2023 Snow Crab Quota For Newfoundland and Labrador Announced; TAC Up 8.4%

The 2023 Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for the Newfoundland and Labrador snow crab fishery was announced by Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Thursday afternoon. The TAC for this year is set at 54,727 tonnes, which is an overall quota increase of 8.4% from 2022.

The 3LNO area has the largest quota allocation with 32,224 tonnes. To compare, in 2022 the area had 30,940 tonnes. 

The area with the next highest quota allocation is 3K with 11,591 tonnes, followed by the 3Ps with 8,898 tonnes. In 2022 3K had 9,840 tonnes and 3Ps had received 7,728 tonnes.

VIDEO: Blue Harvest Strategy Shift; Norway Salmon Tax; NL Snow Crab Price Negotiations 

Join SeafoodNews Managing Editor Amanda Buckle as she breaks down the top read stories of the week, including Blue Harvest Fisheries' strategy shift; an update on the Norwegian salmon tax; and snow crab price negotiations in Newfoundland and Labrador. 

This episode of the SeafoodNews Weekly Video is brought to you by Urner Barry's Data on Demand! Transform your data challenges into valuable business opportunities with real-time commodity market information, seamlessly integrated directly into your company's systems. Urner Barry's data licensing solutions, including...

Restaurant Labor Recovery Seeing State-by-State Fluctuation

The National Restaurant Association provided a look at the labor situation of restaurants across the U.S. and the picture varies on a seemingly state-by-state basis.

On a nationwide scale, staffing levels still remain below pre-pandemic levels, according to the Association. As of February 2023, eating and drinking places were 0.9% (108,000 jobs) below their pre-pandemic peak in February 2020.

On a state-by-state basis, 28 states and Washington D.C. remained below the amount seen in February 208.

This group was led by Maine, Maryland and Vermont, which...

NaturalShrimp Enters Into Agreement With Homegrown Shrimp For Purchase of Post-Larvae Shrimp

Biotechnology aquaculture company Natural Shrimp announced this week that they have entered into a year-long agreement with Homegrown Shrimp for the purchase of post-larvae (PL) shrimp for stocking in the company’s Webster City, Iowa, and La Coste, Texas, facilities.

“We are very pleased to finalize our agreement with Homegrown whom we consider to be the premier supplier of quality fast-growing PLs in the Country,” said  Gerald Easterling, CEO of NaturalShrimp. “Without the PLs there are no shrimp to grow or sell...

JRS Group Acquires Seaweed Extract Producer Algaia 

JRS Group, a manufacturer of functional ingredients from plant-based raw materials, has acquired Algaia SA, a producer of sustainably-produced seaweed extracts and hydrocolloids. The acquisition sets another milestone in JRS’ seaweed business.

Both businesses harvest seaweed along the Atlantic coast of Brittany, which is one of the largest fresh seaweed fields in Europe. JRS said that by joining forces with Algaia they’ll be able to further meet the growing global demand for “natural, renewable and biodegradable solutions for a wide range of industries.” 

“The acquisition of Algaia enables far-reaching synergies...

Chile’s SMA Initiates 5 Sanctioning Procedures Against Australis

CNMI Governor Palacios Urges President Biden to Respect Pacific Island Communities at WPRFMC Meeting

Can you say "awkward?"

A presidential administration that promotes environmental justice recently stepped on Pacific Island cultures when President Biden announced a proposed Remote Island Areas marine sanctuary, according to leaders involved in fisheries management in the area.

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Governor Arnold Palacios opened the 194th meeting of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council last week expressing his views on Biden’s direction to the Secretary of Commerce to consider designating a...

Marubeni Signs Agreement with Ynsect to Enter the Japanese Market

Marubeni has signed an agreement with Ynsect, the world's largest producer and seller of insect-derived protein, headquartered in France, to enter the Japanese market. In the future, the two companies aim to develop an alternative feed that uses insect-derived protein as an alternative protein for fishmeal for fish farming, such as yellowtail and red sea bream, for the Japanese market, Minato Shimbun reported.

Towards the development of fishmeal substitutes for fish farming

Ynsect was established in 2011. It operates three insect-derived protein production facilities in France...

Norway Salmon Tax Details Released. Here’s Everything You Need To Know.

For months Norway’s salmon producers have been threatened by a new tax and now the government has finally released the details. 

