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An estimated 33% of the European fishing fleet catches are fished in British waters. The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson insists on Britain “maintaining control of these UK fishing waters” after it leaves the EU, he said in his first meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who took office in December. The two are discussing the negotiations after Brexit, on January 31, with Johnson wanting a trade deal with the EU completed by the end of 2020 without Britain aligning with EU rules. He said the UK wanted “a broad free-trade agreement covering goods and services and co-operation in other areas”. With regards to fishing rights the two sides have committed to negotiating a new framework in place by 1 July although EU spokespersons believe that talks will go deep into the year due to its complexities.

Barcelona based Frime, a specialist in tuna and swordfish, is spending EUR 16 million to construct a new processing facility that will be ready in 2021, quadrupling the company’s current processing capacity of about 10,000 tonnes per year. The family-owned business has expanded its turnover incredibly over the last decade and anticipates this will continue. Demand is strong in Hungary, Poland, the US, Central America, and Asia, Salva Ramon, Frime’s CEO, points out.

Fisheries officers have stopped a group of commercial fishers in the Thames region, in northern New Zealand, who were allegedly under-reporting catches and unlawfully supplying snapper to an Auckland fish supply business. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has been investigating allegations into the unlawful trade of commercially caught fish from Thames to the Auckland area. Forty-five fishery officers and the New Zealand Police executed searches at five locations, including three residential properties across the Auckland and Waikato regions. Phones and computers were seized and analysed. During the searches, over NZD25,000 (~EUR15,000) in cash was seized along with six commercial fishing vessels and a refrigerated truck. Approximately 800 kg of undocumented grey mullet and kahawai were located, along with 230 kg of undocumented snapper. Eight people have been interviewed and could face prosecution, however, enquiries are ongoing.

Nutreco has announced a strategic partnership with two cell-based food companies BlueNalu, a seafood start-up and meat start-up Mosa Meat. These agreements strengthen Nutreco’s commitment to Feeding the Future with science-based innovations that advance sustainability across the value chain. The food and feed industry must meet the growing demand for high quality proteins driven by a population estimated to rise to almost 10 billion by 2050 but also by more prosperous consumers demanding more diversified diets.

In France a total of 1,033 people became ill and 21 needed hospital treatment in what seems to be a norovirus contamination of live oysters, according to Food Safety News. Sweden, Italy, and the Netherlands have all also reported outbreaks which can be traced back to France. Additionally, products have been recalled in Luxembourg, Belgium, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Mats Lindblad, a communicable disease coordinator at the National Food Agency of Sweden states 31 people are sick linking the origin back to the French oysters through interviews. “Symptoms and incubation time indicate norovirus.

A report by Oceana, an environmental NGO, documents a three-week research expedition in the Quark, a narrow area in the northern part of the Baltic Sea between Finland and Sweden that separates the nearly‑freshwater Bothnian Bay from the more saline Bothnian Sea. The report calls for Finland and Sweden to establish a transboundary marine protected area (MPA) in the Quark in view of the area’s importance for biodiversity and the threats facing marine life present there. According to the report, the area’s changing salinity, depth, and levels of exposure to light, contribute to variations in substrate, flora, and fauna so that it hosts a unique mix of marine, brackish and freshwater species. Of these 71 are threatened or listed under the EU Habitats Directive or Birds Directives.

Adris Group, a major player in Croatia with activities in tourism, insurance, real estate, and healthy food services is behind Croatia’s largest producer of farmed fish,…

The government and seafood industry are collaborating to create a brand, Russian Fish, under which fish and seafood from Russia will be marketed around the world. The idea is to promote Russia’s resources and boost the industry’s competitiveness in part by highlighting the sustainability of Russian wild-caught fish. The campaign, which has been devised by Expo Solutions Group, the organiser of the Seafood Expo Russia event in St. Petersburg, will also promote the brand as an indicator of quality of fish products from Russia. The brand was presented at the China Fisheries and Seafood Expo at the end of October 2019 as China is the initial target market for Russian seafood sold under the brand. Campaigns in European countries and the USA will follow.