Jason Holland

November has been a month of milestones for the Marine Stewardship Council. One week ago, the London-based NGO announced that peeled, frozen shrimp sold by UK retailer J. Sainsbury had become the 7,000th product to bear its eco-label; this was then followed a few days later with the certification of the 100th fishery (Ocean Trawler Barents Sea cod and haddock).

Certainly, over the 10 years that MSC has been in operation it’s made an important

While Europe can boast of having some of the world’s most advanced consumer markets, many of which lead the way in their adoption of so-called “new farmed species,” most Europeans outside the seafood industry are in the dark when it comes to understanding the overall importance of aquaculture and how it has enhanced retail.

Clearly aware of this lack of aquaculture insight, even among individuals interested in fisheries, Peter Hajipieris,

Frozen seafood is more than a sound economic solution for the British market; it’s often the best solution. True, the United Kingdom is an island nation, surrounded by water and blessed with an abundance of domestic species. But Brits are fickle consumers who don’t just like choice, they demand it.

Walk the frozen food aisles of any large UK supermarket and there’s richness in the fish category with traditional staples like cod, mackerel

Sourcing shrimp at an affordable price is no mean feat these days. As seafood buyers will testify, a voluminous imbalance exists between consumers' high demand for shrimp and the comparatively low production. And it's a safe bet this will see current high prices prevail for another two to three years, particularly in the case of large-size shrimp.

Last week shell-on black tiger (Penaeus monodon) market prices stood at about USD 6.70 (EUR 4.76)

Laky Zervudachi is director of sustainability at foodservice supplier Seafood Holdings, one of the fastest growing private companies in the United Kingdom. As far as Zervudachi is concerned, one of his role's most important aspects is his external work with chefs and caterers to encourage greater understanding of the importance of responsible sourcing.

In an exclusive Q&A with SeafoodSource, Zervudachi, who took on the position in March, said

Here’s part two of a two-part Q&A with Laky Zervudachi, director of sustainability at foodservice supplier Seafood Holdings. Part one ran on Friday.

Holland: Despite so much good work behind the scenes, it appears as though there’s some distance to go before sustainability becomes the foodservice industry norm. Is that the case?
Zervudachi: It will take time, but I believe there’s one thing that’s going to move everything forward

The ongoing dispute between the United Kingdom and Iceland over the latter’s decision to set its own, much higher mackerel quota is almost certain to crank up another notch or two with the arrival in the British market of significantly increased amounts of Icelandic cod.

Fisheries and Agriculture Minister Jon Bjarnason increased Iceland’s annual cod quota by 10,000 metric tons, to 160,000 metric tons, as of 1 September.

A lot of Icelandic cod

La disputa constante entre el Reino Unido e Islandia al respecto de la decisión de esta última de establecer su propia cuota de caballa, mucho más alta, va a intensificarse, casi con total seguridad, con la llegada al mercado británico de cantidades enormemente superiores de bacalao islandés.

Jon Bjarnason, Ministro de Agricultura y Pesca de Islandia, ha aumentado la cuota islandesa anual de bacalao en 10.000 toneladas, hasta alcanzar las

British tilapia is now being sold in leading U.K. supermarket chain Tesco. The Fish Co. is producing the fish on four fish farms across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in northern England.

“There is a growing market for sustainably and ethically produced white fish, which we believe we can help fulfill,” said Hamish Bichan of The Fish Co. “Our fish are 100 percent U.K. produced and are not hormone treated. The quality-reared stock is fully

For the last six years, the UK oyster industry has anxiously watched while disease has obliterated France’s Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) production. Then, UK producers’ worst fears were realized a few weeks ago when that same disease — the recently discovered OsHV-1 (oyster herpesvirus type 1) — was found on the Kent coast, in southern England.

According to reports, OsHV-1 wiped out between 8 and 10 million oysters at the Seasalter