Newfoundland and Labrador Price Setting Panel Sides With FFAW on Cold Water Shrimp Price

The Newfoundland and Labrador Price Setting Panel has made a decision regarding the summer price for cold water shrimp.

As Urner Barry market reporter Michael Nesbitt previously reported, the FFAW and Association of Seafood Processors (ASP) had a 48 cents price difference regarding summer shrimp. ASP proposed 70 cents per pound compared to the FFAW’s proposal of $1.18 per pound. FFAW said that while they agree the market is trending downward, they also believe that ASP’s recent assessment of the market is not rational...

Applebee’s Brings Back Tex-Mex Shrimp Bowl As They Begin to Reopen Dining Rooms

The Tex-Mex Shrimp Bowl is back at Applebee’s. The restaurant chain is beginning to “welcome back” diners with their line of Irresist-A-Bowl deals. 

“We are excited to ‘Welcome Back’ guests with three great new Irresist-A-Bowls all featured at $7.99,” said Joel Yashinsky, chief marketing officer at Applebee’s. “From the zing of our Southwest Chicken Bowl to the tasty sensations in our Tex Mex Shrimp Bowl or the delectable crunch of our Homestyle Chicken Bowl, there’s something for everyone to enjoy...

Torchy’s Tacos Introduces New Prawn Taco For July’s Taco of the Month

Popular taco chain Torchy’s Tacos is starting the month with a brand new taco: The Prawn Star.

The Prawn Star is Torchy’s “July Taco of the Month” and features coconut lime shrimp ceviche with fresh mango, avocado and cilantro on a crispy tandem tortilla. It’s a new edition to their menu, and debuting for just $5.50 all month long.

“We’re excited to reveal a never-before-seen Taco of the Month that’s perfect for hot summer days,” said Mike Rypka, founder of Torchy’s Tacos...

F3 Fish-Free Feed Competition Registration Extended; Prize Money Doubled 

The organizers of the F3 Fish-Free Feed Competition are extending the  registration deadline due to the coronavirus. And that’s not all. The third year of the challenge - which is being called the “Carnivore Edition” - is also doubling the prize money in each category.

“Due to the fast-changing situation with COVID-19, the F3 Team has made the decision to extend the registration period for the F3 Challenge - Carnivore Edition,” an update on the F3 website reads. “Companies may continue to register until a new deadline is announced...

ANALYSIS: Imports of Shrimp Products from Saudi Arabia Spike

We look for anomalies in data in order to point out trends that may be emerging in the marketplace. One that stood out recently is the increase in shipments from Saudi Arabia. While small in comparison to other supplying countries, deliveries from Saudi Arabia to the U.S. are up 920% through April, totaling 1.12 million pounds. In 2019, we imported a total of 2.15 million pounds and in the previous two years, zero after seeing growth between 2015 and 2016...

U.S. Soybean Export Council Conducting New Trials to Address Concerns in Thai Shrimp Industry

The U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) announced this week that they will be conducting new trials to address concerns regarding White Feces Disease (WFD) in the Thai shrimp industry.

WFD has put a dent in productivity for shrimp farmers, which ultimately has resulted in them suffering a significant economic loss. According to USSEC, “an influential Thai expert” has been telling shrimp farmers in Thailand that high levels of soybean causes WFD in shrimp. However, USSEC says that their research shows the use of soy in shrimp...

Royal Greenland’s Newest Vessel Makes Historic Shrimp Catch

Royal Greenland’s newest vessel, the M/tr Avataq unloaded a record haul of 903 tons of cold-water shrimp, the largest catch ever in a single trip in Greenland’s history.

The Avataq joined the company’s fleet in January 2020, it is the largest vessel in Greenland with a haul capacity of 2850 m3 and with the ability to fish for both cold-water shrimp and Greenland halibut.

With the amount of space available, it was a matter of time, before the trawler would land much more than the usual...

