Oregon Pink Shrimp Volume Steady; Small Sizes Remain a Concern Coldwater pink shrimp is finally being landed on the West Coast. As of the end of last week, more than a month after the 2017 season could have opened by regulation, most Oregon fishermen settled for prices lower than they had hoped + prices more in line with 2004 and 2006 prices. Much of the West Coast pink shrimp is in the 250-350 size or smaller. Processors said the global inventories of 350-500 and smaller are high already so those small sizes are difficult to sell. Some processors have instituted limits on how much small shrimp they will buy; others have not. Canada opened Newfoundland’s 3Ps Cod fishery only to the inshore/seasonal harvesters. So far federal authorities have not announced if the year-round offshore portion of the fishery will be open. This announcement has left many of the region's offshore harvesters and plant workers on edge. The offshore sectors contents their 14 percent share of the 3Ps quota is a key economic driver for the province. "Not opening 3Ps cod for our vessels would jeopardize many of these jobs for people who have relied on this fishery for generations,” said Martin Sullivan, CEO of Ocean Choice International (OCI) one of Newfoundland's major offshore cod harvesters. “We want to contribute to the struggling economy of rural Newfoundland and Labrador by working cooperatively to develop a more viable fishery and strengthen the middle-class in this province." In other news, Chilean Customs workers unexpectedly walked off the job Tuesday morning after a meeting between the Association of Customs Officials (Anfach) and Chile’s Finance Ministry broke down in disagreement over the labor contract. Anfach said the government has not fulfilled the terms of the deal and ordered an indefinite strike. So far no immediate impacts to Chilean salmon shipments have been reported. Meanwhile, a World Wildlife Fund report finds that farmed shrimp from Thailand, Vietnam and India could be traced back to their countries of origin through a process known as elemental profiling. With greater refinement, elemental profiling may help importers, customs officials, retailers and others trace globally traded seafood back to its source, which can shed light on production practices with critical environmental and social implications. Finally, a federal investigation accused the owners of Arizona-based company Blessing Seafood of smuggling illegally harvested sea cucumbers from Mexico into San Diego for export to Asian markets. Between 2010 and 2012, the feds accuse the family-owned business of knowingly purchasing illicitly harvested sea cucumbers from poachers operating off the Yucatan Peninsula. They then allegedly imported the product to San Diego and sold it to Asian markets for about $17.5 million.