For the Barents Sea, the world’s largest cod fishery, the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has recommended a 25 percent hike in the 2013 quota, which would take the total cod catch up to a record high of 940,000 metric tons, compared with 740,000 metric tons in 2012.
Cod supplies from Iceland are also set to increase in line with a much-improved spawning stock. The country’s Marine Research Institute (MRI) has recommended that the government increase the quota for the year starting 1 September, 2012, to 196,000 metric tons, an 22.5 percent increase from the current season.
The MRI has further suggested that Iceland’s quota could reach 250,000 metric tons by 2016.
Also moving in the right direction, ICES has said North Sea cod stocks are now at their healthiest level in 14 years, doubling in the last six years. While fishing opportunities in the North Sea recovery zone could yet reduce further, the industry remains optimistic that the positive turnaround points to larger quotas in the future.
The proposed catch increases are certainly a well-deserved pat on the back for fisheries management, but exporters are fearful of the effects that the significantly greater supply will have on prices and subsequently their bottom lines. And their worries are not without reason: the current price of H&G cod in China stands at about USD 3,100 (EUR 2,542) per metric ton, whereas 18 months ago it was USD 5,500 (EUR 4,510).
John Rutherford, director of the Frozen at Sea Fillets Association (FASFA), which represents trawler owners and distributors of frozen-at-sea (FAS) fish from Norway, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Spain, Russia, Greenland and the United Kingdom, believes that if cod prices continue to fall it’s plausible some of the quota will remain uncaught in the sea.
“The economics have to work both for the catchers and for the consumers,” he said. “Some companies will take full advantage of the quota but I can see others saying, ‘Why should we work harder for no more money?’ There must be a floor in the price, below which the catchers simply won’t go to sea.”
In Norway, the 8 percent increase in the Barents Sea cod quota for the current season has contributed to a decrease in the export value of the country’s groundfish for the first-half of 2012. According to the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC), groundfish exports totaled NOK 5.1 billion (EUR 685.9 million, USD 837 million) for the six-month period, representing a NOK 356 million (EUR 47.9 million, USD 58.4 million) drop, or 7 percent compared to the first half of 2011.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The year 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United States (1995–2025). In parallel with the nation's progress in international economic integration, bilateral seafood trade has followed a remarkably impressive growth trajectory, expanding from an initial scale of just tens of millions of US dollars to nearly $2 billion annually. This growth has positioned the United States as Vietnam’s largest seafood export market for many consecutive years.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On December 12, 2025, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Processing and Export (VASEP) issued document 231/CV-VASEP regarding strengthening measures to combat IUU fishing and working with the Government to lift the EC's IUU yellow card warning.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Tilapia is easy to farm and provides high economic and nutritional value, making it a sought-after export commodity in many countries.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports in the first 10 months of 2025 recorded significant progress, reaching more than USD 9.5 billion, up 15% year-on-year. This result reflects the sector’s persistent efforts amid a highly volatile market, especially policy shocks from the US Although signs of slowdown emerged in the third quarter due to countervailing taxes, key product groups still maintained strong momentum and created a foundation for full-year exports to reach USD 11 billion.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s agreement with the United States on a framework for reciprocal, fair, and balanced trade—reached during the 2025 ASEAN Summit in Malaysia—has generated strong optimism for Vietnamese exports, including tuna. Numerous positive points in the joint statement have raised high expectations for Vietnamese export goods, but turning these expectations into tangible benefits remains a long and challenging journey.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) At the conference on “Linking the Production and Consumption Chain of Ca Mau Crab 2025,” Vice Chairman of the Ca Mau Provincial People’s Committee Lê Văn Sử posed a central question: how to shift the province’s crab exports toward official trade channels, instead of relying heavily on small-scale border trade with China as currently practiced.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The whitefish market in Japan is showing a clear divergence among supplying countries, in which Vietnam continues to affirm its role as a stable and high-potential exporter. Vietnam currently ranks third after the US and Russia in whitefish export value to Japan. Thanks to tariff incentives and the ability to meet Japan’s strict standards, Vietnamese pangasius continues to record a stable and positive growth trend.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The People's Committee of Ca Mau Province has just issued a plan to expand the super-intensive, low-water-exchange, biosecure white-leg shrimp farming model (RAS-IMTA) for whiteleg shrimp farming to a scale of 1,500 hectares, aiming to develop high-tech, sustainable and environmentally friendly shrimp farming.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Sa Giang Import-Export Joint Stock Company (HNX: SGC) plans to issue over 7.1 million shares to raise nearly 465 Billion VND for Hoan Ngoc M&A Deal.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) According to Rabobank, global tilapia production is forecast to exceed 7 million tons in 2025, driven by a strong recovery in major producing countries including China, Indonesia, Egypt, Bangladesh and Vietnam. Among them, Vietnam is emerging as a potential tilapia supplier in the global supply chain, capitalizing on market fluctuations to expand production and exports.
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