On September 19-21, 2010, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will hold two public meetings on AquAdvantage Salmon, a genetically engineered (GE) Atlantic salmon intended to be used for food. The purpose of this hearing is for FDA to explain the relevant legal principles for food labeling and to solicit information and views from interested persons on the application of these principles to the labeling of food made from AquAdvantage Salmon. The FDA stresses it has not made a decision on the approval of the New Animal Drug Application (NADA) related to the AquAdvantage Salmon. The original application by the 'makers' of the transgenic salmon – London AIM-listed AquaBounty - goes back over a decade and has proved a very controversial issue, particularly due to the fact that FDA guidance and decisions are closely scrutinised worldwide. In the 1990s when raising transgenic salmon was also considered by European aquaculturists, the public response was such that various plans had to backtrack, and the International Salmon Farmers' Association (ISFA) voted a moratorium on the raising of GE/GM salmon. If FDA does not approve the NADA related to the AquAdvantage Salmon, then it will not need to consider the issue of additional labeling requirements for food from this fish. If it is approved, food made from AquAdvantage Salmon must, like all foods, bear an appropriate name and a label that is truthful and not misleading. This US public hearing will assist FDA in the application of its relevant food labeling legal principles as they relate to AquAdvantage Salmon. Needless to say, the public meetings should be 'lively' and well attended as this is GM salmon is the first fish - and staple animal food - to be considered for authorisation; there is thus a lot riding on this particular application. More details below...

Sustained resistance to pancreas disease (PD) has given unvaccinated Landcatch farmed salmon - reared on a farm in Austevoll, Norway - high harvest yields and high survival rates in the face of a significant PD challenge. “Given the current debate on PD vaccine development in Norway, we believe producers should examine the vital role which could be played by breeding for resistance to this disease,” said Alan Stewart, Business Development Director of the Scottish international salmon breeding company, Landcatch, on releasing last week the results. “Based on current prices, the amount of revenue lost by farmers who experience 25% mortality and 15% carcass downgrading, as has commonly occurred in PD outbreaks in Norway this year, could be as much as NOK 8.1 million [ca. €1.016 million / US$1.291 million] on each 200,000 smolts stocked, when compared with the performance of the Landcatch fish at Lille Ludnoy,” said Mr Stewart. PD is primarily a chronic disease of the heart and skeletal muscles, although the pancreas is also affected. It has become a severe problem to European salmon farmers. The virus is believed to be transferred horizontally from fish to fish in the sea and can be responsible for major economic losses. In Norway for example, where it is particularly serious, losses in 2009 have been estimated to exceed US$150 million. More details below...

“Salmon Feedlots in the Broughton Archipelago are operating on Crown Land tenures that have been expired for years,” argued last week biologist and farmed salmon industry critic Alexandra Morton, as she announced that she – also - has applied for these licences “to return them to their natural state to grow wild fish to the much greater benefit of British Columbians and the BC economy.” Mrs Morton was the initiator of a major (and successful) BC Supreme Court legal challenge which ruled in February 2009 the provincial laws regulating the BC fish farming industry to be unconstitutional and unlawful. New federal regulations are pending. Morton writes in the applications: “I offer that my intended use better serves Crown Land’s mission statement “to provide the greatest benefits for British Columbians.” Following this development, the BC Salmon Farmers' Association (BCSFA) commented that “BC's salmon farmers are operating in full compliance to all operating license conditions as they await the renewal of tenures for some of their farms in BC.” The BCSFA Executive Director Mary Ellen Walling said: “Our farmers are operating legally on the tenures as they await the completion of the complicated renewal process through the province. [...] “We agree that this should be completed as soon as possible, and feel it would provide all stakeholders greater security about our farm operations.” More details below...

Alien wildlife species are multiplying around Northern Europe's Wadden Sea, posing a serious threat to biodiversity, says the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The warning came in a new report launched Friday (August 27th) on Wadden Sea Day - a platform for recent research on the marine World Heritage Site that borders the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. As well as reducing biodiversity, the abundant alien species could also prove an economic burden to the Wadden Sea region. Costs are incurred through managing or eradicating invasive alien species and the impact on the food chain from non-native wildlife means that fishermen's yields are often reduced. Grasses, mussels and jellyfish are the most damaging invaders in the Wadden Sea. More details below...

“We object to the claim that chemical dispersants have a low potential for accumulating in marine life and do not pose an environmental health concern” - August 16th statement by New Orleans-based Attorney Stuart H. Smith, representing the United Commercial Fishermen's Association, the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, public and private entities, and citizens deemed harmed by the BP oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. “Eight months would be required to remove 96 percent of the petroleum under ideal conditions, thus we can only assume what remains in the Gulf waters will be a 'toxic soup' of chemicals for the foreseeable future, due to the worst-case scenario which has unfolded.. More details below...

