IN BRIEF - Maryport fish smoking plant faces closure over £4m losses

UNITED KINGDOM Thursday, August 14, 2014 A fish smoking company in Cumbria could close, with the loss of more than 60 jobs. Owners of Brookside Products Ltd said it had met with staff to begin a consultation process, which may result in the closure of the factory. Director Doug Aitchison said the plant had lost about GBP 4m over the last three years and it was not "sustainable". The plant in Maryport, which employs 64 people, smokes, prepares and packages salmon for the retail market. 'Continued struggle': The plant was started as a family business in 1987, before moving to the current site in 1995. Mr Aitchison said the 30-day consultation process could ultimately lead to the closure of the plant. He said: "We are very sorry that we are having to consider this...consumers rightly demand rigorous and ever increasing standards and this requires significant ongoing investment to maintain compliance. "We have invested almost GBP 400,000 over the last three years but the plant continues to struggle. Source: BBC

IN BRIEF - Call for Fishcare Volunteers AUSTRALIA Thursday, August 14, 2014 If you are passionate about fishing, enjoy talking to people and looking to contribute to the future of our fish resources, PIRSA’s Fishcare Volunteer program wants you! Director, Operations at PIRSA Fisheries and Aquaculture, Peter Dietman said the Fishcare Volunteers are looking for committed and passionate people to join the program, particularly those living in the Eyre Peninsula and Mid North regions. "This program of wonderful volunteers plays a critical and valuable role in raising the community’s education and awareness about sustainable fishing practices, and the importance of protecting our fish stocks," he said. Source: Government of South Australia IN BRIEF - Can Murmansk cod feed the Russians? RUSSIAN FEDERATION Thursday, August 14, 2014 As Russia imposes an import ban on fish products from Norway and other western countries, the Russian market looks towards alternative suppliers and domestic producers. As previously reported, the import ban could ultimately leave Russian shops without supplies and prices are likely to hike. Norway alone in 2013 exported a total of 295,000 tons of fish products to Russia, 81 percent of it salmon. Over July 2014 and previews months, an average of 134 trucks loaded with fresh Norwegian salmon and trout has crossed the Russian border. That trade has now come to a stop, and several Norwegian trucks fully loaded with fish products have already been rejected entry to Russia. Russian authorities consequently hectically look at ways how to vitalize supplies from domestic fish producers. Murmansk is a key part of that picture. The region has a powerful trawler fleet and a growing aquaculture industry. Despite years of crisis, the region also has a fish processing industry with substantial capacity. The nearby Barents Sea has some of the world’s richest marine resources and cod stocks have over the last years reached historical levels. Source: Barents Observer IN BRIEF - Norway joins EU in sanctions against Russia RUSSIAN FEDERATION Thursday, August 14, 2014 MOSCOW - Norway, which is not part of the EU, decided to join sanctions that the European Union has imposed on Russia, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Monday 11 of August 2014. The ministry cited its Minister Berge Brende as saying that the country is imposing restrictions on Russia similar to the EU sanctions imposed on July 31 that year, under which state-owned banks are banned from taking long-and mid-term loans, arms exports are prohibited and supplies of equipment, technology and know-hows to the Russian oil sector are stopped. The ministry said it has always supported EU’s attitude towards the Russian violations of international regulations, and the sanctions come as an answer to the country destabilizing the situation in the Ukrainian east. Source: ITAR TASS IN BRIEF - Pacific tuna industry calls for 'drastic' action to avoid bigeye stock collapse AUSTRALIA Thursday, August 14, 2014 The Pacific tuna industry has joined environmental organisations and scientists calling for serious action to save bigeye tuna. More than 60 per cent of the world's tuna is caught in the Pacific, much of it by powerful distant water fishing nations from Asia, Europe and North America. Scientists meeting at the region's tuna management body, the Central and Western Pacific Fisheries Commission, have heard bigeye tuna stocks are down to just 16 per of the original population. Source: Radio Austalia IN BRIEF - FIACUI14 & LACQUA14 MEXICO Thursday, August 14, 2014 The Second Latin American and Caribbean Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society, LACQUA 14 meeting in Guadalajara, Mexico is being organized in 2014 together with FIACUI. This event will show high quality conference and a updated producer program. Over 100 booths are expected at the FIACUI14 & LACQUA14 trade show. November 5-7, 2014. This event will bring together aquaculture farmers, entrepreneurs and experts of the entire Latin American region and the World. The main language of the conference is Spanish