West Coast Cable Removal Could Open New Fishing Grounds

An old trans-Pacific cable system from Oregon to China is scheduled to be removed this month, which is good news for trawlers. Not only will removal open up new fishing grounds, but it will reduce the risk of a trawl net snagging a cable on the ocean floor.

The China-US (CHUS) system cables off Whisky Run, just south of Cape Arago near Coos Bay, Ore., are scheduled to be recovered Mertech Marine, a global cable submarine telecommunication cable recycling company based in South Africa...

Chinese Market Welcomes Large Shrimp, but Small Shrimp Also Expected to Sell During Holidays

During late August, shrimp prices have begun to rise in South China. As available statistics show, depending on their sizes, the increase ranges between 0.5 yuan ($0.07 USD) to 2 yuan ($0.28 USD) per jin (1 jin=0.5 kg) compared with prices in mid-August in Zhuhai of Guangdong. And in Beihai of Guangxi, the increase is between 2 yuan ($0.28 USD) to 3 yuan ($0.42 USD) per jin.

In North China, prices...

Quarantine Lifted at NaturalShrimp’s Texas Facility

The Texas Park and Wildlife Department and U.S. Department of Agriculture/Animal Plant Health Inspection Services lifted the quarantine at NaturalShrimp Inc. at its facility in La Coste, Texas.

The quarantine was initially put in place to due to a detection of hematopoietic virus (IHHNV). After working with both USDA and TPWD NaturalShrimp was able to remove IHHNV from its facility.

“Although this virus was not caused by NaturalShrimp or our systems, we are happy to help with the eradication of this virus at our facility,” said Gerald Easterling, CEO...

FDA Refuses Antibiotic-Contaminated Shrimp from India and China in August

For August, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported two out of the 72 (2.8%) total seafood entry line refusals were of shrimp for reasons related to banned antibiotics, the Southern Shrimp Alliance said in a press release.

Through the first two-thirds of the year, the FDA has refused a total of 52 entry lines of shrimp for reasons related to veterinary drug residues, compared to 53 during all of last year and 55 in all of 2017.

The two shrimp ...

Chia Tai Group Expands Shrimp Aquaculture and Develops New Sales Channels

Chia Tai Group aims to become the shrimp king in the global market, and it seems capable of achieving that thanks to its advantages in shrimp aquaculture and sales channels. For example, it has built Asia’s largest facility for breeding white shrimp seed in Hainan of China, and it has some other seed facilities in other Chinese provinces like Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and Zhejiang.

Statistics show that net profit exceeds 50,000 yuan ($6,964 USD) per Mu...

Optimism Prevails in Vietnam for Seafood Exports, Despite Early 2019 Contraction

China has been one of the largest buyers of Vietnam’s seafood, but during the first half of this year, its imports from Vietnam declined by 2.3% compared with the same period last year. This reduction is said to result primarily from China’s higher standards regarding imported seafood, according to media sources.

It is widely agreed that China’s total seafood imports have been on the rise within recent years and it is very likely to continue to do so in the coming years. As statistics show, its seafood imports have...

Urner Barry Adding New Shrimp Items to Seafood Price Current

Urner Barry will be adding new shrimp items to the Seafood Price Current. Comtell subscribers will soon be able to access this expanded coverage, which includes 110-150 count and 100-200 count.

These new items come a week after Urner Barry announced the addition of frog legs, Chilean mussels and crawfish to their seafood market coverage.

For information on the new shrimp items you can reach out to market reporters Jim Kenny (jkenny@urnerbarry.com) or Gary Morrison (gmorrison@urnerbarry.com). For more information on...

NaturalShrimp Enters Agreement With Hydrenesis to Expand Into Growing Other Aquatic Species

Texas-based aquaculture company NaturalShrimp, and their majority-owned technology subsidiary, Natural Aquatic Systems, announced on Tuesday that they have entered into an agreement with Hydrenesis, Inc. on a new, patent-pending, anti-oxidant treatment.  The new treatment, called Hydrogas, would allow NaturalShrimp and Natural Aquatic Systems to expand their first commercially-viable system for growing aquatic species indoors. In addition to growing shrimp, the company would be able to grow other aquatic species, like barramundi, salmon and tilapia...

Russia Eyes Significant Growth in Coldwater Shrimp Production, Warmwater Imports

Russia plans to significantly increase the production of shrimp as well as their imports to the country in years to come, according to recent statements made by some senior officials of the Russian Rosrybolovstvo and industry analysts.

According to latest data of Rosrybolovstvo, shrimp imports to Russia last year amounted to about 40,000 tonnes. In value terms, they were equivalent to about $250 million USD. For the last several years the annual growth rate of foreign shrimp supplies to Russian has been about 10%...

ANALYSIS: Shrimp Imports Climb Again in June

June imports were released today and the trend of monthly year-over-year growth remained intact. Shipments to the U.S. in June were 6.6 percent higher than June 2018. This has narrowed the total imports year-to-date to near parity with the first half of last year. Shipments currently lag last year by only 0.6 percent.

