VIDEO: Surf Clam Award; Red Tide Emergency; Pacific Seafood Reopens Plant; Seafood Import Workshop

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - August 17, 2018

Watch the latest Seafood News Weekly Recap with hosts Amanda Buckle and Lorin Castiglione. This week we break down the DFO's reversal of the surf clam award; Florida's State of Emergency over the red tide; and Pacific Seafood reopening their Warrenton Plant. Plus, find out where Urner Barry's Seafood Import Workshop is heading to in October.

This video is sponsored by the Seafood Innovation Expo, taking place at the Mazatlan International Center in ...

Bonamar Buys IMS; Morty and Marc Nussbaum to Continue Operations

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - August 17, 2018

Bonamar has acquired International Marketing Specialists (IMS), a New England based seafood importer best known for their DelicaSea brand and for specializing in the marketing of shrimp products.

“We are pleased to add IMS to our Bonamar family and we look with great enthusiasm to this division to strengthen our leadership in the market by adding a multitude of new product categories,” Argenis Contreras, CEO and founder of Bonamar said in a press release. “Bonamar is committed to ...

NL First Nation Says it Will Retry for Surf Clam License; Calls for Adjacency Principle

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by John Sackton – August 17, 2018

The Miawpukek First Nation located on the south coast of Newfoundland says they applaud the reopening of the issue of an arctic surf clam license for indigenous peoples, and will try again to secure the license under the new procedure announced by DFO.

“ Ottawa’s announcement to cancel a recent clam license decision is a fitting end to a move that would have given virtually 100 % of a Newfoundland and Labrador resource to stakeholders outside ...

Fraser Sockeye Season Gearing Up; Landings of 1.3 Million Salmon So Far

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by Peggy Parker - August 17, 2018

The Fraser River sockeye season has netted landings of about 600,000 sockeye in the U.S. and 735,000 sockeye in Canada as of early this week. In Canada there have been three separate openings and an updated announcement on openings just this week, indicating a ramping up of a fishery that will peak in the coming few weeks. 

This year’s return to the Fraser is estimated to be 14 million sockeye, within a wide range of possibilities. The return is made ...

Mining Operations Threaten Fishing Operations at Russian West Kamchatka Region

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by Eugene Gerden - August 17, 2018

Major Russian Kamchatka-region fish harvests may drop this year thanks to investment in another natural resource: mining.

Global mining companies have announced plans to start the production of minerals close to the West Kamchatka shelf as well as peripheral areas of the Peninsula.

For example, Indian energy holding company Tata Power -- India's largest integrated power company, according to its website -- has recently completed its plans to build a new port on the Sea of Okhotsk on the western coast of Kamchatka. The company's ...

BAP Certifies 38 New Facilities, Recertifies 157 in July

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - August 17, 2018

Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP), the third-party aquaculture certification program administered by the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA), has released their stats for July. According to an August newsletter, 38 new facilities have received BAP certification in July. In addition, 157 facilities were recertified. The total number of BAP certified facilities – including processing plants, farms, hatcheries and feed mills – reached 2,104 by the end of July.

In June GAA confirmed that the number of BAP certified facilities were up ...

NOAA Fisheries Call on Tribes to Apply for Species Recovery Grants 

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - August 17, 2018

For the ninth year in a row, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is soliciting applications for funds that will conserve and protect species listed under the Endangered Species Act and are recognized as important resources for the tribes. 

The assistance is granted as the agency recognizes the “unique importance of many protected species to tribes and values ongoing efforts by tribal nations to conserve and protect species” listed under the ESA as endangered or threatened, and includes candidate or proposed species, plus ...

Global Salmon Initiative Celebrates Five Years of Collaboration and Transparency

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - August 16, 2018

London -- Most industry sectors are made up of member companies that are highly competitive, and the global salmon farming industry is no different.

But five years ago today, a group of salmon farming CEOs decided to take a risk and collaborate on the most important issue of our time: environmental, social and economic sustainability of the salmon farming industry. 

