Fish Update Briefing, Friday, June 29

NORWAY SALMON BIOMASS CONTINUES TO RISE
THERE has been a steady increase in production throughout Norway in recent months. The volume or biomass of salmon in cages at Norwegian fish farms, as measured by weight, rose by six per cent year-on-year in May, the industry organisation Seafood Norway said in a statement. The quantity was estimated at 628,000 tonnes of salmon. The salmon biomass rose by five per cent in April this year and by four per cent in March.
FLESH EATING BUG ALERT
THE Alabama Department of Public Health is warning of the dangers of vibrio, a naturally occurring bacteria that can be found in warm and brackish waters and which can be contracted by eating contaminated seafood. The warning follows reports of several infections along the coast. The department said there are currently four ongoing cases of vibrio vulnificus, often referred to as a flesh-eating bug that can lead to amputations and death. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 80,000 people in the US become sick with vibriosis each year and 100 people die from their infection. Symptoms may include diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal pain, chills, fever, shock, skin lesions and wound infections.
CRAYFISH PEELERS A NEW RESTAURANT FAD
A RESTAURANT in the Chinese city of Shanghai has found an interesting way to help diners who want to play games and use social media while they eat crayfish. Apparently two crayfish peelers sit with customers at the restaurant and do the labour intensive work, leaving diners to play with their phones while enjoying a ready-to-eat delicacy, the video streaming app PearVideo reports. A recent video shows a fourth-year university student wearing gloves while she peels a large bowl of bright red crayfish. The student is one of two peelers at the restaurant and she can earn up to US $1,500 a month.
PAKISTAN SEAFOOD EXPORTS ON THE UP
PAKISTAN’S seafood exports increased by 16 per cent to almost $424 million during the 11-month period between July 2017 and May 2018, the latest figures show. Volumes grew by 25 per cent to 178,900 tonnes over the same period. Data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics show that May 2018 was a particularly good month, with both revenues and volumes continuing to show steady but solid increases.