Brussels may be in the throes of establishing a more sustainable footing for Europe’s seafood industry under the auspices of its new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), but a big thorn in its side still remains in the form of the long-running standoff over mackerel catch shares in the Northeast Atlantic (NEA), which has resulted in severe overfishing of this highly valuable stock.
Over the last five years, the coastal states of the Faroe Islands,
… Read MoreWhen it was founded just over 10 years ago, Netherlands-based Fishes was hailed as a pioneering venture. It was the first retail chain, and later wholesale business, in Europe to sell seafood products that utilized only Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified fish.
The business plan was a success and Fishes took off. Furthermore, thanks to an unerring dedication to the advancement of the sustainable seafood movement, founder Bart van Olphen
… Read MoreAfter two years of decline, Norway’s seafood exports achieved strong value growth in 2013 and the country is anticipating more of the same in the coming years and decades, according to Elisabeth Aspaker, Norwegian Minister of Fisheries.
Speaking at a Norwegian Seafood Summit in London last week, Aspaker said the country has the potential to achieve an export value of GBP 60 billion (USD 99.6 billion, EUR 72.6 billion) or NOK 611 billion (at
… Read MoreQuayside of Whitby, North Yorkshire, on Wednesday took the flagship award at the Seafish-organized 26th annual National Fish & Chip Awards.
The awards were initiated in 1988 to raise standards across the industry and to reward individual “chippies” judged to be going that extra bit further. Today, it’s a major social event, pulling in hundreds of guests and attracting considerable media attention.
Participation in the competition is
… Read MoreSmoked salmon is as much a part of Europe’s holiday season as turkey and ugly knitwear. But while there was no depletion in supermarkets’ cured fish offerings in November and December, one noticeable difference was the lack of attractive price deals, which have become almost customary as the calendar year nears its conclusion.
A U.K. supermarket survey conducted in December found that 100-gram pack of smoked salmon was selling on average for
… Read MoreTwelve months ago, the KPMG/Ipsos Retail Think Tank (RTT) wrote off 2013 as another tough year for U.K. retail as austerity measures continued to hit consumer confidence. However, in the latter stages of the year, there were clear signs that an economic corner had been turned, and the RTT now believes the overall outlook for the country’s retail sector in 2014 is positive.
“The potential for recovery is great and the [United Kingdom]
… Read MoreNorway’s farmed Atlantic salmon exports in the first 10 months of 2013 achieved a total value of NOK 31.4 billion (USD 5.1 billion, EUR 3.8 billion), which was NOK 2 billion (USD 322.6 million, EUR 240.9 million) more than reported for all of last year.
For the month of October alone, the Scandinavian country exported salmon products with a value of NOK 4.2 billion (USD 677.4 million, EUR 506 million), which not only exceeded its total for
… Read MoreEconomically, 2013 can be regarded as the year that Europe turned the corner with a number of countries starting to shrug off their financial woes and looking forward with renewed optimism. While it’s perhaps still too early for these recoveries to affect consumer spending, it was still a busy and exciting year for Europe’s seafood industry. So as the year draws to a close, let’s take a look back at 10 stories that helped shape the sector
… Read MoreAfter almost three-and-a-half years of difficult negotiations, the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform package has been approved. The policy is now tasked with returning European fish stocks to sustainable levels and to put an end to wasteful fishing practices.
The new fisheries legislation was given the final green light in a final plenary vote by European Parliament (EP) on 10 December and will start to take effect on 1 January 2014.
… Read MoreWild sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) has long been a superstar species for high-end chefs plying their skills in northern Europe, but a new stock survey suggests professional kitchens may soon have to seek out alternatives for their menus.
The largest targeted sea bass fishery takes place between November and April in the western English Channel and Bay of Biscay, where mainly French but also Scottish and Danish trawlers target the fish shoaling
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