FDA's Antibiotics Crackdown Sees YTD 2015 Shrimp Refusals Up Three Times Last Year's Levels
FDA shrimp refusals are up sharply through February this year versus 2014 levels, driven by the Administration’s crackdown on antibiotic residues in shipments. Malaysian shipments have been the chief contributor to the increase, though rejections are up for all major suppliers. “Antibiotic inspections are way up, almost to the levels of the inspections dating back to 2009/2010," said Dean Leaman, business development manager for imports at Certified Laboratories. Traders said they are not surprised with the FDA crackdown as agencies in the EU and Japan have also stepped up their antibiotic checks recently.
The USDA’s pending catfish inspection program has pangasius traders predicting a possble decline in supplies as early as this year. The program is expected to levy strict standards on Vietnamese imports that have the potential of pricing the fish out of the US market. At the same time the program could increase regulatory standards for domestically raised catfish since the USDA often requires inspectors at domestic food facilities that fall under its jurisdiction.
In other news Alaska’s Bairdi crab fishery could see its landings next season go even higher over this year’s increased quota. Last week the state Board of Fisheries voted to lower the preferred size of the crab to 5 inches. “To my knowledge, over the last two seasons, there hasn’t been a processing company that hasn’t accepted the five-inch crab,” said Ruth Christiansen of the Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers. Fishermen are currently racing to finish harvesting the 6.6 million pound Eastern district quota before the season closes next week.
Meanwhile, Russia’s red king crab production could rise 26 percent to 71,900 tons by 2016 and 2017. Higher crab stocks in West Kamchatka are credited for the possibility of the higher quotas.
Finally, Peru’s commercial anchovy fleet will be able to fish 5 miles off the coast when the season starts at the end of this week. The government elected to allow the fleet to move further inshore with one last wave of El Nino weather expected to push the fish between 5 and 10 miles offshore. This season’s harvest is forecast to be up 30 percent over 2013 and 2014 catches.
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