has examined additional filets from a total of 205 farmed fish for residues of diflubenzuron and teflubenzuron, on behalf of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. These extra samples are in addition to the regular surveillance of these substances in fish farming. The results of the additional analyses showed no residues of diflubenzuron or teflubenzuron. This is consistent with the result from the regular surveillance programme.

A Mull mussel farm has successfully converted its whole operation to an innovative new cultivation system first pioneered in New Zealand that greatly improves the efficiency of harvesting.

TORGER Børresen and Joop Luten, president and vice-president of the EU-supported SEAFOODplus Research Platform, say aquaculture has a key role to play in delivering healthy food for consumers.

THE Institute of Aquaculture will hold its second research conference at the University of Stirling on Monday 28 June 2010.

THE restocking of a large salmon-growing area off the south-west coast of Shetland has been hailed as an example for “best practice in action”.

Scottish Sea Farms (SSF), one of Scotland’s leading fish farming businesses, has taken the first step to ensuring the viable future for salmon farms in Shetland by investing £1.6millon and restocking three sites in Scalloway with a single generation of 1.2 million smolts.

THE Norway based salmon farming company, SalMar ASA has agreed the conditions for the purchase of 75% of a smaller company, Raumagruppen AS.

THE top executives of global aquaculture giants, Marine Harvest, AKVA Group, Marine Farms and Nutreco are all on the speakers list at the aquaculture business conference AquaVision 2010 in Stavanger, Norway, 7–9 June.

THE Marine Accident Investigation Board (MAIB) has carried out a preliminary investigation following the grounding of the wellboat, Ronja Skye on Morvern in February this year.

NEWLY discovered colonies of an endangered mussel, the depressed river mussel, suggest better chances of survival and point to healthier rivers and streams in Kent, according to the Environment Agency.

THE world’s largest fish farming company, Marine Harvest, has extended their co-operation with feed company BioMar and signed a contract for the delivery of fish feed over several years.

NEW Zealand's aquaculture and fishing industries are looking to China and its vast population to boost business. Several fish farming companies have already joined forces to market New Zealand seafood to the Chinese mainland.

Lighthouse Caledonia, Scotland's largest independent salmon farming business, has announced record results for the first quarter of 2010, following improved levels of production and strong market conditions.

Delivery by Fusion Marine of new Triton Open Sea salmon pens to Marine Harvest signals commitment to stock security.

Celebrating Aquaculture in the UK – Photography competition sponsored by Intervet / Schering-Plough Animal Health.

Lighthouse Caledonia is one of the major players within the Salmon Farming Industry to adapt the concept of non toxic antifouling. Micanti has introduced its non toxic antifouling in August 2009 in the salmon market.

CANADIAN salmon producers have responded to growing demands from environmental organisations to move salmon production to on-shore ‘closed containment’ systems by explaining their position on the subject.

HUNDREDS of  campaigners  marched on  the city of Vancouver yesterday protesting that fish farms are killing wild salmon on Canada's West Coast.

SALMON farming and fish feed company, Cermaq has delivered strong Q1 2010 results.

For New Zealand salmon producer NZ King Salmon there’s been a silver lining to the grey volcanic cloud that descended on Europe in April.

THE Spanish sturgeon farming company, Piscifactoría Sierra Nevada (PSN) has been certified by Friend of the Sea for its sustainability.

THE pharmaceutical firm Pharmaq has received received a provisional marketing  authorisation from the Chilean authorities for a vaccine against infectious salmon anaemia (ISA).

THE Iceland volcanic ash crisis has brought an unexpected bonus for a group of salmon farmers - on the other side of the world in New Zealand!

The Norwegian company Cryogenetics Ltd. has made a significant breakthrough by inventing a method for the cryo-(freezing)-preservation of fish embryos down to -130° C (-202° F) .

The first stage report of a masterplan for the use of the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters was published this week.

The report will provide a marine spatial plan framework and draft regional locational guidance for wave and tidal energy development.

The Board of Directors of Marine Harvest ASA has appointed 43-year old Alf-Helge Aarskog as Chief Executive of Marine Harvest ASA.

THE Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas) is running a pilot project investigating the use of catch quotas to reduce discards in the North Sea. Cefas fisheries observers and remote electronic monitoring (REM) equipment, including CCTV, will be used to document and quantify the effectiveness of the catch quota system at reducing discards.

A NEW climate-population model developed by scientists at the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to study rising ocean temperatures and fishing rates on one east coast fish population could also forecast the impact of climate change and fishing on other fisheries. The model is one of the first to directly link a specific stock with future impacts of climate change.

