ANALYSIS: October Marks the Second-Highest Month on Record for EU‑UK Shrimp Imports

October proved the strongest month of the year for EU‑UK shrimp imports, according to Eurostat, with volumes up 9.2% year‑on‑year and 15.9% above the five‑year October average. Purchases totaled 72,381 metric tons, the second‑highest monthly volume on record (behind November 2021 at 72,866 MT). The surge reflects robust summer consumption that prompted substantial replacement buying and strengthened year‑end stocking. Year‑to‑date imports since January are 7.1% higher than a year earlier, confirming a positive trend across the region...

$400K Costco-Bound Lobster Shipment Hijacked in Cargo Theft

A $400,000 shipment of shelled lobster destined for Costco stores in Illinois and Minnesota was hijacked en route, with Rexing Companies claiming the theft was carried out by a driver impersonating a legitimate carrier, in what the company calls a targeted act linked to organized cargo crime rings.

Dylan Rexing, the head of Indiana-based The Rexing Companies, said his company was managing the lobster shipment from a Tauton, Massachusetts facility that was destined for the Costco locations.

“It is pretty safe to say that this...

Russian Far East King Crab Price Dropped 6% to $37.50 per Kilo at the Second Bussan Auction

The second bidding round of the year for frozen king crab from the Russian Far East took place on December 18th in Busan, South Korea. According to one trading company, 14 tons of cooked, air-blast-frozen crab (10kg fixed weight) produced in mid-November was up for bid. The winning bid (M-3L single price, EXW Busan) was $37.50/kg, 6% lower than the initial bid, and it appears that a single South Korean trading company won the entire...

Pescafácil Partners with OMARSA as Lamar Group Exits After Venezuela Turmoil

Spanish processor Pescafácil has entered a new growth phase after Ecuadorian shrimp giant OMARSA acquired shares in the company and the Llop family joined Pescafácil's board, the company announced.

The ownership change follows the departure of Venezuela's Lamar Group, which put its stake up for sale last year after political developments in Venezuela forced it to abandon shrimp farming operations. Pescafácil said Lamar had been a partner for seven years.

OMARSA, Ecuador's second-largest exporter of vannamei shrimp, has supplied Pescafácil for nearly 25 years and now takes...

Op-Ed by Ambassador Jamieson Greer: The Year of the Tariff

WASHINGTON – United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer published an op-ed in The Financial Times explaining how President Trump’s trade program is accelerating America’s re-industrialization, incentivizing domestic production with improved market access for US exports.

The full text of the op-ed is below:

The year 2025 will be remembered as the year of the tariff, regardless of one’s economic ideology. International trade is neither good nor bad — it just is. The real question is whether trade patterns serve the national interest...

Expana Publication Schedule for the 2025 Holiday Period

Expana will be observing several holidays which will impact the publication of some Expana Benchmark Prices. Daily assessments falling on these dates will not be published, while weekly assessments falling on these dates will be assessed on the last working day before these dates.

Expana's Market Insights and Market Updates will be suspended from Monday, December 22, 2024, to Friday, January 2, 2025, inclusive. Normal publishing schedules will resume on Monday, January 5, 2025.

See the publication schedule for the 2025 Holiday Period...

Mitsubishi‑owned Cermaq Boosts Capital in Norway, Canada Subsidiaries to Fund Grieg Seafood Purchase

Mitsubishi-owned salmon farmer Cermaq Group will inject fresh equity into three of its holding companies, Cermaq Holding AS, Cermaq Norway Holding AS and CQ Canada Holding Ltd, to fund the purchase of three salmon-farming operations from Grieg Seafood in Northern Norway and Canada’s east and west coasts.

As a result, each of these subsidiaries will now exceed one-tenth of Mitsubishi’s own capital and are newly classified as “specified subsidiaries” under Japanese reporting standards.

Cermaq announced its acquisition of Grieg Seafood’s operations in Finnmark...

Mace Reintroduces Bill To Protect American Fishermen Against IUU and Foreign Interference

Last Friday, South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace reintroduced the Protect American Fisheries Act of 2025, which would amend Section 312(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), the section addressing disaster declarations. 

Mace originally introduced House Resolution 6150 on November 19, 2025 with eight co-sponsors, 5 Republicans and 3 Democrats, from Maine, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas.  

Last week, the reintroduction was accompanied by statements from 15 industry groups from New England to Texas, and one from Hawaii in support...

Captain Fresh‑Owned CenSea Acquires Ocean Edge, Expands Lobster and Crab Offerings

Captain Fresh-owned US seafood importer CenSea has acquired Ocean Edge, a move aimed at strengthening its crab and lobster portfolio.