ANALYSIS: April Shrimp Imports Increase 6.2 Percent

April imports were released today and showed another increase over the same month last year, continuing the trend set in the first three months. The data showed a 6.2 percent increase over last April to 113.822 million pounds. Urner Barry Consulting expectations were in-line with actual figures against some others that believed imports would fall because of shutdowns across the globe.

Of our top five trade partners, gains from the consensus top two, India (+25.2%) and Indonesia (+44.6%) overpowered less...

Brazilian Association of Shrimp Breeders Blocks Red Shrimp Imports from Argentina

The Brazilian Association of Shrimp Breeders (ABCC) announced on Tuesday that they were successful in getting a court to block shrimp imports from Argentina.

An import ban on Argentinean red shrimp due to health concerns was initially put in place in 2013 and was lifted just last June.

According to an appeal filed by ABCC lawyer Dr. Fernanda Mendonça, the importation of Pleoticus muelleri shrimp, also known as Argentine red shrimp, is known to be contaminated by pathogens, which provides a health risk...

Georgia Shrimp Season Opening June 10

Commercial and recreational shrimp harvesters in Georgia will be able to get back in the water beginning Wednesday, June 10 at 8 a.m.

In 2019 the season began on May 29. This year the June 10 opening date was based on data collected by the Coastal Resources Division's Ecological Trawl Monitoring Survey, which showed that the shrimp numbers are "very close" to long term averages. According to the survey, there were many females at late stages of reproductive development still in the creeks and estuaries, which is why...

North Carolina Fisheries Reform Group Set to Take Legal Action Against Commercial Fishing Leaders

The North Carolina Fisheries Reform Group (NCCFRG) filed a 60-day Notice of Claim under the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) targeting the state of North Carolina and members of the commercial shrimp industry.

“We have tried every remedy possible to start reform talks with both the Executive and Legislative Branches of North Carolina, and we were outright dismissed or completely ignored. They had their chance to discuss the issues,” said Joe Albea, a spokesperson for the NCCFRG...

Shrimp Landings Data from NC, Florida Show Record Landings, Confirm Industry Resilience

North Carolina shrimpers had record landings in January and February, according to recent information from the Southern Shrimp Alliance.

The Alliance worked with state and federal agencies to obtain monthly information about shrimp landings on the Atlantic Coast and to develop methods for reporting the data routinely.

NC shrimpers landed 1.73 million pounds of shrimp in January this year, a 1,713 percent above the 16-year historical average for January. February's record was similar, with a 1,652 percent increase over the historical average, ...

China’s Seafood Imports are Recovering Better in the Fishing Off-Season

This May has witnessed the beginning of China’s fishing off-season, and some seafood prices have started to increase. The imported seafood market has also begun to rebound in the Asian country, which is gradually recovering from the coronavirus, though it is still haunted by some uncertainties in the near future.

Since early May, salmon, for example, has seen noticeable increase of both sales and prices in this oriental market. There is even shortage in some regions due to lower supply...

China’s Shrimp Prices Fluctuate; Farmers Advised to Adapt to New Market Conditions

Not so long ago some shrimp farmers in China said they regained confidence from the market rebound and were stocking shrimp for further price increase. However, thing failed to play out as planned. All of a sudden most prices started to contract, while some even plummeted. Farmers are increasingly anxious, and traders feel hesitant in buying.

As available statistics show, in the second week of this month, some shrimp prices dropped by as much as 6 yuan/jin (1 jin=0.5 kilo) in the Pearl River Delta...

Foreign Seafood Suppliers Working to Perform Better in Recovering Chinese Market 

Chinese New Year is usually the biggest shopping carnival in the oriental market, however, things have been turned upside down this year by COVID-19. The fourth quarter of 2019 set a new record with seafood imports increasing by 13% from the previous quarter to US$4.51 billion. But in the blink of an eye, imports started to plummet, and in this first quarter, the number dropped by 27% to around US$3.2 billion from last year’s fourth quarter...

China’s Shrimp Market Overshadowed By Lowering Prices and Difficulties in Aquaculture

Earlier with market rebound, many Chinese farmers had been stocking shrimps and waiting for higher prices. However, in late April, shortly before China’s Labor Day, price contraction started. In the past, price contraction happen after the festival. In addition to lowering prices, some farmers have also had to deal with high disease incidence and some seed problems.

According to one farmer in Zhanjiang, his buyer called him on April 27 to cancel an order, because great quantities of shrimp had flooded into retail markets of...

ANALYSIS: May Shrimp Imports Decline 29.4 Percent

May shrimp imports were released today and in-line with expectations of the first year-over-year decline. That data showed May imports at 83.357 million pounds, 29.4 percent below May 2019. This was near the forecast by Urner Barry Consulting in early June. 

Of our top five trade partners, a change of leadership was seen with gains only from Indonesia (+10.5%), pushing this country to the number one spot. Less shrimp was shipped from India (-57.8%), Ecuador (-25.2%), Vietnam (-8.7%), and...

Norpac Fisheries Export Recalls Shrimp Poke Due to Listeria Monocytogenes

Norpac Fisheries Export recalled all of its fresh Garlic Shrimp Poke distributed in the Hawaiian Island between May 11, 2020 and June 25, 2020 because it had the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The product was distributed in Hawaii on The Big Island, Maui, Oahu, and Kauai through its retail customers, specifically Safeway Stores.

According to a release from the company posted on the FDA website, the shrimp poke is distributed as "pre-mixed in plastic pouches and go to service counters and then...

China’s Shrimp Industry is Struggling and Waiting for a Better but Seemingly Far Away Tomorrow

After China’s salmon news, many seafood prices have taken a dive there, and some consumers have removed seafood, both imported and domestic ones, from meals for the sake of health. The whole industry is suffering. Some insiders said that they had been recovering after the Chinese New Year thanks to online sales, but now things are taking a depressing turn again.

Shrimp are among the greatest victims in all this. Some prices are said to have hit unprecedentedly low levels, and panicked farmers are...

NL Government Provides Funding to Shrimp Processing Company

Newfoundland and Labrador’s Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation Bernard Davis announced Martak Canada will receive CAD $126,475 to help support its new shrimp peeling technology.

The funding provided through the Innovation and Business Investment Corporation will help improve the company’s shrimp peeler machine by boosting efficiency and ability to produce higher yield products.

“This project is an instrumental first step to bringing automation and machine learning to the shrimp processing industry,” Matthew French of Martak Canada said. “We’re proud to bring these innovations to the market, not only in Atlantic Canada..."

China’s White Shrimp Market Trapped in Depression

Chinese white shrimp prices have been in decline since early June. Earlier some insiders expected market rebound between late June and early July when there would be lower deposit, however, such a revival seems far from possible now due to large supply from some of its aquaculture regions, prevalent diseases in others and the entry of low-price imported shrimps.

The supply in several places of Jiangsu province peaked in early May, which resulted in continual price contraction. Recently those shrimp are said to have won over...

NaturalShrimp Commits $2.5 Million to Rebuild in LaCoste Following March Fire

NaturalShrimp, the company behind the first commercially viable system for growing shrimp in enclosed, salt-water systems, announced earlier this week that they have decided to rebuild in LaCoste, Texas, following a March fire that destroyed their main building.

CEO Gerald Easterling confirmed on March 18 that a fire had destroyed the main building at their LaCoste facility, which housed their nursery, grow-out tanks and EC machinery. The fire occurred a couple of weeks after the company received two separate 500,000 shipments of postlarvae shrimp...

Shrimp Farmers in China Suffer From a Harsh Market, But There Are Some Luckier Ones

Many shrimp prices declined in the Chinese market at the end of May, and some regions like the Pearl River Delta have seen price decrease between 1 yuan/jin to 4 yuan/jin (1 jin=0.5 kilo) compared with the previous week. Farmers complain about continual price contraction, and seemingly they are far from optimistic about the near future.

