Groundfish Forum: Global Whitefish Supply Continues to Decline for 2019

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by John Sackton – October 16, 2018

At last week’s groundfish forum, there were no unexpected developments in global groundfish stocks.  On a year to year basis, it was very much business as usual.

But if you look at a three year picture, from 2017 to 2019, total global wild whitefish production has dropped 4%, with cod down 13.4% over the past three years.

This change in the supply picture has had price impacts in several areas.

First, international cod prices (Barents Sea) have climbed 21% ...

Alaska Board of Fish To Hear Prince Willian Sound Hatchery Issues Today

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews]  by Peggy Parker - October 16, 2018

The Alaska Board of Fish will hear from all sides on two hatchery issues this afternoon as part of their October Work Session. At issue is whether to accept two Agenda Change Requests (ACR) for consideration this year. They are: 

ACR 1 – Prohibit Valdez Fisheries Development Association from incubating, rearing, and releasing pink salmon resulting from additional egg take capacity permitted in 2018 and cap egg take capacity at the level permitted in 2017. This would mean destroying the additional ...

With Sufficient Supply, King Crab Becomes More Common and Popular in China

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [FishFIrst/Dzwww] translated by Amy Zhong - October 16, 2018

The price of live king crab more than 3.5 kg each has dropped to 90 yuan/jin (1 jin=0.5 kg; $13.02/jin USD) in Beijing on Oct. 5, while that of the smaller ones has declined to about 100 yuan ($14.47 USD) to 105 yuan ($15.19). Though prices are slightly higher in Guangzhou and Shanghai, they still set a new low record, around 100 yuan ...

Stay Ahead of the Curve With Urner Barry’s Seafood Import Workshop, Taking Place This Thursday

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - October 16, 2018

Urner Barry is heading to Boston this Thursday for the Seafood Import Workshop, a one-day event for seafood professionals to hear from expert speakers and government representatives about seafood safety, quality and sustainability compliance, and so much more.

“With so many changes going on in the industry, so many of us are focused on execution and continuing to build a thriving company in a challenging environment,"  says workshop speaker Michael Lieberman ...

Russia to Start Export Fish Sales Through Auctions in Coming Months

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by Eugene Gerden - October 16, 2018

The Russian Federal Agency for Fishery, Rosrybolovstvo, plans to establish special trading areas in the Primorye region for the export sales of domestic fish and seafood, according to recent statements by Ilya Shestakov.

The introduction of auction platforms, according to Shestakov, will make the existing sales mechanism more transparent and will allow the sales of Russian fish at fair market prices.

All the trading platforms will be equipped with modern refrigeration facilities and have special inspection compartments ...

Ecuador Small Pelagics Fishery Accepted by IFFO into Fishery Improvement Program

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] – October 16, 2018

IFFO (the International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organization) announced that the Ecuador small pelagics Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) has successfully met the criteria for acceptance on to the IFFO RS Improver Program. 

This will allow users of fishmeal committed to responsible supply management to source from this fishery.

The Ecuador FIP comprises 18 Ecuadorian fishing and processing firms and 3 international feed producers, representing an estimated 80% of the country's small pelagic fishing companies. During the IFFO RS IP process ...

Biomar Opens New Shrimp Research Unit in Ecuador

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - October 16, 2018

Biomar announced on Monday that they are increasing their shrimp research capabilities with the opening of a new Aquaculture Technology Centre in Ecuador.

The new facility will be focused on shrimp feed, the development of shrimp diets and global farming practices as BioMar expands their production capacity in Ecuador.

“We see a significant growth potential in the shrimp feed segment,” said Carlos Diaz, BioMar Group CEO. “Our new research facilities will help us continue to evolve our shrimp feed range while ...

Major High Resolution Study of Global Trawl Footprint Finds it is Far Lower Than Some NGO's Suggest

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by John Sackton - October 15, 2018

What's the matter with trawling?  Dragging a weighted net across the ocean floor is the fishing method that accounts for about 25% of global seafood production.  In recent years, trawling has become more controversial, as some NGO's have attempted to say that bottom trawls are 100% destructive to the eco-systems where they are used.  