The Global Salmon Initiative (GSI) was the vision of those CEOs, who decided that the usual models of change weren’t working effectively ...

Ocean Acidity Impairs Sense of Smell in Fish

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Fish Radio with Laine Welch] - August 16, 2018

This is Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch – Ocean acidity affects the sense of smell in fish. That could mean big trouble.

Fish scientists proved years ago that the tiniest traces of copper in water can affect a salmon’s sense of smell. Now, research shows that increasing levels of acidity in the oceans do the same thing. The damage is caused by the ocean’s absorption of carbon dioxide, which is generated primarily by the burning of fossil fuels, like oil and ...

Pacific Seafood Opens New, State-of-the-Art Plant in Warrenton, Oregon

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by Susan Chambers - August 15, 2018

Five years of planning and hard work and Pacific Seafood returns to Warrenton, Ore., with a brand new seafood processing facility on the banks of the Skipanon River.

Pacific Seafood CEO Frank Dulcich, along with state Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, and Warrenton Mayor Henry Balensifer, officially re-opened Pacific Seafood's new Warrenton plant during a ceremony celebrating the vibrant coastal fishing community Tuesday.

The original processing facility and dock, built in 1941 and acquired by Pacific Seafood in 1983, burned down in ...

NOAA to Fully Fund At-Sea Monitoring Program in New England for 2018, Reimburse More Costs for 2017

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by John Sackton – August 15, 2018

NOAA announced on Tuesday that they will fund 100% of New England At-Sea Monitoring costs for 2018, as part of an additional $10.3 million added to the budget by New England congressmen, including NH Senator Jeanne Shaheen. 

In addition, they will provide an additional 25% subsidy for 2017 costs, based on the money they saved from Carlos Rafael’s fleets not fishing. Since there was less need for monitoring, the  ...

Russia Company Plans Increase in Deep Water Crab Harvests

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by Eugene Gerden - August 15, 2018

Vostok-1 Fishery Farm, one of Russia’s leading fishing companies that operates at deep ocean depths, plans to significantly increase the volume of deep-sea crab and fish harvests this year, according to the company.

As part of these plans, the company is going to conduct modernization of its fishing fleet, that will allow it to operate at the depths of 2,500 meters.

Alexander Slizkin, a scientific consultant of the Pacific Research Fishing Center (TINRO-center), one of Russia’s leading fishing research institutions ...

High Liner’s New CEO Rod Hepponstall Announces Organizational Realignment With 2nd Quarter Results

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - August 15, 2018

High Liner released their financial results for the second quarter of 2018 on Tuesday. It’s the first quarter results since Rod Hepponstall replaced Henry Demone as High Liner’s CEO.

“The company’s financial results for the second quarter of 2018 reflect continued challenges in the business related to soft sales volume, a shift in product mix from higher margin value-added products to lower margin commodity products, raw material cost increases not fully passed along to customers and inefficiencies in our supply chain ...

Report: Untreated Grey Water Dumped in Canadian Arctic Waters to Double by 2035

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - August 15, 2018

According to a report from Vard Marine commissioned by World Wildlife Fund Canada, untreated grey water that is dumped in Canadian Arctic waters could double by 2035 if it remains unregulated.

Grey water comes from vessel showers, baths, laundry, dishwashers and galley waster. The untreated water contains oil, grease, detergent, soap residue and other residues that can be harmful to whales, walrus, seabirds, fish and other marine organisms that live in the Arctic ...

Bering Sea Region Returns Most Fish Bucks to Alaska

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Fish Radio with Laine Welch] - August 15, 2018

This is Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch –

In Alaska’s fisheries, the regions of Southeast, Cook Inlet, Bristol Bay and Kodiak attract the most attention. But it turns out that the more far flung and remote areas provide some of the state’s biggest fish bucks – notably, the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands regions, called BS/AI.

A new McDowell Group report measures the statewide economic impacts of shoreside processing operations in Dutch Harbor, Saint Paul, King Cove ...

