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Petrozavodsk, capital of the Republic of Karelia, the leading region for rainbow trout aquaculture in the Russian Federation,…

At this year’s London Marathon, runners were given small edible seaweed pods filled with sports drink. The use of seaweed pouches helped reduce more than 20% of plastic bottles used at the event. London Marathon organizers replaced 200 000 plastic bottles with these innovative seaweed pouches. The seaweed bags, produced by Skipping Rocks Lab, can be chewed to release the contained liquid and consumed entirely, or if preferred, the seaweed film can be discarded where it will break down naturally in 4-6 weeks.

Organización de Productores Asociados de Grandes Atuneros Congeladores (OPAGAC) is an association of nine frozen tuna seiner fishing shipowners.…

Technology is playing an ever greater role in the seafood industry both on land and at sea. Industry 4.0, IoT (internet of things), blockchain, cloud computing, robotics, and artificial intelligence, are among the terms being used today in connection with the seafood industry. Another technology, holography, used to produce holograms, devices widely used on credit cards to provide authenticity and prevent counterfeiting, is now being deployed to tackle illegal fishing in the Indian state of Kerala.

Scientists and industry representatives from 16 countries gathered in Tromsø, Norway in the middle of June to launch a new EU-funded project, AquaVitae. The 36 project partners are from European countries as well as Brazil, South Africa, Namibia, and North America.

China’s Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister, Han Changfu confirmed that China has remained the world's largest exporter of aquatic products for 17 consecutive years with exports having exceeded 20 billion US dollars (18 billion EUR). More than 97 percent of products live up to standards according to a market monitoring report, the minister mentioned at a symposium according to ChinaDaily.

Modern technological advances continue apace in the seafood industry. Recently, an unmanned, remote-controlled vessel carried a shipment of British oysters from the UK, to Belgium, in an international trade first. Carrying five kg of oysters, the 12-meter ship’s 22-hour trip across busy shipping lanes was directed from a control room in Maldon and was supported by the U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the Department for Transport, the Foreign Office, officials in Belgium and the European Space Agency.

Danish processor Boco Seafood, produces salted cod and processes ling, saithe, and Alaska pollock in its two factories, one in Denmark and the other in Portugal. However, Boco Seafood recently announced the closure of its Danish factory, citing high costs of cod, mostly imported from Norway. The costs of Atlantic and Pacific cod, available from the US, are coming down, the company said, and its Portugal factory will remain open.

The International Conference “Aquaculture Today & Tomorrow” that took place in Verona on May 16-17 was organised by EUROFISH in collaboration with the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Forestry Policies and Tourism, and the Italian Fish Farmers Association (API). The conference hosted 22 speakers in 4 sessions covering the current status and challenges of the aquaculture sector and how to realize its potential. Sustainable aquaculture practices and innovative solutions were also presented along with how to expand the farmed seafood market. Over 100 participants from 28 countries visited the event which featured a visit to fish farm Agroittica Lombarda, the 3rd largest caviar producer in the world. The programme and presentations are available at: www.eurofish.dk/att.

Norwegian cod exports have exceeded $1 billion for the second year in a row,…