News - page 17

Total catch of Icelandic vessels in July 2011 was 103,531 tonnes compared to 116,942 tonnes in July 2010, reports www.megafishnet.com.

The U.S. North Pacific halibut and the U.S. North Pacific sablefish fisheries that operate in territorial waters off the coast of Alaska, Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska have earned re-certification to the MSC standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/

The United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization on 3 August 2011 published a study aimed at quantifying catches of tuna and bycatch in small-scale pelagic fisheries in an effort to identify, on a global scale, information gaps and management concerns associated with these fisheries, reports www.megafishnet.com

The Producers' Organisation of the Dutch Fishermen's Association (DFA) razor clam fishery has entered full assessment for Marine Stewardship Council certification. If successful, the fishery will be able to display the MSC eco-label on its products. The DFA razor clam fishery will be the first fishery to be assessed against MSC's policy guidelines for introduced species, reports www.megafishnet.com

In the wake of proposed reform to Europe's lambasted fisheries policy, a new report claim that the United Kingdom alone has discarded GBP 1 billion worth of cod in 50 years. According to think-tank new economics foundation (nef), the UK has thrown away enough fish to support 711 jobs for 46 years, reports www.megafishnet.com

An entrepreneurial Scottish seafood firm is carrying out trials that could not only stop waste from its factory being dumped into the ground at a prohibitive cost but also turn the material into profitable product lines, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/

HB Grandi's pelagic factory at Vopnafjördur will be running at full capacity this weekend freezing herring and mackerel, in spite of this being a Bank Holiday weekend in Iceland, and according to Magnus Robertsson, in charge of production, there is no slowing of the pace expected until the autumn when the mackerel and herring quotas are expected to be finished, reports www.megafishnet.com

As the sea temperature rises east of Iceland, so it seems that the mackerel are increasingly abundant. Arnthor Hjorleifsson, skipper of HB Grandi's pelagic vessel Lundey NS, says that there have been some significant changes in the last few days and the water temperature has risen by 2.5°C in a fairly short time, reports www.megafishnet.com

Scotland's Loch Torridon langoustine (Nephrops) fishery has withdrawn from the MSC programme. At the Torridon Nephrops Management Group's (TNMG) request, independent certifier, Intertek Moody Marine, has withdrawn the fishery's MSC certification. The withdrawal follows the suspension of TNMGs MSC certificate in January this year, reports www.megafishnet.com

"Zeeuwse mosselen" - mussels from the Dutch province of Zeeland, a very popular and typical Dutch specialty seafood product - are now eligible to bear the MSC ecolabel: The Dutch Association of Suspended Culture Mussel Farmers (in Dutch: Zeeuwse Hangcultuurkwekers) has been certified to the Marine Stewardship Council standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries. The association has been working towards MSC certification for almost one and a half years. The assessment was carried out by independent certifier SGS Nederland B.V., reports www.megafishnet.com

The independent certification body, Moody Marine Limited, has awarded Marine Stewardship Council certification to three British Columbia pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) salmon fisheries that were entered into assessment by the Canadian Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Society. Certification to the MSC standard means the fisheries have been found to be sustainable and well-managed following a rigorous assessment that included an open, transparent process and scientific peer review. With certification, the fisheries are now eligible to display the MSC ecolabel, reports www.megafishnet.com

NOAA's Fisheries Service is seeking public comment on a draft rule, called a catch sharing plan, designed to sustainably manage the halibut stock in southeast Alaska and the central Gulf of Alaska, reports www.megafishnet.com

Mexico's largest fishery by volume, the Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax) fishery in the Gulf of California, has been certified following independent assessment to the MSC standard for sustainable, well-managed fisheries. Demonstrating the strength of the MSC's open and transparent stakeholder process, an objection formally lodged against the fishery's certification has been resolved through consultation-clearing the way for the fishery's certification, reports www.megafishnet.com

The ‘Namgis Land-Based Atlantic Salmon Recirculating System Pilot Project (the Project) is a commercial pilot facility that will demonstrate the technical and economic viability of producing Atlantic salmon for table food in a land-based, closed containment recirculating aquaculture system (RAS). This Project will serve as a catalyst for the development and growth of a new, land-based fish farming industry in BC to take advantage of a growing global market for sustainable seafood, reports www.megafishnet.com

Fishing on mackerel and Atlanto-Scandian herring has been successful so far this year and so far 11,000 tonnes of mackerel and herring have been landed in Vopnafjördur. This represents a reduction of around 5000 tonnes compared to the same point a year ago, but there has been a significant increase in production for human consumption. Around 6000 tonnes of products have been frozen, a 600 tonne increase compared to last year, reports www.megafishnet.com

HB Grandi's fresher trawlers have been fishing on mackerel to take the 140 tonne quota that each of the three vessels has allocated, and yesterday Ásbjörn RE finished its share of the quota. The fish were caught in three trips and landed iced in boxes to HB Grandi's processing plant in Akranesб reports www.megafishnet.com

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has approved a suite of management measures for the Atlantic sea scallop fishery, developed by the New England Fishery Management Council with input from the fishing industry, which will increase fishing opportunities for fishermen. Among the measures being put into place, as a result of effective science-based management, are increased catch limits for the remainder of this fishing year and in 2012, reports www.megafishnet.com

Cape Town's Two Oceans Aquarium today hosted a special celebration as its Shoreline Café, destination for thousands of hungry visitors each year, became the first restaurant in Africa to be certified to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Chain of Custody standard for seafood traceability. The responsible management of the Tristan da Cunha rock lobster fishery, whose catches are landed in Cape Town, was also recognised today, as representatives of the fishery were formally awarded the MSC certificate for sustainable and well-managed fisheries, reports www.megafishnet.com

There has been some serious activity at HB Grandi's processing plant on the Nordurgardur quayside at Reykjavík. Last week around 570 tonnes of redfish and saithe were processed, making this the year's record-breaking production week to date. In the same week, the factory at Akranes began processing mackerel with a 140 tonne landing of fresh mackerel landed by trawler Ottó N Thorláksson, reports www.megafishnet.com