ANALYSIS: A Look at Farmed Salmon; Imports for Whole and Fillets at All Time Highs

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by Janice Schreiber - July 20, 2018

When taking a look at fresh farmed whole salmon in the U.S. market during mid-July, most market participants would speak to an overall quiet market with more of a focus on wild salmon. Total imports of whole fish from Canada and Europe from May through September follow a somewhat seasonal trend. Starting in May, imports during the month are typically heavy with the end of Lent and high demand for Mother’s Day ...

World Fishing Overview Gives Alaska High Marks

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Fish Radio with Laine Welch] - July 20, 2018

This is Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch – Alaska pollock is the top fish catch in the world for four years running, toppling anchovies from Chile and Peru.

More than 40 million commercial fishermen were out at work on global waters on nearly five million boats, of which 90 percent are under 40 feet.

Those numbers have held steady over several years, says the latest State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture done every other year by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization ...

VIDEO: Groundfishing Ban; Shrimp Catch Forecast; Venezuela Crabmeat Warning and More

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - July 20, 2018

Watch the latest Seafood News Weekly Recap with hosts Amanda Buckle and Lorin Castiglione. This week's video features segments on: The New Bedford groundfishing ban getting lifted; brown shrimp forecast; Venezuela fresh crabmeat; and the escapemetn at Marine Harvest.

This video is sponsored by the Seafood Innovation Expo, taking place at the Mazatlan International Center in Mexico from September 6^th to the 7^th. Visit expoinnovacionayp.com for more information ...

U.S. Coast Guard Rescue 2 Fishermen in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - July 20, 2018

The Coast Guard rescued two fishermen near Hog Island earlier this week after their fishing boat capsized.

The fishemen, aboard a 35-foot fishing boat called the Mad Lady II, departed Ocracoke on Tuesday planning to shrimp in the Pamlico Sound. However, according to the wife of one of the fishermen, the generator on the boat stopped working Tuesday night. 

The Coast Guard located the Mad lady II at approximately 6:20 a.m. on Wednesday morning. The two men were ...

Letter: Gloucester Fishermen Praises Just Passed House Fisheries Bill

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] Letters - July 20, 2018

To the Editor:

I am a retired fisherman from Gloucester and trying to save those who are left.  It is not only our town that our fisherman have been forced out of business but in other ports as well.  A recent bill by congressman Young Bill HR 200 will help us for a number of reasons.  First additional science from fisherman, universities, and independent scientists will be taken into consideration before NOAA makes regulations.  Up to now NOAA data is the only science used and if you talk to fisherman it is flawed. 

Also, our local New England Management Council will have more leverage before NOAA ...

OceanMind Offers Verification For Retailers on Tuna FAD Practices

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - July 20, 2018

After three years of developing capabilities that used satellites and globally-sourced data, OceanMind launched its services to foodservice and retail members earlier this month. 

Its services provide insights into the compliance of fishing vessels to authorities to help them enforce more effectively, and to seafood buyers so they may source more responsibly. 

“This an extremely exciting time” said Nick Wise, Founder and CEO of OceanMind. “What started three years ago as a demonstration of satellite and machine learning ...

StarKist Donates $100,000 To Feed The Children

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Seafoodnews] - July 20, 2018

Starkist has proudly announced their renewed committment to giving back. The company donationed $100,000 to Feed the Children, a nonprofit whose mission is to reduce child hunger and poverty. Along with the financial donantion, Starkist is also giving out their products such as Tuna, Salmon, and Chicken Creation Pouches for Feed the Children events throughout this year, the most recent of which took place Thursday, July 19.

Starkist President and CEO is moved and honored to continue the company's partnership with ...

Landlocked Salmon Farms Cropping Up In U.S.

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Fish Radio with Laine Welch] - July 19, 2018

This is Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch –

Salmon is now being grown in the nation’s first landlocked fish farm in rural Wisconsin. 

Earlier this month a company called Superior Fresh sent its first batch of 2,000 pounds of fresh 10 pounders to Festival Food stores across the state.  Plans call for an annual output of about 72 tons of Atlantic salmon and steelhead trout from the so called fish house which adjoins a large greenhouse ...

