FDA Flags Choice Canning, 3 Other BAP-Certified Shrimp Exporters For Antibiotic-Contaminated Shrimp

India’s Choice Canning has been flagged by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for antibiotic-positive shrimp just weeks after a whistleblower accused the company of shipping antibiotic-tainted shrimp to the U.S.

The FDA recently published its seafood entry line refusals for the month of April. The government agency documented 89 entry line refusals, 15 of which (16.9%) were for shrimp related to banned antibiotics. Those 15 entry lines were split amongst four companies — one of which was the embroiled...

Lerøy Faces Escape of Estimated 14,000 Salmon

An estimated 14,000 fish are reported to have escaped a Lerøy Midt facility in Norway’s Hitra municipality. The company confirmed the escapement, with general manager Harald Larssen commenting that “this should not happen.”

“We have a vision of zero escapes, and take this very seriously,” said Larssen.

The escaped fish in question are said to weigh approximately 7.3 kilos each. The company has brought in additional resources to not only secure the pen, but also recapture as many of the escaped fish as possible. Lerøy has already deployed more than...

The Biggest Takeaways From NOAA’s 2023 Status of Stocks Report

Last week NOAA Fisheries released its annual “Status of Stocks,” a report that highlights the work that the government agency, the eight Regional Fishery Management Councils, and other partners are doing to ensure the sustainability of fisheries and fishing communities. 

As of 2023, NOAA Fisheries manages a whopping 506 stocks or stock complexes in 45 fishery management plans. Prior to last year, NOAA managed 492 stocks/ stock complexes. The latest report, an 11-page document, takes a look at the data from 2023, revealing stocks that have...

Hokkaido Surimi Production Rebounded in March after Three Months

According to the National Surimi Manufacturers Association, Hokkaido land-based surimi production in March improved due to the impact of the significant increase in pollock catch over the previous year.

According to a report by Suisan Keizai Shimbun, the production volume of pollock surimi in March was 160 tons, an increase of 12.7% compared to the same month last year, while the production of Atka mackerel surimi was only 14 tons, a 70.2% decrease. Including some other surimi, total production increased by 5.0% to...

USDA Kicks Off May With Open Purchase Requests For Alaska Pollock, Catfish, Salmon and Walleye

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) kicked off the month of May with three seafood open purchase requests.

On May 2 a bid invitation went out for a total of 392,000 lbs of catfish products for use in domestic food distribution programs. According to the document, the USDA is seeking 152,000 lbs of catfish fillets (unbreaded, raw, pkg 20/2), and 240,000 lbs of catfish strips (breaded, oven ready, pkg 4/10). Offers are due by May 9, with acceptances set to...

Norwegian Snow Crab Sees Strong Growth in April, But King Crab Struggles

The Norwegian Seafood Council released its latest data for April, revealing that the country exported seafood worth NOK 13.9 billion last month; a 7% increase compared to April 2023. 

“The value of exports has never been higher in April than this year,” commented Christian Chramer, CEO of the Norwegian Seafood Council. “The growth is largely due to the Norwegian krone, which has weakened slightly against the euro and the U.S. dollar compared with April last year.”

Chramer also noted that this past April saw increased...

Atlantic Sapphire Lands Former Cermaq Exec As Deputy CEO As Search For New CEO Continues

Atlantic Sapphire is continuing to undergo major executive changes. Less than a year after CEO Johan Andreassen informed the Board of Directors of his decision to step down, CFO Karl Øystein Øyehaug announced that he has also decided to step down from his position. The Board of Directors have appointed a replacement for Øyehaug, naming Gunnar Aasbo-Skinderhaug, a former executive with Cermaq Norway Salmon, as not only CFO, but also Deputy CEO.

Aasbo-Skinderhaug has more than 15 years of...

ANALYSIS: Gulf Quota Reaches 72% Caught, Newfoundland Reaches 15% Caught for Snow Crab

Area 12 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence has passed 70% of their quota caught. According to landings data from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, 72.86% of the quota has been caught as of May 2. The initial quota for Area 12 — including traditional fleet (01), First Nations (02) and New Access (03) — was set at 22,236.416 t and revised to 21,756.074 t. The season opened April 1 and reporting as of May 2 shows that 17,049.903 t has been landed with...

ANALYSIS: March U.S. Shrimp Imports Move Higher

In data released today, U.S. shrimp imports continued to move higher year-over-year behind a significant surge from the top two trade partners. Total March imports were 139.489 million pounds, compared to 129.469 million pounds in 2023. India (+24.6%), Ecuador (+24.6%), and Vietnam (+39.0%) all gained. These positive numbers shifted year-to-date figures to the upside for those three countries as well. Indonesia (-30.0%) and Thailand (-25.7%) shipped less rounding out the top five.  Mexico (-31.8%) and Argentina (-28.8%), while shipping less, were...

Peltola Introduces Bristol Bay Protection Act, Permanently Protecting the Area from Pebble Mine

Alaska’s sole representative in the U.S. House of Representatives Mary Peltola introduced the Bristol Bay Protection Act yesterday to codify last year’s Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to veto the Pebble Mine, into law.

The proposed open-pit copper-gold-molybdenum mine, EPA said, would harm a fragile ecosystem that includes more than 8 miles of documented salmon streams, more than 90 miles of additional streams that support the salmon habitat, and more than 2,000 acres of wetlands in the Bristol Bay region of...

A Deep Dive Into Mother’s Day: Seafood Wins With Special Brunch Menus

Mother’s Day is this Sunday and the National Retail Federation reports that spending in 2024 is expected to reach $33.5 billion. While greetings cards and flowers are always at the top of the list for gift purchases, special outings round out the top three in gift categories for mom. And although “special outings” can mean anything from a concert or exhibit to brunch or dinner, we’re going to focus on the dining element of the holiday—because let’s be honest…mom doesn’t want to cook...

Russia Eyes More Active Expansion of its Fish Exports This Year 

Amid the ever tightening restrictions on the exports of Russian fish and seafood to the U.S. and the EU, Russian fish producers and regulators are looking for new foreign directions for their export supplies. As part of these plans, the All-Russian Association of Fisheries Producers (VARPE) has recently proposed the Russian agricultural regulator, Rosselkhoznadzor, to expand access to the markets of countries such as India, Chile, Peru, Argentina, and Vietnam, with a potential import volume of about 275,000 tons per...

2024 Snow Crab Landings Update For NL, Gulf and Maritimes Region As of May 6

More than 75% of the snow crab quota in the Gulf of St. Lawrence has been landed. 

According to the latest landings data from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), 76.45% of the total allowable catch (TAC) in Area 12 has been landed as of May 6. The initial quota for Area 12 — including traditional fleet (01), First Nations (02) and New Access (03) — was set at 22,236.416 t and revised to 21,756.074 t. The season opened April 1 and...

ANALYSIS: Two Different Conclusions to This Year's Stone Crab Season

The 2023-2024 stone crab season has concluded, showing varied results compared to the last two years depending on size. Medium and large sizes ended below the closing prices of both 2022 and 2023. The past few months saw prices on large averaging around $32.00, marking a 5.8% and 8.5% decrease compared to 2023 and 2022 respectively. However, prices remained slightly above the five-year average of $31.17 by 2.7%. Market observers attribute this to increased landings of...

Eight New Members Named to NOAA’s Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee

Late last month Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo appointed eight new members of NOAA’s main advisory committee on fisheries issues — four from Alaska and the West Coast, two from the Gulf Coast, one from the East Coast, and one from Ohio. The eight will join 13 others bringing membership up to the maximum of 21 advisors.

The eight new members of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC) are: 

- Kristina Alexander, Corpus Christi, Texas: Endowed Chair for Marine Policy and Law, Texas A&M University; Harte Research Institute for...

Spend Plan for Oregon's $7 Million Salmon Fishery Disaster Funds is Ready for Review

Funds for salmon disasters from six years ago are finally almost ready for distribution in Oregon.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced this week that a total of $7,050,722 is available to address poor performance of Oregon's ocean commercial salmon fisheries for 2018, 2019 and 2020. This includes impacts to commercial fishermen, processors, and the fishing ecosystem and environment.

The "Oregon Spend Plan," vetted through NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, is now...

ANALYSIS: 2024 Buying Opportunites Inch Ahead of 2023 for Farmed Salmon

The farmed salmon market at retail has seen the average retail pricing starting to tick above the 3-year average. The last two weeks at retail, the average retail price was 5.6 and 8.4 percent higher than the 3-year average respectively. In addition, the number of buying opportunities or retail features has also increased; levels in the last three weeks have been above the 3-year average.

This is in contrast to one of the lowest buying opportunity weeks about...