The Pescafria-Pesquera Rodriguez Barents Sea cod fishery and Canadian Atlantic halibut fishery on Tuesday announced that they entered full assessment in the Marine Stewardship Council’s certification program for sustainable and well-managed fisheries.
Pesquera Rodriguez, a family-run company based in Spain’s Basque Country and Galicia, holds 27.5 percent (3,700 metric tons) of the Spanish quota for cod in the Barents Sea. The company’s main market is the United Kingdom, with a small portion sold to the Spanish market.
The client for Canada’s Atlantic halibut fishery is the Atlantic Halibut Council, representing commercial halibut fishermen in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Managed by Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans with a quota of 1,700 metric tons in 2010, the fishery is managed as part of the area’s groundfish fishery and includes Atlantic halibut caught by directed fishing trips as well as bycatch. The product’s main markets include Canada, United States and European Union.
Marine Harvest reveals fourth-quarter results
Marine Harvest on Thursday announced that it produced 90,000 metric tons of salmon in the fourth quarter of 2010, up from 87,000 metric tons during the same period in 2009.
Marine Harvest Norway's harvest totaled 60,000 metric tons, followed by Scotland at 10,000 metric tons, Canada at 9,000 metric tons and Chile at 7,000 metric tons. Salmon production in both Norway and Chile were up from 58,000 metric tons and 6,000 metric tons, respectively, during the same period in 2009. Canada and Scotland's totals were about the same.
Marine Harvest expects its salmon production to jump by 18,000 metric tons, to 340,000 metric tons, this year, with 50 percent of the increase coming from Norway.
The Norwegian company's earnings before interest and taxes for the fourth quarter reached NOK 1 million.
Study: Fish stocks replenished by larvae
New research from marine ecologists in Hawaii, Oregon and Washinton and published in the scientific journal PLoS One shows for the first time that fish stocks can be replenished by tiny fish larvae originating from marine reserves more than 100 miles away.
Conducted in Hawaii, the research also highlights the ability of marine reserves to rebuild fish stocks in areas outside the reserves.
“This study should help answer some of the questions about the ability of marine reserves to help rebuild fisheries,” said Jim Beets, a University of Hawaii at Hilo marine science professor and the study’s co-author. “It should also add scientific precision to the locating of reserves for that purpose, which is just one of many roles that a marine reserve can play.”