If this is the case, large scale use of trawling could be seen as a contributing factor ...

Presentations at Right Whale Meeting Highlight Questions; Issues in Lobster Gear Modification

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by John Sackton – October 12, 2018

How efforts to protect North Atlantic Right Whales will impact lobster and crab fisheries in the US and Canada is a key question facing the most valuable fisheries in the region.

This week, the take reduction team from NOAA has been meeting in Rhode Island to get an update on both scientific questions and latest surveys, and also a report on efforts to improve gear to reduce whale entanglements.

The entire set of presentations are online ...

E-commerce Boosts Guolian’s Sales in China

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [P5w/YingYanNews] translated by Amy Zhong - October 15, 2018

On Oct. 10, Guolian has released a report about its performance this year. It reads that the company’s net profit is estimated to range between 223 million yuan to 233 million yuan (~$33.7 million USD) during the first three quarters, which increased between 98.35 percent and 107.26 percent compared with the same period last year. Its net profit is said to be about 55 million yuan to 65 million yuan ($7.95 million to $9.4 million USD) ...

'Puntada Invisible' Wins WSI Video Competition

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Fish Column] by Laine Welch - October 15, 2018

Women who mend nets for a living in Vigo, Spain took home the top prize in the International Association for Women in the Seafood Industry (WSI) video competition.

The contest was launched last year as a way to increase awareness about women’s roles in the industry and to recognize their value. This year’s contest attracted 15 minute videos (limited to four minutes) from around the world.

The winner, Puntada Invisible, highlights a woman named Beatriz who has been ...

Russian  Does Not Foresee Crisis Looming in Crab Industry as New Auction Plan Moves Forward

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by Eugene Gerden - October 12, 2018

The Russian government expects the beginning of a new program providing half the domestic crab quotas to new entrants to further develop the industry will actually make the Russian crab industry more efficient -- according to senior officials of the country’s Ministry of Agriculture.

According to recent statements of Rosrybolovstvo, recent announcements of some Russian crab producers to terminate their existing contracts for the building of new crab-producing ships at domestic shipyards ...

SeaPak Launches On-The-Go Shrimp Cocktail Nationwide

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - October 12, 2018

SeaPak Shrimp & Seafood Company is making it easier for consumers to snack while on the go. The company announced earlier this week that they have launched their new On-The-Go Shrimp Cocktail snack nationwide.

SeaPak’s On-The-Go Shrimp Cocktail was initially introduced earlier this year during an eight week marketing blitz in the Atlanta and Denver markets. The product was available at Denver-area King Sooper stores and Atlanta-area Kroger supermarkets, where consumers not only expressed interest, but had repeat purchases of ...

Northeast Canyon's Monument Defenders Never Looked at Costs, Considered Alternatives (opinion)

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] [Opinion] by Eric Reid - October 12, 2018

The following op-ed was written by Eric Reid, of Seafreeze Shoreside Inc., a seafood processor and wholesaler based in North Kingstown, Rhode Island.

The creation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument in 2016 was opposed by many in the East Coast seafood industry, on the grounds that the monument designation was not needed to support conservation aims.  Further, the prohibition on commercial fishing was never scientifically justified.

Now the Trump Administration is proposing to ...

Mazzetta Sues Government Over Vietnam Shrimp Tariffs; Says Black Tiger Pricing is Not Comparable

SEAFOODNEWS.COM  [SeafoodNews] by John Sackton  - October 11, 2018

The Mazzetta Company has sued the dept.of commerce in the International Trade Court over its determination of duties on Vietnamese shrimp.

Because the US does not consider Vietnam to be a ‘market’ economy, it has used surrogate countries to try and establish a comparable input value to calculate shrimp raw material margins, and whether shrimp from Vietnam is subject to anti-dumping duties or not.

The duty rates for Vietnamese shrimp are calculated ...

China Fisheries Show, Largest in World, Fully Sold Out, with Foreign Participation up 12% This Year

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - October 11, 2018

With more than a month to go before the 23rd annual China Fisheries & Seafood Expo, the show organizers say the show had sold out, filling all 10 exhibit halls at the Qingdao International Expo Center.  This year’s show dates are November 7-9. 

A record 1,600 companies  from 50 countries will be exhibiting this year. With 45,000 square meters, in terms of exhibit space China Fisheries & Seafood Expo is now the largest seafood trade show in the world ...

Icicle’s Jessie Keplinger Named First Female President of Halibut Association of North America

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - October 11, 2018

The Halibut Association of North America (HANA), a trade group representing processors in Canada and the United States, recently elected its first female president in its 57-year-old history.

The election of Jessie Keplinger, Fresh Sales Account Manager at Icicle Seafoods, as the group’s highest officer, came after a period of several months spent reviewing the organization’s mission and considering a shift in priorities.

HANA was formed in 1961 to promote Pacific Halibut and ...

Chef Barton Seaver Launches ‘Seafood & the Menu’ Magazine 

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - October 11, 2018

Chef Barton Seaver is back with a new publication – this time a magazine! The sustainability-focused chef and author of American Seafood, For Cod and Country, and Two If By Sea, announced on Wednesday that he has launched Seafood & the Menu, a magazine in partnership with Flavor & the Menu.

“My team and I produced Seafood & the Menu to fill a gap in seafood-focused chef-facing media content,” Chef Seaver said in his announcement. “I chose to produce this as a platform for chefs to ...

The Seafood Industry and the China Tariffs: A Deep Dive Into NFI's Seafood, See Jobs Campaign

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - October 15, 2018

There’s still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the tariffs, but one thing is certain ­– the National Fisheries Institute [NFI] is working hard to ensure that those in Washington D.C. understand the impact that the trade war with China is having on the seafood industry.

Listen as SeafoodNews Podcast hosts Amanda Buckle and Lorin Castiglione talk to NFI Communications Manager Lynsee Fowler about the organization's Seafood, See Jobs campaign.

This week’s episode is brought to you by Urner Barry’s Seafood Import Workshop ...

Norwegian Food Safety Authority Denies Company Permission for Land Based Salmon Farm

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by John Sackton - October 15, 2018

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority has denied an application for a land based salmon farm in an area of fjords south of Bergen.

The application was from the Haughland Group, which operates Erko Settefisk, a smolt operation, and Stord Havbrukspark.

The authorities said that due to previous mass mortality events at the Sagvag plant run by the company, they were rejecting the license, notwithstanding the owners efforts to set up a separate corporate structure ...

Imported Seafood Lures More Chinese Foodies, According to JD Report

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [WCHB.cjn] translated by Amy Zhong - October 15, 2018

On Oct. 8, JD has released its consumption report for this National Day. As statistics show, the giant’s online sales value has risen nearly 40 percent during this seven-day holiday compared with that of last year. Meanwhile, the sales of Norwegian cod and French blue lobsters have more than doubled at its physical supermarkets, 7FRESH, compared with the previous week.

The home-delivery sector of JD has seen an increase of 44 percent in its online sales of ...

Nordic Aquafarms Opens Corporate Office as They Continue to Move Forward with Belfast Facility

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - October 15, 2018

Nordic Aquafarms announced in their October newsletter that they are now operating out of their corporate office in Portland, Maine. The new office will serve as their U.S. headquarters, focusing on the development of the Belfast facility, as well as additional growth opportunities in the future. Nordic Aquafarms CEO and founder Erik Heim, who moved to Maine earlier this month, as well as Director of Operations Marianne Naess, will be dividing their time between the Portland office and Belfast ...

Australian Trawl Fishers Cheer as Massive Seismic Survey Rejected

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Australian Broadcasting Corporation News] by Nicole Asher - October 15, 2018

Trawl fishers are cheering the rejection of a massive oil and gas survey off the Victorian coast, which they say would have crippled the industry and led to a seafood shortage.

The trawl fishing industry is relieved the national offshore regulator has rejected plans for a massive seismic survey off the Victorian coast.

French company CGG Services planned to map 16,850km square of the seabed, east of Melbourne, for oil and gas reserves ...

NFI Communications Manager Lynsee Fowler Breaks Down the Seafood, See Jobs Campaign

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - October 12, 2018

There’s still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the tariffs, but one thing is certain ­– the National Fisheries Institute [NFI] is working hard to ensure that those in Washington D.C. understand the impact that the trade war with China is having on the seafood industry.

“Seafood is one of the most traded commodities in the world so [NFI] had been wanting to do a broader education campaign about the importance of healthy trade,” Lynsee Fowler, NFI’s communications manager, told SeafoodNews ...

VIDEO: Mazzetta Sues Over Tariffs; Lobster Exports Surge; China Seafood Expo Sold Out and More

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - October 12, 2018

Watch the latest Seafood News Weekly Recap with hosts Amanda Buckle and Lorin Castiglione. This week we talk about The Mazzetta Company suing the government over Vietnam shrimp tariffs; the surge in lobster exports to Canada; the China Fisheries & Seafood Expo selling out; and Red Lobster's "secret" Endless Shrimp menu.

This video is sponsored by Urner Barry’s Seafood Import Workshop, taking place in Boston on Thursday October 18, 2018. View more details and register at UrnerBarry.com/SIW ...

Traffic Chaos Marks a Difficult Start for Tokyo’s New Fish Market

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [The Asahi Shimbun] by Noriyasu Nukui and Yuka Ariyoshi - October 12, 2018

Roads leading to Tokyo's new fish market in the capital’s Koto Ward were gridlocked from dawn as cries of the tuna auction rang out when bidding for fish and seafood kicked off.

Trucks and cars were caught up in a massive traffic jam on a slope approaching a parking lot at one wing of the market. Some vehicles could not even reach the lot even after crawling along at a snail’s pace for about ...

New Canadian Commissioner Appointed to the International Pacific Halibut Commission

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by Peggy Parker - October 12, 2018

SEATTLE -- Peter de Greef has been appointed to the International Pacific Halibut Commission to represent the Canadian halibut industry. His appointment is for three years.

De Greef replaces interim commissioner Robert Day, who was named to the six-person panel last spring. De Greef’s appointment shifts the Canadian delegation from all federal government representatives to two Department of Fisheries and Oceans Commissioners and one industry Commissioner. 

On the U.S. side, the delegation includes a sport representative for the first time, and ...

Coastal Villages Continues Education Program that Sends Youth to Seattle

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - October 12, 2018

Seattle, WA – Coastal Villages Region Fund (CVRF) is gearing up for a second year of its popular tenth-grade Ciuneq program with two sessions focused on member-community tenth-graders scheduled to take place in Seattle this month. Ciuneq, which refers to “the future” in Yupik, is designed to provide an opportunity for youth from rural Alaska to explore the educational destinations that may be available to them if they continue to work hard in high school.

The tenth-grade Ciuneq program was designed to ...

ANALYSIS: Chilean Fillets Adjust Lower Amid Record Breaking Fresh Fillet Volumes

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by Janice Schreiber- October 11, 2018

For the first time in nine weeks, the Chilean fillet market adjusted lower on 2-up fillets. Demand overall for salmon, like many other seafood items during October, is usually fair at best; and this seasonal slow down does follow a historic trend. owever, the somewhat unprecedented stability in the Chilean fillet market amid record high imports of fresh fillets is noteworthy.

The stability in the market started mid-June after ...

NOAA Seeking Public Comment on Proposed Traceability Program for U.S. Farmed Shrimp, Abalone

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - October 11, 2018

NOAA Fisheries announced that they are now seeking public comment on a proposed rule to establish a first-ever traceability program for U.S. farmed shrimp and abalone.

Currently the rule, which would serve as a domestic counterpart to shrimp and abalone import requirements under the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP), is only proposed. If finalized, it would provide traceability for U.S. farmed shrimp and abalone from the “point of production to entry into U.S. commerce ...