Marine Harvest Not Recovering Escaped Salmon Fast Enough, Says Sernapesca

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - July 19, 2018

Chile’s National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service, Sernapesca, has filed a complaint against Marine Harvest Chile following a salmon escapement that occurred on July 5.

A wind storm earlier this month caused structural damage to Marine Harvest Chile’s Punta Redonda site, resulting in “many of the 900,000” fish escaping. The Calbuco Fishermen Federation was contacted to help recapture the escaped salmon, but according to Sernapesca, only about 5.7% have been recaptured to date. The law requires that the company recapture ...

Samherji Buys 25% Stake in Icelandic Shipper Eimskip

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - July 19, 2018

Samherji Holding has bought all shares of the US investment fund Yucaipa in Eimskip.  The company has a total of 25.3% stake in the company and the purchase price is about 11 billion Icelandic krona. Samherji Holding is a subsidiary of Samherji's foreign operations.

"Eimskip is an old-fashioned company with solid infrastructure, prudent staff and a good operation," says Þorsteinn Már Baldvinsson, CEO of Samherji.

He says that in recent years, Samherji and Eimskip have been widely active in the same areas...

Russian Ban on Transhipping on Foreign Vessels Could Cripple Fishing Industry

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by Eugene Gerden - July 29, 2018

The Russian fishing industry is on the verge of serious losses, due to the recent national Federal Security Service (FSB) warnings to fishing companies about new requirements limiting foreign transport ships and tenders.

The introduction of these new requirements have already been confirmed by the All-Russian Association of Fishermen (VARPE), a public association that unites some leading Russian fish producers.

Previously, such requirements were not imposed if the foreign vessel had the right to operate under the Russian flag and was ...

Sea to Table Says AP’s Fraud Story Was Misleading 

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - July 18, 2018

In June the Associated Press published an article exposing Sea to Table – a national distributor that guarantees that the products they are selling are wild-caught, sustainable and directly traceable to a U.S. dock – as a fraud. Now, Sea to Table is speaking out and saying that the AP’s story was “misleading.”

“The AP’s reporting has damaged years of effort and takes away from the U.S. fishermen and coastal businesses that desperately need and deserve our collective support ...

Lay's Releases Lobster Roll Flavored Chips For “Tastes of America” Launch

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - July 19, 2018

Can’t get enough lobster rolls? Don’t have easy access to lobster rolls? Well, Lay’s has you covered. The PepsiCo Frito-Lay chip company has released eight limited-edition flavors – and one of these new flavors is “New England Lobster Roll.”

“Inspired by the lobster shacks of the Northeast, fans can now get the flavor of fresh lobster served on a buttery grilled roll,” the description of the new potato chip flavor reads.

The unique flavor is part of Lay’s “Tastes of America” program ...

Ocean Cleanup Movement 4Ocean to Pull 1 Millionth Pound of Trash From the Water

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - July 19, 2018

Ocean cleanup movement 4Ocean is set to pull their one millionth pound of trash on Friday, July 20 … less than two years after the organization formed.

4Ocean was launched by Andrew Cooper and Alex Schulze, two surfers who decided to do something about the amount of plastic in the ocean after taking a surf trip to Bali Indonesia. Now, after founding the company in January 2017, 4Ocean is set to hit their one million pound of trash milestone ...

FDA Tells NY-Based Food Processors to Stop Food Preparation Operations Due to Food Safety Violations

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - July 18, 2018

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has ordered two New York-based food processing companies –Euroline Foods, LLC and Royal Seafood Baza – to stop their food preparation operations after it was discovered that the facility’s food preparation areas were contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

U.S. District Judge Brian N. Cogan for the Eastern District of New York entered a consent decree of permanent injunction between the U.S. and the two food companies on July 16 ...

CPF Tells Customers About Progress in Thailand to Combat Labor Abuse

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] (Opinion) - July 18, 2018

CPF has announced it will audit all of its suppliers on labor standards, and take action against those who fall short.  The company also says that Thailand has made progress and will become again one of the world's best food producers.  The following piece was written by Ms. Punninee Nanthapanich, from CPF.

