How Seafood and Fisheries Could Benefit From The Proposed Farm Bill

This week Senator John Boozman released the framework for a Senate farm bill that is “farmer-focused.” While the farm bill has primarily centered on meeting the needs of farmers, ranchers, and foresters, the latest framework also addresses fisheries. 

“As the House and Senate continue work on proposed Farm Bill legislation, the emerging framework for the first time reflects a significant focus on fisheries,” National Fisheries Institute President Lisa Wallenda Picard commented in a statement Friday. “Those leading the charge to craft a responsible path forward for...

Praise For Brazil’s New Spiny Lobster Rules

Brazil’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA) and Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture (MPA) recently published a joint ordinance creating an unprecedented rule for  the 2024 season of catches of two different types of spiny lobster: red lobster (Panulirus argus) and green lobster (Panulirus laevicauda). The new rule limits the total allowable catch to 6,192 tons. 

There have been concerns for years about the overexploitation of the fishery, leading to non-profit organization CeDePesca to work on a Brazilian lobster fishery improvement project (FIP). The organization celebrated the adoption of the...

Japan: 2023 Sockeye Salmon Imports Surged by 41% to Over 10,000 Tons

FDA Issues Advisory For Canadian Oysters Potentially Contaminated With PSP

On Wednesday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning advising restaurants and food retailers not to serve certain oysters that were harvested in British Columbia, Canada.

The oysters in question were distributed by Dailyfresh Shellfish, Inc. with lot #240531JM. It’s believed that the oysters, which were harvested from Subarea 23-10 in BC, Canada on May 30, 2024, may be contaminated with toxins that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). This advisory comes about a week after the FDA issued a warning for shellfish harvested from Washington and Oregon due...

Russia Expects Catch of 320,000 Tons of Salmon This Year

Russia expects that its salmon catch during the current salmon fishing season could reach 320,000 tons, according to recent statements made by representatives of the Russian Federal Agency of Fisheries (Rosrybolovstvo).

The salmon fishing season in Russia begins at the end of May. The biggest catch volumes are expected to be in the Kamchatka Territory, where these figures are estimated at 170,000 tonnes.

Among the other centers of salmon catch in Russia are also the Sakhalin region, the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, and the Khabarovsk Territory...

The Retail Rundown: Raising the 'Steaks' for Father’s Day

The Memorial Day and July 4^th holidays are popular burger occasions, whereas Father’s Day is typically geared toward steak consumption. Fittingly, grocers have upped the feature volume for steaks ahead of the upcoming holiday weekend.

Steaks currently make up 43.3% of total retail buying opportunities within the beef complex, up from 37.7% the week prior. Ground beef ads also saw a week-over-week advance, now holding 35.3% of beef’s total retail activity. Feature activity for roasts has eased as fewer households utilize their ovens during the hotter weather.

ANALYSIS: Drop in Conch Imports Tightens U.S. Supply and Begins to Elevate Prices

At the year’s midpoint, the Honduran conch season is coming to a close, resulting in the supply of 100% clean product tightening up and the overall market to firm. According to U.S. Census import data, currently available through April 2024, conch imports into the U.S. totaled 2.25 million on a year to date basis, a 13.5% decrease compared to the same 2023 timeframe. This is the lowest January through April YTD volume since 2021, when imports reported just under...

A Market Survey Revealed 74% of Japanese Consumers Unaware of Seafood Sustainability Certifications

According to the Minato Shimbun report, Yano Research Institute revealed the results of a survey of domestic consumers on May 24. The survey concluded that awareness and purchase of sustainable seafood, such as certified marine products and land-based aquaculture, are still ongoing. It also concluded that most other foods are still being popularized among the general public.

The survey was conducted online in January this year among 1,200 men and women (600 men and 600 women) in their...

PODCAST: Bottom Trawl Clarity Act Pushback; Norwegian Crab Update and More

Tune in for another fun and informative episode of the Seafoodnews Podcast. Hosts Amanda Buckle and Lorin Castiglione talk about Rubio's Coastal Grill filing for bankruptcy; NFI's pushback against Rep. Peltola's Bottom Trawl Clarity Act; the latest figures in Norwegian crab and more! 

