Industry analysis

Despite the struggles of some of barramundi’s most ambitious farmers, production of the species continues to grow, as does innovation in the sector.

Venture funding for aquaculture startups plummeted by 28 percent in 2024 amidst a slowdown in the VC sector, but there are still plenty of positives for some segments of the industry.

One of the early advocates of the Philippines’ smallholder seaweed farming industry, Iain Neish, has launched a new project in a bid to breathe new life into the sector.

In Bangladesh, public opinion holds strong that frozen seafood is inferior to its fresh counterparts, however, as Zubair Khan explains, this is often not the case.

A new generation is embracing aquaculture in India’s Bihar state, helped by several government schemes, but there’s room for improvement, according to the farmers.

Rizky Darmawan, CEO of Delta Marine Group, outlines the company’s expansion plans – with two new shrimp farms and a move into processing in the pipeline.

Robins McIntosh reflects on a year that’s seen continued challenges for shrimp exporters, an increase in bacterial diseases… and the experience of being caught up in a student uprising that overthrew a government.

Having extensively explored the Western seaweed industry, Steven Hermans set off at the end of last year on a new adventure to Asia – the epicentre of seaweed cultivation.

A new toolkit that’s been specially designed to help seafood producers measure their carbon footprints has just been released by Blueyou, who are now inviting more aquaculture and fishery operators to use it for free.

Kontali shrimp production analyst Erwin Termaat takes a deep dive into El Niño and La Niña - the climate systems intrinsically linked to Ecuador’s shrimp farming industry - providing insight into past trends and future outlooks.

Recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) present a promising pathway for sustainable seafood production, yet there are still numerous uncertainties – both for operators and potential investors – which urgently need to be overcome.

Despite being relative newcomers to the salmon sector, the new generation of hybrid flow-through systems (HFTS) are making profits and showing huge potential, in marked contrast to the struggling RAS sector.

The meteoric growth of Ecuador’s shrimp production has finally come to the halt due to low shrimp prices and weak Chinese demand, but analysts expect the shrimp world’s export leaders to make more inroads into the US market.

Independent sustainable shrimp producers will go out of business unless retailers are willing to pay more for their product, according to Jessica Rivera Rodriguez, sales director at MER Seafood, one of Honduras’s largest privately owned shrimp companies.

Tilapia farming in sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing incomparable growth rates, and experts expect these to continue apace, as it bids to finally fulfil its aquaculture potential.

Times have rarely been tougher for shrimp farmers in India, but Balasubramaniam V, general secretary of the Prawn Farmers Federation of India, believes that the industry can transform its fortunes through a combination of improved genetics, the use of native s…

The kelp farms of Kodiak are now ready to expand, if buyers - and the necessary processing infrastructure to serve them - emerge on time.