Human Rights protection has prompted rising trade barriers particularly labor issue is a must practice to meet international standards for exporting countries otherwise Thailand’s export would be harmed ...

Maine DMR Awards $340,000 in Grants for Lobster Research

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - July 18, 2018

The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) announced on Tuesday that they have awarded $340,000 in grants from the Lobster Research, Education and Development (RED) Fund.

The DMR received proposals on research initiatives and awarded six grants for research programs that will “contribute to improved understanding of lobster habitat, stock assessment, monitoring, impacts of management actions on the fishery, and how those can be integrated in a way that informs future management.”

Five of the six awards were for proposals that were submitted by ...

South Alaska Peninsula Fleet Opposes Further Cuts Linked to Chignik Salmon Failure

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - July 17, 2018

Sand Point, AK – South Alaska Peninsula commercial fishermen are pushing back on the latest petitions added to today’s emergency meeting of the Board of Fisheries, noting that first, there is no connection between Peninsula salmon stocks and those destined for Chignik, some 130 miles northeast, and second, any further cuts would have “devastating effects on families and communities” in the peninsula east of the Aleutian Island chain.

The Board of Fish will meet today at 1 p.m. Alaska time to discuss a growing ...

Federal Council Names Five Alaskans to Cook Inlet FMP Committee

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by Peggy Parker - July 20, 2018

As part of several new appointments announced last month at the Kodiak North Pacific Fisheries Management Council meeting, an entirely new committee was named and members appointed to tackle the thorny issue of salmon management in Cook Inlet. 

Five Alaskans were tapped for the  Salmon FMP (Fisheries Management Plan): Erik Huebsch, Dan Anderson, Dino Sutherland, Hanna Heimbuch, and Mike Casseri.  All five members are commercial drift gillnet fishermen in Cook Inlet. Three are on the board of the United Cook Inlet Drift ...

Supporters of Alaska Salmon Ballot Battle Heavily Outweighed by Opponents

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - July 19, 2018

Two mining companies donated $1.2 million to the war chest of those opposing Ballot Measure 1, sponsored by Stand for Salmon, which protects salmon habitat statewide, according to recent financial filings.

The opposition has raised a total of $7.2 million, primarily from construction, mining and petroleum firms, while supporters of the initiative have raised just over $989,000 according to a July 10 filing.

The measure is on the ballot for this fall’s elections in Alaska.

The total campaign funding is “already ... 

FFAW Calls on New Fisheries Minister to Defend Owner Operators in Canadian Atlantic Fisheries

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - July 19, 2018

Dominc LeBlanc has been replaced as Canadian Fisheries Minister in a cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Trudeau. The new minister, Jonathan Wilkinson is from BC, and is the first time in around 20 years that the Minister is not from Atlantic Canada.

His elevation means that some BC issues, such as protection of Orcas and relationships with First Nation fisheries will get more attention.  

On the East Coast, the FFAW was cautiously optimistic for a 'reset'.

“FFAW-Unifor worked closely with Minister Leblanc to abolish the Last In, First Out policy for northern shrimp...

China Continues to Ease Path for Norway Salmon Imports, Rescinding some Geographic Limitations

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [FishFirst] translated by Amy Zhong - July 19, 2018

According to Norwegian media, China is removing its limitations on salmon imports from three counties of Norway: South Trondelag, Nordland and Trom. Salmon suppliers like Leroy and Cermaq have confirmed this news but the Chinese government has not yet announced officially whether domestic importers can buy salmon from these regions at this moment.

Salmon from these three regions had been banned from China in 2015 due to the outbreaks of infectious salmon anemia and  ...

FAO 2018 World Fisheries & Aquaculture Report Highlights Record Fish Consumption

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by John Sackton – July 19, 2018

The FAO released their annual State of the World’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Report this month.

The FAO said that total fish production in 2016 reached an all time high of 171 million tons, of which 88% was for direct human consumption.

This also represented a global high in per capita consumption, of 20.3 Kg. (live weight).

