UK fishing company Waterdance has placed orders with the Luyt yard at Den Oever in Holland for two new fishing vessels. A new crabber is already under construction and the keel of a new 30m beam trawler to join the UK fleet will be laid this summer.
The MSC certificate for the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (SGOSL) snow crab trap fishery in Canada has been suspended by certifier SAI Global (SAIG). The certifier concluded that based on new information including the Incident Report on 2017 right whale mortalities in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the fishery no longer meets the MSC Fishery Standard related to Endangered, Threatened and Protected species.
The keel of a new crab catcher for Russian Far East fishing company Antey has been laid at the Pella Shipyard in St Petersburg, following the signing of the contract between the yard and the fishing company for the first of this series of vessels.
The Vostok-1 Fishing Collective Farm has taken delivery of a modernised fishing vessel to develop fishing for crab in deeper waters in the Sea of Japan. Vostok-1 was a pioneer of this fishery in the early 2000s when there was little interest in catching crabs, and has made a success of its tenacity in sticking with the crab fishery over the years.
A Platform Support Vessel that was sold more than a year ago to an unnamed buyer has now been delivered to Zamakona Yards in Pasajes. Once it has been converted for its new role, owners Luntos Co Ltd plan to operate the vessel as a crab catcher with capacity to work as a floating processor for pelagic species.
Russian’s Barents Sea red king crab fishery in the Barents Sea has become the first king crab fishery in the world to achieve MSC certification as a sustainable and well-managed fishery. The certification was awarded by independent certifier Acoura Marine following a detailed assessment.
Norwegian naval architect Skipsteknisk has contracted to develop a series of crab catchers for one of the largest Russian companies specialising in this fishery, with quotas for king crab and snow crab.
Norway’s Institute of Marine Research (IMR) has been testing lights to catch snow crab in the Barents Sea by attaching lights to traps set at 250-300 metre depths.
Atlantic rock crab were first identified in Hvalfjörður in south-western Iceland a decade ago and since then they have spread around the whole west coast and are reported to be found as far north and east as Eyjafjörður. According to independent fisheries scientist Jón Kristjánsson, rock crab could reach the east coast within a few years.
Having recently secured 60% EMFF funding via the MMO, the Shellfish Association of Great Britain (SAGB), it has appointed freelance food writer, fisheries journalist and seafood sustainability consultant Mike Warner to oversee a two year project.