News Digest n.7 / 2023
Finland's trout farming sector records 25-year high
Finland’s aquaculture sector produced 16,300 tonnes of fish – worth €102 million – in 2022, according to the latest statistics. This was almost two million kilos more than in the previous year and is the largest production volume since the end of the 1990s. The value was up by nearly €23 million from 2021 in real terms, according to the latest aquaculture statistics complied by the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke).
A new sustainable fisheries partnership agreement signed between the EU and Madagascar
On 30 June, the EU and Madagascar signed a new sustainable fisheries partnership agreement (SFPA), and its implementing protocol. This new agreement represents a milestone in fisheries governance, since it restores the fisheries partnership between the EU and Madagascar that had been interrupted since 2018, and will contribute to good fisheries governance. The agreement will allow 65 tuna fishing vessels from EU Member States to access Madagascar waters over a period of 4 years.
Warning of invasive pink salmon threat to UK fisheries
The Environment Agency has urged anglers to report catches or sightings of invasive Pacific pink salmon, which are expected to appear in UK waters this year. The arrival of pink salmon raises potential concerns to other native species, including wild Atlantic salmon. Atlantic salmon are threatened, with numbers of the species falling dramatically due to various pressures. The Environment Agency has a programme to deliver actions and outcomes identified within the Invasive Non-native Species Framework Strategy for Great Britain.
France commits EUR 1 million to WTO Fisheries Funding Mechanism
The government of France is contributing €1million to the WTO Fisheries Funding Mechanism to help developing members and least-developed country members implement the landmark Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies adopted at the 12th Ministerial Conference in June 2022. The contribution was confirmed at a signing ceremony with Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and France’s Minister responsible for Foreign Trade, Economic Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad, Olivier Becht, at the WTO on 23 June.
Sustainable fisheries: Launch of Energy Transition Partnership for EU fisheries and aquaculture
The Commission launched the Energy Transition Partnership for fisheries and aquaculture at the high-level conference ‘Joining forces for the energy transition in EU fisheries and aquaculture’. The Partnership will provide a central platform for all actors of the sea to share knowledge and solutions, and coordinate efforts in order to achieve a climate-neutral sector by 2050, as set out in the Communication on the energy transition in EU fisheries and aquaculture.
Raising investment for Europe’s largest catfish farm
Danijel Gospic is currently looking to raise investment to build a 10,000 tonne vertically integrated African catfish farm in Croatia. He currently operates two farms and has helped to develop dozens of others in Slovenia and its neighbouring countries – covering a diverse range of species including carp, pike, pike-perch, trout, Danube salmon, catfish and sturgeon.
