Japanese scallops, known as hotate, are highly accredited for their flavor, size, and quality. Aiming to expand the international market for hotate, the Japan Scallop Export Promotion Association (J-Hotate) will present Japanese scallops at the 2024 Seafood Expo Global event in Barcelona, at the end of April.

According to J-Hotate, the Japanese scallop industry is unique compared to other parts of the world in that the proximity of fishing grounds and ports allows for scallops to be processed and distributed immediately after they are caught.

Source: The Fish Site l Read the full article here

Just a year ago at this time, Alimaket reported on the collaboration agreement between the plant-based specialists Grin Grin Foods and Angulas Aguinaga to develop and industrialize a new product in the category of vegetable analogues of fish. Now, with a small delay compared to the initial forecasts, the product arrives on the shelves of modern refrigerated fishmongers of chains such as Carrefour or Alcampo, which represents the official entry of Aguinaga into the world of vegetable alternatives.

These are, specifically, vegan "Sea Rings", analogous to the ones it has already been marketing and which it makes with surimi.

Source: Alimarket l Read the full article here

At the end of January, the Liberian merchant ship En May crashed into a bridge on the Paraná River, in Argentina. At the end of February, a Chinese freighter rammed into another viaduct in Canton (China), partially demolishing it and causing the death of five people when a bus with the driver, a van with three occupants and an electric motorcycle fell into the water. At the end of March, the Singapore-flagged container ship Dali brought down the 2.6 kilometer-long Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore (USA), causing several deaths and vehicles falling into the water.

 Source: La Voz de Galicia l Read the full article here

"The European economy has left behind it an extremely challenging year, in which a confluence of factors severely tested our resilience"

At the beginning of 2023, economists predicted the U.S. was either in – or would soon be in – a recession, while the E.U. faced similar predictions of slowed growth and high inflation.

Now, a year out, it’s clear that some of those predictions weren’t entirely accurate.

Author: Chris Chase / SeafoodSource l Read the full article here

Departing CEO Helge E.W Albertsen will continue to serve as an advisor to the company until 30 June 2024 to ensure a smooth transition.

Land-based salmon producer Gigante Salmon has appointed Kjell Lorentsen as CEO.

Lorentsen was appointed as acting CEO on 19 March 2024, and is now transitioning into the role on a permanent basis, according to a release from the company on Tuesday.

Source: SalmonBusiness l Read the full article here

Trident Seafood Japan LLC has decided to form the "Sukedara Party'' in order to spread the word about its main product, crab stick products made from 100% Alaska pollack (surimi).

In order to convey the "tasty", "healthy", and "sustainable" elements of 100% walleye pollock, and to let as many people as possible enjoy the taste, they have appointed American talent Jason Atsugiri as the image character and created a special Publish the video on the site. In conjunction with this, Trident Seafood started an SNS campaign from April 18th.

Formed the Walleye Party with the aim of raising awareness of 100% Alaskan walleye domestically.

Crab sticks are a Japanese-born food that is currently attracting the most attention in Europe and the United States. Enjoy a delicious and healthy lifestyle with crab sticks made from 100% Alaskan pollack!

Crab sticks, which were created in Japan more than 50 years ago, have continued to expand as they have gained demand as an alternative to high-quality ingredients.Currently, with the rise in health consciousness, they are once again attracting attention, and mass merchandisers and convenience stores are expanding sales areas and increasing the number of products available. The market is growing and the number is expanding.

Since April 17, they have been uploaded by

The 8th annual meeting of the North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC) was held for four days from the 15th to the 18th at the Osaka Prefectural International Conference Center.

Regarding the management of saury resources, it was agreed that from this year, for the first time, fishery management rules will be introduced to calculate the total allowable catch (TAC) according to the resource level. However, the TAC calculated from the latest resource levels is subject to fluctuations of up to 10% compared to the previous year, and in 2024 it is set at 225,000 tons, a 10% decrease from the previous year.

The conference was attended by nine member countries and regions, including Japan, Taiwan, China, and Russia. A press conference was held after the meeting.

At last year's annual meeting, the saury TAC stated that for the two years from 2023 to 2024, the amount within the treaty zone (high seas) should be kept at 150,000 tons, and within the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of Japan and Russia, less than 100,000 tons. [....]

Source: The Suisan-Keizai Daily News (translated from original in Japanese)

Marianne Sivertsen Næss (Ap) has been appointed Norway’s Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, resulting from former Minister Cecilie Myrseth (Ap) being appointed Minister of Industry.

Marianne Sivertsen Næss (left) has been appointed Norway’s Minister of Fisheries and Oceans as her predecessor, Cecilie Myrseth (second right) is appointed Minister of Industry. Photo: Arbeiderpartiet

The news of the new appointments in the Cabinet was made this afternoon, Friday 19 April 2024.

Cecilie Myrseth was appointed Minister of Fisheries and Oceans on 16 October 2023. She has been a parliamentary representative for Troms since 2017 and a member of the central board of the Labor Party since 2019. 

The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans is responsible for implementing the government’s policy relating to fisheries, aquaculture, seafood, maritime policy and coastal development, port and sea transport policy, shipping, as well as marine and maritime research and development.

Other political leadership for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans is:

• State Secretary Kristina Sigurdsdottir Hansen (Ap)
• State Secretary Even Tronstad Sagebakken (Ap)
• Political adviser Nicklas Simonsen (Ap)

Seafood investor Bluefront launches its second fund. Existing and new investors, including one of the world's largest and most recognized investor communities, have already committed to participating.

The interest is very high. The fact that most of the largest investors in our first fund are joining fund number two is a good confirmation of the healthy and good development the first fund has had, says Simen Landmark, partner in Bluefront in a press release.

In October 2021, Bluefront closed the books of its first fund, Bluefront Capital I. This fund is now fully invested. The portfolio companies include the ozone and oxygen specialist Redox; feed analytics company Spillfree Analytics; the software player Seaqloud; Tempia, which supplies refrigeration technology solutions; the inspection and certification specialist Akvasafe AS; as well as Bio Marine, which, among other things, supplies oxygen and light systems for fish farming.

Despite ground rent tax and geopolitical unrest, the company portfolio has delivered solid growth since Bluefront became the owner.

Bluefront Capital II

Bluefront's second fund, Bluefront Capital II, has raised around half a billion kroner (U$D 45.40M  ) in the first round and is experiencing great international interest.