Groundfish Forum May be Too Pessimistic on Atlantic Cod  As we reported yesterday the single biggest change in whitefish forecasts presented at the groundfish forum in Hamburg was for Barents Sea Cod, where Norwegian and Russian catches were thought to drop 11% in 2017. However, a closer reading of the situation suggests this might not be the case. A survey analysis of ICES quota recommendations found that the biomass, age structure, and spawning stock of Barents Sea cod may all be more favorable than assumed. ICES is reviewing its Northeast Arctic cod model, and although they may still make a recommendation for this year that is similar to their recommendation for last year, there is increasing scientific support for maintaining cod quotas at their current level in the Barents Sea, rather than cutting them. Meanwhile, John Sackton analyzes the Marine Stewardship Council's (MSC) latest annual report for its fiscal year that ended this past March. The report shows record revenues for the MSC, with higher revenues coming from MSC-labeled product SKUs. This means that retailers are beginning to use more MSC products in countries like Spain, Italy, Australia and Japan. However, this also means that the MSC is highly dependent on continuing to increase the number of SKUs that pay license fees to maintain their revenues. "When looking at long-term fisheries sustainability that continues for generations, the cost effectiveness of this model has to be questioned," writes John Sackton. " The battle to hang on to this economic prize is likely to consume the MSC over the next several years." National Fish & Seafood is in discussions to buy Americold's entire waterfront property in East Gloucester. National Fish is already a tenant at the property where it processes and markets more than 40,000 tons of frozen seafood annually. The estimated sale price of the facility is around $4 million. “They’ve approached us about supporting their application for a [Tax Increment Financing subsidy] and we’re in the very early stages of that process,” said Gloucester Economic Development Director Sal Di Stefano. “We’re always happy to work with any company that is looking to expand and invest here in Gloucester, especially on the waterfront.” In other news, it looks like it will be a record year for both the harvest and value of Norway's king crab fishery. The reason is that the Norwegians have adjusted the season to focus on supplying the live market. Norway opened their season in January as opposed to August. This allowed vessels to plan their fishing efforts off the coast of Finnmark so they can supply live markets. Finally, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski defended her record in support of the state's fishing industry during a debate in Kodiak this week. The debate pitted Murkowski, the Republican incumbent, against independent candidates Margaret Stock and Breck Craig and Democratic candidate Ray Metcalfe. Murkowski was asked about her efforts in drawing State Department attention to concerns raised by conservationists and fishermen about the impact of Canadian mining activity on waters that flow across the border into southeast Alaska.ger a federally managed species," Sobeck said in the letter.