and Portuguese. Some session will be translated. The organizing team, headed by Panorama Acuicola and the Latin American and Caribbean Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society (LACC-WAS) expects more than 1000 professionals of the aquaculture sector to be present in the meeting in Guadalajara. The participants will be able to attend several key note lectures offered by well-known experts from around the world, as well as exchange research ideas and analyze business options of an important array of worldwide companies that will be present. In this opportunity LACC-WAS will participate in the event presenting the event LACQUA. The World Aquaculture Society (WAS) organizes several events worldwide. LACQUA ´14 will be the second event of its type in the Latin American and the Caribbean region. IN BRIEF - Conversion ratio interim stock dividend Nutreco 1 share for 99 NETHERLANDS Thursday, August 14, 2014 Nutreco announces that the conversion ratio of the interim stock dividend has been determined. This will amount to 1 new ordinary share for every 99 existing ordinary shares. Based on the average weighted price of 8, 11 and 12 August 2014 of EUR 29.7561, 1/99th share represents a value of EUR 0.3006, which is approximately equal to the gross dividend in cash of € 0.30 per ordinary share. Both the cash dividend and stock dividend will be made payable to shareholders on 18 August 2014. Nutreco: Conversion ratio interim stock dividend Nutreco 1 share for 99 IN BRIEF - Vietnam first tuna batch auctioned in Japan VIET NAM Wednesday, August 13, 2014 The first tuna batch of Binh Dinh fishermen with cut-the edge technology is auctioned today (8th August 2014). In the early April that year, Binh Dinh province started a model of cooperation in chain of oceanic tuna fishing, purchasing and exporting to Japan. Five pilot boats in Binh Dinh were provided with Japanese fishing tool sets which valued 200 million VND each along with 50 million VND for upgrading their freezing chambers. They also had the chance to learn tuna catching and handling techniques from Japanese. High quality tuna caught will be bought at premium price to export to Japan within 10 days from August the 12 2014. In the afternoon of 6th August 2014, the first 37 tunas caught with new technology at Truong Sa fishing-ground (Vietnam) were tested by Japanese experts. Nine tunas with the total weight of 44kg satisfied the standards will be exported to Japan via air in the day. On the morning of 8th August, these tunas are auctioned in Japan. Source: Vasep IN BRIEF - Massive shrimp farming investment for TCI UNITED STATES Wednesday, August 13, 2014 The Government has given the go-ahead to two shrimp farming operations to open in the Turks and Caicos Islands with a combined capital investment value of USD 125 million over a four year period. It is projected that the two operations will employ a minimum of 500 skilled and semi-skilled workers on a full-time, year-round basis and create more than 4,000 indirect jobs. The two operations are also expected to generate annual export earnings exceeding USD 200 million. Minister of Finance Washington Misick made this disclosure during the presentation of the budget before the House of Assembly in July 2014. He stated that the two investments will make the TCI the largest aquaculture producer by value in the Caribbean and the only all natural, organic producer according to the sponsors of Global Blue Technologies - one of the investors. "In keeping with our emphasis on the environment, the proposed projects will be sustainable, bio-secure, high intensity aquaculture complexes," Misick said. Source: Turks and Caicos Weekly News IN BRIEF - Foreign Minister Brende: ‘Regrettable Russian import ban’ NORWAY Wednesday, August 13, 2014 'Russia’s import ban is completely unreasonable. The fact that Russia is implementing these measures shows how important it is that we stand together with our allies and partners in responding to Russia’s destabilisation of Ukraine. I agree with the EU’s assessment that the trade restrictions are politically motivated,’ said Minister of Foreign Affairs Børge Brende. Russia announced today that it will ban imports of fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and dairy products from the EU countries, the US, Canada, Australia and Norway. ‘We are taking the news of the Russian trade restrictions seriously, but it is too early to say what the consequences will be for Norwegian companies. We are now examining the measures together with the EU and other affected parties, and we will jointly consider how we can best deal with the situation,’ said Mr Brende. Despite strong international pressure, not least since the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines passenger flight MH17, which resulted in the deaths of 298 people, Russia has so far made no attempt to help disarm the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. As of 1 August 2014, the EU introduced new and more stringent restrictive measures against Russia, in response to Russia’s continued illegal annexation of Crimea and destabilisation of Ukraine. Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs