June was once again a busy month for IntraFish journalists, both at our desks and on the road.
The Chilean salmon sector was shaken up with the first two major acquisitions in years as experts foresee a new era of consolidation in the sector.
That was not the only news in the M&A front -- US private equity (PE) fund Amerra Capital announced the acquisition of Greek sea bream and sea bass firms Selonda and Nireus.
The Alaskan wild salmon season began with more disappointment in Copper River, but landings began picking up with the onset of the Bristol Bay sockeye season.
IntraFish Editor Elisabeth Fischer reported the latest developments in land-based salmon projects unveiling huge progress in the industry in terms of cost control and investment.
The in-depth coverage of land-based aquaculture comes just before IntraFish launches an extensive industry report on the topic that can already be pre-ordered here.
Geopolitics took a hit on seafood again, with the trade war between the United States and China escalating and hitting suppliers, importers and equipment manufacturers. IntraFish Executive Editor John Fiorillo looked to the future of a dystopian American seafood industry if the trade wars roll on.
Sustainability, offshore farming, the ongoing search for alternative ingredients in feed diets for both warmwater and coldwater aquatic species, were also hot topics.
Here's a list of the must-read stories of the month.
1. LIVE UPDATES: Copper River harvest is one of the lowest in 50 years
Bristol Bay catches are rolling in, and some districts are seing new records for fish harvested.
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2. Philippines fish farmer jumps on shrimp production with new 50,000-ton farm
Company will harvest the first 20,000 metric tons in 2019.
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3. Land-based salmon producer banks on massive Chinese market opportunity
'It doesn't make sense to farm salmon on the other side of the world.'
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4. AquaVision 2018: Move over salmon. It's time for shrimp
Feed giants and other stakeholders find a gold mine in the underdeveloped shrimp farming sector.
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5. SeaWeb Seafood Summit 2018 blog: The feed of the future
Sustainability was a key topic at the four-day event held in Barcelona.
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6. BioMar CEO: ‘Be ready for land-based, offshore aquaculture growth’
The head of the Danish feed giant gave industry investors some clues on where the seafood sector is headed
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7. Knut Nesse steps down as Nutreco CEO
After 22 years at Skretting, Nesse decided to step down but plans to stay involved in the seafood industry.
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8. Big goals: Land-based producer aims to capture 10% share of US salmon market
Construction works will begin before year end.
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9. Veteran American Seafoods exec departing
The executive is leaving the seafood industry altogether after 40 years in it.
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10. AquaChile's Puchi: Latest acquisition kicks off new era
Victor Hugo Puchi says the Salmones Magallanes deal will bring big changes to the Chilean giant.
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11. US private equity to reshape Greek bass, bream sector
12. Deadly algal bloom 'not a good sign' for BC farmers
14. Nutreco, West Coast JV to bring feed innovation to Indian aquaculture
15. Arctic Storm CEO: New catcher-processor is a milestone for company, pollock sector
16. China slams US lobster, salmon with retaliatory tariffs
17. Tilapia producers clawing back US market with premium positioning
18. Los Fiordos CEO has every reason to be 'extremely happy' with Friosur deal
19. Scientists tout new solution to shrimp farming nemesis
20. ConAgra deal puts future of Mrs. Paul's, Van de Kamp's brand in question