INDUSTRY NEWS
So-called Black Sea countries - Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia, Moldova and Turkey - have inked a 10-year pledge to rebuild the fish stocks in the Black Sea and boost sustainable aquaculture. The declaration was described as a "historic step toward more sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in the Black Sea" by EU Environment, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Commissioner Karmenu Vella.
ENSURING THE FUTURE
Black Sea countries ink 10-year pledge for sustainable aquaculture while...
The European Commission (EC) and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) have issued a joint declaration encompassing a 10-year pledge to rebuild the fish stocks in the Black Sea and boost sustainable aquaculture.
"Today's (June 7) declaration is a historic step toward more sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in the Black Sea", said Environment, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Commissioner Karmenu Vella.
The declaration sets out a detailed work plan for the next 10 years, which includes actions to improve fisheries data collection; establish a multi-annual fisheries management plan and marine protected areas; develop a culture of compliance and eradicate illegal fishing; and support small fishermen and aquaculture producers.
The declaration, called Sofia Declaration, was signed by the EC and Black Sea ministerial representatives along the Black Sea coastline and beyond covering both riparian states and non-riparian states with interest in aquaculture: Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia, Moldova and Turkey.
Over 23,500 persons are directly employed on fishing vessels in the Black Sea, whilst many more indirect jobs depend on the fishing sector. At least 8,700 aquaculture farms generate direct and indirect jobs to more than 39,000 people in this area.
…Scotland develops 10-year fish health framework for sustainable aquaculture
Scotland's aquaculture sector and concerned government agencies have jointly developed a 10-Year Farmed Fish Health Framework, which includes measures to improve fish health, protect the marine environment, and ensure Scotland's No. 1 food export grows sustainably.
The strategic plan outlines several key areas of activity, including managing sea lice, ensuring better information flow and transparency, and tackling issues around climate change.
Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing explained that since aquaculture is one of Scotland's great food success stories, " we want that success to continue into the future so getting the balance right between future economic growth and protecting the marine environment is vital".
"Sustainability is at the heart of this framework, which has been developed by all the key partners. It will seek to address current and future health challenges, focus on investment in innovation and ensure appropriate regulation", he said.
Ben Hadfield, managing director of Marine Harvest Scotland and co-chair of the Framework Working Group, said the Farmed Fish Health Framework sets out collaborative activity to ensure that growth is achieved in the most sustainable way.
Ensuring good health of salmon and trout
"Ensuring good health status of our salmon and trout stocks will maximise economic contribution, whilst minimising the environmental footprint of our farming operations", he said.
Scotland's farmed salmon and trout sector has become an important contributor to the country's economy. Scotland is one of the world's top five producers of salmon.
Earlier last month, a Scottish Parliament committee that looked into the current state of the country's aquaculture industry found that the sector did not fully understand the importance of the impact it has on the environment.
The committee on the environment, climate change and land reform said in its report that it was "deeply concerned that the growth of the sector is taking place without a full understanding of the environmental impacts".
The Parliament committee report added that it was not convinced that the sector was being regulated sufficiently.
The Scottish government is currently in the process of establishing a working group to look at how the country advances the dialogue on the interaction between wild and farmed salmon.
POMV INFECTION
Tasmania's salmon farms threatened by deadly virus
Some 1.35 million salmon have died since October 2017 in Tasmania due to a deadly virus known as pilchard orthomyxovirus (POMV), the Australian state's Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) confirmed on May 29, Xinhua reported.
The disease, believed to be transferred from wild populations in the Macquarie Harbour, is threatening Tasmania's lucrative salmon-farming industry.
EPA director Wes Ford told local media that POMV has severely affected commercial fish-farms operated by Huon Aquaculture, Petuna and Tassal.
"It hit all three companies across the majority of leases, so that is troubling from the point of view of the management of that disease," Ford said.
The area's salmon producers are investing heavily in the search for a vaccine while at the same time, the EPA would reduce Macquarie Harbour's biomass limit by over 20% over the next two years, to ease the spread of the virus, the Xinhua report said.
"My view is that it is prudent to adopt an approach which reduces the biomass for a sufficient time to allow harbor response to be monitored and interpreted meaningfully", Ford said.
FROM FISH EXPORTER
Thailand transforms into a large fish importer
Thailand has become one of the world's largest fishery exporters, but an increasing shortage of domestic raw materials has driven this Southeast Asia country to become a large importer of fish products to serve its fishery processing for export.
A seafood report on Thailand released early this month by the US Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service says that raw material sourced from both the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand are decreasing year by year and that the industry increasingly relies on imported raw material such as pollock, salmon, and other white- and red-meat fish.
Thailand's fishery product imports totaled US$3.4 billion last year, up 16% from 2016's level. China was the largest supplier of fishery products to Thailand with $380.2 million in value, followed by India at $268.7 million, Taiwan at $256.3 million, Vietnam at $229.3 million, and the US at $229.2 million. Imports from these five supplying countries account for 40% of total fishery product imports, according to the report.
The report says Thailand's fresh/chilled fish imports in 2017 increased 30% to $229.2 million from 2016's level. Major suppliers of fresh/chilled fish imports were Myanmar, with 37% market share, Norway (33%) and Malaysia (14%).
Frozen fish are the main products in Thailand's fishery imports. They totalled $2.1 billion in 2017. The top five suppliers in 2017 were Taiwan ($252 million), the US ($183 million), China ($164 million), India ($160 million) and Japan ($124 million).
Thailand also imports fish fillets and other fish meat from Vietnam, the US and Norway,
altogether accounting for about three-quarters of total fish fillets and other fish meat imports.
Thailand's crustaceans imports (including crabs, lobsters, rock lobsters, shrimps and prawns) totalled $213 million in 2017, up 28% from the 2016 level. Major suppliers of crustaceans to Thailand are Argentina, accounting for 25% market share, followed by India 9%, and Canada and Myanmar (8% each).
VIETNAM'S 3RD-LARGEST BUYER
Spain maintains appetite for cephalopod
Spain, the largest importer of cephalopod in the world, was Vietnam's third-largest buyer, picking up 1.2% of the total export value of Vietnamese cephalopod during the first two months, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
Despite a 9.1% decrease in cephalopod exports to the EU in the first two months, shipments to Spain increased 104% to US$0.9 million, compared with the same period in 2017. In February alone, exports to Spain reached $0.4 million, a sharp increase of 1,253.4% over February 2017.
As the largest importer of cephalopod in the world, Spain accounts for 16.9% of the total global import value of this item. In the last five years (2013-2017), cephalopod imports into this country increased continuously, peaking at $1.1 billion in 2016.
In 2017, however, imports of cephalopod into Spain dropped 95%, reaching only US$51.7 million. In recent years, a fall in the world cephalopod production led to a sharp rise in the price of this item, VASEP noted.
According to VASEP, Portugal was the largest supplier of cephalopod to Spain in 2017, accounting for 24.5% of the total import value of cephalopod into this country; followed by Peru with 16% and France with 12.5%. Vietnam ranked as the 14th-largest supplier of cephalopod to Spain, accounting for 0.9% of total import value.
Two main products imported into Spain included squid, accounting for 43.6% of total imports in 2017 and live/fresh/chilled octopus, making up 25.4%.
IMPORTS SURGE 43% IN JAN.-APRIL
China now Vietnam's top pangasius buyer
China has surpassed the US as the biggest importer of Vietnamese pangasius as its purchase of the white fish grew 43% to US$145 million in the first four months, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters & Producers said.
VASEP said Vietnam is currently the third-largest provider of white fish for China, after Russia and Norway.
China's demand for white fish is expected to continue growing, which means more room for growth of Vietnamese pangasius exports to this market.
VASEP forecasts that the export turnover of tra fish to the Chinese market will continue to increase in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, exports to traditional markets like the EU and the US are facing difficulties due to high anti-dumping tariffs and technical barriers.
Last year pangasius output hit 1.2 million tonnes, or a year-on-year rise of 5.1%, according to a report of the Directorate of Fisheries. Export turnover of this fish reached US$1.78 billion, up 4.3% from the previous year, accounting for 21% of the fishery industry's total export value.
The export turnover of pangasius this year is expected to reach up to $2.2 billion, making up 31.5% of the fishery industry's total export value.
