AquaBounty Testing Market Potential of its GM Salmon in Brazil and Argentina  AquaBounty Technologies has initiated field trials of its AquaAdvantage genetically modified salmon in Brazil and Argentina. The company announced the trials at the same time that it reported its net losses in the first half of this year widened compared to the same period last year. Despite the losses, AquaBounty says the market opportunity for its fish is strong especially given the current state of farmed Atlantic salmon prodiction around the world. "We are making the necessary preparations for the commercial launch of our product and we look forward to bringing our more sustainably produced salmon to consumers, with the assurance that it is nutritious, safe and healthy,” said chief executive Ron Stotish. This year, for the third time since 2010, fresh salmon fillet prices have soared by more than 60% last November until July. This exceptional volatility is the result of a severe shock to supplies out of Chile in the early half of 2016. Compared to the shrimp price shock triggered by EMS in 2013, the salmon market volatility has been far worse because farmed salmon is overwhelmingly sold as a fresh product with large scale continuous harvesting and delivery. When something disrupts this flow, the market reacts quickly. Shrimp, by contrast, is a frozen item. Buyers come into the market when they need product, and when they think they can pay a reasonable price. In other news, Russia and China have signed an agreement to control the sale of IUU crab into the Chinese market. Russian fishery officials have already started talks with the Chinese government and have completed a list of companies that will be able to export crabs to China. Russia also has plans to continue talks with other Asian Pacific states to establish a Coordination Center to tackle IUU fishing across the region, wich could be signed as early as 2017. Meanwhile, NOAA Fisheries and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council are expanding the scope of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a new bycatch management program for Gulf of Alaska trawl groundfish fisheries. The program would provide participants with incentives to effectively manage and reduce Chinook salmon and Pacific halibut bycatch, and promote increased use of groundfish harvested in the Gulf of Alaska. NOAA has reopened a public comment period until September for stakeholders to weigh in on the proposal. Finally, the Chesapeake Bay blue crab season is off to a good start according to the region's fishermen. The reports confirm survey estimates from this past winter that said there were 553 million blue crabs in the Bay, a 35 percent increase from last year’s tally and the highest population in four years. Robert T. Brown, president of the Maryland Watermen’s Association, says he’s been getting good reports on crabbing size and harvest all over the Chesapeake.