The recently (June 30th) Børs-listed Morpol ASA – the world's largest salmon smoking company - has announced last week (August 18th) it has acquired 100% of farmed salmon producer Mainstream Scotland (from Børs-listed Cermaq) for an enterprise value of NOK 350 million (€34 million / US$56 million). The closing date for the transaction is expected to take place 25 August 2010. “It is exciting for Morpol to make the first step into salmon farming, particularly entering first in Mainstream Scotland which we believe has a significant potential for growth over today's production levels. We intend to use this acquisition as a platform for market penetration in the UK and French markets and will further invest in processing to align Morpol with our customers' needs. We believe we can extract synergies in the value chain and enhance margins while at the same time increasing our presence in other markets such as the U.S. which prefers Scottish origin salmon. With this step, we secure about 10% of our raw material needs,” commented the CEO of Morpol Mr Jerzy Malek. “A sale of the Scottish farming and processing activity to Morpol ASA is considered as a good solution for Cermaq, Morpol, Mainstream Scotland as well as for our Scottish employees,” commented Cermaq's CEO, Geir Isaksen. “Cermaq has through Mainstream an ambition to be one of the leading global farming companies. The sale of Mainstream Scotland does therefore not impact Cermaq’s long term strategy,” Isaksen added. More details below...

A new report investigates and evaluates the underlying reasons for the recent dramatic rise in prices of many of the commodities (e.g., soybean, corn, fishmeal, fish oil, rice and wheat) used in aquafeed production and its consequences for the global aquafeed industry and, in particular, on demand and expectations from aquaculture in ensuring current and future fish supplies - with particular reference to Asia and Europe. The report note that since 2005, the basket commodity price index (CPI) rose by about 50 per cent and the prices of soybean meal, fishmeal, corn and wheat rose by 67, 55, 284, 225 and 180 per cent, respectively. Similarly, the cost of major oils used in the aquafeed industry has increased by up to 250%. “The aquaculture industry is, therefore, not immune to this global phenomenon and the major concern is how it will impact aquaculture. ” write the authors. More details below...

The ex-farm value of the Scottish Shetland Islandq' farmed Atlantic salmon sector is expectd to top £145 million in 2010 value, an increase of 15% from the previous year [£126m in 2009], according to figures released by Shetland Aquaculture last week. The forecast from the producers' association follows commitment from industry to make further investment during the year, including an injection of £5.1million in South West Shetland, to help meet increasing demand for healthy salmon products from the islands. Roseanna Cunningham MSP, Scotland's Minister for Environment, was last week on a tour of the islands is to view the salmon industry investment. Welcoming the Minister, David Sandison, General Manager of Shetland Aquaculture, said: “Shetland is a top class hub for salmon farming. It is a very positive time for the industry and we are glad to highlight the increasing value to the local economy and showcase some of the investments, innovations and advances that have been achieved.” Michael Stark, Chairman of Shetland Aquaculture, added: “With strong demand for our products, we have a great opportunity to increase market share for Scottish salmon in a highly competitive global market place.”. More details below...

The Scottish-headquartered Atlantic Salmon Trust (AST) has just published its new policy on sea lice, backed up by Professor Ken Whelan's review of the existing science on impacts of Lepeophtheirus salmonis on wild salmonids in areas where there is salmon aquaculture. The review argues that there is compelling scientific evidence that 'sea lice emanating from salmon farms can pose a very serious and dangerous risk to wild migratory salmonid populations.' The new 'science-supported' policy claims to represent a fresh approach to managing sea lice. “AST’s policy advocates a completely new approach to sea lice management, because we recognise that there have been some problems with the current system of management,” said AST Chief Executive Tony Andrews. “We believe that what’s needed is what we’d term a ‘bay-by-bay’ approach. Experience has shown that the impact of salmon cages on lice loadings on wild salmon and sea trout differs from one bay/sea loch/fjord to another. This impact is dependent not only on how well salmon farmers control lice on their stock, but also on migration routes & feeding patterns of wild salmonids, and - crucially - factors such as prevailing currents and winds, the morphology of the bay/loch, weather patterns, etc. All of these factors have an impact on how sea lice larvae disperse and are transported within a sea loch, and the consequent risk to wild fish. The AST policy calls for mandatory single-generation management of sea lochs/bays, and synchronised fallowing and treatment regimes, plus officially validated lice monitoring regimes, with results publicly available. “[...] we believe that our new policy offers the best chance of success, in a world where salmon aquaculture is undoubtedly here to stay in the countries where it has become established.” Sea lice are the most significant parasitic pathogen in European salmon farming and are estimated to cost the industry €300 million a year. More details