With the number of cases rising across the globe again, three out of a total crew of 46 of the Russian trawler Mys Slepikovskogo tested positive for COVID-19 in Tromso, Norway, just days after crew members aboard an O’Hara Corporation-owned catcher-processor in Alaska were hit. Don't forget last week saw a major outbreak on another Alaska vessel.
Speaking of Alaska, the all-important Alaska pollock fishery had quotas set this week, with regulators deeming the total allowable catch should come down slightly. Pacific cod will also face lower quotas. Across the country, another critical US fishery, the Atlantic scallop fishery, is projected to see a sharp drop in the 2021 harvest as well.
Elsewhere, Gustav Magnar Witzoe, son of Salmar CEO and Kverva owner Gustav Witzoe, rose to the top of Norway's rich list in 2019 with a fortune of NOK 20.9 billion (€1.9 billion/$2.2 billion).
Still in Scandinavia, a Swedish land-based salmon farm where production is expected to begin in 2022 signs a feed deal with BioMar.
In the United States, the Alaska pollock industry asks US Senate for military back-up after warplanes buzz American Seafoods, Starbound vessels.
Atlanto-Scandinavian herring and blue whiting fisheries' loss of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification will ratchet up pressure on the aquaculture feed and farmed salmon sector, who are already being criticized over the sustainability of raw materials, according to an executive with Cargill, the world's second-largest aquaculture feed producer.
After years of reliance on China, Russian seafood giants are being forced to look for new markets.
The outcome of final Brexit talks between the EU and the UK have been watched closely by seafood processors and producers on both sides of the English Channel. Check here for the latest.
While seafood has proved resilient during the COVID pandemic, investors remain reluctant with agri-giants perplexed by seafood. Here's how companies can change that.
On an upbeat note in Norway, farmed salmon producer Cermaq said the industry will emerge stronger from the crisis.
Finally, here's the latest IntraFish podcast, freshly pressed:
