2024 Wild Salmon Season: Unraveling the Causes Behind Declining Landings

The 2024 Alaskan wild salmon season experienced significantly lower landings across all species, including Chinook (king), chum (keta), pink, coho, and sockeye. With the season largely wrapped up through September 7, landings for sockeye across Alaska were down 20% compared to 2023, with pink landings falling 44% from 2022 YTD and the chum catch dipping 32% year-over-year, respectively, according to Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute's Weekly Alaska Salmon Updates produced by the McKinley Research Group.

Back in September, McKinley Research Group noted that the harvest of lower than 100...

Lobsters on the Move: UMaine Study Uncovers Major Habitat Shifts and Population Decline

Japanese Tuna Fishery Company Calls for Import Restrictions on IUU Farmed Tuna 

At the 10th Tokyo Sustainable Seafood Summit (TSSS), hosted by Seafood Legacy and Nikkei ESG, held in Tokyo on October 8-10 to realize a sustainable fisheries industry, attention was focused on the embargo measures to cut off the source of income for IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated) fisheries. Sotaro Usui, president of Usufuku Honten based in Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture, which operates a deep-sea tuna fishery, called on multiple ministries and agencies to work together to prevent IUU fishery product imports...

Acme Smoked Fish Expands Brooklyn Office Footprint with New Headquarters Lease

Acme Smoked Fish, a family-owned smoked fish purveyor, has signed a 10-year lease for its new corporate headquarters in Brooklyn.

The smoked fish purveyor currently has its production facility and office space at 30 Gem St., where the company has been located since 1954.

Now Acme is expanding its office footprint in the area. It will occupy an 18,000-square-foot space, located at 1 Wythe Ave., that spans the entire third floor. The company is expected to move into the property...

Canadian Court Shoots Down FFAW’s Push to Suspend 2024 Northern Cod Decision

A federal court in Canada shot down a request from the Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW) to halt the 2024 northern cod fishery off the north and east coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Back in June, Canada fisheries minister Diane Lebouthillier announced the end of the Northern cod moratorium, meaning the commercial cod fishery would reopen for the first time in over 30 years, as SeafoodNews reported. The Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for Canadian fishermen is 18,00 metric tons, 15,071.4t of which would head towards FFAW’s inshore...

First Salmon Returns to Klamath River System Shortly After Dam Removals

After more than 100 years, Chinook salmon are already returning to the newly reopened habitat in a tributary above one of the recently removed Klamath River dams.

On October 16, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists identified a fall-run Chinook salmon in a tributary to the Klamath River above the former J.C. Boyle Dam. It is believed to be the first anadromous fish to return to the Klamath Basin in Oregon since 1912, when the first of four hydroelectric dams was constructed, blocking ...

Gulf Menhaden Population Confirmed Healthy

The Gulf menhaden fishery continues to be harvesting sustainably and effectively managed, according to a new report by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission (GSMFC). Approved by the GSMFC at its annual meeting this week, the 2024 Update to the Gulf of Mexico Menhaden Stock Assessment once again confirms that the Gulf menhaden stock is neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing.

The updated stock assessment includes new data from 2021 to 2023, the years since the last Gulf menhaden assessment was completed in 2021. In addition to its primary conclusion showing no overfishing, the assessment...

Illegal Fish Sales: Alabama Seafood Businessman Guilty of Violating Lacey Act in $250K Case

An Alabama seafood business owner pleaded guilty on October 16 to violating the Lacey Act by selling and purchasing illegally harvested fish.

Richard M. Collier, Jr., the owner of P.J.’s Seafood, admitted to selling and purchasing red drum in a U.S. District Court, spotted seatrout from May 2019 to April 22. According to court documents, all parties agreed that the market value of the fish transported across interstate lines in violation of the Lacey Act was greater than $250,000 and less than...

Connecticut Fisherman Sentenced for Tax Evasion

The Department of Justice announced that Brian Kobus, of Durham, Connecticut, was sentenced on October 16 to one year and one day in prison for evading taxes on income he earned while commercial fishing in Massachusetts.