“Since 1961 the annual global growth in fish consumption has been twice as high as population growth, demonstrating that the fisheries sector is crucial in meeting FAO’s goal of a world without hunger and malnutrition...

Kroger Highlights Progress Towards 2020 Sustainability Goals

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - July 19, 2018

Kroger grocery store has released their 2018 Sustainability Report to detail the progress they’ve made towards their 2020 goals.

“Offering sustainable wild-caught and farm-raise fish is important to our customers and Kroger, particularly because we are one of the largest seafood purchases in the world,” Kroger’s Sustainability Report reads. “We recognize the importance of responsibly-sourced seafood and take steps to ensure that the variety of fish we enjoy today is available for future generations.”

Kroger has four goals focused on sustainable seafood efforts ...

Bycatch of King Salmon Called “Relatively Low” by Fish Managers

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Fish Radio with Laine Welch] - July 18, 2018

This is Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch … Salmon was the focus of public radio’s Talk of Alaska last week, specifically, potential reasons for poor runs in many regions of the state.

Answering Alaskan’s questions were Scott Kelley, director of the commercial fisheries division, Ed Jones, Chinook salmon research initiative coordinator and Jim Murphy, a fisheries research biologist at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center.

Much of the focus was on depleted stocks of Chinook salmon and ...

Alaska Board of Fish Finds for Salmon Emergencies in Chignik and the Yukon

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Seafoodnews] by Peggy Parker -July 18, 2018

The Alaska Board of Fisheries declared the low Chignik sockeye return an emergency yesterday, as well as a situation in the Native villages of Grayling, Anvik, Shageluk, and Holy Cross on the Yukon River triggered by years of low chinook salmon returns.

The petition brought to the Board by the Kenai River Sportfishing Association to reverse the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s decision to allow increased production of pink salmon at the Valdez Fisheries Development Association’s hatchery in ...

Russell Callender Named Director of Washington Sea Grant

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - July 19, 2018

NOAA’s Assistant Administrator of National Ocean Service in Washington, D.C., Dr. Russell Callender, has been named as director of the Washington Sea Grant Program. He'll begin the job in September. Callender emerged as the best candidate to lead Washington Sea Grant as a result of an advisory search committee’s deeply consultative process led by Amy Snover, director of the Climate Impacts Group and assistant dean of applied research within the University of Washington College of the Environment.

Callender emerged as the best candidate to lead Washington Sea Grant ...

Giant Tiger Prawns from Malaysia a Big Hit on Alibaba's T-mall Platform

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Shuichan] translated by Amy Zhong - July 18, 2018

The sales of Malaysia’s giant tiger prawns on the T-mall ecommerce platform has skyrocketed by 10 times last year compared with last year. These prawns are renowned in the shrimp family for their large sizes and tasty meat. T-mall chose prawns which that have undergone various selection procedures in aquaculture and processing to ensure high qualities.

On Nov. 11 last year, 350,000 such prawns were sold, which shows its high status. On June 18, another ...

MLMC Debuts ‘Trap to Table’ Series on YouTube to Promote Start of Maine new Shell Lobster Season

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - July 18, 2018

The Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative (MLMC) is making mouths water with their Trap to Table series on Youtube.

To launch Maine’s new shell lobster season, the MLMC hosted an online broadcast event on Monday with four culinary leaders who discussed what it takes to get a lobster from sea to plate. Well, for those who are unaware of Maine’s sustainable fishing practices, the Trap to Table series brings viewers right onto the water with Maine lobstermen ...

Wahoo's Fish Taco Part of Ontario International Airport's Redevelopment

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - July 18, 2018

Travelers flying out of Ontario International Airport will now be able to indulge in Wahoo’s Fish Taco.

Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA) and food service company Delaware North announced on Tuesday that Terminal 4 of Ontario International Airport is the newest home of Wahoo’s Fish Taco. The chain already has over 60 restaurants across California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Tokyo.

“Wahoo’s has delighted consumers in Southern California for 30 years and we couldn’t be happier to bring the wildly popular brand to Ontario ...