Rope grown mussels produced by the Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group (SSMG) have become the first farmed seafood in the UK to achieve the prestigious Friend of the Sea (FoS) certification providing independent confirmation of the sustainability of its aquaculture operations.

IFA President, John Bryan, has welcomed the appointment of Sean Connick TD to the role of Minister of State with responsibility for the crucial indigenous economic sectors of Fisheries and Forestry.

The Board of Directors of Marine Harvest ASA and Åse Aulie Michelet have reached agreement that Michelet will step down as CEO effective March 23 2010. A process to identify her successor has been initiated.

THE owner of fish farming company West Minch Salmon has said that business should be back to normal soon after a fire affected part of their processing factory at Gramsdale in Benbecula last week.

Two Barony College fisheries students have been awarded top honours at the Lantra Land-based Learner of the Year Awards. Sixteen year old Dean Marshall from Dumfries was awarded the Land Based Curriculum for Schools Learner of the Year while Jamie McAndrew from Aberdeenshire was a joint winner in the GC Taylor (Farms) Ltd Outstanding Achievement Awards.

In a recent Scottish Parliamentary debate, the future of Aquaculture was discussed and Scotland’s achievement in dramatically increasing its export of high quality salmon was recognised. Dr Richard Simpson MSP for mid Scotland and Fife, praised the University of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture for leading the way in this increasingly important field.

Aquaculture equipment manufacturer Fusion Marine has won orders worth £2.4m to supply salmon pens and associated equipment from three Scottish fish farming companies.

Lighthouse Caledonia plans to refurbish and reopen the Marybank processing plant in Stornoway this summer, with the creation of around 90 jobs.

A NEW guide to help more visitor attractions and events planners showcase the very best of Scotland’s mouth-watering larder was unveiled yesterday.

THE Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO, is calling for contributions to the development of a worldwide overview and databank on Codes of Practice, Codes of Conduct, Management Practices and Technical Guidelines in aquaculture.

ANOTHER part of the troubled British Seafood Group is under the control of administrators.

Seatek UK, based on Billingsgate Fish Market and which also has a base in Grimsby, was placed in administration at the weekend.

SEAFISH, the UK industry authority on seafood, is stepping up its interest in aquaculture, one of the fastest growing sectors in marine food.

THE United States has confirmed that it will continue its support for a proposal to ban all international commercial trade of Atlantic bluefin tuna.

THE Scottish based salmon farming company, Lighthouse Caledonia ASA has announced the resignation of OddGeir Oddsen as Managing Director of the company.

ONE of Iceland's largest seafood businesses has issued a statement stressing in strong terms that it is not affected by the British Seafood collapse even though its main shareholder, Mark Holyoake, is also founder and head of British Seafood.

The regulated marketplace Fish Pool ASA recently launched salmon options as hedging and investment instruments for its members. As a part of this product expansion Fish Pool has signed a Market Maker agreement with the leading Norwegian Investment bank Argo Securities. The agreement implies that Argo Sec., on a continuous basis are placing option prices for given periods, with a given spread at Fish Pool's trading screen.

THE Seafish Marketing Communications team has won two awards at the Communicators in Business (Scotland) awards.

Bergen 23.02.2010

Asmund Baklien, one the most experienced fish health profiles of Norway, has joined Novartis Aqua Norway as its National Account Manager.

SALMON prices are climbing faster than at any time for several years, according to the latest global data.

(Oslo, 10^th February 2010) Marine Harvest ASA achieved an operational EBIT of 569 million in the fourth quarter 2009, compared to NOK 317 million in the corresponding quarter in 2008. Earnings per share improved from NOK -0.18 to NOK 0.15. A tight market balance resulted in good prices. Based on a strong cash flow, a strengthened balance sheet and improved earnings in 2009 the Board of Directors has resolved to propose for the AGM a dividend of NOK 0.35 per share of which 0.25 will be distributed after the AGM in May and NOK 0.05 in each of the third and fourth quarters.

Aquaculture Europe 2010, to be held in Porto, Portugal from October 5-8, 2010 puts the focus on the future of marine aquaculture in Europe. AE2010 is organised by the European Aquaculture Society and hosted by the Portuguese Marine Sciences Associate Laboratory CIMAR (CIIMAR Porto and CCMAR Faro).

A GROUP of Irish research scientists have announced success in developing a vaccine against a parasite which has been plaguing salmon farms and wild fish stocks.