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This report has been written to present in abbreviated form the progress made with the fish hatched in 1977 and 1978. About a quarter of the 1977 stock has exceeded the minimum size (250g) at which maximum market unit price is achieved; the majority of the remainder should achieve harvest weight at an age of 22 months. The 1978 stock, some are now nine months old, due to successful early spawning by photoperiod control, are growing more strongly. This report has been produced from a scanned original and may therefore contain some formatting and other inaccuracies. In cases where this affects the technical content, a paper copy of the original report can still be obtained from Seafish.

This Market Insight factsheet provides a full picture of cod in the retail, foodservice and trade markets.

The UK Sea Fish Industry Authority’s Risk Assessment for Sourcing Seafood (RASS) Scoring Guidance Version 2 revised April 2024

In September ‘97 a shellfish merchant purchased a novel system for banding the claws of the brown crab, Cancer pagurus. The banding system had been developed by the North Atlantic Fisheries College (NAFC), in Shetland, who have been conducting research into novel methods of restraining the claws of brown crab, primarily with a view to airfreighting product to foreign markets. The equipment, Fig 2, Appendix 1, is currently manufactured by HNP Engineers (Shetland) and has been marketed since early 1997. Seafish were requested to assist in investigating the suitability of the system for a crab fishery located off the East coast of England. The main interest was the efficacy of the bands on crabs which were subjected to medium term immersed storage in live holding tanks. Previous research by Seafish on restraints for brown crab is described in Seafish report No. 423. The work involved evaluating different designs of restraint in specialised conditions, with the aim of producing a design suitable for the U.K. vivier trade.

The Seafish 2023-2028 Corporate Plan sets out our five year strategy to support the UK seafood industry to thrive. It includes detail on how we will measure our impact. This is an accessible PDF

The scallop industry in Japan is the most valuable shellfish culture industry at around 34 billion yen production (£68 million). It is second to the oyster industry in terms of production tonnage at 150,000 tons/year as compared to 220,000 tons for the oyster industry. Values of scallop meats remain steady at around £560/ton for in shell and £1,400 ton for shucked meats. The rise in this industry represents one of the most successful examples of the revival and utilisation of a natural marine resource. The scallop under going cultivation in Japan is Patinopecten vessoensis (Jay), “hotategai”, basically a cold water shellfish whose southern limit of distribution is about 35 degrees latitude on the Pacific and Japan sea coast. The main cultivation areas however, are to be found in the north of Honshu and in Hokkaido. This discussion centres on 3 cultivation areas, which in terms of production tonnage are probably the most important scallop growing areas in Japan. These are Mutsu Bay in Komori Prefecture, Funka Bay in S E Hokkaido and Lake Saroma in the north of Hokkaido with the adjoining Okhotak Sea coast. The scallop cultivation technique depends on the relatively simple concept of collecting newly settled stages of the shelled larvae (called ‘spat’) and on growing or raising these juveniles in a protected, maintained environment until they are of a commercial size and can be marketed. Scallop cultivation is one of the relatively new culture processes in Japan with commercially significant tonnages of cultured scallop being produced only in this decade. However, the collection of settled scallop spat on ‘collectors’ and the subsequent sowing of selected juveniles in seabed areas are favourable for their growth, goes back to the 1930’s. This report has been produced from a scanned original and may therefore contain some formatting and other inaccuracies. In cases where this affects the technical content, a paper copy of the original report can still be obtained from Seafish.

Brussels update of seafood legislation developments, including: Communicating during a food crisis (EFSA guidelines); Levels of consumer trust in seafood; Tackling fake foodstuffs; Ongoing interinstitutional negotiations on Official Controls Review; Marine Protected Areas (as required by Article 21 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive); Slavery in the fishing sector in Thailand; TTIP negotiations; Consultation on a FTA with the Philippines; Shipping container weight verification; Waste duty of care guidance

The report describes the potential use of glass reinforced cement (GRC) for fishing vessel hulls. The history of GRC, its method of application and empirical strength properties are described. A separate report and supplement by Charles Andrews and Son describes a formulation of GRC considered to be suitable for fishing vessel hulls.

In 2023, UK retail seafood consumption shifted to accelerated decline, falling well below pre COVID-19 levels and the rate of decline appears to be faster than that seen prior to COVID-19.