The top four countries, India (+16.1%), Indonesia (+5.6%), Ecuador (+31.3%), and Vietnam (+10.0%), along with Mexico (+135.4%) all showed gains and overpowered any lower imports by other trade partners...

Louisiana Department of Health to Begin Enforcing Shrimp, Crawfish Labeling at Restaurants Beginning September 1

Beginning September 1, Louisiana's health department will begin enforcing a new law that requires restaurants to inform their customers if they are selling imported shrimp or crawfish.

As SeafoodNews reported back in May, House Bill 335, which requires restaurants to disclose whether they serve imported shrimp or crawfish, passed with the Louisiana House and Senate's unanimous support. The Bill was written by Rep. Jerry "Truck" Gisclair Larose as a way to "protect Louisiana consumers from the health risks associated with chemicals and...

Gulf of Mexico June Shrimp Landings Slightly Higher than in Previous Years; Overall Landings Still Down

NMFS is reporting that shrimp landings in the Gulf of Mexico last month were slightly higher than in June last year and also in 2017 -- but still below the 17-year historic average.

The Fishery Monitoring Branch of the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center released shrimp landings data from the Gulf of Mexico for June 2019 this week. The data showed June landings of 11.1 million pounds were higher than the 10.9 million pounds in June 2018 and June 2017, the Southern Shrimp Alliance...

Southern Shrimp Alliance Mourns Former President and Industry Leader Elaine Knight

The Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) is mourning the loss of one of the original organizers, Elaine Walker Knight, who passed away on July 15.

"The shrimp industry has lost one of its most formidable and capable advocates with the untimely passing of Elaine Knight," said John Williams, Executive Director of the Southern Shrimp Alliance. "Miss Elaine was a rock-solid pillar of our industry to whom we all owe a huge dept of appreciation and gratitude."

SSA is made up of...

China's Value as Huge Shrimp Market Results in Both Foreign Winners and Losers

With China’s new generation of consumers attaching more and more importance to a healthy lifestyle, seafood has become increasingly popular in the Asian market. It is luring seafood suppliers all over the world with its great market potential, according to media reports. This year, some suppliers have seen increases in their shrimp exports to China, but some have not.

India is one of the winners in promoting its shrimps to this oriental country. In May alone, it sold...

Alaskans Own Delivers For a Decade

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

Sitka-based Alaskans Own seafood delivery service is celebrating 10 years of providing locally caught fish not to Outsiders, but to Alaskans, the majority of whom can’t get their hands on the best fish out there.  

“It’s a crazy statistic that one percent of the seafood that is caught in Alaska stays in Alaska, so 99 percent is exported.”

Natalie Armstrong is outreach assistant for Alaskans Own, a Community Supported Fishery project of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association...

Louisiana Lawmakers Ask Secretary Ross to Review Impacts to Louisiana's Fishery Resources

Louisiana lawmakers submitted a letter to United States Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross requesting him to use his authority under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management Act and the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act to "begin immediate review of impacts to Louisiana's fishery resources and local economies."

Louisiana fishermen have been struggling this season as a result of floodwaters. In addition, the United States Army Corps of Engineers opened up the Bonnet Carré Spillway twice this year in an effort to relieve pressure on the adjacent levee system...

Wild American Shrimp Calls for 2019 Chef of the Year Nominations

The American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA) marketing program, Wild American Shrimp, is calling for nominations for the 2019 Chef of the Year award.

Out of 38 advocates who represent the program, one “Admiral of Advocacy” will be named in 2019.

Nominees of the award must meet certain criteria including: displaying how they promoted Wild America Shrimp through social media, television appearances, and other avenues; philanthropic and sustainability efforts; have restaurants that feature multiple shrimp dishes; and one or more culinary excellence awards...

Tyson Ventures Announces in New Wave Foods 

Tyson Ventures, a corporate venture subsidiary of Tyson Foods announced its investment in New Wave Foods.

New Wave Foods is a San Francisco based company that produces plant-based shellfish. The company plans to release a shrimp alternative to the foodservice sector by 2020.

“We’re excited about this investment in the fast-growing segment of the plant-based protein market,” said Amy Tu, president of Tyson Ventures. “This continues our focus of identifying and investing in companies with disruptive products and breakthrough technologies related to our core business so we can continue to..."

Red Lobster Announces Endless Shrimp Lineup

Endless Shrimp is back at Red Lobster. For only $15.99 guests can eat as much shrimp as they can handle with Red Lobster’s new shrimp dishes.

The Endless Shrimp deal begins as guests pick a pair of shrimp dishes, and when those are done, they will be able to order another until their hunger is satisfied. Each meal will be accompanied by a salad, side and everyone’s favorite Cheddar Bay Biscuits.

The lineup for Endless Shrimp includes...

NMFS, SSA Report Poor Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Landings in July

Shrimp landings in the Gulf of Mexico have been some of the worst in recent history, according to the Fishery Monitoring Branch of the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center and the Southern Shrimp Alliance.

NMFS reported shrimp landings in the Gulf for July were only 7 million pounds, well below the 7.9 million pounds in July 2018 and the 8 million pounds in July 2017. The July commercial shrimp landings were 37.8 percent below the prior 17-year historic average...