There are said to be several factors which contribute to such market depression. First is high disease incidence due to recent changeable weather...

Blue Apron Pushes Shrimp and Salmon With Chef Tim Hollingsworth and HBO Max Partnership

Shrimp and salmon are getting highlighted in Blue Apron’s latest partnerships. The meal kit company announced this week that they have teamed up with award winning chef Tim Hollingsworth to bring new shrimp and salmon recipes to their customers. Plus, a partnership with HBO Max will provide “Big Bang Theory” fans with the perfect shrimp dish to pair with streaming.

Beginning June 29, Blue Apron customers will be able to channel their inner gourmet chef with new, elevated takes on family favorites curated by Chef Hollingsworth...

JAPAN: April Seafood Imports Decreased Further by 20%

According to trade statistics released by the Ministry of Finance on April 28, the value of seafood imports in April was 135,118 million yen ($1.25 million), down 18% from the same month of the previous year. The decrease has widened from the 9% drop in March. All fish species except squid and Itoyori surimi decreased from the same month last year. According to Minato Shimbun analysis, the import volume decreased by 5% to 208,242 tons, and it seems that the unit price of imported marine products is declining due to...

Canada’s Northern Shrimp Harvesters Participating in Pilot Project to Reduce ‘Ghost Fishing’

Northern shrimp harvesters are doing their part to reduce ghost gear. The Canadian Association of Prawn Producers announced this week that their members will be participating in a pilot project that will help clean up the ocean of lost or abandoned fishing gear.

“Canada has made international commitments to reduce ghost fishing gear and harvesters want to help meet those commitments. We commend DFO for recognizing the opportunity in our proposal and approving this pilot project,” stated Mark Quinlan, President of Newfound Resources...

Gulf of Mexico Shrimpers Harvest Another 2 Million Pounds in April

Despite the pandemic, shrimpers in the Gulf of Mexico increased their shrimp landings in April.

The National Marine Fisheries Service Fishery Monitoring Branch of the Southeast Fisheries Science Center released data last week that showed 2.2 million pounds of landings -- the third year in a row they were down for the month of April. The situation was similar in March. The April landings also were 18.5 percent lower than the prior 18-year historical average of 2.8 million pounds for April...

China Puts an End to Shrimp Broodstock Smuggling 

On the early morning of May 12, China’s customs cracked down on a smuggling case of shrimp broodstock. They seized 6 gangs in total, and 11 suspects were held in custody by 8 am that day. On the spot they uncovered 160 cartons containing 1,600 white shrimp broodstock with a value at about 0.8 million yuan.

Further investigation shows that altogether the gangs have smuggled around 46,000 cartons of shrimp broodstock into China. The case value reached about 0.25 billion yuan. Some illegally entered China through its border trade with Vietnam...

TPWD, NOAA Announce Texas Gulf Shrimp Season Closing May 15

The commercial shrimp season in state and federal waters off the coast of Texas will close after official sunset, on May 15, 2020, NOAA announced, the date of re-opening is yet to be determined but the Texas closure ranges from 45 to 90 days.

Typically, the closing date is determined based on samples collected by the Coastal Fisheries Division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) using trawl, bag seine and other information, the Department explained in a press release...

By the Numbers: Japan’s March Seafood Imports and Exports

The Japanese Ministry of Finance announced March import and export statistics. Marine product imports totaled 114,238.50 million yen ($1,076.54 million), down 12.2% from the same month of the previous year. Import volume increased 4.6% to 176,192 tons. Exports decreased by 9.7% year-on-year to 55,424 tons, and the value decreased by 22.1% to 18,163.91 million yen ($171.16 million).

Imports

The products that exceeded both the quantities and value are shrimp, crab, and octopus. The volume of fresh and...