Aquaculture for all

Weekly Overview: New Salmon Farms Approved in Marlborough Sounds

Salmonids Nutrition Husbandry +5 more

ANALYSIS - In this week's news, The Supreme Court of New Zealand has given the go-ahead for three of four new New Zealand King Salmon farms in Marlborough. The new farms represent the first new space to be allocated for salmon for over twenty years, writes Lucy Towers, TheFishSite Editor.

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New Zealand King Salmon CEO Grant Rosewarne commented that having a final decision is a relief to staff and management despite the disappointment over losing one of the farms. "We are pleased to finally have some certainty after three years of legal process. The decision enables us to bring economic benefits to the region while operating in an environmentally sustainable manner.”

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is expanding its global sustainability standard beyond wild-capture fish and invertebrate fisheries for the first time to include seaweed.

With global seaweed fishery production increasing, and demand for MSC certification of seaweed harvesting increasing, the MSC has recognised the importance of having a standard that rewards those that are harvesting seaweed sustainably and also provides a benchmark for improvement.

New statistics show that the value of fish and shellfish landed by Scottish vessels in 2013 decreased by eight per cent, compared with 2012. However, the quantity of fish landed remained stable having increased by less than half a per cent.

The decrease in value of fish landings in 2013 is a result of reductions in the overall value of all species types.

Overall mackerel was the most valuable stock to the Scottish fleet as it accounted for 29 per cent of the total value of landings.

“This alarming drop in the quayside value of seafood landed underlines the tremendous pressures faced by our fishing fleet," said Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation.

Rothamsted Research has received approval from the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to carry out its GM field trial on Camelina plants that accumulate omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) in their seeds.

Professor Johnathan Napier, lead scientist of this project at Rothamsted Research said: "We are very pleased to welcome the decision of Defra to grant us permission to carry out our proposed field trial. We have made considerable progress over the last 10 years in designing and developing these plants and my colleagues and I am very happy that we can now test the performance of these plants in the field, under real life conditions."

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