News
The earliest documentation of aquaculture is found in written records from China for nearly 3000 years ago. China is currently in a class of its own with a huge production of freshwater fishes and seaweed.
Globally there is a vast diversity of different aquaculture species and farming methods. There is production in fresh water, in sea water and in brackish water. The methods range from highly intensive production (industrialized farming) as we are accustomed to in Norway, to semi intensive farming and extensive farming. The latter may be fish that are set out in earth dams as a result of what the ecosystem can offer or releasing of lobster in the sea with the intent to recapture them later.
[picture1right]The figure to the right gives an overview of the fish species with the greatest production in 2006. Farmed atlantic salmon, witch Norway is the world leader of, does not reach the top ten list. Number one on the list is the macro algae Laminaria (seaweed) a with production of nearly 5 million tons. As the figure shows it is produced large amounts of various carp species in the world. The pacific cupped oyster is also produced in large quantities in a number of countries throughout the world. In comparison, the total production of atlantic salmon was a little more than 1,300,000 tons in 2006.
Throughout the past year, our mission at the Bellona Environmental Transparency Center has focused on two key, but intertwined issues—nuclear and radiation safety as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, and the worldwide influence of Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, which itself is actively involved in the war and has participated in the occupation of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant.
At the beginning of the year, reports in the German and Russian press suggested an approximate 70% increase in uranium imports from Russia to Germany in 2024. But does this reflect broader European trends? It does not. Overall, imports of uranium and nuclear fuel from Russia to Western countries actually dropped sharply in 2024. Unlike the situation in Germany, this is already an established trend.
A Lingen, Germany plant could begin producing nuclear fuel in cooperation with a subsidiary of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, which is directly involved in the war in Ukraine and occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution and climate change.
