Fish n' Bits - The Aquaculture Data Intelligence Podcast

How do you keep one of aquaculture's biggest success stories growing as the environment around it changes? We're taking a closer look at Mediterranean aquaculture and the remarkable rise of European seabass and gilthead seabream farming over the past two decades. Learn how record marine heatwaves are beginning to reshape fish biology, farm performance, and long-term planning, and why produ...

Aquaculture has now surpassed 100 million tonnes of production, supplying more seafood to consumers than wild fisheries. But the most interesting story in the FAO's latest State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture report is not the milestone itself but where growth is happening.  In this episode, we break down the major trends shaping global seafood production, consumption, and trade, including...

What happens when El Niño tightens the supply of fish oil just as salmon markets and global shipping are already under pressure? A newly confirmed El Niño in the tropical Pacific is putting renewed attention on Peru’s anchovy fishery, one of the world’s most important sources of fishmeal and fish oil. With warmer ocean conditions, fishing restrictions, rising container costs, and salmon producers...

This week, we’re sharing a special episode from Deep Dive: The SeafoodSource Podcast on the practical applications of AI in seafood. SeafoodSource speaks with Tony Chen, CEO and co-founder of Manolin, about where AI is already creating value in aquaculture and seafood, and how companies can separate useful tools from hype. We’re excited to bring this conversation to our listeners! ----- Practical...

What if one of the most important aquaculture growth stories isn’t happening in Norway, Chile, or Ecuador but in East Africa? This episode we step into a region that’s quietly transitioning from small-scale aquaculture into something far more commercial and durable. Focusing on Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda, we break down the structural forces driving growth (rising protein demand, pressure...

This week we break down what Måsøval’s strategic review and leadership change may signal for the company and for the broader aquaculture industry. We look at how production growth, rising costs, biology, and debt can move out of sync over time, and why that creates real pressure for mid-sized farming companies. Get a clearer view of the financial and operational forces behind the headlines, along...

Could a microscopic algae bloom quietly reshape Norway's salmon farming season before most of the industry even understands what's happening? This week, we're tracking the Pseudochattonella bloom spreading across southern Norway, walking through the three distinct phases of the outbreak so far, from the early mortality events at Mowi's Flekkefjord sites in early March to the second...

What separates the salmon farms that thrived in Q4 from the ones still bleeding money and does it all come down to where they're located?  This week, we break down the Q4 financial results from the publicly traded salmon companies, walking through EBIT per kilogram figures across the industry and unpacking why companies like Grieg and SalMar cleared 20 NOK/kg while others in Iceland and Scotla...

If large language models are so powerful, why can they still get basic things wrong? In this episode, we take a practical look at how AI systems actually work, why hallucinations happen by design, and what’s being done to reduce them. We break down core concepts like probabilistic prediction, chain-of-thought reasoning, RAG systems, context windows, API orchestration, and cost structures. Not from...

Vitamin D was long considered a compliance nutrient rather than a performance lever. In this episode, we break down what’s changed in the last couple of years, from BioMar doubling vitamin D₃ across salmon diets to new research suggesting salmon may synthesize vitamin D from sunlight, then zoom out to explain how vitamin D actually works in the body, why modern feeds increased the need for supplem...

Yes, it’s once again the time to discuss sea lice. In this episode, we take a clear-eyed look at what the last year of sea lice data is actually telling us (starting in Canada and ending in Norway) without the noise or wishful thinking. We unpack the implications of Canada’s latest court ruling in British Columbia, why the industry’s arguments around coexistence keep falling flat, and how Norway’s...

What if the most “predictable” part of seafood right now isn’t salmon prices or tariffs, but the quiet choke point in fish feed? In this episode, we unpack why the Peruvian anchovy season still sets the short-term rhythm for fish oil markets, even as the 2026 season already kicks off, and why that dependency keeps resurfacing as a structural risk for aquaculture. You’ll get a clear breakdown of wh...

What happens when a fish the industry once walked away from suddenly becomes more valuable than salmon? In this episode, we take a hard look at the quiet resurgence of cod farming, why cod prices have climbed to historic highs, how tightening wild quotas have reshaped the market, and why the economics look very different than they did during the failed cod-farming boom of the 2000s. We revisit wha...