Co-operative Research on Golden King Crab Pays off with Quota Increases 

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by Peggy Parker - August 7, 2018

For the first time in 20 years, the small fleet of vessels harvesting golden king crab in the remote waters of the Aleutian Islands can take 3.9 million pounds of golden king crab east of Adak and 2.5 million pounds west of Adak, increases of 18 percent and 11 percent respectively over last year. The 9-month season opened last week under a management system that relies on data from federal observers and fishermen themselves ...

Another Record Breaks in Bristol Bay; Statewide Pink Salmon Below 2 Yrs Ago

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by Peggy Parker - August 14, 2018

Although it is Bristol Bay’s smallest and last salmon run, Togiak broke its all-time record harvest of 822,000 sockeye set in 1988 with a harvest of 825,000 salmon as of Monday. Escapement has exceeded the goal range and is now the second highest recorded, making the total run a record breaking 1.2 million sockeye.

Statewide, sockeye landings were good in the Alaska Peninsula (cumulative total so far exceeds 3.3 million) and in Prince William Sound, with nearly one million ...

News Summary August 17, 2018 

Today's Main Story: Canadian Analysts Predict Difficulties for High Liner, Say Overpaid for Rubicon

Today's lead item reports that Canadian analysts feel High Liner Foods “significantly” overpaid for Rubicon Resources. The frozen seafood company acquired Rubicon in May 2017 ...

NFI Posts 3 New Videos That Illustrate Impact of Tariffs on Seafood Community

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - August 16, 2018

The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) is continuing to expand their “Seafood, See Jobs” campaign. Three new videos that illustrate the impact of tariffs on the seafood community have been added to the organization’s AboutSeafood.com website.

NFI announced earlier this month that they had rebranded AboutSeafood.com to support the stories of American workers.

“To understand the negative impact these tariffs will have on American workers you have to go see them, you have to talk to them, you have to hear their concerns ...

Mead Treadwell Talks Fish in Race for Alaska Governor

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Fish Radio with Laine Welch] - August 17, 2018

This is Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch. Alaska governor candidate Mead Treadwell talks fish. 

Politics aside, one thing that can be said about Republican candidate for governor, Mead Treadwell, is that he knows fish.   

“One thing I know is that fishing is Alaska’s largest employer and you can’t have good fishing unless you have good science and good transparent management.”

Treadwell touts research as the cornerstone for fisheries sustainability. 

“I believe we could double or triple the ...

Zhangzidao Avoids Hot Weather Sea Cucumber Disaster That Affects Cucumber Pond Farms

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [finance.ifeng] translated by Amy Zhong - August 16, 2018

Zhangzidao seems cursed to always suffer from different kinds of natural disasters. For example, it hardly harvested any scallops in 2014 due to a cold water mass, while its scallops starved in 2017 because of unusual water temperatures and a decline in feed. However, this time things changed and the company seems to be the winner in another natural disaster that has influenced Liaoning province.

Recently weather has been continually hot in this province and the temperature has ...

BioMar Gets Final Approval to Start Construction on Fish Feed Facility in Tasmania

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - August 16, 2018

BioMar Group's AUS $56 million investment in to a new aquaculture feed production facility in Tasmania, Australia has received the final tick of approval from the local Latrobe Council. Now the 14-month construction phase can begin.

When the project was announced in December 2017, the owners said once completed, the facility will produce 100,000 tons of fish feed. 

BioMar UK managing director Paddy Campbell said the project would bring world-class feed-production facilities to Tasmania and stop the need ...

Restaurants' Gain from Lower Prices Due to Trump Tariffs May be Wiped Out by Seafood Price Increases

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by John Sackton – August 15, 2018

Often one group’s pain is another’s gain.  This seems to be the case with Trump’s agricultural tariffs, which will cost farmers hundreds of millions of dollars in lost income but will provide the restaurant industry with slightly lower prices on a range of items.

Plate IQ looked at 500,000 restaurant invoices from the 12 month period ending July 2018, and tried to calculate the projected change in restaurant food costs ...

