Keir Starmer’s trade deal with the EU has been welcomed by businesses across Britain, including salmon farmers, as a much-needed post-Brexit breakthrough. Negotiations to remove Trump’s tariffs on seafood, however, have been less successful, writes Jenny Hjul in this month’s round-up of industry news

The trade deal struck between Britain and the European Union has been welcomed by Scotland’s salmon farmers, who have lost an estimated £150 million through red tape and missed business opportunities since Brexit.

Most routine checks and the need for export health certificates – which have seen Scottish salmon exports to the EU fall from 53,000 tonnes in 2019 to 44,000 in 2023 – have been removed in the agreement.

In a new Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) zone, the UK and EU will effectively operate the same standards on safety for plant and animal products, and moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland will be easier, Fish Farmer reported.

While British fishermen say they have been sold out by the deal, which allows EU fishing vessels access to UK waters for another 12 years, Tavish Scott, chief executive of Salmon Scotland, welcomed the ‘breakthrough’.

‘The withdrawal of physical checks is particularly welcome,’ he said. ‘It means lower costs and quicker deliveries for our customers…we look forward to rebuilding trade ties across Europe and will continue to press for freer access to the US and other markets to support jobs and growth in our coastal communities.’

Stumped by Trump
The UK-US trade accord, agreed earlier this month, did not address the 10% tariff on most UK goods, including salmon, and Scotland’s salmon sector has called for further negotiations.

Although Scottish salmon is sold in 50 countries worldwide, with growing exports to Asia, and the UK-India trade deal, that removes 33% tariffs on salmon exports, opening a potentially huge market, the US is its second largest market, with sales in 2024 of £225 million.

The likely impact of Trump’s tariffs on global salmon markets will vary from country to country. In Norway, Mowi, the world’s largest salmon farmer, expects only a short-lived decline in US demand for imported salmon, Intrafish reported.

‘If it becomes a flat 10% tariff, we can live with that and work with it. It won’t be painful,’ said Mowi CEO Ivan Vindheim. But the ‘pain would no longer be temporary’, he added, if Norway’s 15% tariffs, suspended until July, are reimposed.

Mowi sold about 22% of its total volume in the US during the first quarter of 2024, 6% up on the same period last year.

Fellow Norwegian producer Kvaroy Arctic exports 80% of its salmon to the US, but the company remains upbeat, with CEO Alf-Goran Knutsen telling Undercurrent News that ‘it’s been a lot better than we feared’.

Whole Foods, Kvaroy’s main US customer, has been ‘very understanding’ and volumes have not decreased. Knutsen agreed with Vindheim that 10% is not a problem, with current salmon prices and exchange rates.

For Chile, however, the country most exposed to Trump’s tariffs, the situation is more concerning, said Cermaq CEO Steven Rafferty.

Chile exports around 40% of its salmon production to the US, more than three times as much as Norway, and if growth were to slow and prices increased, salmon could lose competitiveness against pork and chicken, which are mainly produced in the US.

In a worst case scenario, Chile’s salmon producers and the economies of the southern regions where the fish are produced could lose more than US $1 billion, according to a study by San Sebastián University.

On a brighter note, the Chinese market for salmon has ‘exploded’, with demand driven by ‘a wave of retail innovation’, Intrafish reported.

‘Online livestreaming, social media/e-commerce platforms such as TikTok and Red Book, and factory-direct marketing are becoming dominant sales channels.’

Norwegian salmon exports to China increased 188% in April compared to the same period last year, making China the third largest market for the country’s salmon.

Regulatory upheaval
Norwegian producers are more worried about proposed regulatory changes which could, if they are approved by the Storting (parliament), reduce output by 500,000 tonnes, warned DNB’s Dag Sletmo.

Addressing salmon producers, buyers, investors and other seafood executives at a conference during the Seafood Expo in Barcelona earlier this month, Sletmo said the government’s overhaul, which will base biomass limits on sea lice levels, would see a sharp drop in production in the short term.

But longer term, production could increase significantly if the industry was able to farm salmon with lower sea lice levels than at present.

Ivan Vindheim disagreed, calling the government’s proposals ‘demotivating and unbalanced’, with their focus on sea lice rather than jobs, and based on flawed models.

Instead, he urged ministers to consider the importance of innovation, including deeper farming operations, laser-based lice removal and post-smolt development. ‘Let’s give these initiatives time to work before tearing everything up mid-transition. That’s our humble advice.’

Leroy Ceo Henning Beltestad also cautioned against regulatory upheaval, stressing the importance of stability as the sector strengthens its presence in emerging markets such as China.

Importance of innovation
Mowi and Bakkafrost are investing in post-smolt production to reduce the amount of time fish spend in the sea and so improve biological performance.

Mowi plans to stock 40 million post-smolts this year, representing 25% of fish put to sea globally, and 50% in Norway. A minimum size of 700 grams is the target for future releases, Fish Farming Expert reported.

In Scotland, Mowi is developing its post-smolt production in Loch Etive, a sea loch, rather than in land-based facilities.

Bakkafrost is also investing heavily in bigger smolts in Scotland, with the average weight of fish transferred to marine sites from its Applecross recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility 80% higher this quarter than in Q1 2024.

In other farming innovations, SalMar’s Marine Donut offshore facility has begun its second production cycle following a successful first phase which saw near-zero mortality, according to Salmon Business.

The enclosed floating aquaculture system is designed to improve fish welfare, environmental control, and operational efficiency compared to traditional open net pens.

The Marine Donut is part of SalMar’s strategy to develop offshore and semi-closed aquaculture and it has confirmed that it is investigating possible locations off Shetland.

The company, which owns 50% of Scottish Sea Farms, said it is working with ‘forward-looking and positive authorities’ in Scotland as it seeks sites for offshore farms in line with expansion plans internationally.

A regulatory change in Scotland last month will enable fish farmers to apply for developments between three and 12 miles from the shore, whereas to date they have been limited to operating within three miles of the coastline.

New era for Canada
Around the Atlantic, Canadians went to the polls on April 28, re-electing Mary Carney, the Liberal prime minister who replaced Justin Trudeau in March. The country’s salmon farmers are hoping the new PM will herald a reset for their sector, particularly in British Columbia where businesses are being squeezed out by Trudeau’s anti-aquaculture strategy to phase-out of marine net pen farms by 2029.

The BC Salmon Farmers Association said Carney’s new administration, and the reappointment of fisheries minister Joanne Thompson, represented a positive step forward, after output fell by 45% under the previous government.

The Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA) also welcomed the new government, saying: ‘Canada needs a new vision for aquaculture development and renewed government leadership to get us to the next level of farming our oceans to create long term jobs for Canadians and food security at home and for the world.’

Awards and conference
And finally, next month brings the Aquaculture Awards 2025, to be presented in Inverness on June 19, with a day-long conference programme at the same venue. For further details, visit the website here.

Keep up to date with the industry’s top stories, all in our next news review.