What if the most important lessons from 2025 aren’t found in any single chart, but in how pressure quietly shifted across the system? In this episode, we step back from predictions and take a pattern-based look at what actually mattered over the past year in Norwegian salmon farming and what those same signals suggest we should be watching in 2026. By examining how business conditions, biological...

We are super excited to share this episode of Gossip Gills , the Aquaculture Stewardship Council’s podcast, where Tony Chen (CEO, Manolin) and Kelly Haugen (Head of Marketing, Manolin) join the conversation to unpack how data and AI are reshaping seafood farming. Together, we explore the real challenges facing aquaculture today, from biological complexity and operational efficiency to transparency...

What happens when low salmon prices stop being a short-term problem and start reshaping how the entire industry thinks about risk? In this episode, we dig into Q3 financial results from the publicly traded salmon companies, not just to recap the numbers, but to unpack what they’re really signaling beneath the surface. We explore widening gaps in EBIT per kilo across regions, why Chile stands out w...

How does one small fish in one corner of the Pacific end up shaping the entire global aquaculture feed system? In this week’s episode, we break down the latest developments from Peru’s anchovy fishery, from the unusually low provisional quota, to the rapid EUREKA survey that reshaped the biomass picture, to why analysts like Rabobank are warning that long-term fishmeal and fish oil shortages are b...

What’s driving Norway’s sudden wave of investment in closed fish farming systems? This week we unpack the real story behind the headlines, from Mowi’s new Fiizk orders to Lerøy and SalMar’s push toward enclosed pens. It all traces back to an October 10th regulatory change that quietly created the biggest financial incentive yet for producers operating in red zones. Tony breaks down how this new ru...

What can one number really tell us about an entire industry? This week, we unpack the Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2024 , a report that’s sparked headlines and controversy with its 61.8% survival figure, the lowest in more than three decades. But beyond the shock value, the data reveals something deeper: the long-term cycles of progress, constraint, and adaptation that define Scottish salm...

What if the next major leap in aquaculture doesn’t come from the ocean but from the genome? In this week’s episode, we trace the story of genomic sequencing: from Darwin’s first evolutionary trees to the breakthroughs that now let scientists map entire fish genomes in a single day. You’ll learn how falling sequencing costs are opening the door to disease tracing, genetic selection, and smarter bre...

How much does Washington, D.C. actually influence the global seafood industry? After speaking at the National Fisheries Institute’s Leadership Summit, we’re breaking down what happens when seafood meets policy — from tariffs and trade to nutrition and public health. Featuring insights from speakers like Sean Spicer and Elana Natker, this episode looks at how politics, perception, and food policy a...

Can New Zealand turn its bold aquaculture growth plan into a $3 billion industry by 2035? In this episode, we dig into the numbers behind the country’s strategy, from premium salmon and mussel exports to the risks of offshore expansion, and look at the political and regulatory roadblocks that could derail momentum. Drawing lessons from Norway, Canada, and Iceland, we explore what it takes for a na...

What does it really mean when headlines say “95% of AI pilots fail”? In this episode, we unpack MIT’s State of AI in Business 2025 report, looking past the hype to see why so many initiatives stall—and where the real success stories are happening. From the GenAI Divide to lessons on internal vs. external builds, and from ROI in back-office operations to parallels with past tech revolutions like th...

What does sea lice management have in common with one of the most famous problems in game theory? In this episode, we look at why rising lice levels in Norway reflect the dynamics of the Prisoner’s Dilemma—where individual short-term choices can create long-term harm for the entire industry. We’ll break down the latest data on lice pressure, explain why fragmented treatments are driving reinfestat...

What happens when strong biology collides with weak markets? In this episode, we break down the Q2 earnings season in salmon farming, where EBIT margins have tightened, prices continue to slide, and producers are facing tough calls on investment, strategy, and survival. From Mowi’s consistency to Bakkafrost’s split results, and from Norway’s political backdrop to Scotland’s biological struggles, w...