"We can almost say there is too much cod," Webjorn Barstad of Norwegian fishing company Strand told IntraFish.
"Fishermen have been reporting for some years that the stock is more healthy than the scientists were saying and Fiskebat has been arguing for some time that we should be taking more cod," Barstad said.
"It’s not ideal when the stock of cod, which is the largest predator, rises to levels that can be seen as too high. It’s also not a full utilization of the resources at our disposal," he said, adding that the cod stock consumes an estimated amount of fish roughly three times the amount caught by Norwegian fishermen.
While the stock is healthy, the composition of it is not clear and it could be that there is an unhealthy mix of mature to juvenile cod, and the situation is further complicated as cod will feed on smaller cod when other food sources are no longer abundant.
"They have a very diverse diet -- capelin, herring, redfish, haddock, shrimp -- as well as smaller cod," Barstad said.
"So there are serious implications for the management of other stocks. Industry is critical of anagement now, especially with the decline in haddock and we have seen evidence of this with pictures of fishermen opening large cod to find four or five decent-sized haddock falling out.
Strand is in the process of saying goodbye to its filleting operations with the new Havbryn delivered in April and the Havstrand due to follow in a few weeks. These are H&G vessels, unlike the filleter trawlers they replace – and the reason is costs.
"Prices are terrible and filleting is expensive," Barstad said, adding that the medium and large cod their vessels land is sold mostly for saltfish and dried fish production in Norway, while smaller fish are exported and find their way to processors in Europe or China -- and the largest proportion of their catches is medium and large fish, plus there is a very large amount of these big fish coming from Russia.
Cod prices halved
"The cod price is less than half of what it was 12-16 months ago. Prices fell sharply in the second half of last year and continued to decline into the first quarter of this year," Barstad said.
"Prices are so low that if we didn’t have the volume, fishing wouldn’t be cost effective and many operators would simply stop.
"At this level it is unsustainable, and I don’t understand why, as fish is not that much cheaper to the consumer, if at all. We have not had lower prices than these for 30-35 years. We are back at 1970s levels," he said, adding that no other prices are that low and for an operator in Norway this is especially difficult as they are using services in a working environment alongside the oil industry, and often paying oil industry prices.
"At this level it is not sustainable," he said, and that Strand’s groundfish operations this year will hardly show a profit and they will be satisfied to break even.
"We hope the situation will stabilize in the second half of this year – it needs to."
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The Quang Tri Department of Agriculture and Environment has instructed localities to base their stocking schedules on actual conditions in each farming area, while developing plans, allocating resources, and implementing synchronized measures for disease prevention and disaster risk management in aquaculture production.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the first two months of 2026, Vietnam’s exports of fish cakes and surimi exceeded USD 45 million, up 7% compared to the same period in 2025, indicating a positive outlook for this product segment amid recovering demand in many markets.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) During the week from April 4th to 10th, 2026, Quang Ngai province intensified its monitoring and law enforcement activities with the determination to eliminate illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Thanh Hoa’s shrimp sector is undergoing a strong transformation by accelerating the adoption of high technology, helping to improve productivity, increase profits, and meet market demands. The province currently has about 4,100 hectares of shrimp farming, with output continuing to rise despite stable farming area, mainly due to the shift from traditional methods to intensive and super-intensive farming.
(vasep.com.vn) Amid ongoing volatility in global seafood trade, Vietnam’s crab exports have made a fairly positive start to 2026. According to Vietnam Customs statistics, export turnover in the first two months of 2026 reached nearly USD 55 million, up 24% compared to the same period in 2025 and more than 2.2 times higher than in the same period of 2024. This indicates that crab exports are entering 2026 with stronger growth momentum, particularly in Asian markets.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Da Nang City has fully implemented all recommendations from the European Commission (EC) regarding the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, creating an important foundation for the removal of the “yellow card” in the near future.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In Hoa Vang district (Da Nang City), red tilapia farming is demonstrating clear economic efficiency, becoming a promising livelihood that helps many households increase their income. A notable example is the model of Mr. Huynh Ngoc Nam, who operates two red tilapia ponds covering more than 4 hectares, generating stable annual income.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In Gia Vien district, tilapia farming—particularly the “duong nghiep” strain—is expanding rapidly and gradually becoming an efficient production model for local farmers. Hatcheries in the area are supplying high-quality, uniform, and disease-free fingerlings, meeting the growing demand for commercial farming.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On the afternoon of March 19, Vice Chairman of the Ca Mau Provincial People’s Committee, Le Van Su, chaired a meeting to address bottlenecks and propose solutions to expand the super-intensive whiteleg shrimp farming model using low water exchange and high biosecurity standards (RAS-IMTA).
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On March 10, 2026, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee issued Decision No. 1377/QD-UBND approving the Aquatic Animal Disease Prevention and Control Plan for the 2026–2030 period. The decision takes effect from the date of signing and replaces previous plans for the 2021–2030 period that had been issued prior to the administrative merger in Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Binh Duong, and Ho Chi Minh City.
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