ANALYSIS: YTD Scallop Imports Pacing Ahead of 2023

At the start of June, the third month of the 2024 Atlantic sea scallop season, supply constraints are already impacting larger sized scallops. Unlike in the 2023 season, size mix trended larger in comparison to previous years with Closed Area II producing the majority of U10 sized scallops. In 2023, the volume of U10s landed increased 105% from 2022 per the New Bedford auction. With Closed Area II remaining open for the 2024 season, industry players were not anticipating seeing an abundance of larger sizes again from...

Russia Plans Further Increase of Pollock Supplies to China

Russia plans to further increase supplies of its pollock to China as the demand for the fish in the Chinese market and its consumption is steadily growing. 

Currently Russia is the second largest supplier of fish to China, after Ecuador. In value terms, exports of Russian fish to China in 2023 reached US $2.9 billion. Of this, about $1.6 billion accounted for frozen fish and $1.2 billion from crustaceans.

According to the Russian Sfera FM business paper, citing the Russian Pollock Association, at present there...

Former Mowi Exec Lands At Grieg As New Regional Director of Newfoundland Region

Elizabeth Barlow, a former Sustainability Director for Mowi Canada East, has landed at Grieg Seafood as its new Regional Director of Newfoundland operations.

“I am pleased to welcome Elizabeth Barlow as the new Regional Director of our Newfoundland region,” commented Grieg CEO Andreas Kvame. “Elizabeth has extensive operational and management experience spanning from biology and salmon farming to governmental roles in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. I am glad to have Elizabeth onboard and confident that she is the right person...

Crabfest May Be Back At Red Lobster, But It’s Not The Same As Years Past

Even a bankruptcy filing can’t stop Red Lobster from bringing back Crabfest. The financially embroiled restaurant chain — with the help of rapper and reality TV star Flavor Flav — used the guest-favorite dining event to remind fans that despite the Chapter 11 bankruptcy, they can still enjoy seafood from their local Red Lobster. But this isn’t the same Crabfest as years past.

Red Lobster is known for its limited time promotional events, from Lobsterfest to Summerfest and...

ANALYSIS: EU Shrimp Imports Stable in Q1 Thanks to Spanish Market Boost

Between January and March 2024, the European Union imported 133k MT of shrimp of all species from any origin ex-EU. This represents a slight growth of 1.7% compared with Q1 last year, and a strong progression of 16.2% compared with the pre-COVID period of Q1 2019.

When looking at each country, the position of Spain as the largest importer of the region is confirmed again this year. First, its share of EU shrimp imports progressed from 27.1% in Q1 2023 to...

Russia Looking To Overtake The United States in Global Surimi Market

Russia is overtaking the United States in the global market of surimi by a sharp increase of domestic production.

According to recent statements from the president of the All-Russian Association of Fisheries, German Zverev, Russia's share in the global market of surimi from pollock in 2024 will increase by 5% - to 24%, versus 19% a year earlier.

According to data from the Russian Pollock Association (ADM), the global surimi market reached about 900,000 tons last year. Of this, surimi from warm-water fish species accounted for...

Silver Bay Seafoods to Buy Trident Seafoods' False Pass Facilities

On Friday Trident Seafoods and Silver Bay Seafoods announced an agreement for Silver Bay to purchase Trident’s False Pass processing facility and fuel business on the Alaska Peninsula. It is the second purchase by Silver Bay in an area where they already own a plant and process salmon.With this purchase, Silver Bay will be processing salmon at plants in Southeast Alaska (Craig, Sitka, Ketchikan); south-central Alaska (Valdez), Kodiak, Bristol Bay (Naknek), and the Alaska Peninsula (False Pass) this season.

Acquiring the Valdez plant in Prince William Sound and the ...

5 Takeaways From FAO’s 2024 State of the World Fisheries and Aquaculture

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released its 2024 edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) last week, revealing some surprising figures about today’s global fisheries and aquaculture production — the big one being that global fisheries and aquaculture production hit a new high at 223.2 million tonnes.

FAO’s report reflects data as of 2022, revealing the enormous impact that the seafood industry has around the world. The entire 264 page document can be read in its entirety here, but we’ve...