Florida Gov. Rick Scott Declares State of Emergency Over Red Tide; Seafood Sales Drop

SEAFOODNEWS.COM  by John Sackton – August 15, 2018

Florida’s Governor Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency to help cope with the red tide impacting the Tampa Bay area and points south to Naples, and the Everglades.

The toxic bloom has killed thousands of fish and some turtles, and as hit tourism as many will no longer go to the beach.

Scott announced that $100,000 would be given to Mote Marine Lab for studies on the red tide, and $500,000 to Visit Florida to combat the negative effects on tourism.  

In the Tampa area, seafood sales...

Whole Foods, HyVee, Aldi and Target Top Greenpeace’s 2018 Supermarket Sustainable Seafood Scorecard

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - August 15, 2018

Greenpeace has ranked supermarkets by their sustainability efforts and Whole Foods has come out on top.

On Wednesday the NGO released the 10th edition of their Carting Away the Oceans report.  The report takes a look at 22 of the major grocery retailers across the United States and evaluates them based on seafood sustainability practices. Grocery retailers were scored on their policy, initiatives, labeling and transparency, and inventory. And while there is always areas for improvement ...

45 Tons Of “Illegally Treated” Tuna Seized in Spain

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - August 14, 2018

Spain is cracking down on fraudulent food. Food Navigator reports that Spanish authorities, who have been working alongside Europol and Interpol, seized 45 tons of tuna that was “illegally treated.”

According to the report, the fish in question were frozen and “only suitable for canning.” However, the fish were treated with an unknown substance that enhanced their color, and then sold as “fresh fish.” While the substance that the fish were treated with has not been identified, it’s likely carbon monoxide, which prevents meat and seafood from discoloring with age. While fish treated with CO is legal in the United Sates, it’s illegal in the European Union.

“This can represent a serious risk to public health, taking into account that the modification of the initial color can mask spoilage allowing the development of biological amines (histamine) responsible for the so called scombroid syndrome in humans,” Spanish authorities said in a statement regarding the tuna seizure.

Eating Farmed Salmon Just As Good As Going Vegan When it Comes to Reducing Impact on Earth

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - August 15, 2018

Recycling, using public transportation and reducing trash can reduce your carbon footprint – but what about changing your eating habits? Studies show that eating vegan meals – or  farmed salmon – has the ability to reduce your impact on Earth.

A chart developed by Norwegian NGO Future in Our Hands (FIOH) shows that a farmed salmon meal and vegan meal use the least amount of square meters to produce one portion of dinner ...

Thai Union Remains on FTSE4Good Index, Receives Multiple Sustainability Awards

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Thai Union] - August 15, 2018

Thai Union announced on Wednesday that they will remain a constituent to the FTSE4Good Emerging Index by the Frank Russell Company.

The FTSE4Good Index Series was launched in 2001 to help investors integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into their investment decisions and as a framework for corporate engagement and stewardship. The indices identify companies that better manage ESG risks and are used as a basis for tracker funds, structured products and as a performance benchmark ...

Increase in Tilapia Imports Prior to Tariffs: Seasonality or Securing Volume?

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by Lorin Castiglione - August 14, 2018

Tilapia, the leading seafood import from China, has seen a dramatic increase in imports for the month of June. Frozen tilapia fillet imports for June 2018 were recorded at 19 million pounds, up 57 percent from the previous month. This figure is in range of the previous 10-year average of 21.2 million pounds, however this is the largest May to June increase recorded with import data dating back to 1998 ...

Retail Sales Forecast Increased By NRF, But Tariff Uncertainty Still An Issue

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - August 14, 2018

The National Retail Federation (NRF) has changed their 2018 economic forecast.

Back in February the NRF projected that retail industry sales would increase between 3.8 and 4.4 percent. Now, NRF is expecting 2018 retail sales to increase a minimum of 4.5 percent.

So, what sparked the change? NRF is crediting the upgraded forecast to tax reform and “other positive economic inputs.” However, with that said, the organization is still concerned about the impact of tariffs on consumer confidence ...