On Tuesday the Norwegian government announced that they would be presenting a bill proposing a resource rent tax on aquaculture. While the initial proposal called for a 40% tax for volumes above 4,000-5,000 tons, the resource tax rate has now been lowered to 35%.

“While the basic model remains in place, we have listened to the submissions from the consultation process,”  explained Prime Minister...

Togiak Herring Season Closed Despite Huge Return, Sitka Sac Roe Fishery to Open Soon

Although the 2023 potential harvest for the Togiak sac roe herring fishery is 57,419 tons, processors have told the Alaska Department of Fish and Game they do not intend to harvest this year. 

“The department does not expect this will change,” reads ADF&G’s statement from March 20. Aerial surveys of the biomass will continue to be flown, and “[t]he lack of interest for the Togiak fishery does not impact the Dutch Harbor Food and Bait fishery or [guideline harvest limit] GHL,” managers stated ...

SATS Urges Congress to Support $25 Million in Funding for NMFS' Aquaculture Office

Industry coalition Stronger America Through Seafood (SATS) sent a letter to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate Committees on Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies today urging Congress to support annual funding for NOAA Fisheries’ National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)’s Aquaculture Office in the fiscal year 2024 Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) Appropriations Act.

The letter requests that the Committee support the requested $25 million in annual funding for the NMFS’s Aquaculture Office, which includes...

Thai Union’s SPACE-F Launches Global FoodTech Incubator and Accelerator Batch 4

SPACE-F, Thailand’s global food-tech startup incubator and accelerator program — which is a partnership between Thai Union, the National Innovation Agency, Mahidol University, Thai Beverage PCL and Deloitte Thailand — has launched Batch 4 in an effort to continue to drive growth in the global food industry through technology and innovation.

“Thailand is one of the largest food exporters in the world, which people think of as ‘Kitchen of the World,’” said Dr. Tunyawat Kasemsuwan, Group Director of Global Innovation at Thai Union. “However, when you think about...

FFAW, ASP Fail To Come To Agreement During Snow Crab Price Negotiations 

Last month the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW-Unifor) and the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP) announced a shared commitment to work together ahead of the upcoming snow crab season. But once pricing talks began, that agreement to address challenges within the industry fell apart.

“We committed to discussions with the FFAW on the upcoming season, and after those discussions, along with considering the many challenges that exist this year, we regret to inform that we could not reach an agreement...

The Retail Rundown: Holiday Ham Breakdown

Leading up to Easter, pork feature volume moves up to the top spot with 30.1% of all protein ads. Seafood closely follows with 29.3%. Beef feature volume sits at 23%, while chicken chimes in at about 13%. Eggs ticked up to 2.2%, up from 0.7% the week prior but below 7.5% last year. 

Within the pork retail segment, hams account for 16.8% of the total feature volume. There are an estimated 27,135 buying opportunities for ham this week, up from about 23,000 the week prior.

Spiral sliced features make up the bulk of ham...

FCC: Concerning Lack of Commitment to Canadian Fisheries Science and Blue Economy in Federal Budget

The federal budget tabled by Minister Freeland today shows a concerning lack of support for the Canadian fisheries industry and essential fisheries science. The Fisheries Council of Canada (FCC) is disappointed to see an absence of recognition of the importance of a sufficient science for supporting data-based fisheries management decisions that will allow our industry to establish a robust Blue Economy.

As the national voice representing the Canadian fisheries industry, FCC made several pre-budget recommendations and was pleased to see that...

Sysco Appoints Kenny Cheung as Chief Financial Officer

Global foodservice distribution company Sysco announced on Tuesday that they have appointed a new Chief Financial Officer. Kenny Cheung, who most recently served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at the Hertz Corporation, will take on the position for Sysco, effective April 17, 2023.

“I’m delighted to welcome Kenny to our executive leadership team,” said Sysco President and CEO Kevin Hourican. “Kenny is a results-oriented leader with proven financial and operational management qualifications and a track record of driving strong performance with a collaborative approach. He has extensive...

Chilean Seafood on Full Display at Seafood Expo North America

Seafood Expo North America (SENA) returned to the Boston Convention Center earlier this month. Although it was in its second year back post-COVID, 2023 felt like a true return to normal for many in the industry.

For many companies, the show is viewed as a way to connect with partners in North America, find new business and promote new products and developments. That was the sentiment SeafoodNews received from a number of Chilean seafood companies that were present through a pavilion hosted by the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs...