ANALYSIS: Pass the Salmon for Thanksgiving 2020

Sweet potatoes are not the only orange thing on the Thanksgiving table this year.

Retail features or buying opportunities for salmon look abnormal this year, up 75 percent from the previous week and up 61 percent from the same time last year. In total there are over 3,700 features across the U.S. this year.

The Chilean fillet market has been steadily firming over the past three weeks. Market participants report COVID-19 precautions in Chile, a focus on frozen production, and...

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Demand for Salmon and Halibut Increases Amid Tight Supplies Heading into Holidays

This is Alaska Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch…Demand for salmon and halibut amid tightening supplies. 

Market watchers say get your Pacific salmon and halibut now as supplies tighten heading into a big lineup of holidays.

Alaska salmon competes in a tough global market and supplies are down by all producers.

Even wild salmon supplies from Russia, Alaska’s biggest competitor, have come in well below forecast at 845 million pounds, the lowest poundage since 2009. By comparison, Alaska’s total salmon catch for 2020 totaled about 518 million pounds...

USDA Eyeing Bids on Alaska Pollock, Salmon Products

The USDA is looking for offers to sell salmon and pollock products for use in the National School Lunch Program and other Federal Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs.

The Department is looking for just shy of 2 million pounds of Alaska pollock fillets and fish sticks. Acceptances will be announced by midnight, December 11, 2020 and deliveries will be made between March 1, 2021 through June 30, 2021.

Find the Alaska pollock solicitation here.

The USDA is also eyeing bids for 208,240 cases of canned pink salmon...

Fire Breaks Out at Huon Aquaculture Pen, Estimated 50,000 Fish Lost

Tasmanian salmon farmer Huon Aquaculture reported a fire on Monday that damaged one of its fish pens, leading to the loss of 50,000 – 52,000 4kg fish.

Peter Bender, Huon Aquaculture CEO, said the fire damaged about one third of a pen at its Zuidpool lease, burning through and melting pen infrastructure above and just below the waterline. With the fish escapement, the company announced that reporting requirements were met, as it notified MAST, EPA and DPIPWE Marine Farm Branch.

The total fish loss was calculated by a county of remaining fish used by one of Huon’s wellboats...

VIDEO: Coronavirus on Saudi Shrimp; Opilio Snow Crab Auction; Bristol Bay Sockeye Forecast; and More

Join SeafoodNews Weekly Video co-hosts Amanda Buckle and Lorin Castiglione as they talk about Chinese authoriteis finding coronavirus on packaging of Saudi shrimp; Japan's first opilio snow crab auction;  ADF&G's Bristol Bay Sockeye forecast; and Clearwater Seafoods' Q3 results. 

This episode of the SeafoodNews Weekly Video is brought to you by Urner Barry's Reporter. The Winter Issue will be getting sent out this December, but there is still time to advertise! Call 732-240-5330 or email advertise@urnerbarry.com to learn more. 

Hiddenfjord Stops Using Air Freight

Atlantic salmon farmer Hiddenfjord announced on Thursday that they have suspended all air freight as of October 10, 2020. According to the company, the decision has reduced their overseas transportation CO2 emissions by 94%.

“The facts are clear, we all need to immediately stop using airplanes to transport goods in order to reduce climate change,” said Atli Gregersen, managing director and owner at Hiddenfjord. “This was a challenging decision for us - we knew it could mean lower prices and a much higher risk because of...

Alaska Fishing Updates For November 2020

This is Alaska Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch – Lots of fishing continues across Alaska.

A preliminary wrap up of Alaska’s 2020 salmon fishery shows that communities will be hurting in terms of fish tax revenues this coming year. The value of salmon landings is down by half or much more in every region of Alaska, compared to 2019.

The total Alaska catch of just under 117 million salmon was down 44%  and the value that barely topped $295 million was a 56% decrease, when adjusting for inflation the lowest value since 2006... 

ANALYSIS: Number of Salmon Promotions at Retail on Pace with 2019; Fresh Market Ends the Week Mixed 

As of this writing, the farmed salmon market out of Chile is seeing supplies adequate to even barely adequate. The market did see a $0.10 uptick on all sizes of fresh Atlantic Chilean salmon fillets at the back end of the week. Most market participants are reporting that current supplies were falling short of buyers’ needs.

Some reasoning behind the barely adequate supplies from some of the Chilean importers varies. A few market participants have mentioned that COVID cases are...

Salmon Catches, Values Decline Across the Board for 2020

This is Alaska Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch.

Decreases across the board sums up Alaska’s 2020 salmon season.

A summary of the preliminary harvests and values by the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game shows that Alaska’s total catch came in at just under 117 million salmon, a 44% decrease from last season’s haul of 208.3 million fish and the 13th lowest on record.

The salmon value of $295.2 million is a whopping 56% decrease from last season’s $673.4 million, and when adjusted for inflation, the lowest value since...

JAPAN: September Imports of Seafood Decreased by 11%, Value Decreased By 14%

According to the preliminary trade statistics released by the Ministry of Finance on October 19, the quantity of seafood imports in September decreased by 10.6% from the same month of the previous year to 143,857 tons. The amount decreased by 14.2% to 104,409 million yen ($1,010.1 million). In each country/region excluding the European Union (EU), the amount decreased from the previous year, of which the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the United States, Russia, etc. showed double-digit declines, reported Minato Shimbun...

Norway Royal Salmon Q3 Earnings Hit Hard Due to Low Salmon Price, Production Costs

Norway Royal Salmon (NRS) reported an operational EBIT of NOK 35 million (USD $3.8 million) and an EBIT per kg of NOK 4.21 (USD $0.46) for the third quarter of fiscal year 2020, a noticeable drop off of NOK 131 and NOK 19.60 for Q3 2019, respectively.

NRS attributed the earnings dip to seasonally low salmon prices impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It also noted high production costs related to the harvest of a generation of fish...

Russia, Japan and US to Design Joint Solutions to Deal with Reduced Salmon Catch This Year

Russia plans to attract the US and Japan to find a solution of the problem of poor salmon catch this year, according to recent statements, made by head of the Russian Federal Agency for Fisheries (Rosrybolovstvo) Ilya Shestakov

According to authorities of the Russian Primorsky Krai, this year the volume of salmon catch in the country’s territorial waters is significantly lower than initially expected figures for 2020. A spokesman of the Primorye authorities said if last year 297,000 tonnes of salmon were caught in the Far East...

Norway Hits Salmon Export Record, Seafood Value at Reach Near-record Numbers

The Norwegian Seafood Council said that despite “flare-ups of the coronavirus pandemic in many markets,” exports remained at a high level. The Council also noted the highest salmon export volumes ever for the month of October.

In October, Norway exported NOK 10.4 billion worth of seafood, a decrease of five percent compared to last October but still the third-highest total export value for a single month.

Overall, Norwegian seafood exports have reached NOK 87.2 billion in 2020, at the same mark as last year’s record number...

The Winding Glass: How Last Night’s Muddled Election May Impact our Industry

[The Winding Glass is an opinion and commentary column by John Sackton, Founder of SeafoodNews]

I admit to wearing rose colored glasses. I thought yesterday would lead to a clear Biden win, a reset of our national conversation, and a new commitment to serious fiscal stimulus, aid to states, and governance by science.

This is roughly the type of policy we have seen in countries who have controlled the pandemic, and now have growing economies:  China, S. Korea, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, Vietnam, for example. It is not what we are seeing in Europe or the U.S.

After last night, I no longer think we will see much change...

A New and Possibly Bigger Blow to China’s Qingdao Seafood Market

Recently live coronavirus has been found on some cod package in Qingdao, which exerts destructive influence on the local seafood market during its rebound. Sales of some of the most imported species have plummeted after the news due to public concern about food safety. Domestic seafood has also been suffering collateral damage.

According to Zhang, a local seller specializing in imported seafood, his daily revenue has decreased by over 90% compared with before, and has also been much lower than that during the Chinese New Year...

Sernapesca Confirms ISAv in Los Lagos Region, Notifies of Suspicion in Aysén Region

The Infectious Salmon Anemia virus (ISAv) in the Los Lagos region has been confirmed by Sernapesca, Chile’s National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service.

Sernapesca released a news release last Tuesday stating that they had received positive results for ISAv at a farm owned by Granja Marina Tornagaleones SA. Veterinarians with the agency had entered the farm the day prior to evaluate the sanitary conditions of the fish and environment of the center. During that inspection the veterinarians performed a necropsy on specimens “in search of the signology of...

LISTEN: Indoor Dining Updates; Salmon at Retail; Coronavirus on Shrimp Packaging and More

Join SeafoodNews Podcast co-hosts Amanda Buckle and Lorin Castiglione as they talk about indoor dining restrictions; salmon at retail; the latest on tilapia and coronavirus found on shrimp packaging in China.

This episode of the SeafoodNews Weekly Video is brought to you by Urner Barry's Reporter. The Winter Issue will be getting sent out this December, but there is still time to advertise! Call 732-240-5330 or email advertise@urnerbarry.com to learn more.

JAPAN: September Frozen Scallop Exports to China, Taiwan and U.S. Decrease

According to Japan's Ministry of Finance's September trade statistics, seafood exports (seafood and its preparations and fishmeal) were down 2% year-on-year in volume and down 8% in value. Among the main items, frozen scallops were sluggish, while yellowtail fillets turned positive, reported Minato Shimbun.

Sales of frozen scallops to China, which is the mainstay, decreased by 31% to 3,918 tons. The amount decreased by 40% to 1,197 million yen ($11.46 million). For Taiwan, the quantity decreased by 37% to 180 tons, and the amount decreased by...

Lusamerica Foods Distributing Atlantic Sapphire’s Miami Bluehouse Salmon to West Coast

This month the first harvest of Bluehouse salmon from Atlantic Sapphire’s land-based aquaculture facility in Miami entered local stores in Florida. Now, Lusamerica Foods is helping Atlantic Sapphire’s Bluehouse salmon make its way across the country. 

“We’ve offered Bluehouse salmon for years at Lusamerica, but it’s exciting to start distributing their domestic product coming from their Miami plant,” said Peter Adam, Lusamerica’s Communications and Sustainability Manager. “This is especially great for businesses who are prioritizing climate change and working to reduce their carbon footprint...

Blumar Introduces Corona Tracer to Increase COVID-19 Security Measures

Salmones Blumar is taking extra precautions to increase safety measures amid the coronavirus pandemic. The company announced that they have implemented new technology, including the Corona Tracer, an autonomous, small-format device used during the work day that measures the distance and interaction between people for 14 days. According to Maribel Varela, Head of Occupational Health and Safety at Blumar, the introduction of the Corona Tracer is meant to verify the contacts of collaborators in their work environment, and carry out demonstrable traceability in the case of someone testing...

Bambino’s Baby Food Adds Salmon Teething Strips

This is Alaska Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch – Frozen sockeye salmon strips for teething babies. More on Bambino’s latest after this --

Frozen sockeye salmon strips bring tasty nutrition and relief to teething babies. It’s the latest offering by Bambino’s Baby Food, made in Anchorage. Zoi Maroudas is the creator and producer of the new salmon strips -

“The coldness feels great on their little gums. It also helps the salmons trip a little bit more firm. Also we have no preservatives in any of our meals and we want to lock in the...

California, Oregon, Tribes, Dam Owner Agree to Historic Dam Removal Plan for Salmon

Watch out, Klamath River dams -- you're outta there!

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown joined California Gov. Gavin Newsom, leaders of the Yurok and Karuk Tribes and Berkshire Hathaway-owned PacifiCorp Tuesday in announcing an agreement to advance the most ambitious salmon restoration effort in history, the parties said in a press release. The project, when completed, will address declines in fish populations, improve river health and renew Tribal communities and cultures.

The Memorandum of Agreement signed by Oregon and California, the Yurok Tribe, the Karuk ...

Norway Royal Salmon, Midt-Norsk Havbruk Terminate Merger Talks

Salmon farmers Norway Royal Salmon and Midt-Norsk Havbruk announced their talks of a merger have been terminated.