Department of Commerce Releases Final Results of Antidumping Duty Review on Shrimp from Vietnam

In April the Department of Commerce published in the Federal Register the preliminary results of the 13th administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain warmwater shrimp from Vietnam. The Department of Commerce has since released the final results of the antidumping administrative review, and determined that sales by Fimex VN and Nha Trang Seaproduct Company were "not made below normal value" during the period of review from February 1, 2017 and January 31, 2018.

Following the announcement of the final result...

China’s Shrimp Imports Expected To Rise And So Are The Prices

Imported seafood has become increasingly popular in the Chinese market. Last year China's import value was said to have increased by US$3.62 billion to reach US$11.91 billion, while volume increased to about 7.6 million tons. Imports are estimated to exceed 10 million tons in 2020.

Shrimp are among the most widely received foreign seafood in this oriental country. As customs statistics show, in 2018 China’s shrimp import on paper ballooned from the previous 48,300 tons to 161,800 tons...

VIDEO: Bumble Bee Bankruptcy; Retail Snow Crab; Status of Stocks 2018; and Indian Shrimp Volume

Join SeafoodNews Weekly Video hosts Lorin Castiglione and Ryan Doyle as they discuss recent reports of Bumble Bee opting for bankruptcy; the uptick in snow crab retail features; NOAA's 2018 Status of the Stocks report; and disagreements on the outlook of Indian shrimp volumes.

This episode was brought to you by Maine Lobster. Maine Lobster season is here, and although the traditional butter and lemon pairings are delicious, there are many ways to enjoy lobster...

Experts Disagree on Outlook for Indian Shrimp Volume, as Some See Significant Drop from Diseases

There is considerable disagreement among the shrimp farming and processing community on exactly what is happening with Indian shrimp production for the second half of fiscal 2019 (from September to March).

The points of agreement are that farmers reduced stocking 20% to 40% during the February - March period compared to last year, based largely on the commodity cycle which depressed prices following record production in 2018.

Since then, prices in the US market have recovered...

China’s Shrimp Prices Contract; Farmers Losing Money and Facing Tough Times

Shrimp prices have been declining in China’s Pearl River Delta (PRD) region and western Guangdong during in mid-July, because continually high temperature has led to great quantities of sick or weak shrimp. As statistics show, overall prices have dropped by about 1 yuan/jin ($01.4/jin USD) to 2 yuan/jin (1 jin=0.5 kg; $0.28/jin USD) in the PRD region.

Farmers in the two regions are forced to cut farm gate prices, and traders have had to...

China’s Customs Operation Effectively End Most Ecuador White Shrimp Smuggling

Large quantities of Ecuador’s white shrimps used to be smuggled into China through its border trade with Vietnam. However, thanks to Chinese customs operations, such smuggling cases have been slashed to a great extent. More white shrimp are imported into China from Ecuador legally now and this kind of smuggling seems to be coming to an end, according to media reports.

As statistics show, Ecuador sold 33,587 tons of white shrimp to China in June, which has rose by 21% compared with May. The export value increased by 23% to...

LISTEN: Gorton's Seafood CEO Retires; Publix Announces Seafood Labeling Program and More

Join SeafoodNews Podcast hosts Lorin Castiglione and Ryan Doyle as they discuss the retirement of Gorton Seafood's CEO; the new seafood labeling program at Publix; Washington Governor Jay Inslee's tour of projects aiding salmon recovery; and much more!

This week's episode is brought to you by Maine Lobster. Summer means that it's officially lobster season in Maine. Between June and July lobsters in the cold waters of the Gulf of Maine shed their shells and the result is Maine New Shell Lobster...

Vietnam’s Low Basa Prices Produce Ripple Effect in China; Shrimp Sector Likely to Boost Exports

In early July, prices of Vietnam’s basa are reported to have dropped to the lowest level within the past three years, according to industry and media reports. Large basa are sold at only 19,500 VND per kg ($0.84/kg USD), which has declined by about 10,000 VND per kg ($0.43/kg USD) compared with January.

This is bad news for Vietnam’s basa industry and also buyers from China, who predicted further price increases due to the trade war...

ASPA Reinforces That Commercial Wild-Caught Shrimp from Gulf of Mexico is Safe to Eat

It's "business as usual" for the commercial wild-caught shrimp industry in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA). The ASPA released a statement earlier this week reinforcing that wild-caught shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico remains safe to eat, despite reports about a freshwater influx due to flooding in the Midwest and close-to-shore algae blooms.

"The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR) is continuing to test water and fish samples to ensure seafood safety in...

Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Fishery to Re-Open Off Texas on July 15

Shrimp fishing will re-open in both state and federal waters off of Texas on Monday, July 15.

The official time for shrimp trawling to begin is 30 minutes after official sunset, NMFS said in a notice. That corresponds to the time when Texas also opens its waters.

The season closed on May 15. The closure typically happens this time of year to all brown shrimp to grow to more valuable sizes prior to harvest and also to avoid ...