According to court documents and statements made at trial, Kobus worked as a commercial fisherman and deckhand for various fishing firms in Massachusetts. After each trip, Kobus was paid by check, and despite receiving over $1.2 million between 2011 and 2013, along with 2017 through 2021, he never filed a federal income tax return or paid...

New Legislation Seeks to Amend Magnuson-Stevens Act, Address Economic Causes of Fishery Disasters

Congresswoman Nancy Mace (SC-01) introduced the Protect American Fisheries Act of 2024, a law that found the support of various fishing organizations, including the Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA), along with bipartisan support.

According to a press release from Mace's office, the bill would amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, adding economic causes as allowable grounds for declaring a fishery resource disaster.

“Foreign interference in U.S. fishery markets, particularly through illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU)...

ICFA Pushes for Fisheries’ Inclusion in Biodiversity Framework at International Conference

As the 16^th Conference of the Parties to the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBDCOP16) begins, the International Coalition of Fisheries Associations (ICFA) urged policymakers and stakeholders to prioritize the critical role of fisheries in global biodiversity efforts.

“It’s important to emphasize that fish are biodiversity, underscoring their crucial contribution to global food security and the livelihoods of coastal communities,” said ICFA’s Interim Chairman Javier Garat...

Strike to Halt Operations at Brazilian Ports on October 22

Brazilian port workers will stage a 12-hour strike on 22 October, with around 60,000 registered and freelance workers from three national federations set to halt activities. The strike will run from 7 AM to 7 PM on October 22 and is expected to heavily impact the Port of Santos.

The action, announced on 17 October, serves as a warning to the federal government as workers protest a proposed bill that would remove some labor rights for freelance and port workers. The bill, scheduled...

Scientists Recommend Zero Capelin Fishing in Barents Sea for First Time Since 2021

For the first time since 2021, marine scientists have recommended a zero quota for capelin in the Barents Sea, according to Norway’s Institute of Marine Research (IMR).

“This year's measurements show that survival has been very poor for capelin - both for the age group one to two years and for the age group two to three years,” said Georg Skaret, marine researcher and population manager for capelin. “The mortality can be compared with that measured in 2003 and in 2014...

Spain’s AGAC Becomes First to Land MSC Certification for All Tropical Tuna Stocks

The Association of Large Freezer Tuna Vessels (AGAC), a Spain-based tuna association, has obtained Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification for all tropical tuna in the Pacific, including bigeye, yellowfin, and skipjack tunas from the western and eastern Pacific.

The MSC said the total volume of AGAC-certified tuna for all species reaches 312,000 metric tons, with a fleet of 43 certified purse seine vessels. The volume of certified bigeye tuna in the entire Pacific is approximately 18,000t...

Americans’ Appetite for Fresh Foods Drives Consolidation in Convenience Stores

Consumer demand for fresh food is transforming US convenience stores. Stores with dine-in options account for 58% of spending, driven by larger chains’ expansion and M&A.

In the US, consumer spending at convenience stores (c-stores) that offer fresh foods and beverages is increasing. These enhanced c-stores, often housed in upgraded and larger locations with dine-in options, now account for 58% of all spending at c-stores, up from 48% five years ago. Data indicates that c-stores offering a broader range of fresh food options...

Whole Foods Forecasts 2025 Food Trends with a Splash of Seafood Innovations

Whole Foods Market debuted its top 10 anticipated food trends for 2025, and some interesting seafood trends landed on the list.

The trends were developed by the Whole Foods Market Trends Council, which is made up of over 50 company team members, from foragers and buyers to culinary experts. The predictions are created through a combination of “deep industry experience, keen observation of consumer preferences, and collaborative sessions with emerging and established brands.”

“Our tenth anniversary of trend forecasting marks an important milestone for us...

Japan: 2023 Frozen Trout Imports Fell Below 6000 Tons, First Time Since 1988

According to the Ministry of Finance's trade statistics, Japan's imports of frozen trout in 2023 were 5,596 tons in dressed weight, down 54% from the previous year. According to the Minato Shimbun report, this is the lowest figure since records began in 1988, and it has fallen below 6,000 tons for the first time. The average CIF price was 1,073 yen/kg ($7.18/kg), up 3%, the highest ever. Imports from Chile, the top supplier, were 3,435 tons, down 44%...