"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) Although Germany’s tuna imports have declined, Vietnam’s tuna exports to the market continue to show positive signs. Notably, export value recovered strongly in Q3/2026, and German import data also show Vietnamese products strengthening their position amid competition among suppliers.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Seafood exports are holding double-digit growth, but the opportunities are not spread evenly across product groups and markets. As businesses draw up their plans for 2027, Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026 (VSS2026) offers a chance to look ahead together: what to sell, where to sell it, and how to prepare for growth in the coming years.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) With less than two weeks to go, the Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026 (VSS 2026) will officially take place in Can Tho. Under the theme “Seafood Market Outlook 2027–2029 – Opportunities and Potential for Double-Digit Export Growth,” the Summit is organized by VASEP at a time when seafood businesses are facing rapid market shifts, changing buyer demand, trade policy changes and growing competitive pressure all at once.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On October 28, 2026, the China Fisheries & Seafood Expo opened in Qingdao, China. The expo takes place over three days from October 28 to 30, 2026. This is a prestigious specialized seafood exhibition organized annually by Sea Fare Exposition Inc.
(vasep.com.vn) In the first nine months of 2026, Vietnam’s tilapia exports to the CPTPP bloc reached $7 million, marking a 51% year-on-year increase. The bloc rstands as the fourth-largest market for Vietnamese tilapia, trailing Brazil, the US, and Saudi Arabia.
(vasep.com.vn) VASEP has officially announced the program for Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026 (VSS 2026), featuring five in-depth sessions covering industry outlooks, trade barriers, buyer demand, the domestic market, and solutions to improve productivity and reduce costs across the seafood value chain.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s shrimp exports reached US$3.7 billion in the first nine months of 2026, up 11% year on year. Although growth has been supported by China and several markets within the CPTPP, momentum is slowing as exports to the United States and the European Union decline. Tariff pressures, international competition, and raw material challenges are creating significant hurdles for exporters in the final months of the year.
(vasep.com.vn) Markets are changing faster, buyer requirements are becoming more demanding, and trade barriers are growing increasingly complex. In this environment, seafood businesses need more than an understanding of current market conditions. They need a longer-term perspective to answer a critical question: Where will growth opportunities come from in 2027–2029, and what should businesses do now to prepare? This is one of the key reasons why VASEP is organizing Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026.
(vasep.com.vn) In the first eight months of 2026, Vietnam’s pangasius exports to the Middle East reached US$113 million, up 7% year on year from the same period in 2025. Growth has become more pronounced in recent months. In August alone, exports to the region totaled US$20 million, an increase of 24%. This indicates that demand for Vietnamese pangasius in the Middle East is gradually recovering after a slowdown in March, although the pace of recovery varies across markets.
(vasep.com.vn) China’s shrimp imports continued to grow strongly in 2026, while Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the market also recorded notable growth. However, behind these positive figures lie two distinct trends: Chinese consumption is growing more slowly than imports, and lobster accounts for a substantial share of Vietnam’s shrimp exports to China, making its product mix significantly different from those of Ecuador and India. Exporters therefore need to assess each segment carefully to understand the opportunities and risks.
VASEP - HIỆP HỘI CHẾ BIẾN VÀ XUẤT KHẨU THỦY SẢN VIỆT NAM
Chịu trách nhiệm: Ông Nguyễn Hoài Nam - Phó Tổng thư ký Hiệp hội
Đơn vị vận hành trang tin điện tử: Trung tâm VASEP.PRO
Trưởng Ban Biên tập: Bà Phùng Thị Kim Thu
Giấy phép hoạt động Trang thông tin điện tử tổng hợp số 138/GP-TTĐT, ngày 01/10/2013 của Bộ Thông tin và Truyền thông
Tel: (+84 24) 3.7715055 – (ext.203); email: kimthu@vasep.com.vn
Trụ sở: Số 7 đường Nguyễn Quý Cảnh, Phường An Phú, Quận 2, Tp.Hồ Chí Minh
Tel: (+84) 28.628.10430 - Fax: (+84) 28.628.10437 - Email: vasephcm@vasep.com.vn
VPĐD: số 10, Nguyễn Công Hoan, Ngọc Khánh, Ba Đình, Hà Nội
Tel: (+84 24) 3.7715055 - Fax: (+84 24) 37715084 - Email: vasephn@vasep.com.vn