Back in October, Norway Royal stated it was in talks with Midt-Norsk Havbruk about a potential merger. However, the two companies could not come to an agreement and their respective business operations will continue as normal.

Earlier this month, NRS reported a notable earnings dip thanks to COVID-19 impacting salmon prices and production costs...

Bakkafrost Announces 100% ASC Certification, Report Q3 Results

Faroese salmon farmer Bakkafrost announced that all of its Faroe Island farms are certified to the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) standard for responsible aquaculture. The company also released its financial results for the third quarter, where its operational EBIT was DKK 102.7 million ($16.3 million USD), about 200 million less than Q3 2019.

“During this quarter, the global salmon market has again been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, putting pressure on the salmon industry and affecting the financial returns across the industry negatively,” Bakkafrost CEO Region Jacobsen said...

October Sales at Toyosu Wholesale Market Up 3% to $350 Million

The total transaction volume of seven fisheries wholesalers in the Tokyo Toyosu market in October (preliminary figures, before tax) was 36,798 tons, 35,917 million yen ($347.5 million), up 3% from the same month of the previous year. The transaction value of sushi seafood, which had been sluggish due to the drop in demand for food services due to the  coronavirus epidemic, recovered to a 10% increase from the same month of the previous year for most wholesalers. The "Go To Campaign" seems to have...

AKVA Group Invests $3.2 Million in Ecofisk Land-based Salmon Project

AKVA group announced that its land-based subsidiary has signed an engineering and design contract with Norwegian-based company Ecofisk.

Ecofisk plans to build a new land-based grow-out facility of 5,000 tonnes at Espevik, Norway. The company holds a license to produce up to 40,000 tonnes of salmon.

AKVA is chosen as the preferred supplier and the final delivery contract for the initial 5,000 tonnes, if awarded, has a value of approx. EUR 45 million, the company said in a press release...

PHOTOS: Kvarøy Arctic Brings Salmon Hotdogs to Voters in Underserved Communities

Voters in underserved communities received free salmon hotdogs yesterday, courtesy of Kvarøy Arctic. The family-owned sustainable salmon brand from Norway set up pop-up salmon hot dog stands in six cities across the U.S. on election day. A rep for the company confirmed to SeafoodNews that they served close to 5,000 salmon hotdogs. 

The pop-up salmon hot dog stands was part of Kvarøy Arctic’s “Feed the Vote, Feed the Future” campaign. 

“Understanding people often cast their vote during prime meal teams, Kvarøy Arctic chose to pop-up...

AquaBounty Preparing to Send Out Initial AquAdvantage Salmon Product Samples

It’s full steam ahead for AquaBounty Technologies. 

On Tuesday the land-based aquaculture technology released their financial results for the third quarter and nine months ending September 30, 2020. As part of these results the company also released a corporate update, revealing that they’re on track for their first-ever harvest of AquAdvantage Salmon (AAS).

“The third quarter of 2020 was marked by our continued progress towards the first-ever commercial scale harvest of AquAdvantage salmon,” said AquaBounty CEO Sylvia Wulf. “In the second quarter, we successfully started harvesting...

ANALYSIS: Farmed Salmon Retail Promotions Up; Average Price at Retail Down

The fresh farmed salmon market struggles have been well documented over the last several months. Volatility in the marketplace has been quite common during the past year, prior to the start of the pandemic. As we look back to around this time last year, social unrest in Chile lead to protesting and rioting, which greatly affected production and therefore supply in the U.S. marketplace. 

Prior to the protesting in Chile in October 2019, the 3-4 pounds Chilean fillet...

AquaBounty Technologies Identifies Potential Location For 10,000 Metric Ton Salmon Farm

AquaBounty Technologies is eyeing Mayfield, Kentucky, as a potential location for their new large-scale farm.

AquaBounty conducted an exhaustive nationwide search for their first large-scale commercial facility, and ultimately found Mayfield to be the frontrunner after evaluating approximately 230 sites. The land-based aquaculture company's current operating farm in Albany, Indiana, has an annual production capacity of 1,200 metric tons. The new location will have an annual production capacity of 10,000 metric tons, which is about eight times the size of the current operating farm...