CenSea described Ocean Edge as a specialist in lobster and crab, saying the deal will deepen its premium lobster offerings and establish formal crab capabilities alongside its core shrimp business.

Founded in 2006, Ocean Edge has grown into a premium crustacean supplier, sourcing from Canada, Honduras, and South Africa. The brand’s range also includes imitation crab marketed under the Ocean Edge label...

2026 Will Be Another Strong Year for Sitka Herring

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) announced last week that the guideline harvest level (GHL) for the 2026 Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery is 35,015 tons with a forecasted weight of 156 grams, averaged across all age classes.  

The forecast is based on an estimated biomass of 233,433 tons of mature herring, a slight (6%) decrease from the year-ago forecast of 247,081 tons. 

Two new management changes were made at the Board of Fisheries meeting in late January and early February 2025 that impacted the GHL...

ANALYSIS: US Shrimp Consumption Edges Up in 2025; Costs, Inventories Shape Near‑Term Outlook

Our preliminary per‑capita consumption estimates for 2025 indicate a mild increase versus 2024, effectively a flat year in practical terms. Demand in our framework is driven by inflation‑adjusted prices (real prices), population growth and net supply, where net supply is modeled from imports and an inferred inventory “clearing” rate. Inventories are estimated using price elasticities with respect to lagged and transformed imports, applying an assumed clearing rate to approximate the product absorbed each period...

A Tale of Two Whales, How Gray and Humpbacks Face Ecosystem Change In the Pacific Arctic

Two new studies, one from Oregon State University and one from the University of Southern Denmark, show the stark differences in how gray whales and humpback whales find food in the northern Bering Sea and the Chukchi Sea of the Arctic Ocean. 

The first study “Changing the Menu: Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) Diet Switching in Senyavin Strait, Chukotka” was published in September by Marine Mammal Science with funding from the Russian Science Foundation. 

For University of Southern Denmark whale researcher...

ANALYSIS: US Lobster Market Ends Year with Modest Demand and Depressed Prices

As Christmas draws near, a wave of last-minute holiday interest has provided the live lobster market with a modest lift. For much of December, demand lagged behind seasonal expectations, marked by plentiful supply and a lack of urgency from buyers. Although this week has seen a slight improvement tied to holiday-driven orders, overall market activity remains subdued compared to typical year-end trends...

Russia Eyes Haddock and Pollock as Alternatives Amid Cod Decline

Russia continues to face declining cod catches due to low stock levels and changing climatic conditions, adversely affecting production.

To compensate, local analysts suggest increasing haddock and pollock catches as possible replacements for cod.

German Zverev, head of the All-Russian Association of Fish Producers (VARPE), told Kommersant that cod has an unfortunate history—200–250 years ago, it was the main commercial target for Russian fishermen. However, high demand combined with natural factors has led to overexploitation of cod populations in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...

Hokkaido Fall Chum Stocks Collapsed to Levels of 50 Years Ago

This year's fall chum salmon migration to Hokkaido is experiencing a historic low, comparable to catches observed in the 1970s, when hatching and release technology was in its infancy. Koichi Urabe, senior researcher at the Hokkaido Research Institute's Salmon and Inland Fisheries Research Station, reflected on this year at a meeting of the Hokkaido Set-Net Fisheries Association on December 10th, and expressed concern about the rapid decline in salmon resources due to global warming, according to a report in the Minato Shimbun...

ANALYSIS: Tariffs and MMPA Reshape the US Crab Meat Import Landscape

Elevated tariffs are reshaping the US crab meat import market, but the most notable development in the near term could be Venezuela’s approaching regulatory deadline. With less than two weeks left before Marine Mammal Protection Act restrictions take effect, and no stay granted, there is growing uncertainty over the lack of Venezuelan product in the US market. The removal of Venezuelan product would mark the loss of a long-standing supplier of fresh crab meat that has supported processors and foodservice operator...

Calif. Opens Portions of Dungeness Season With Gear Reductions; Wash. and Ore Open Soon Too

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Friday that portions of the state’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery will open in early January following the completion of a risk assessment by Director Charlton H. Bonham. 

Also late Friday, Washington and Oregon Departments of Fish and Wildlife announced non-tribal crab seasons north of Cape Falcon, Ore., with Dec. 31 and Jan. 4, 2026, opening dates.  

According to the CDFW Director's Declaration, Fishing Zones 3, 4 and 5 — stretching from south...