Nicki Holmyard

Contributing Editor

Nicki Holmyard lives and breathes the seafood industry. As a specialist freelance writer for 25 years, she has travelled the globe to research in-depth articles, interviews and news stories on all aspects of fishing, aquaculture and processing for international journals and newspapers. She has contributed to books on sustainable seafood sourcing and the effects of climate change on the oceans, and acts as a communications consultant for leading fishing and aquaculture concerns. Nicki is also a director of Offshore Shellfish Ltd, which is developing Europe’s largest rope-grown mussel farm.


Author Archive

Published on
March 6, 2024

Norwegian Mountain Salmon (NMS) is planning to bring a unique method of land-based salmon farming to Scotland. 

NMS is proposing a GBP 600 million (USD 758 million, EUR 701 million), 224-tank fish farm on the remote Isle of Lewis off the northwest coast of Scotland. The company aims to build the farm under a hillside for maximum efficiency and minimize biological risks, with the potential to provide 500 million salmon dinners every year to

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Published on
February 7, 2024

A French court ruled on 18 January to institute an emergency closure of the Bay of Biscay to commercial fishing. 

The emergency closure of the fishing grounds from 22 January to 20 February to French vessels, as well as those fishing under flags of other E.U. member state, aims to protect cetaceans – a group of aquatic mammals comprising whales, dolphins, and porpoises. The ban extends to all vessels over 8 meters in length and

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Published on
January 17, 2024

AquaCultured Seafood has received the regulatory green light from the North East Lincolnshire council to move forward on a 5,000-metric-ton (MT) recirculating aquaculture system facility following an 18-month planning process, which, upon completion, will become the U.K.’s first onshore salmon grow-out farm.

The company plans to build the farm on former rail sidings at the port of Grimsby on the nation’s east coast. North East

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Published on
December 22, 2023

After scampi recently became the subject of an attack campaign launched by Scottish charity Open Seas, U.K. public body Seafish has backed the seafood industry in declaring that the product should stay on restaurant menus and retailers’ shelves.

Open Seas launched its “Say No to Scampi” campaign in October, urging supermarkets to discontinue stocking the product and encouraging customers to avoid purchasing scampi until the

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Published on
November 16, 2023

Blydoit Fish, a wholesale and retail seafood supplier based in Scotland’s Shetland Islands, is up for sale.

After 20 years in business, its four owners have decided that the time is right to move on. According to James John Shearer, who helped found Blydoit in 2003 as a means of selling the catch from his whitefish fishing vessel, the Mizpah LK173, there is a “tremendous opportunity” for a new owner to further develop the

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Published on
November 8, 2023

The production of breaded or battered langoustine tails, more commonly known as scampi, is facing an attack campaign from the Scottish charity Open Seas.

The nonprofit’s “Say No to Scampi” campaign, launched on 12 October, is urging supermarkets to discontinue stocking this consumer favorite and is encouraging customers to avoid purchasing scampi until its fishery comes under sustainable management.

Open Seas said trawling for

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Published on
November 7, 2023

Iceland Ocean Cluster Founder and CEO Thor Sigfusson has penned a new book providing a deep dive into the world of seafood sustainability.

The book, 100% Fish, investigates how seafood companies around the world are effectively implementing sustainability measures, providing examples others can learn from.

“I aim to highlight the remarkable strides taken by numerous seafood companies that have harnessed technology and expertise to not only

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Published on
July 20, 2023

France, Ireland, and Denmark are among several nations around Europe that have implemented plans to decommission vessels due to increasingly strict E.U. fishing policies and the logistical consequences of Brexit.

Over the past few years, the E.U.’s diverse fishing fleet, which has vessels ranging from under 6 meters to over 75 meters, has steadily declined in terms of tonnage and engine power. The total number of vessels in the fleet fell

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Published on
June 2, 2023

The Scottish government’s commitment to designate at least 10 percent of Scotland’s seas as highly protected marine areas (HPMAs) by 2026 has garnered fierce opposition from fishermen’s associations, salmon farmers, shellfish producers, local councils, community trusts, some members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and the U.K. Parliament (MPs), among others.

“This could be the death knell for the salmon farming

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Published on
May 30, 2023

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Oceanloop uses a biofloc system. The company has developed a custom clearwater system that it plans to use in its large-scale farm under development.

Munich, Germany-based Oceanloop is seeking nothing less than a full-scale remaking of the global shrimp industry.

The company, forged through the combination of Strande, Germany-based land-based shrimp-farming firm Förde

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