Spotlight on Seafood Markets as Expana Adds Tuna and Lobster Forecasts

Expana has expanded its seafood market coverage with the addition of US lobster and skipjack tuna price forecasts. Building on over 15 years of expertise in seafood price forecasting, this expansion brings the total number of seafood price series to more than 60, including key species such as salmon, shrimp, cod, and crab. These new additions reinforce Expana’s position as the world’s leading provider of seafood price forecasts. 

This expansion was driven by customer feedback underscoring the critical role of seafood market coverage in the agrifood sector...

ANALYSIS: Ecuador Shatters Export Records as Tariff Uncertainty Drives Historic May Performance

Preliminary trade data shows that Ecuadorian shrimp exports achieved an unprecedented monthly milestone in May 2025, reaching 334 million pounds in commercial weight, obliterating the previous record of approximately 275 million pounds. This remarkable 21% surge above the prior peak underscores the profound impact of impending U.S. tariff decisions on global trade flows, which is occurring even as American consumer demand has returned to pre-pandemic levels following the temporary surge during the pandemic.

The May explosion propels Ecuador's year-to-date exports 16.5% above...

ANALYSIS: Fresh Chilean Salmon Fillets Soften Ahead of Seasonal Trend

The market for fresh Chilean salmon fillets continues to show signs of weakness, trending lower earlier than usual for this time of year. Historically, pricing begins to soften after Mother’s Day, but this year the decline began in early May. Since the end of April, the price for 3–4-pound fresh Chilean fillets—considered the bellwether size—has fallen 19.2%. This marks a notable departure from the 3-year average, with current prices down 5.1% compared to historical trends.

Despite a nine-week slide, the market has...

Court Sets Date for NMFS to Decide if West Coast Chinook Salmon Should be on the Endangered List

The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and three co-plaintiffs recently won a three-year legal battle for NOAA Fisheries to set deadlines on whether spring-run Chinook salmon in Oregon, Washington, and Northern California warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Oregon’s District Court Judge Jeff Armistead signed the court order on June 27 establishing November 3, 2025, as the deadline for the Oregon Coast and Southern Oregon-Northern California Coast Chinook salmon and January 2, 2026, as the deadline...

Expana Publication Schedule for The Fourth of July Holiday

Expana will be observing the Fourth of July holiday on Friday, July 4, which will impact the publication of some Expana Benchmark Prices.

The following weekly reports will be impacted:

• US Peanut assessment will be published on Thursday, July 3
• Asia-Pacific Beef Report will be published on Thursday, July 3
• EU Egg Products assessment will be published on Thursday, July 3
• UK Beef Market Complex assessment will be published on Thursday, July 3

The regular publishing schedule will resume on...

Scary Good: New LA Pop-up Dining Experience to Debut July 5

Experimental pop-up dining company Chain recently launched a new promotion for Dread Lobster, a themed pop-up food truck that will operate out of Los Angeles, California, on scattered dates from July 5-12.

As stated on Chain’s website, Eatchain.com, the limited-time-only event is promoted as “[a] terrifyingly delicious meal available for free for an extremely limited time if you can catch it…”

Paying homage to casual seafood joints

Comprised of three parts, the meal is inspired by casual seafood dining experiences like Red Lobster...

Cozy Harbor, a Maine Lobster Staple, Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Cozy Harbor Seafood, a staple processor in the Maine lobster industry, along with its companies Art’s Lobster Co. and Casco Bay Lobster, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 1.

The bankruptcy declaration filed by Cozy Harbor’s owner, John Norton, said the decision stems from “the price of seafood that it purchases for processing” coming out of the pandemic, along with tariff uncertainty.

“Premised on price instability arising first out of the COVID pandemic and then out of uncertainty due to tariff threats, the Debtors have had trouble operating within...

Federal Judge Dismisses UCIDA's Claim that NMFS Violated Laws While Managing Cook Inlet Salmon 

The United Cook Inlet Driftnetters Association lost its latest legal effort to correct management issues impacting sockeye salmon in the Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) with a decision on Monday to dismiss all charges with prejudice.  

That decision does not mean that UCIDA cannot appeal Federal Judge Sharon Gleason’s 32-page ruling.  

The Cook Inlet salmon fishery is managed as a mixed stock fishery. In this case, sustainable stocks of returning sockeye, bound for their spawning grounds in the Kenai and Kasilov Rivers, are...

DOC Announces 2025 Appointments to the Regional Fishery Management Councils

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) announced the appointment of 20 new and returning members to the eight regional fishery management councils on June 30.

Council members represented stakeholders, including commercial and recreational fishing industries, environmental organizations, and academia, along with state and federal agencies. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) explained that councils are vital to “fulfilling the Magnuson-Stevens Act’s requirements to end overfishing, rebuild fish stocks, and manage them sustainably.”

The Secretary of Commerce appoints roughly one-third of the total 72 appointed members...

Trump Announces US Trade Deal With Vietnam, Including 20% Import Tariff

President Trump announced that the United States has agreed to a new trade deal with Vietnam on July 2.

Trump stated that Vietnam will pay the US a 20% tariff on all goods exported to the U.S. and a 40% tariff on transshipped goods. The higher 40% tariff targets products that are not originally made in Vietnam but are routed through the country to bypass higher tariffs. This move is significant, as many countries have used Vietnam as a transit point to avoid stricter trade penalties aimed at Chinese...

US House Republicans Back Amendment to Expand H-2B Visa Access for Seasonal Workers 

US House Republicans have approved an amendment to the Homeland Security Appropriations bill that could significantly expand the number of seasonal migrant workers allowed into the country each year.  

The measure, which was introduced by Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Rep. Andy Harris, M.D. (R-Maryland), would benefit businesses reliant on the H-2B visa program. It allows employers that have hired migrant workers in the past five years — and have complied with all program requirements — to bring back the same number of...

Japan's Seafood Imports in May Decreased by 5% YOY in Volume and 3% YOY in Value

According to trade statistics released by the Ministry of Finance on June 27, Japan’s May seafood imports (with preliminary figures including fish and shellfish, their preparations, fish meal, and seaweed) decreased by 5% in volume from the same month last year, totaling 181,942 tons. In addition, the value of these imports decreased by 3% to 165.412 billion yen ($1.154 billion), as reported by Japanese news outlet Minato Shimbun.

Fresh and frozen tuna imports rose by 13% to 17,417 tons, including the following tuna...

Russia Expects Fish Catch to Surpass 5 Million Metric Tons in 2025 

Russia anticipates its total fish catch will exceed 5 million metric tons in 2025.  

This target has been confirmed by Ilya Shestakov, head of the Federal Agency for Fisheries (Rosrybolovstvo), who noted that much will depend on the results of this year’s salmon fishing season. 

As of June 11, Russian fishermen had caught approximately 466,500 metric tons of Pacific salmon, surpassing last year’s figures. Kamchatka Krai and Sakhalin Oblast are leading the season, with sockeye salmon being the primary catch. 

Achieving a target catch...

Cousins Maine Lobster Expands North Carolina Footprint

In a July 2 press release, Cousins Maine Lobster (CML) announced the launch of a new food truck in North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad metropolitan region, making it the fast-casual lobster roll company’s third food truck in the state.

The expansion is being rolled out by husband-and-wife duo Savas and Victoria Alkoc, who are veteran CML franchisees of nearly nine years. Having launched their first CML truck in 2017, they now operate food trucks across Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Jersey, and Delaware, as well as a brick-and-mortar location...

ANALYSIS: Canada's Declining Share in European Live Lobster Market Despite CETA

Between January and April, the EU and UK imported a total of 1,378 metric tons of live red lobster (Homarus americanus) from two main sources: 791 MT from Canada (57%) and 587 MT from the United States (43%). This marks the highest U.S. share since the implementation of the CETA free trade agreement between Canada and the EU, which came into force in September 2017...

Ecuador Establishes New Union Representing Nation’s Fishing and Aquaculture Sector

At this year’s South Pacific Expopesca—which was held in Guayaquil, Ecuador, from June 18-20—key stakeholders representing Ecuador’s fishing and aquaculture sector came together to sign a commitment act establishing the Unión de Pescadores y Acuicultores del Ecuador, a non-profit, nationwide civil corporation open to all formally operating stakeholders within Ecuador’s fish sector.

The result was Ecuador’s new fish union, which will focus on strengthening representation within the country’s fishing and aquaculture sector while advancing sustainability and staying grounded in principles of sustainability and legality...

Phillips Foods Opens Sales Office in Japan to Expand Crab Meat Sales 

Phillips Foods, a major crab and lobster processor based in Maryland, has opened a representative office in Tokyo. The company will promote products such as blue swimming crab meat and crab cakes to mass retailers and food services in Japan.  

Founded in 1914, Phillips Foods operates aquaculture and processing facilities in Southeast Asia and Canada. They handle various crab species, including snow crab, king crab, and blue swimming crab, along with lobster and barramundi. The company also produces processed items such...